I've run into a snag building this kit. Concerns the long DS air intake hose. Although its flexible, not enough so to take the stresses off of the raised storage racks which are very fragile. Are there any techniques or advise to shape this hose into position? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I just picked up this kit and was thinking the same thing.
Would it be is possible to drill a hole thru the tube and thread a stiff wire thru it to hold it's shape?
Dan

Hot water may give you the added flex you need. If you hold it in the flexed position until it cools down if may hold its new shape enough to clear the boxes.

Hair dryer should do the same thing. Be careful with how hot it gets.

If you try to use the dryer to heat up the hose while it's on the kit, make sure to shield the rest of the kit with some cardboard or a thin piece of wood. Foil won't work for this.

Thanks. I will try all these starting the with the hair dryer. The hose is already connected to the turret and the buoy. If that doesn't work I'll just unglue and try the wire which sounds like a great idea too.

Well the wife's hair dryer didn't work. Even on low heat with a shield I still managed to melt shovel handle and one of the support poles - the DS hose remained unfazed .

On to plan 'B'. One issue is the support poles are so fragile. I cut them off and am drilling the bases and the bottoms of the support trays and using brass rod. Next I laid out a template of the hose based on the kit instructions and will make a small jig to hold the hose in place while dunking it in hot water and see if that works.

The wire idea is good but threading a piece of wire down the length of the hose will be a tall order. My idea was cutting slices lengthwise where I need the bends and inserting lengths of wire there and running Tamiya Thin to seal it back up. DS does take glue fairly well.

My last option is box it up and start on a StuG F

Wow, really sorry for suggesting that. At least it's just a shovel. What good would it do Jerry while he's at the bottom of The Channel anyways?