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Modeller Build Logs
Firefly IC Diorama |
| By James Wechsler | | Started: | Jul 15, 2007 | | Updated: | Aug 31, 2007 |
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This blog is intended to be a bit different than most in that a big focus will be on the diorama aspects. The focal point will be a Firefly IC (a welded hull M4 based Firefly). This will be built using the new Dragon Sherman III kit and the following Formations sets:
F079 M4 Conversion for the Dragon Sherman III
F022 Low Bustle Firefly Turrret
F018 Sherman Pioneer Tools
F050 Sherman Headlights
F046 Sherman Siren Assortment
F047 Sherman VVSS Track Skids
F013 US Cables and Clamps
The diorama is going to show the Firefly driving over a temporary bridge with a wrecked Panzer I command tank partly submerged in the river below.
I intend to include a number of chapters on making the ground work and also on how to make the water.
Up next: The M4 Conversion |
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| The hull from the front | Jul 16, 2007 |
Since I’m writing this blog just as I’m completing a blog on building a Sherman V DV my intention is to keep the number of chapters on construction and painting to a minimum. That will allow this blog to move to the diorama aspects quickly.
Building up the hull is a pretty straight forward process. The new Dragon kit is pretty well done and little additional work is needed.
One item I did modify a bit was the transmission cover. Dragon has done a first rate job on this part but I added a small modification that gives a little more detail. The cover is actually a three piece affair that is bolted together. The flanges holding the bolts have a small separation line in them where the two meet. Usually this is pretty small and one could argue that it’s not visible in 1/35 scale but personally I feel it is visible and worth replicating. Adding this to the Dragon parts is best done by simply carving a small groove along the center line of the bolt flanges once they are installed. It takes patience but the result is worth it.
Another little detail is the line of bolt heads that are along the lower hull where the transmission cover attaches to it. These are visible even after the suspension and tracks are mounted so it’s worth adding. I have a punch and die set so I just knocked them out of 0.015 inch sheet plastic.
A major area of rework is the driver’s hatch. I think Dragon over engineered this part. The hatch has the rotating plate for the periscope as a separate part as is the periscope. The problem is that the parts are a bit chunky, especially from the inside so if you’re going to leave the hatch open, it just doesn’t look right. I cut all of this away and used some left over photoetch over the rotating plates on the hatch inside. Then I used a Formations periscope for detail.
Also missing is the hatch pad. This is actually correct for early Shermans but the problem is that there’s a nasty ejector pin mark right in the curved area of the hatch. I had a left over one from the Tamiya Sherman kit that fit in after a little trimming. I also added the small photoetched pull ring from the Tasca kit. Fortunately there’s no co-driver so I only had to do this for one hatch.
In addition to these changes, I used a few parts from the various Formations sets. One really nice item is that the Formations Firefly turret set also includes the armored plate for the bow machine gun (as well as some other Firefly specific items covered in the next chapter). Great idea! There’s nothing more frustrating than missing the one or two items needed to make a conversion.
To round out the front part of the hull, I also added the tow cable clamp, headlights and siren from Formations since these parts are much better detailed.
Finally, I added the stowage box, also a Formations item. While commonly seen mounted on the back of Firefly VCs, the started crack hole on the back of Sherman Is was in the way so this box is often seen on the hull front. It is supported by a wood plank fixed between the two front fenders. I made the plank out of a strip of 0.040 inch plastic. The wood grain is made by dragging a razor saw sideways across it to get the wavy and uneven grain pattern.
Up next: The hull from the rear |
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