I am starting the TAsca Firefly Vc, and there are two styles of roadwheels in the kit, the "closed style" and the "open spoke style". The instructions list the open spokes as "optional". Would these be correct on a Vc, or are they more accurately applied to a Ic?

Thanks in advance,
Steve

Hi Steve
I used the closed style on mine. I think the open type were and earlier fit. Not just on the Firefly so keep as spares.
Others will have more info of course.
Cheers

Tony

I would say it depends on your timeframe. As Tony says open spokes are earlier so for Normandy you can can have open spokes. Later you see more Fireflies with closed wheels. You can also see a mixture of different wheels closed spoked, open spoked and dished on the same tank. Having said all that it's possible a Firefly with open spokes made it all the way to the end of the war.

Chrysler made all the M4A4, including of course the ones that were converted into Fireflies by the Brits.
Chrysler mostly used the 'closed' type [and they even appear on the M3s they made (M3A4s maybe I do not recall at the moment)].
SO
Most of the M4A4s would have been shoed with these wheels when they left the factory
BUT
tanks (as you do) change shoes sometimes and all the road types were interchangeable so everything is possible
Same for the Ic.
HTH

Pick a vehicle photo and model what is on that vehicle. I would think most Mk Vcs were from earlier vehicles and would have a higher proportion of open spoked wheels. The Ics and especially the Ic Hybrids were from later batches when the Vs ran out so would have the stamped wheels more often. Use this as a guide if you can't see the wheels in a photo, but use the photo if youhave one.

Paul

While the "open" spoke wheels being associated with earlier production tanks is a good rule of thumb, the Chrysler M4A4 was an exception ot the rule. LIke what Claude wrote, it seems that the enormous majority of M4A4s (the eventual chasses for Sherman VCs) had the closed "stamped" spoke roadwheels. In factory photos, even the earliest production vehicles have the stamped ones.

See, now, I didn't know that. Learn something new avery day. Thanks, Roy!