I am having a nightmare with my Dragon Pz.Kpfw.IV L/70A 6689 kit.Just test fitted the gun collar and its very loose and looks like its missing a part that's not mentioned in the instructions.
I have fixed all the other problems like missing parts and such but now its doing my nut in

Hi Karl,
There should be a ring that goes on the front of the mantlet that will hold the barrel in place.

Jesse

Jesse I have checked every sprue 3 times over and can't find any part that will fit on this collar,even the instructions don't show anything.
There is a lot of issues with this kit and now I wish I had bought the stug now

Thanks Jesse
Karl

Checking some images of the instructions and of the sprues (I do not have this kit)...

In step 13, the gun assembly is inserted from the rear thru that camement fitting (gun port casting), and the mantle, part F4 is fitted over the barrel from the front.

NO ring part is indicated. And none is shown on any pictures in the instructions. Also, no distinct ring or flange appears in the box art. And, far as I can tell from looking at sprue shots... nothing emerges as a likely ring-part on any sprue. So... I would guess that Dragon did not intend that such part be there... (but we can't be completely sure - absence does not mean intended omission! )

As I don't have the kit, I'll guess that what is happening is that you are not getting that gun assembly properly in place on the hull floor and with respect to the casement front plate, and so the barrel is not protruding far enough out front of that casement. It's just a guess, but what your pics suggest to me is some sort of positioning error is taking place.

From the assembly steps and diagram preceding and thru Step 13, I think that there could be a critical positioning moment to get the gun moved far enough forward into that inner port housing to allow correct mantle fit over the taper. As the barrel is tapered, I would expect that that mantle piece would fit snuggly at some point down the barrel, so the positioning of the gun is critical.

Maybe you can try fitting the mantle part F4 onto the barrel with the gun removed from the casement to see where it should position on the barrel based on taper diameter. Fit the mantle onto the barrel until it is comfy, mark this point on the barrel with a pencil, remove that mantle, put the gun assembly back into the hull/casement, and see if things can get positined sufficiently forward to allow the mantle to fit where you found it "should" to be snug.

Just a suggestion!

Bob

Thanks for your reply Bob.
I would of done what you have said but unfortunately I had already fitted the barrel to the breach and glued the bloody thing to the inside frontal armour
I did find someone on network 54 mention how loose the gun collar was when fitting,plus I may off made the barrel a bit thinner when I was sanding out the 2 seam lines

Cheers
Karl

I got a similar issue with a turned aluminum barrel and the Tamiya Hetzer mantlet.
I fixed it by adding a strip of Tamiya mask tape around the gun end. When the barrel is no longer loose, you probably will have to fill the gap to get a better look.

Olivier