Ian Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 Sherman Firefly Vc C. Squadron 20th NZ Armoured Regt. Italy, Spring 1945 Almost two years since I last finished/posted an AFV build... Well as this is written it's exactly five years since we moved here to NZ and by coincidence here's a Kiwi subject. Tasca's superb Sherman Firefly Vc with kit decals and a few extras - RB barrel, Verlinden stowage and Royal Models radio/storage bustle - The markings are for a vehicle from C Squadron 20th (NZ) Armoured Regt. in Italy right at the end of the war. From the outset I had in my mind exactly how I wanted it to look and (for once), got precisely what I was after. Not muddy just very, very dusty. I spent sometime researching articles and opinions on the late war British 'Drab' colour and most books/commentators seem to agree it was virtually the same as US Olive Drab but faded to a much greener hue than the American colour so that's what I aimed for - whether I achieved that is for others to say. On top of the self mixed Tamiya acrylic paint there's some dry-brushing with oils, chipping and scratches, an oil-dot wash to get the streaking and just two tones of Mig pigments to get the dusty look. Now that it's done I am very pleased with it, so much so that I've dug-out an Academy M18 Hellcat that I started around eight years ago to sit alongside it - similar gun y'see !! - you'll see that in a few weeks. As ever thanks for taking the time to look and/or comment and please feel free to make any criticism or ask any questions. AFN. Ian. 32 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorby Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 That looks excellent Ian and the weathering is amazingly good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 Nice build, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangor Lad Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 Love a Firefly. Great weathering! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzby061 Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 Great job, a very weary warrior. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sairou Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 The dust effect is excellent. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batcode Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 great looking Firefly, nice job on the finish...... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted April 15, 2017 Author Share Posted April 15, 2017 Thanks folks, glad you like it. Ian. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billydick Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 Very nice indeed Ian BillyD 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerrardandrews Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 Brilliant looking Sherman 😊 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgentG Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 Very, very nice. G 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 Nice dusty Kiwi. I've got this one in the stash to build at a later date (if I haven't pinched too many parts from it). I really like these NZ armour subjects, and thanks to Star/Bison decals, so many of them can be covered. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 NIce dusted look, i like a lot, cheers mate 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 Cracking job Ian, really like your paint & as mentioned before your weathering is superb! Now all it needs is a couple of figures & a nice little base to set it off....!! Lovely Firefly...!! Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted April 16, 2017 Author Share Posted April 16, 2017 9 hours ago, keefr22 said: Cracking job Ian, really like your paint & as mentioned before your weathering is superb! Now all it needs is a couple of figures & a nice little base to set it off....!! Lovely Firefly...!! Keith Thanks Keith - great to hear from you again, friend... Well now, figures - Hmmm, of all the modelling disciplines, figure painting is the one that constantly illudes me. I cannot explain it, I simply don't seem to have the skills to do anything more than the most basic figures. That said I do have a couple of Verlinden & Mini Art bases and vignettes that maybe one day I'll get around to putting vehicles and figures on to... one day !! Thanks once again all, very much appreciated. Ian. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cromwell Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 On 15/04/2017 at 08:10, Ian said: Sherman Firefly Vc C. Squadron 20th NZ Armoured Regt. Italy, Spring 1945 Almost two years since I last finished/posted an AFV build... Well as this is written it's exactly five years since we moved here to NZ and by coincidence here's a Kiwi subject. Tasca's superb Sherman Firefly Vc with kit decals and a few extras - RB barrel, Verlinden stowage and Royal Models radio/storage bustle - The markings are for a vehicle from C Squadron 20th (NZ) Armoured Regt. in Italy right at the end of the war. From the outset I had in my mind exactly how I wanted it to look and (for once), got precisely what I was after. Not muddy just very, very dusty. I spent sometime researching articles and opinions on the late war British 'Drab' colour and most books/commentators seem to agree it was virtually the same as US Olive Drab but faded to a much greener hue than the American colour so that's what I aimed for - whether I achieved that is for others to say. On top of the self mixed Tamiya acrylic paint there's some dry-brushing with oils, chipping and scratches, an oil-dot wash to get the streaking and just two tones of Mig pigments to get the dusty look. Now that it's done I am very pleased with it, so much so that I've dug-out an Academy M18 Hellcat that I started around eight years ago to sit alongside it - similar gun y'see !! - you'll see that in a few weeks. As ever thanks for taking the time to look and/or comment and please feel free to make any criticism or ask any questions. AFN. Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 (edited) Excellent job Ian,.....I like this a lot, very realistic looking and a good choice of subject too, Cheers Tony Edited April 25, 2017 by tonyot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
builder52 Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 Welle done, Iike it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cromwell Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 Somehow it seems like I reposted your thread. Don't know what I clicked on😬 Just St wanted to say excellent firefly 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted April 25, 2017 Author Share Posted April 25, 2017 Thank you everyone - really appreciate the positive comments and as I've said before, I never take them for granted. It was indeed a great project for a number of reasons, but the two BIGGEST reasons that it's turned-out well are simply: The quality of the kit - it is bl**dy fantastic, I've never enjoyed assembling an AFV kit as much as I've enjoyed this one. Second reason... ...I've longed to have a Firefly on the shelf for more years than I can tell you and it's only now that I have enough belief in my 'skills' to do justice to the subject. So again everyone, thanks for the feedback. Next will be an early Super Sabre for a Vietnam Campaign/GB over at Modelers Alliance (as soon as I can get back to the 'cave' - real life in general and school holidays in particular getting in the way), and I'm working on an Academy M18 Hellcat in the background aswell, not quite ready to show y'all that one just yet, but I'll be utilising and refining some of the techniques I used in this build. As this is written I've been looking at another NZ armour build for later in the year, more of that (very much) later. AFN, stay tuned.Ian. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 Really excellent. Well done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scanlan Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 Extremely realistic work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carius Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 Excellent job indeed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now