DGS resin Firefly kit
 

There are a few posts already about this kit, I thought I would add my 2 cents worth on it too :thumbup:
Nice packaging and quick shipment. Parts are nice and pretty clean from the start.
I have just started to assemble and thought I would post a few pics of the process. And I hope to get some help from you guys in the future as I am sure I will need it :haha:
This is my first resin kit. Pretty darn cool!!!! Thinking of getting the mato barrel and keeping the airsoft?
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/i...psppg56pkc.jpg
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/i...psokfnbhp5.jpg
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/i...psx3abbxn2.jpg
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/i...psrqgu6nkz.jpg

Hi Mark. I was confused by the "plugged barrel" note that was sent out, and thought that I had to drill out aluminum from the center. Not sure how to do that, I ordered the Mato 17-pdr barrel just in case. It turned out that the center of the barrel was plugged only with resin, and I managed to bore that out by filing "teeth" onto the end of a 5/32" brass tube. I chucked that in an electric screwdriver, and bored it out easily.

Anyway, as to the Mato barrel. If you have seen the one Tamiya used to make, this is almost dimensionally an exact copy. The extension at the rear is about 1/2" longer, and there is also a smaller 5/8" extension on the rear of that which plugs into the Heng Long recoil housing. Be advised that the larger-diameter part hits the inner mantlet before the smaller part can go go all the way into the recoil unit. And, on recoil, (if you left it partially inserted that way) it would "unplug" itself from the recoil unit. You can carefully drill out the pivoting parts of the inner mantlet for clearance and then it ought to work just fine.

You rarely see the Tamiya ones for sale anymore, so this is a welcome availability. I'll save mine for a future Achilles build. -Mike

Nice fit on the parts.

T e m p t i n g........

Hello Markocaster. I have this conversion kit too! I am very impressed with it! I always wanted a 1/16 Firefly. A quick question for you, how did you modify the HL M4A3 hull to accept the upper hill and 3 piece transmission housing. In the instructions, they say to cut down the forward edge of the metal gear box housings, how did you do it? You also modified the opening for the drive shaft, did this mean adjusting the position of the gear boxes?
Thanks in advance, looking forward to seeing the completed build

Hi Mike! Hope you are well!
Thanks for the reply. And the info on the Mato barrel. I don't battle the tanks , so I thought I would leave this one stock but add the mato barrel so it could still shoot bb's. So your info is great and I may ask a question or two when I get to that :)
Are you "stretching the hull on yours? I'm not that brave, gonna leave it all stock.
Thanks for your great "review" so far very helpful , especially since this is my first resin kit.
Can you use any primer on resin or should I go for something specific?
Have a great night !!
Mark

Hi ! I have never used a resin kit before and am not a very experienced modeler , but this so far has been fun!! I used my Dremel w a cutting disk, marked the gear boxes as shown in the instructions and much to my amazement! Did it :)
The rest of the hull is stock. I didn't move the gear boxes, just made the hole bigger as per the manufactures website. I am really enjoying so far.
Post your build :)

Thanks Markomaster, have a Dremel with a cutting disc too! Awesome!

It sprays sparks and smells bad :)
(eye protection a must !)
But was surprisingly easy. Good luck

Hey Mark. It's funny you should ask about stretching the hull. Initially, I wasn't planning to do this; as I just wanted a simply (for once) build. But, after seeing how great Frank's extended hull turned out; now I'm considering doing it on mine. I gotta admit, though - Frank makes it all look so easy, that it seems like an incentive to get in WAY over my head!

I have to say that I am really impressed with the quality of the kit, and will anxiously await whatever he decides to produce next!

Keep up with the pictures guys!

I'd like to start on mine someday too with all this Firefly talk. :cool:




Jeff

if Frank posts pics of how he did it, I will be tempted lol,
i hope he DGS make other kits , having fun with this one.
I have a question , where are you putting the smoker tubes, they are higher up I think as the instructions tell you to remove them and fill holes?

I am not planning on using the smoker at all on mine. I hear that they're just more trouble than they're worth in the long run.

And, Frank posted some photos of how he stretched it on another forum: https://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/foru...p?f=23&t=20164

Yea I may ditch the smoker too? Thanks for the link.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/i...pssdnha5zw.jpg
Slowly moving along with this one. Swapped the headlights from the HL
And got a bit of primer on it.

That looks great.

Looks good so far!!!

On my kit, I have been trying very hard to make all of the hatches operate. Using a pin vise and a 0.025" drill, I have drilled out all the necessary holes. Then, I have been cutting small straight pins and inserting them from each side of the hatch hinge. I've been using a toothpick and a drop of super glue under the head of the pin before pushing it all the way into place. I was able to successfully do this on the two hull hatches and the square loader's hatch
But, no matter how careful I was, I could not make the commander's hatch work without breaking.the two hatch halves right where they met the hinge area. Initially, I just glued the hatch doors into place, since they didn't really NEED to open because the Heng Long elevation motor was under there. But then I looked at Frank's build again, and saw where he relocated the elevation gear so that he could open the split hatch. (I gotta quit doing that - every time I think I'm happy with how the build is going; I see how nice his looks, and change direction again)!
Anyway, I ordered a Mato metal split hatch from Mato Mart and got it in the mal today. It is really, really nice and I am very happy with it. It is just a little larger in diameter than the stock resin hatch, and I had to cut away the bullet splash ring on top of the turret to get it to fit.
Sorry for rambling on. I just wanted to let you all know how nice I think this metal hatch is. Would be a great part to use on the prototype Super Pershing, (subsequent ones used the oval loader's hatch), or any other early Sherman that needs the split hatch.

Mike I had a heck of a time with the hatches also. The driver and the once machine gunners hatch do work but are wonky at best , the sides blew out when I pin viced it , I used copper wire , super glue and it's good enough. I need them to open as that's how I access the screws I use to hold the hull top onto the bottom. My commanders hatch is very wonky. It works but just :)
May have to look into the mato one

Here is a link to the one I got. For the price, I think it is an excellent replacement. I also have a set of adjustable Mato idlers on order from Forgebear. I am going to try using them to get the tension right with the Mato metal tracks with extended end connectors.
http://www.matomart.com/prodview.php?p=2867

Sorry you are having issues with the hatches guys. The way I do it is drill the holes get the hatch fitted roughly and then hit it with hot air and GENTLY form it into the correct position. Some guys use hot water to soften it too. The Mato hatch is a dream though. I have it on my wifey's Desert pink 42 Sherman I am building.

Naw, the hatches are fine, Dean. It's just us fumble-fingered builders that make them problematic. Thank you for the tips.

Agreed, they are fine and fit well. Just like Mike said I do have fumble-fingers:)

Here is a pic of my buddy Michael's he does not have fumble fingers like the rest of us... LOL! We will be testing it in battle Saturday. Will try and take some video... :-)


https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui...e343&zw&atsh=1

Not seeing the pic?