Hybrid firefly

[wibblywobbly]

Deffo has that 'Don't Mess With Me!' look, nice bit of work there Tom, and it's totally unique in 1/16th scale.

[frankie]

You'll have to see if you can do a deal with Dave as he now has the guy I did based on the one in the photo sitting in the front hatch lol

[Raminator]

Cheers Ram, they're metal!

Ooh, you lucky bastard.

[tomhugill]

Dusted this one off last night, It will probably be getting an IBU2 pro this weekend so afew jobs to do including fitting a battle unit, ir emitter, speaker, flash unit and turret rotation.

First up adapting the tamiya speaker to fit the Mato hull. Couple of bits needed cutting out of the speaker and hull.





Turret rotation, fortunately the turret its self is wider than the HL rotation ring so I can lift the turret out of required. The rotation unit had to be sited under the drivers hatch to prevent interference with the speaker.



Last job was the opening hatches, added pins to the hinges to give them a bit more strength. Next job is to cut out the openings where I'll put the on off switch.

[43rdRecceReg]

Impressive work, Tom, and quite a rare photo you've magicked up. I just wonder whether that Hybrid would have the three section transmission unit you find on the VC and IC Fireflies? It's hard to tell what the transmission looks like under that mass of spare tracks, but it does look a wee bit 3-parter like. Is the Cromwell finished now?

[tomhugill]

To my eye it looks like a 1 piece one, however the pictures inclusive! Cromwell continues, the battle units being installed currently

[43rdRecceReg]

Ahh,,just answered my own question. Here's a IC Hybrid (Composite) Firefly with one-piece transmission case, and the normally rear-mounted storage unit bolted up front (for additional protection?)

[tomhugill]

Battle unit and ibus in! And commander courtesy of Fynsdad.

[jackalope]

So then I can build my Firefly without the need to stretch the lower hull on mine and it can be correct? I have a H/L Sherman M4A3 105mm will I need to stretch it or could it be correct without being cut up?

[dgsselkirk]

Keep in mind the period and theater you want to portray the Firefly in first.

"Three different variants of Sherman Firefly served during the Second World War, each based on different variants of the M4 Sherman. The Firefly conversion was carried out on Sherman I (M4), Sherman I Hybrid (M4 Composite) and Sherman V (M4A4) tanks. Some sources state that several Sherman IIs (M4A1) were converted and used in action, but photos allegedly showing these conversions are in fact views of the front half of Sherman I Hybrid Fireflies.[citation needed] To complicate matters, a very small number of Canadian licence-built Sherman IIs (M4A1), the Grizzly, were converted to Fireflies in Canada and used for training, but none saw action. The majority of Shermans converted were the Sherman V/M4A4 model, of which the British received about 7,200. The Sherman VC and IC variants are easily distinguished by their lower hulls; the VC having a riveted lower hull with a curved shape while the IC has a welded and angled lower hull. The Hybrid can be distinguished by its upper hull, which is cast and which gives it a distinctive curved look in comparison to the more boxy hull of a typical Sherman."

If it is a Sherman M4A1 or IC hybrid yes, you can use the shorter chassis. However if you use the regular "flat" sloped upper than yes, to be correct it would be an M4A4 lower which is the longer hull which was the vast majority of the conversions AND was the only Firefly version in Normandy until late August. Also all the A4's had the 3 piece transmission covers...

Just depends how accurate you want to be and of course lots of guys build what ifs right?