Hi Pat: Thanks for the compliment. I use the Landships site for information
http://www.landships.freeservers.com/
I read that the recuperator rope was possibly to keep it cool? Or to protect it from damage? I used a heavy white elastic thread from my daughter's sewing kit. I tied a knot on the end of the thread and pulled it between the barrel and recuperator. Then I wrapped it around the recuperator from the base to the end and glued it with a drop of CA glue.
I wrote a build article for a friend's great web site
http://www.diorama1914.com/ you can Google translate it into english.
Thanks
Chris