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Finished at last! This is a Plastic Soldier Company 1/72 Firefly Vc built out of the box with a little added stowage. I've set it in a little diorama/vignette with some PSC British Infantry to add a bit of interest. The Firefly is finished with Vallejo paints and Mike Starmer decals representing a vehicle belonging to B Squadron, Staffordshire Yeomanry, 27th Armoured Brigade. Thanks for looking. Cheers Dave

Hi folks,just a little fun build for the panzer GB.It,s revells re-boxing of the old seventies Matchbox kit which at the time we kids loved as you did,nt have to paint them and you got a little base for display,the Sherman had one of the best in the form of the bridge.I added a home made tarpaulin and telegraph pole made from a BBQ wooden skua.Here,s the WIP.http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234975968-sherman-firefly-23rd-hussars11th-armdiv/.

Hi all,sorry but could,nt stay away! Don,t get exited it,s not a Dragon or Tamiya super build just Revell,s re-boxing of Matchbox,s golden oldie,god knows if anything about it is accurate but I just wanted something simple that won,t drive me nuts ( as some of my other projects are right now) and there may even be some here who have never seen these kit,s that back in the seventies were a revelation to us kids so lets call it a tribute those folks at Matchbox who tried to do something a bit different all those years ago.here a few shots including the four part bridge base that should be fun to "tart" up.

This is my first WiP, so apologies for layout, picture and build quality. I have always wanted an early production cast hull Sherman as used at El Alamein. Thought the Nitto M4A1 would do the trick, but the rather pathetic running gear was too obviously wrong. I decided to cannibalise an Airfix Lee/Grant from the stash to get the early running gear and front hull. I believe this is now called "kit bashing" - how the hobby has come along since I last built much. We start here: And here: These are the main reason for all this work: Crude or what? After a dry fit of the Airfix hull offered up to the Nitto body, a few judicious cuts were made to give this: Decided to keep the Airfix rear hull structure, which seems to be slightly "better" detailed: The Nitto road wheels are also being replaced as they appear to be nearer 1/87 than 1/76: Although I am inclined to use the Nitto Drive wheels. That's it for piccies this far and I apologise if they are too big - it has taken me four attempts to write this post, a steep learning curve. In parting for this post, both subject models leave a great deal to be desired by modern standards. The Airfix kit is '69 vintage and I remember the original releases being hailed as "state of the art", being crisply moulded and generally accurate, despite the horrendous attempt at the Grant turret. Not so my current subject: soft plastic lacking definition, a nasty case of ejector pin marks and definite softening of the moulds - hardly surprising for the age. The Nitto offering has a lovely hull and turret that is let down by under scale, crude running gear. In both cases the less said about the tracks, the better - standard issue post office rubber bands would probably be an improvement. I aim to get an update posted in a couple of days, so thanks for looking and see you soon. Jerry

Here's yet another Armourfast Sherman III. Again this one is built out of the box with the usual additions. I came across more reference material part way through the build, that's why this one is covered in camouflage netting This Sherman III belonged to 13/18 Royal Hussars, 27th Armoured Brigade, Normandy 1944. The deals again come from Mike Starmer's excellent range. Thanks for looking. Cheers

This is an Armourfast M4A2/Sherman III. A very quick build which is followed by as much or as little detailing or upgrading you want. With the quick-build you do get a lot of simplified or absent detail, but with a bit of patience and a few bits and pieces you can get a satisfying conclusion. The tank's been finished as 'Balaclava' belonging to the Regimental HQ, 13/18th Royal Hussars, 27th Armoured Brigade during the Normandy campaign. Once again the decals come from Mike Starmer's range. The tracks have been detailed with some Evergreen channel section glued to the flat track pads. Lifting rings were added from thin wire and light guards from mini staples. The stowage is mostly Value Gear and the crew are white metal figures from a number of sources. The base is a sheet of thin plywood covered with a layer of green Oasis foam sealed with a textured PVA mix. The grass is a static grass with a few added grass clumps and flowers. Thanks for looking. Cheers Dave

Both schemes are based on those featured in Steve Zaloga's book Modelling the US Army First up is an M4 that belonged to the 8th Tank Battalion, 4th Armoured Division during the advance on Paris in 1944. Second up is an M4A3 of the 2nd Armoured Division during Operation Grenade, Germany 1945 Honestly I do build kits made by different manufacturers but these are a quick build to help practice some techniques. Thanks for looking

I'm calling this one done. Built out of the box with a bit of stowage and some crew figure. Decals are from Mike Starmer's range. More photos to follow. Thanks for looking. Cheers

My next build will be the M4 Sherman 75mm Normandy and configured as: Co. C, 70th Tank Battalion, Utah Beach, Normandy, France, D-Day 1944 (later modified to the 37th TB, 4th AD, Brittany, France 1944)

Latest project. These are two of the Plastic Soldier Company's M4A4s which come in a three kit boxing. Parts are provided to build the M4A4 (Sherman V) or Firefly. As you'd expect there is a degree of simplification as these are intended primarily for the wargamer and some details are simplified. However, to me they look like what they're intended to and that's good enough. I've started with a few minor upgrades such as replacing lifting rings with wire and drilling out gun barrels and I've also started adding some stowage. There are some gaps and sink marks that need to be filled but nothing too challenging. Here's a quick view of where I've got so far. More updates to follow. Thanks for looking! Dave

Hi Guys Recently completed. Built pretty much out of the box with just a little added stowage. I didn't do any of the corrections as it was built just as an exercise to see if I still had the mojo for 1/72nd scale. Hope you like it. Regards Dave

Even though I've been making models on and off since as far as I can remember, I've never made a tank. I went through a Humvee phase a few years ago but that's about it. At the weekend I fancied taking a crack at one and ended up in Argos with some vouchers I got from work, hoping to get the Airfix Battle Front set (2 tanks and a diorama -another thing I've never done- seemed like a good start) however it wasn't available so that's ordered for later this week. In the meantime I went into Boyes to see what they had and there were a few Airfix ones for about £7-£8. But next to them they had some from the 'Plastic soldier company' who I never heard of and there's not much on here about them either. But then again they're aimed more at the wargamer but at £11 for 3 Shermans I won't argue. I wasn't expecting much at worst it would be a cheap thing to fail at and bin, or end up like the infamous "British battle fighter" but as a tank. However I'm quite impressed with them, they're only made up of a few parts and the fit is excellent and from my untrained eye it looks like a sherman. This is the first one of three, while reading up I learned the British would team two shermans up with a firefly variant since the latter wasn't very effective against softer targets. So here is the first of the myself and the plastic soldier company's 1/72 Shermans. I'll put the other two up when they're done, any tips on this would be helpful as I hope to get the re released Airfix D-Day 70 stuff and make something a bit larger (providing I don't cock up the battle front) As an aside does anyone know where I may get some decals for the tanks, they lack any sort of markings and it's nagging me. Thanks for looking

Good afternoon, This is my rendition of Dragon's Normandy Sherman in 1/72 scale: The little tank went together fine but the DS tracks were a bit of a problem. The PE straps on the back of the turret were left off because they were too hard to bend right. The only aftermarket was a metal gun barrel. Painted with AK Interactive's Olive Drab Modulation set - an incredible product BTW - and weathering Citadel paints and AK Interactive Track Rust. Hope you like it!

M4A1E8/M4A1(76)W HVSS - Upgraded with widetrack Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension (HVSS), fitted with the 76 mm M1 gun. Pics thanks to Mike.

As part of our website we have loads of vehicle Walk-arounds http://leicestermodellers.weebly.com/its-for-real.html Come and take a look

Kit: 1/72 Dragon M4A3 105mm 8th Tank Batallion, 4th Armoured Division, France 1944 Kit base from an old Matchbox kit (M24 Chaffeee) Thanks for your interest!

Etched set for American M4A3(76)W Sherman for Tasca 1:35 ET Models E35-148 The Sherman medium tank is one of the most well known tanks of World War II, if not in the history of mechanised warfare. The version that this etched set is dedicated to is the that of the Tasca M4A3(76)W that began to be introduced in 1944 and was to become one of the most popular marks of Sherman to be used by the Allied forces. Introducing a new 76mm gun and improved stowage of the main gun ammunition in the lower hull with a wet system of protection, (hence the W) it was also one of the safest Shermans built, being less likely to cook off like the earlier versions. Protected in ET Models standard card headed thick poly sleeve the set comes on six different sized sheets of relief etched brass. The instructions, on their usual green A4 sheets are clearly laid out, but it still pays to read them carefully to ensure the parts are folded the right way and fitted to the correct position on the model. Each of the sheets are of the same thickness and there doesn’t appear to any noticeable flaws in the etched parts. The instructions begin with the removal of all the kit detail parts that are to be replaced with etched items, such as the straps and clamps for the engineering tools. These include items for the spade, sledge hammer, wrecking bar, axe and pick axe head. There is some interesting folding required for each of the track guides that are fitted to the tops of the suspension mounts. The largest assembly included in the set is that of the storage rack fitted to the rear of the tanks hull. The assembly is all brass and requires no parts from the kit, thusly it is very detailed, with the rear and bottom boards attached together by three hinges. At each end there are folding stays and strengthening brackets beneath the bottom board. The whole assembly is then attached to the hull by three more hinges with the use of brass or styrene rod to act as the hinge rods. Finally there are eight handles fitted four to the back board and four to the bottom. The rack assembly can be posed either opened up and fitted out with the modellers choice of equipment or folded away. Either side of the main storage rack are the two smaller racks for the spare track link stowage. Again these will make for some interesting and precise folding to ensure each side is symmetrical. Forward and aft of the tanks sides, just above the tracks, are a pair of brackets, the forward ones have the new front mudguards attached to them. Bolted lengths of brass are attached to both sides of the lower hull between the two main brackets. Moving to the turret there are a several small brackets fitted aft of the aerial mount and forward of the commanders cupola. The periscope protection guards are folded and fitted to the gunners, drivers and co-drivers hatches. On the hull two more brackets are built up and are used for the storage of the tow cable. The M2 0.5” machine gun is very well detailed, with new firing handles, forward and rear gun sights, barrel perforated section, where it attaches to the breech housing, barrel removal handle and cocking lever mechanism. Attached to the gun is a n all new ammunition canister rack with ammunition guide, locking clamps and handles. Now the set includes enough parts to make up five ammunition boxes, each with carrying handles, and latches. If the modeller so wishes these can be posed open and there are several lengths of 50 cal ammunition belt to give an impression of a full box. Conclusion This is another superb set from ET Models. Again though it is not a huge set and there shouldn’t be to many problems with the parts, apart from those mentioned above. If the modeller has a little bit of experience and perhaps a nice folding tool then there shouldn’t be any worries with folding even the more complex items. Tasca have produce a very nice Sherman in this kit, but the etch will really bring it alive with those extra additions that injection moulds can’t deal with, particularly where scale thickness is concerned. Highly recommended Available soon from White Ensign Models in the UK Review Sample courtesy of