Panzer III J's

To help grow my DAK army, I've painted up some Panzer III J's. Rather than settle with a specific gun for each model, I made them modular. I was toying with the idea of using magnets, but I thought that the size of magnets needed to keep the barrels in place would be too large. So after thinking about the situation for a while, I came up with a simple solution - pegs.

To make this work, I needed to cut some paper clips up (for the pegs) and drill the same size hole into the turrets. This allows me to hot swap the barrels without being stuck to a specific model gun.

History

Intended for use against other tanks the Panzer III Ausf J benefited from the continuous improvement process that the German army adopted. The increased armor protection over its predecessors allowed it to defeat the armament of the lighter Soviet tanks.
 
Once the German army encountered the heavier T-34 and KV tanks during the invasion of Russia the development of a long 5cm gun was prioritized.

The upgraded Panzer III J (late) with a long 5cm KwK39 gun saw combat in North Africa and Russia where its gun was more than capable of penetrating the increased armor of its opponents.

In Flames Of War

5cm KwK38 gun: AT7, ROF 3, FP 4+

5cm KwK39 gun: AT9, ROF 3, FP 4+

And now for the pictures...

View of the pilot hole for the peg

The pegged barrel about to be inserted

The final result!