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This is Tasca's magnificent Firefly, one of the best kits I have ever built. Detail is breathtaking, all that lets the kit down a bit are the (imho) mediocre flexible tracks. Assembly was straightforward, but watch out when adding the transmission to the hull: it is slightly too narrow for the lower hull, so glue the lower hull to the upper hull first before adding the transmission, or your lower hull sides will not be straight. As I said, detail is excellent, but there's always room for more, which I added with strip, rod and wire. I also used some leftover bits from an Aber etch set for Shermans.
I chose to depict the vehicle seen in IWM photograph B 5546, which shows a Firefly belonging to Staffordshire Yeomanry, 27th Armoured Brigade on 13th of June 1944. The vehicle caught my eye because it had the rare earlier type of muzzle brake with square baffles. It had a typical 27th AB stowage pattern which I replicated as well as I could. Other pictures show that Staffs Yeomanry tank crews often welded stowage boxes to the rear of the hull, so I glued two Resicast ammunition bins to my model. I added a tarp using rolled-out Milliput. Tasca does not provide the turret rear stowage box, so I scratched one using evergreen plastic card. I couldn't see an opening for the turret smoke bomb thrower in the picture, so I plugged the hole and cut away the surrounding rim, and added a bracket on the right side of the turret for the external bomb throwers. The tracks are Model Kasten, and they nearly drove me mad. With almost 700 parts for each track run, even taking the parts off the sprues alone took over an hour.
I sprayed the model using Lifecolor acrylics thinned with ordinary tap water, and added a Vallejo gloss coat. Markings are a mix of Tasca and Archer transfers. I started weathering with oil washes, after which I 'lined' the model using Humbrol enamels. The dust effect is a combination of hand brushed (stippled) and airbrushed Lifecolor acrylics. I also added numerous stains, chippings and scratches with Lifecolor. The lower hull and suspension received an acrylic dust-coloured wash to replicate accumulating dust.
As a finishing touch I added antennas from brass wire, a 2 foot B-antenna on the right and an 8 foot A-antenna on the left side. I 'camouflaged' the A-antenna with white bands; I later learned that this was a typical feature of Guards units, but I decided too keep it because it looks cool...
The figures were cobbled together using parts from multiple sources. The commander consists of a Wolf body, Alpine arms, a Hornet head, a Tamiya right hand holding a microphone, and a Coree revolver holster. The driver is a Scale Line/Roy Models body with Verlinden arms and an Alpine head. Both figures received scratch built earphones. I added tiny Staffs Yeomanry badges to the berets using wire and plastic strip. I painted the figures with acrylics and a touch of oil paint on the skin parts.
- Eelke Warrink
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