MIA / Carpet Monster

The coaxial MG mounted on the Tiger series was an MG34. You could stretch some sprue or purchase some Plastruct or other brand rod plastic of a similar diameter. I will never be known as the worlds greatest armor modeler, but if it was my kit I would go for the easy fixes above, or just skip it altogether. It's only somewhat noticeable in 1/35.

Thanks MJames. I am going to use that idea as a last resort.

I probably should have mentioned if you absolutely must have an MG34 barrel, there are weapon sets, or a 1/35 figure set that has one in it. Look for an early war set. Later ones are likely to have an MG42 in it instead. You can tell the guns apart by the thinner, more delicate appearance of the MG34. The MG42 looks a little beefier and more substantial. Some pics here - 

http://www.efour4ever.com/machineguns_germany.htm

You may want to lend some consideration to aftermarket barrels from sources like Aber, Lion Marc, RB, and Armorscale. Each manufacturer offers the MG 34 barrels in machined brass and it's truly as simple as drilling a hole and gluing the replacement barrel into place. Best of all, each offers the armored jacket which distinguishes the MG34 on the Tiger from its cousin slogging along with the infantry.

The link below takes you to a page with a photo of the Aber offering. The page says that it's been sold out for a while, but a quick search of e-Bay shows a lot of these barrels out in circulation. Google the other manufacturers and see what strikes your fancy!

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10245020

If you just want the muzzle, which is really all you can see, you might consider the RB Model offering as seen here:

http://www.luckymodel.com/scale.aspx?search=Y&q_brand=&q_category=&q_scale=&q_word=35b38&q_show_instock_only=N

You may need to fabricate a backstop to get the appropriate length, but that'll be easy enough

If you think the carpet monster got it; here are two tricks I use 1. Get a really bright flashlight and lay it on the carpet. A lot of times you may miss the part looking from overhead, but this way it will cast a shadow. 2. On a vacumn cleaner or dust buster, stretch a piece of panty hose over the suction hose. The part will stick to the hose and not go into the machine. I used this the other night looking for the intake nozzle on my 1/72 go 229 build. Bob Gregory Ruining one kit at a time.

Gobobby

I use tip one. I do like the vac/panty hose idea and will be using in the future. 

On the off chance that the head of the household does not want to give up a pair of panty hose; go to any shoe store and pick up some of those panty hose type sock footies that are there for when people try on shoes. They also have a lot of other uses. I use them as filters after I soak a part in some brake fluid. I just pour it back into the container. I keep that bottle marked for modeling use only in supply bin.

I got tired of the carpet monster beatimng me so many times. I went out and bought a large red bathtowel. When ever I'm working on small parts I lay it down on the floor under my feet. So far I've found everything I've dropped since I started using it. Parts don't bounce so much and are easy to see in the red background unless it's a red part.

Marc this maybe over simplfying it, but when I'm working on very small parts I use a white cafeteria tray.

$1 at the dollar stores. It wont help with flying PE, but it does help and for a buck its a nice investment. It only has to work once to make it worth while. 

Terry

I have a large work light (the kind with the halogen bulbs mounted on a tripod with guards over the lights.  Whenever I drop a part, I shine that sucker on the floor below me, and look for the shadows.  I also have a small LED flashlight I use for behind the furniture in my workshop. 

Micro Mark used to sell (and probably still does) a jewelers apron. This basically has a band at your neck and the corners of it clip to your work table. Therefore anything that would normally fall into your lap will be caught before it hits the floor and the dreaded carpet monster.

I have and use their apron.  It was one of the best buys I made.  That apron has caught a ton of small parts that jumped off the tweezers.  The only thing is that I wish it was made out of cotton and not plastic.  The plastic acts as a blanket.