Hi Mike,

Apologies, i hadn't dropped in on the build for a while. Terrific progress, love your attention to detail, you must have great patience. Things are looking great.

Al

This is an amazing build log you have going here! Very informative indeed! I think my favorite part so far(besides the massive amount of detail) is the tool handles. The wood grain on those is exceptional!
I can't wait to see this one when it's done.

Clint

Thanks for the complements, guys!

Al, patience was that labor of love you made out of the Churchill with full interior!

As for me, my patience was sorely tried over the last couple of build / painting sessions when it seemed like everything I touched went wrong... I'm pleased with how things are turning out now that I finished a few steps, but while I was in the middle of it - I had my doubts.

(BTW: The Bronco 25 pdr. ammo box decals don't need any decal setting solution UNTIL AFTER they get positioned! Until then, only plain water!)

Clint, adding the wood grain isn't really much more work than just adding a few paint lines vice just dry brushing the wood handles. I'm still trying to get a sure-fire method with it though. The little "flying bird vee's" where the fat part of the handles are seems to be the trick.

Mike

It's been almost two weeks since my last up-date on this project, so it's about time, I guess...

Since my last posts, I've done the detail painting, to include some scuffs and chipping down to bare metal in limited, high-wear areas. All of the detail painting was done using various acrylics, mostly Games Workshop's Citadel and Vallejo. I used a silver pencil for the wear around the rims of the road wheels.

I followed up the detail painting with "oil paint dot modulation". This was followed by pin washes and heavy washes mixed with mineral sprits, oil pints, and luquin drying medium.

Finally, I added the tools and other stowage. Here're a couple of pictures of how I added the straps and buckles for the stowage:

The "leather strap" was cut from a piece of wine bottle foil to about .9 mm wide. The tip was trimmed and it was painted with Citadel Beastial Brown. The PE buckles were attached to a piece of tape, and the reverses were painted black.



After drying, the buckles were turned over and the fronts were painted black followed by Citadel Brazen Brass. The strap was cut into 17 mm long sections. Before each section was cut, the tip was trimmed and the buckle holes were added using a pin. Each section was then folded into a "V", the buckle was slipped on, and then the strap was flattened out.



These strap sections were slipped into the footman loops (see my earlier post on how I made these):



The tools were then added, and the length of each strap and buckle combination was adjusted so that the buckles would be on top of the tool handle when they were glued down. (No sense in going to all the trouble to add the straps and buckles if they can't be seen!). The excess strap was then cut from the "running" ends with fine sissors.



The strap ends were then glued with a supper glue drop placed on top of the running end (over the tool handle) and the standing / buckle ends were held down with a cocktail stick (tooth pick) while the glue set. Finally, the straps were touched up using Citadel Snakebite Leather.

I added the field-expedient track armor on the hull front by gluing down the previously painted and weathered track sections. After the glue set, I added "weld beads" on the top two end connectors of each section using Milliput epoxy putty. The welds were then painted. I added the spare road wheel and tied it on with a bit of "rusty wire":



You can see some of the chipping and scuffing around the driver's hatch.

So, to wrap all this up, here're a couple of overall shots and a few detail photos to show where I'm at right now:















The next order of business will be to mask the faces of the road wheels and idelers (that is, the outsides where they contact the tracks) and give the entire model several airbrush coats of "dust" glazes.

I'll mix the glazes with about 3-5% Tamiya Buff (maybe with a touch of Khaki), about 10% Clear Gloss and about 85% X-20A thinner. This should create a mix with very little pigment, but still enough "body" to spray and adhere. I'll build the dust up gradully, and it should tie all the high "contrasty" elements together (like the tools, markings and tracks on the hull front).

I'll mask the wheels because I want to weather the rubber track bearing surfaces with dry pigments. Also, as I add the heavy pigment weathering textures, I don't want that building up on the rubber.

So, that's all for now.

Happy modeling,
Mike

Hi Mike
GREAT BUILD!
I'm avidly taking note as the tasca firefly will be my next project(just hope it can look half as good as yours) Just a query on 2cab flag, as i want do depict a 27th armoured regiment, sherbrooke fusiliers firefly (the one that took down wittman) ive looked for a decal set with these everywhere, and i'm damned if i can find them! i noticed you said your set came from an ultracast set but i can't see it on there site, just wondered if you could find out where you did get them from would be very helpful.

cheers
Nick

I only just found this one, but WOW what a stunner

Really superb stuff Mike, keep it coming!

Mike,

Now why does this look soooo familiar?

EXCELLENT Firefly! The tools look superb, but you forgot to add the stains from sweaty hands that would bo on the wooden handles.

I plan to use this build as reference for my braille scale DML Firefly.

Nick, sadly Ultra Cast has discontinued those decals. They had sets for each of the 2CAB Regiments, but for reasons known only to themselves, they've sold out and are not re-stocking them. This is really too bad. You and I both could use some of those 2CAB flashes (along with all the other Canadian brigades and divisions)!

Maybe if there's enough demand, especially from their countrymen, they'll reconsider, re-stock and maybe even expand the range. Commonwealth armour is very much under-served by the after-market decal makers. (Although it's not as if British armour is much better off either!)

We can dream, though, that one day armor modelers (other than German WWII) in general will have markings selections like aircraft modelers. Until then, maybe Ultra Cast will see the potential market and re-print their decals.

@Jeff: Yes, you guys will have to suffer seeing it at the next AMPS meeting once again! (Maybe by next month, I'll have all the wheels on it!)

@Chris: Thanks for the kind words and compliments! I actually hope to have this one finally finished by the middle of October, so not too much longer. (I'm sure Jeff and the other guys at the local club will be relieved!)

Mike

Mike, this is looking great, and I have to say there are a lot of us out there who build even slower than you my friend. I have one question for you, I was curious as to what technique you used to paint the wood handles on the tools?

No problem, Mike. I could look at your Firefly for hours on end. You've packed a great deal of additional details into the excellent Tasca kit. It's almost a shame to paint it and cover up all that work!

But your painting is just as skilled as your building, so it's a joy to look at, too. And I KNOW I build slower than you do!

@ Jeremy: The painting sequence and colors I used on the tools -

I airbrushed the wooden parts with Tamiya, XF-59 "Desert Yellow" reduced with X-20A thinner. I then brush painted the metal parts with Polly Scale Model Railroad Paint "Engine Black."

(I use a retarder and flow enhancer mixed with water to thin / reduce all the acrylics that I brush paint with. Both are available in art supply / craft stores, usually in either the Liquitex or Grumbacher brand lines. I don't even try anymore to brush paint with the Tamiya paints, only using them for airbrushing.)

I then used Games Workshop's Citadel Paints "Tin Bitz" for the rusty areas on the metal, followed by "Boltgun Metal" for the bare metal. Obviously concentrating on the working surfaces of the tools (edges, points, etc), mostly brushing back from the working edges to the rear of the part. Not really "dry-brushing" so much as trying to allow the color to fade / thin back away from the working edges but still have good color saturation along that edge. I then gave the metal parts of the tools a wash with Citadel's "Brown Ink" to tie the colors together and reduce the contrasts between them.

I made a wash using mineral sprits and Burnt Sienna oil paint and applied that to the wooden parts allowing it to concentrate at the borders between the wood and black metal and just tint the rest. After the wash dried, I used Burnt Sienna and Yellow Ochre oil paints for the wood grain. I used each of these colors straight and allowed some of the base color to show between the lines- essentially just painting thin lines parrallel to the long axis of the wood parts. The exceptions were then little "V's" I painted on the "fat" parts of the handles.

Once the oil paints dried (allowing a couple of days for that), I airbrushed Testor's "Dull Coat" reduced with acetone over the tools.

@ Jeff: I think we're both slow because it's "the process and the doing" that we enjoy over the "getting it done and on the shelf." I know I'm into "puzzeling it out" and solving the problems and challenges of the build, so I'm not really concerned about how long it takes.

@ Juan: Thank you for the compliments. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

MIke

very well done and its Canadian, I'll be keeping a eye on this one.

Thanks

Well, what's a Firefly if it's not prpoerly "scrimmed" to the max? At any rate, here's a couple of happy snaps of the progress on adding scrim netting to the turret and 17 pdr. barrel.

I'm pretty happy with the barrel, but should have left more open space in the netting on the turret. Still, I learned something new and will have a better idea of how to proceed the next time around. All in all, though, it's a good effect and one that I'm overall pleased with.













Still a lot of work left (to include a piece of scrimmed netting for the hull front - this one with fewer "Hessian" strips and more open space).

Happy modeling,
Mike

Mike

Looking good , like the scrim on the turret.

Anthony

@ Chris & Anthony: Thanks guys. I'm looking forward to seeing the final results on this one myself.

Subscribed !!

I've been planning on building a Canadian Sherman for some time. It's something I've always wanted to do. A few months ago, I was up at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa and took more then a 100 pictures of the Shermans there in hopes of capturing the Canadian "details".

Then I stumble upon this thread and my jaw hits the floor. This is awesome work. My hat is off to you on this wonderful build!! I know when the time comes and I embark on my Canadian Sherman, I will definitely be re-reading this thread. For now, I look forward to the grand finish !!!

Hi Mike,

Great work on the tank, lots of terrific detail and a great paint job. On the scrim, can you teese out some of the strands on the turret or add some rogue ones? Looks very iniform at the moment but I'm assuming it's a WIP.

Terffic stuff, scrim is something I must try some time.

Excellent stuff.

Al

@ Juan: On the punch list. Instead of using dilute PVA, though, I will use Woodland Scenics "Scenic Cement." Works like PVA, but is already diluted, contains a flow-enhancer, and dries perfectly flat. Good stuff.

@ Alan: Too late for me. I should have done that before I set the netting using glue. It's now rock hard! I will be using some foliage cammo on the tank in addition to the netting, so hopefully, the branches and leaves will disguise some fo the "regluarity" of the turret scrim.

Here're a couple pics of the hull front scrim which came out more like what I was shooting for with the turret. Oh well, not so much a work in progress as learning a new technique. This is the first time that I actually wove the Hessian scrim into the netting. Where I got it right, I'm very pleased, so next time I think I'll have it pegged.





@ Tom: Glad you like it. It's been an enjoyable project. The Tasca Firefly is a great kit!

MIke

I have been following this with great interest. This has got to be the best Sherman build I have ever seen! I have learned a few things from this thread! Keep up the good work.

Big John

Mike,

The "scrim" looks really good. I hate that all your work on the extra track armor is almost totally hidden. What about uncovering one corner or portion to expose a tread as if the scrim was caught by something and pulled off/down/up?

But like you have said, you know it's there, just like in real life.

Remarkable Craftsmanship!

@ John: Glad you like it, but you're gonna make me blush.

@ Jeff: There was a whole lot more detail on the front hull besides the track that I hated to cover up. But with these kinda "random" effects, I'm just not good at predicting what will end up visible and what will be hidden. Guess it's sometimes better to err on the side of too much work rather than too little.

I had been planning on adding the netting and foliage from the beginning, so I just couldn't bring myself to not do it. I'm really hoping the final result will be the "look" I've been going after. The Canadian 4th AD and 2CAB units during the attacks towards Falaise really showed a lot of cammo,especailly in the early stages of the battles, so, IMO, the tank just wouldn't be right without it.

BTW: The turret rear with the scrim hanging down covers just about all of the work I did scratching the air intake grating and some "chipping" around the radiator filler cap cover that I was rather proud of too. Oh well... Can't make omlets without breaking eggs and all that....

How's that M1 coming? I'm looking forward to seeing it next month.

Mike