All,

I've posted this question over on IDF Modeling as well, but haven't heard back yet, so I thought I"d try here. I am going to build the AFV Club IDF Shot Kal 1973 kit as Avigdor Kahalani's tank in the Yom Kippur War. I am going to use the LionMarc MK. 3 replacement turret with the canvas mantlet cover. However, that turret does not include the 'accordion' mantlet extension that was on Kahalani's tank, and I wonder if anyone knows of a replacement barrel that has this extension, or if there is an aftermarket part for that accordion-like extension. I suppose I could make it myself with epoxy, but I am not convinced I could do a decent job. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

How about the Barrel Depot M68 105 mm?

That looks absolutely nothing like the real thing. The barrel is fine but the accordion is worthless. It looks like beautiful, even turned metal.

The real thing is a sagging, uneven mess of wire circles sewn up in a hose. Better off going old school and using a piece of flexible bendy straw. You stretch it all the way out then push it back as sloppy as possible to get it all uneven.

If the "bendy straw" doesn't work I had another idea:
Cut a banana-shaped piece of styrene sheet. The bend and size should be the profile of the sagging accordion seen from the side.
Cut away a strip in the middle to make room for a suitable rod or tube so that the finished accordion can be inserted as a section in the gun barrel.

Cut a number of circles from styrene sheet, these should be the size/shape/diameter of the hoops that shape the "accordion".
Cut the circles in the middle to get half-circles with cut outs for the rod/tube.
Glue the half-circles to the sides of the "banana" shape over the rod/tube to replicate the spacing and orientation of the hoops in the real thing.
The level of exactness when making hoops/half-circles and the "banana" shape depends on how irregular You want it to look.
When the half-circles are in place it's time to file small nothches in the "banana" to make room for the accordion "skin" to hang down.

Making the "skin", this is probably the tricky bit:
Either fill the space between the half-circles with putty and sculpt it to the desired shape & appearance
or
use tissue paper to resemble the cloth cylinder hanging and sagging over those hoops. Select paper to resemble the structure of the real thing.

/ Robin

I think DEF Models have a set that would help.

Thanks, gents. I hadn't thought of either way before. The aftermarket barrel is a bit too perfect, when you compare it to photos of some real life accordion mantlets. I've found 1/2" diameter bendable straws on Amazon which I think is more than large enough, diameter-wise, and will allow enough 'slop' to create the 'curve' that is needed for realism. I'm going to try that first, and if that doesn't work, I'll consider Robin's idea. Appreciate the other thoughts, though!

Keep us posted
I'm curious about how it works out. I hope that straw has enough ridges compared to the real thing

Will do, Robin. I'll be checking out the straws as soon as they arrive. I just reviewed the close-up images of the mantlet extension in the 'Centurion Tanks of the IDF' book that I have, and there are 11 'rings' in the accordion extension. If the straws don't have enough of them, I'll use more than one straw. Great point! As Stephen pointed out in his post, the accordion section is not at all even on the real vehicles. They sag, and the spaces between the 'rings' are irregular, and in many cases, the fabric around the rings is ripped. Lots of choices for super detailing with that aspect of the tank. I measured the base of the kit supplied barrel, and it is about 1/4". The straws I bought stated that the straw diameter is 1/2". I was thinking that that may be, in fact, too large, but looking at the mantlet in comparison with the barrel dimensions, I'm now thinking that 1/2" might be just about right. We will see.

Orange Model includes them on some of their barrels. It's a very thin rubber or vinyl The M48 is one that has it as well as the barrel for the Magach

https://citadelbuy.com/toys-and-hobbies/product/orangehobby-135-132-105mm-l7-barrel-for-magach-6b-metal-for-academy-13281/