X82d Pathfinder

You're more than welcome. I see many attempts at a Firefly, but this is the first accurate mantlet I have seen done. I was methodical and found great references. However, I have noted with my research that many people make claims and then one shows up. There was a huge arguement about if the high bustle turret was used for fireflys. The answer was a definitive no. Two showed up in Holland burried to the top of the hull. I converted my turret to a low bustle. However, there were some late high bustle turrets that utilized the standard oval Sherman loader's hatch. I will include pictures of both here. Remember, the Firefly was the answer to German armor superiority, and used in greater numbers they may have had even more of an inpact. It was the only Sherman that could penetrate a Tiger head to head. There are both turret variants in those picures. A low bustle and a high bustle with an oval loader's hatch.
-Dan

Panther F

I bought one too, but to use the suspension from it ... even though it's really too big. The rest of the tank is just too cartoonish looking for me, the details are soft and isn't a serious candidate for a serious modeler.

But, everyone has their own cringe factor to deal with.


- Jeff

YHR

Actually it is probably the other way around. They are a candidate for a serious modeler. The only thing out of scale on the suspension are the wheels. All cast hulls are cartoonish in my opinion, It is the nature of the beast. The details( headlight cages etc are way out of scale and need to be redone),

Still the point we do agree on is they need some work.

Dan

Rex Ross

~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeff/Dan..........

I don't consider myself a serious modeler.......... I do this for the pure fun of it. I have some tanks that I didn't think needed correction or improvement when they came out of the box. They went on the shelf and I was happy that I had one. They became dust collectors.

Then there are the tank models that just begged for "fixing". Those are the ones that really are a joy to "improve", even if it's only a paint job. A paint job is kinda like a bandage on a boo-boo, and then there are the guys out there that like to do heart transplants and brain surgery.........aftermarket mechanical stuff, electronics, body style conversions, etc. I like to scratchbuild stuff that nobody in their right mind would buy if it came out as a kit. I like Mato and HL....especially their price.....also, their parts are a great source of stuff for my scratchbuilding projects. I like Tamiya too, but I can't justify a tank on my shelf that is worth more than the car in my garage. The Mato and HL tanks cost me what I used to earn in 4 or 5 hours. If I had to scratchbuild them, they would take me 4 or 5 months to build (if I could do that to begin with), the materials would probably cost as much, and my end product certainly wouldn't be perfect either.

My vote for the ultimate cringe factor model is the Glencoe Walker Bulldog. Now there's a real cartoon tank.

Rex

Panther F

Gawd, I have one of those too! Great box art work, horrible model.

But then there are some that will argue that it's not that bad either as well.


- Jeff

X82d Pathfinder

I purchased Tamiya's 1/10 Lamboghini Countach post seeing Cannon Ball Run as my first RC item.I am a Shelby aficionado by nature, and an 427 Cobra would have been my preference from Gumball Rally. However, being what it is we are blessed in this day and age that so much is available to us being some of us aren't as gifted as others when it comes to scratch building.

I think those of us who started doing scale armor and dioramas wind up being the "rivet counters" and scratch building becomes a necessity.
I am in the middle of a Tamiya 1/16 Sherman conversion. So I purchased the kit from Tamiya, a complete lower hull from Mato and parts from Impact, Nick Augular and Schumo. However, being I am doing the Sherman Firefly I have had to rely heavily on scratch building. Knowing Tamiya quality and their eye for detail I remain rather surprised that Tamiya hasn't re-tooled the venerable Sherman 105 with the HVSS and at least went the way of a 75MM Sherman with the VVSS suspension. I have never done my own casting, but I am realizing that it takes far too long to duplicate six or so of the identical item that rarely winds up identical. I am now at the bridge of impasse, so I must add other skills to my list of jack of all trades.

YHR and Tailend Charlie were a huge influence on my decision to tackle the ultimate of Sherman's, The Firefly. The suspension conversion from the MATO VVSS was brilliant and I am even taking it one step further. However, I would love to get a set of the cast wheels I saw in the conversion here. Perhaps I can twist someone's arm to do them for me. <hint></hint>ha.

Anyway, I am glad I found this forum. Living in a new place and being med retired has made it hard to find others with like interest.
So this will have to suffice for the time being.

YHR

I have some cast resin wheels if you want. Just PM me.

X82d Pathfinder

YHR- I was lucky enough to purchase a complete lower hull with bogies and the idler for a mere 19 pounds. Not a bad deal being they wanted 30 just for the bogies and the conversion requires the idler and the bogies. I also pirated the pentle, pentle mount,tow hook mounts and I cut off the transmission side covers that Tamiya neglected to supply behind the drive sprokets. Not to mention the other detail items that are part of the bogie. Iam doing the bottom of the tank as well. Iguess when you decide to take on a project of this nature, sometimes excess is the way to go when it comes to detail. ha!

I suffer from too much research and information overload. I just thought a departure from a wanna be Firefly to an accurate representation would be nice to see. Unlike those who model German armor, we as Allied armor types wind up having to scratch the majority of the conversion. Iran into your link as well as a couple on the Tank Warfare site. They set the motion for this build. My intention is to make the Danville, VA meet next time.

Anyway, It's nice to see a few friendly people willing to help and share ideas. After all, much what winds up being developed comes from pure nescessity.
I also purchased both DML Firefly kits. They also were great with providing 3D detail references. However, the best publication Ihave noted this far is the Sherman 1C book from Model Centrum Progres, It's #21. It is photographed inside and out and has scale drawings for the 1C and the VC model in 1/48 and 1/35 scales from four view points. I did the math to come up with the enlargement needed for 1/16 scale from 1/35. It's 219% enlargement.

Anyway, I don't know if I'm in the right section, however I'd be more than willing to share pictures of my build if anyone is curious.

-Dan

YHR

THis is the right section. You just need to start a thread and show us what you have been up too. Fireflies are my favorite.

X82d Pathfinder

Dan-

Let me know if you're getting your PM's. Ihave sent you four with no reply. Ihope all is well.


-Dan

YHR

I haven't received a PM lately???


Dan