RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Awesome, I'll look for it.

You are further down the road with your VC than I am. Nice work so far.

Awesome looking Firefly Brian!!! Are you using the resin turret and parts that are being sold on E-bay for the turret conversion? Great job on extending the hull as well!!! Keep up the great work.

Hi Reb,
Yea this is the conversion from Dgsselkirk in Canada he's on the forum. Almost finished now just the Decals to go on. That's my job for the morning decided to go for county of London yeomanry. So some more pictures tomorrow. Plus I'm waiting for the Brit commander to get here. Brian...

Looking great so far

Hi All.
Well this is my FireFly VC, so far almost done now just Decals to fit and very minimal whethering. I want it to look as it just rolled off the LCT on D Day. Here's a list of the bits and bobs I made and fitted.
1/.Lenghtened the chassis by 20mm.
2/.made loaders hatch stop bracket.
3/.fitted brush guards to all periscopes
4/.fitted tow hooks to tow brackets. The Leo 2A6 ones fit and are the correct ones.
5/opened drivers and bow gunners hatchs. On/off switch under drivers hatch also fitted periscope to hatch. No scope on the bow gunners hatch as there was no 5th man in this position it was used for Ammo storage.also hatch stops fitted.
6/.made and fitted blanket box.
7/.made commanders periscope too move.
8/.made and fitted underside engine and radiator access hatches
9/. Changed HL Wheels to Mato ones! These ones have rubber tyres.
Here's some pictures for you. Enjoy!!. Brian...

Great work Brian!

Looks great, Brian. The contrast on the tracks is really striking, it's a great way to pick out the detail.

What are you planning for the markings?

Most impressed.
I have the same kit, and have been mulling the lengthening option over, and how to achieve that distinctive M4A4 look. The more I ponder it, the less inclined I am to stick with the suggested M4A3 chassis. Your extra 20mm really does look more authentic. I just wonder how many extra links the tracks needed, and whether you have any flexing issues with the lengthened chassis... even though it looks rock solid?

Hi,
Track wise 4 extra links per side, the chassis no flex at all. I cut the chassis and put fillets on the inside then removed the battery box and lined the inside with 2mm plascard.the underside of the chassis was then reinforced with 2mm card the full length of the floor. I then used filler on the sides behind the 1st and 2nd wheel bogeys. I then put strengthen prices of 3mm card across the chassis to make the battery box and inclosed the gearboxes also inclosed the smoke unit. Along the top of the chassis above the tracks I used again 2mm card. So now I have a chassis that is stronger than it was before. I checked it along side another M4 chassis I have and that one flexed more than the one I cut. I hope this helps you decide!!. I was very worried when I cut up the lower hull but it all went well. Just make sure when you line up the chassis you have exactly 10mm gaps in all 4 places and the rest is straight forward in useing 2 and 3mm plastic card and of course some filler. I used a very small amount of it so much less rubbing down. . Brian...

Thanks a lot, Brian, for the detailed description of how you stretched the M4 chassis. I'll use it as a template for my own Firefly elongation job. Now, there's a compliment
Anyway, On another thread, there was a discussion on the respective merits of various glues and cements, when bonding resin to resin and also styrene to abs. I just wondered what brand of cement you used to bond the 2 and 3mm plasticard to the Heng Long (ABS) frame? Are you using magnets to link the upper (Dean created) hull to your chassis, or have you devised a one-off means? Resin, being brittle, snaps easily it seems..like hard chocolate.. so I wonder whether you've reinforced the upper hull and turret in any way? I thought of laminating them with fibre glass tape (car body repair type) and epoxy resin..