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This is a model of a very late production composite hull Sherman used by the US Army on Okinawa. The base kit is the old Dragon Firefly IC. The kit is reasonably OK but needs a lot of work. For some reason, Dragon put casting texture on the welded part of the upper hull so that had to be removed by sanding and filling. Also, the welding was redone since it is recessed in the kit and should be pronounced. Also, I drilled the holes on the sand skirt attachment strip.
The transmission cover has casting texture that would be inaccurate in 1:1 scale so it was sanded smooth and retextured using Tentax and a stiff brush. But there is a whooping 0.040 inch gap between the cover and bolt strip which I filled with sheet plastic. The hull was then detailed out with Formations tools and various small items from the spares bin. The suspension housings and roadwheels were replaced with more modern Dragon parts from the spares bin and Formations track skids. Also used were Formations adjustable rear idlers reinforced with a metal rod and Tiger Models rear idlers. The tracks and duckbills are from RHPS.
The Firefly IC kit is a 2 in 1 kit and comes with an extra turret to make a standard M4. But I replaced it with a much nicer one from Trax. Unfortunately, the replacement turret doesn't come with a loader's hatch and it seems the turret is intended for the Tamiya kit so I had a bunch of work to do in adjusting the Dragon parts. Also, the turret's vision cupola seems to be a straight knock-off of hte Tamiya one and the Dragon parts are a little nicer which is why I used it. No barrel is provided either so I pulled a Formations one from the spares bin. The .50 cal MG is the excellent set from Tasca.
The model was finished using Model Master paints, oil washes and MIG Pigments.
The 'Rock Tank' is a Verlinden item and was a real feature found on Okinawa. I really couldn't find out where it was located so it's possible the area around it doesn't look as I protrayed it. [View discussion] [Discuss my model]
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