i am currently building a dragon firefly and wanted to make a canadian one,i’ve found the one i want to build (borden) but it does not say what markings are on the right side,turret top,hull top,and rear.can any body help me?
info on borden:sherman mk.5c ‘borden’-‘b’ squadron,the gghg,5 canadian armoured division,victory parade,eelde,the netherlands,23 may 1945
Ask and search over at track-link.net. Paul Owen, the website guru, is a Canadian armor fan and might know.
There’s a book by Mark Hayward that discusses nothing but Sherman Fireflies. Haven’t read it but it might worth looking for if you;re a Shermaholic interested in Fireflies.
thanks
Curtis
If you are building the “Borden” Firefly as in the vehicle in the Worthington Tank Collection at CFB BORDEN in Borden, Ontario. [soapbox] STOP!!! It is not a true Firefly!!! [soapbox]
Unfortunately it is a Firefly Turret on a Grizzly Hull with CDP (Canadian Dry Pin) Tracks. The turret itself is sadly also a very poor example of the Firefly to build from. It has the wrong commander hatch and the loader hatch is merely sheet metal welded in place by the Materiel Technicians years ago.
Apparently, (according to the Mark Hayward ‘bible’ Firefly) it was sent to Canada for test and evaluation during the war from England. A second one is again poorly mismatched in the Aberdeen Proving Ground collection.
However there is hope.
Reference one to get a copy of is the Mark Hayward book on the Firefly it is “the” book for building one correctly.
Reference two is a series of articles have been written in FSM over the past few years that will really assist in making a true Firefly. There are also non-Firefly articles you will need from FSM for detailing the rear hull and depending which release of the Dragon kit you’re using you have some hull shortening to do.
Reference three is from Military Modelling (U.K. Magazine) this magazine published an article on detailing the Firefly that (I hate to say this in the forum… FSM forgive me) but the December article in FSM on detailing the Firefly kit was really disappointing and I found it lacking in so many areas that it should have just been a kit review of the Firefly and a review of the aftermarket barrel used and not hyped as an “update” or “superdetailing” article.
With that said (FSM, my apologies but with continued support of the fine magazine it is)
the Military Modelling article on the exact same Firefly VC (right down to the markings). Absolutely kicked the cover off the FSM article. Military Modelling covered the correct updates and markings for the Firefly and in really detailed line drawings and a full article on how to bring the current Dragon kit up to speed and make a competition worthy model.
Reference four is the internet. It has numerous websites and web pages that cover every aspect of the Firefly. There is a restoration project that filmed the entire process from start to finish with a full video and quite a number of detailed still photographs.
Reference five. in a word. BOVINGTON - “The” Tank museum great source of information
Reference six. AFV News - George Bradford scale plans of Firefly variants IC & VC
Reference seven. AIRFIX Magazine again scale drawings and photos of variants
Reference eight. The Sherman Registry website
Reference nine. Quartermaster Depot - for markings decals of Canadian armour
Reference ten. Accurate armour for resin extra goodies
Reference eleven. Eduard photoetch sets for the M4A4 there are two to complete one kit
Reference twelve. Chris Ellis and Peter Chamberlain Almark Publications AFV of WWII
Reference thirteen. 1969 IPMS Journal - Sherman Variants Vol. 1
That should get you started. I am currently working on my Firefly VC using the first issue kit 6031. I have completed the required shortening of the hull and then went to work on the complete interior. The lower hull is finished. Now I am working on scratchbuilding the entire turret interior with breechblock etc. Once this is complete then comes the outside and all the corrections there.
I have been keeping a log of the hours and photograph the steps and stages of completion in hopes of turning it into an article for FSM. I am just returning to modelling after a long time away. It is my first major conversion and scratchbuild project. I have to say this though it is best to have really good reference handy. It makes the job a lot easier for me. A well stocked spares bin and a kitted out workbench don’t hurt either.
I hope this helps point you in the right direction. If you need anything further you can email me off the forum or reply here and I will be happy to assist you. I have all the above references and will try and post a list of the issues and year of publication for each shortly. Most of these though, I hate to say are out of print and only show up every now and again at the shows or on eBay (Some are WAAAAAAY overpriced) so I can help you out with specifics if you can not obtain copies.
Cheers;
Gregory
Quartermaster’s Depot carries the markings for this very Firefly.
http://store.quartermastersdepot.com/Default.aspx?CatalogItemID=79&tabid=1&mid=337&ctl=CatalogItemDetails
Slightly off topic - does anyone have a source for aftermarket “Canadian Dry Pin” track and drive sprockets?
you might get a better responce if you ask as a new post
[:)]