Thanks guys,
Great tip on the guitar string, I just used what I had at hand. But now I have to go get some more Grandt Line rivets to finish it off. The red bit was a plastic sleeve from my parts box that was just the right size!
It is pointing the correct way, but there was a lot of variation in design. The carriage will actually sit flat, like a naval gun. Many land emplacements had the carriages elevated at the rear to limit recoil. Not sure about the blocks and ropes and such. Some photos show similar naval type carriages on land positions with little or no rope work. Lots of blocks and rope if it is on a ship.
The band on the barrel was stuck on with Contact Cement, other wise Testors' Liquid Cement for the plastic and yes, superglue for the metal bits. Only problem with the Contact Cement is if you use too much it will disolve and distort the plastic.
Regards, Rob.