Part 1: First Look

MSRP: $77.00 Over the years, there have been many attempts to give the 1/35th armor modeler the opportunity to add this very important British tank to their collections. In injection plastic, DML/Dragon made a number of attempts, each one a little better than the previous, but none of them close to perfect. Then there have been resin aftermarket firms, which have supplied turrets and other accessories that have allowed the modeler to take existing injection molded Sherman kits, and convert them to Fireflys. However the donor Sherman kits have themselves suffered from various "issues". All these problems are now moot, as we now have what I would consider the definitive Sherman VC Firefly from Tasca of Japan. Tasca's kit consists of 11 sprues of olive drab injection molded plastic parts, two sprues of clear plastic, four sections of injection molded, glueable vinyl track (T62 style track), one fret of photo etched brass parts and a small swatch of foam/rubber. The parts are crisply molded with no trace of flash to be seen, and minimal ejection pin marks. The decals, by Cartograph of Italy, are in perfect register and cover markings for four different vehicles. · "A" Squadron, 24th Lancers, 8th Armoured Brigade, Normandy, June 1944; · "Belvedere", "B" Squadron, Staffordshire Yeomanry, 27th Armoured Brigade, Normandy, July 1944; · 1st Squadron, 2nd Armoured Regiment, 10th Cavalry Brigade, Polish 1st Armored Division, UK Spring 1944; · "C" Squadron HQ, New Zealand 20th Armoured Regiment, 4th NZ Armoured Brigade, Italy April 1945. Highlights of the kit include restrained, raised weld marks, something missing on most Sherman kits of the past 20 years. Also in evidence is subtle casting texture on the likes of the turret shell, and the main hull part has appropriate casting numbers. The road wheels are beautifully rendered, with very well done grease nipple detail, while the bogies have lovely casting numbers embossed on them. The modeler is given the option of open spoke or solid pressed wheels, two styles of idler wheel, and three different options for drive sprockets. The glueable vinyl tracks come in four parts, two per side, and are nicely detailed for this type of track. If there is one down side to this kit, it is the instructions. They are the standard exploded diagram type, and while the drawings are all well done and fairly easy to follow, there is lots of Japanese writing in various sections, and almost all of it remains a mystery, as perhaps only 10% is translated into English. Taking the instructions, we find that sections 1 through 3 cover the assembly of the road wheels, drive sprockets and idlers. Note that while you get three drive sprocket options and two idler wheel options, all four of the vehicles covered by the decal sheet use the same sprocket/idler combination, parts A6 and A5 (sprocket) and parts B7 and B8 (idler). And note that parts B7 come with 12 tiny rivets that "need" attaching by the modeler, which can be found on Sprue B!! Sections 5 through 8 cover the bogie assemblies, these being fully articulated if the modeler is careful where they put the glue. This is where the small sheet of rubber foam comes into play, needing to be cut up and carefully inserted between parts B21/22, B18/19 and B2. This is a bit tedious, but necessary to have the bogies function correctly, which they do VERY nicely if all goes according to plan. Section 7 covers the lower hull assembly, and Tasca provides the modeler with numerous parts to do this, rather than a single "tub". The parts do fit together very nicely, requiring just that the modeler make sure everything lines up square. And unlike Tamiya Sherman kits, Tasca's does not suffer from a "see-through" effect by having open areas above the bogies. Section 7 and 8 cover the installation of a host of plastic and photo etched parts on the rear of the lower hull, including a lovely P/E screen mesh section. Section 9 covers the front transmission housing area, and the detail here is superb, including subtle cast texture on the appropriate parts. And jumping to Section 13, the hull hatches for the driver/machine gunner are very nicely detailed, giving the modeler the option of raised or lowered periscopes, the periscope parts being in clear plastic. Section 17 covers external tool stowage, and the shovel, axe, pick head etc., are all molded separately, and very nicely detailed as these sorts of parts go. Section 17 shows the mounting of the optional "boat house" fittings, part of a system that allowed Fireflies to be disguised as "lorries", although photos rarely show them thus fitted in the field of battle. Still, it was nice of Tasca to provide these parts, and the modeler can find these parts used on some Fireflies, so check your references. Section 20 covers the installation of the sand shields or if not used, then the sand shield mounting brackets rendered in P/E brass. None of the decal option vehicles show the sand shields mounted. Sections 21 through 24 cover the turret and main gun assembly. Note Tasca provides options as far as main gun muzzle detail is concerned, so check your references. Also there are two different options for the rear turret armored radio "box", so again, check which vehicle you plan on building before choosing the appropriate parts to use. There is the option to mount the turret pistol port open or closed, but make sure you carefully remove the mold marks that exist around this area on the main turret shell. And to mount in the turret, Tasca provides a very nicely sculptured commander figure in four parts. At this stage of the game, I have my Firefly fully assembled and in primer. Without exception, the fit of the parts on this kit was outstanding, as is the fidelity of detail offered up. The modeler must take care to read the instructions carefully, as there are numerous option decisions to make throughout construction, often requiring the drilling out of holes from the inside of the hull for example. However, with careful work, this kit allows the modeler to build an outstanding and extremely accurate Sherman VC Firefly out of the box, and I certainly would rate it one of the finest examples of injection molded plastic kit production I have ever had the pleasure to work with. This is an outstanding kit, and despite its rather high price, I feel it offers great value for the money. My thanks to Tasca and DragonModels USA for providing this superb kit to IPMS/USA that has allowed me to enjoy a VERY satisfying build.

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