Who is this 'Elderpark' guy? I cant find him on the list of members, but he speaks my language apparently.

I have since started removing the moulded tools on the hull, the plastic ropes and the top part of the ventilation system, I found that the section of track fixed to the front of the hull is actually screwed on from the inside...bang goes a pair of fine cutters then! Given how firmly the fiefel units are fixed, Im thinking that they must also be screwed on from the inside. Looks like the barrel mod is going to have to be done sooner rather than later.

I had a look at the ends of the larger plastic tow cables, they dont look too bad and I think I could drill them out to fit onto some spun copper, making decent looking cables.
I would imagine that most of the tools fixed to the outside of a tank would get some pretty rough treatment, with fitings for them also getting ripped & shot off, perhaps some cobbled together fixings etc to hold important items like the cleaning rods might look better, as well as wooden cleaning rods.

My metal tracks have also been fitted now, they look and feel much better, but I was very disapointed to find that the idlers are an optional extra, for the sake of a couple of pounds the kit would have been more complete. I have the metal tracks & gearboxes now, so sooner or later the metal bar may be needed inside, although the tank did come with the metal gearboxes, maybe the bars already there, wont know until I get inside to do the barrel mod.

Has anyone found any real dramas in doing the barrel mod?
I'll turn an extension for the barrel and fit that at the same time, but I still dont want to lose the airsoft function!!!