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Modeller Build Logs
Tasca Sherman Firefly Vc |
| By James Wechsler | | Started: | Dec 1, 2006 | | Updated: | Apr 29, 2007 |
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OK, I’ll admit it, when I got the opportunity to do a blog using Tasca’s new Firefly kit I was giddy with excitement. I’ve got Tasca’s Pz. II Luchs, and I’ve built about three of their Sherman suspension sets, and two of their 0.050 cal MG sets. Tasca has yet to disappoint.
Now as a total Shermanaholic, I’ll admit that the thought of building a Sherman model that requires only a little bit of extra work is hard to fathom. I mean what is Sherman modeling without a bucket of aftermarket resin parts, replacement tracks, and a huge photoetch sheet? It’s … like modeling German armor (noooo don’t say it’s true)! There, I’ve said it. 2006 has been an allied modeler’s dream and Tasca’s Firefly is the grand finally of the fireworks show.
But in many ways I’m glad to be doing a blog using a great kit. My last two blogs involved extensive use of resin conversion and scratch built parts to make unusual Shermans. So they were heavily focused on construction tasks. Yet I’ve noticed that most of the comments I receive when I post photos of my models are requests for more information on how I do my painting, weathering, and groundwork. So for this blog I will spend less time on the construction tasks and more time on the painting, finishing and techniques for making simple ground work.
Up Next: The Construction Starts.
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| That Sweet Tranny | Dec 3, 2006 |
Shermans had basically three types of transmission covers and a number of sub-variants. The first one was a three piece affair and that’s what’s represented here. The other two were single piece cast housings, one has a rounded shape similar in profile to the three piece one and the other a more sharp nose which offered better ballistic protection (and was more aerodynamic to reduce drag. Yeah that’s it, less drag, yeah).
Anyway, making the three-piece transmission cover in plastic has been challenging due to its complexity. Tasca, like the other manufacturers, has had to make the flanges for the bolts separate from the main housing. But unlike other manufacturers, Tasca made the flanges as two parts per flange so you end up with a faint gap that is similar to what can be seen on the real housing. In the past I’ve had to resort to scribing this in and it’s a pain.
Another different approach taken by Tasca is that the final drive housings (the pieces that extend forward on each side of the transmission cover) are also separate parts. Doing this does allow for better detail but you must now contend with the seem that must be filled. While the fit is very good some filling and sanding was necessary to eliminate the seem since the real parts were cast with the outer transmission housing pieces. So I then had to go back and add the casting texture in the areas that were sanded. My preferred method is to use a liquid glue like Tentax and a stubby brush to stipple the area being textured. After it dries, a light sanding gives a great look. One reason I really like this method is that you can control where you put it so in this case I could redo the texture around the casting numbers without ruining them.
Finally, I must note that this housing has numerous interior details like open bolt holes and the correct flanges for the drive housings. These are all hidden in a normal build but I’ll bet that the aftermarket companies will come out with some great transmission details to make use of these features. It’s nice to see Tasca putting in a little extra effort to make it easier for super detailing.
Overall, this was an easy build up but a little extra work was needed to redo the texturing.
Up Next: The upper hull |
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