Firefly 008 build

[John Wiggins]

Thanks Lee, I'll try that!

Regards
John

[John Wiggins]

Another photo,
Currently using Vallejo Olive Drab primer on top off the Upol.
We're Shermans repainted by the Brits when they converted them to Firefly standard?
If so what colour did they use




Regards
John

[Adrian Harris]

> If so what colour did they use

Olive Drab of course. But not US Olive Drab, British Olive Drab...

It's a whole wriggly can of worms I'm afraid.

A series of books which Stephen White recommended, and which I can heartily second, are the "Warpaint" books by Dick Taylor. These bring together all sorts of information on British colour schemes, camouflage, unit markings etc.

Adrian.

[John Wiggins]

Hi Adrian, thanks for the info. I have ordered the Warpaint books.
I seem to remember some one posting on the subject of British paint, was it Stephrn White?
I will do another search, to try and find the posting.


Regards
John

[Adrian Harris]

I think the British paint thread was in the Comet section, as they were sometimes painted quite odd shades of green.

Adrian.

[Stephen White]

John, Adrian, can't tell a lie, it was me guv, only now I can't find the thread. It wasn't on my Comet thread.

The best bet for your Firefly, if you're at all interested in accuracy, is to paint it in Olive Drab. This is not however the conventional US Olive Drab. I'll explain.

From Apr 1944, the standard base colour for British AFVs in NW Europe was SCC15 (Standard Camoulflage Colour 15).
It was formulated to avoid the necessity of repainting US Lend-Lease equipment. Most US supplied equpments retained their US Olive Drab and UK built vehicles were painted in SCC15 with the result that the fleet had similar colours but not the same.

Where US vehicles were extensively modified in the UK, and Firefly is probably one, they were almost certainly repainted in SCC15.

So how to do SCC15? Dick Taylor's books are excellent. The other reference, which draws heavily on the source War Office orders, is Mike Starmer's monograph "British Army Colours & Disruptive Camoulflage in the UK, France and NW Europe 1936-45" (available direct from Mike). He provides accurate colour chips. If you use acrylics, the easiest approach is an equal mix of Vallejo 70888 Olive Grey + Vallejo 70924 Russian Uniform WW2. Alternatively, if you prefere Tamiya paint, the mix is: 5 parts XF81 to one part XF58 and one part XF71. Finally, if you use enamels, White Ensign Models do SCC15 but they never seem to have it in stock. You could of course use a car paint mix but the colour matches are difficult to establish with any precision.

Personally, I think given the effort that goes into our models, that taking trouble to get the paint scheme accurate is worth it. It's so easy to slap on any old car paint mix and end up with something that isn't very convincing.
Hope that helps.

Stephen

[John Wiggins]

Hi, Adrian and Stephen.

Thanks for the info. I thought it was you, guv, who posted the SCC15 mix, but I couldn't find the post.
Should have the two Vallejo colours in my paint stock. I will mix them and see the result.
No tank building today and thinking of going to Militaria show tomorrow, so probably no tank building tomorrow.
The better half thinks its good for my soul, to abstain from tanking!
Thanks for the help.

Best
John

[leesellars]

Hello John

See you there.

Lee

[John Wiggins]

Hi
Not much building this weekend. I did bite the bullet and fit the drive sprockets, which went smoothly!





Best regards

John

[John Wiggins]

Hi

Whilst waiting for the weather to improve, I want to take the Firefly outside to fill the countersunk bolt holes. I don't think the 'boss' would like me stinking the house out with car filler! decided to add some detail to the dif case.



Also add a piece of mesh to the louvre. I think the mesh is too small, I used the type that car body repairers use?



Regards
John

[Adrian Harris]

That grill is looking good

Here is a photo from one of the Bovington Shermans - I think it's the Crab

har001.jpg (87.63 KiB) Viewed 5209 times

And here is my attempt from a while ago, using a sheet of mesh from, I think, B&Q.

har002.jpg (114.05 KiB) Viewed 5209 times

There should also be a bolt running through the middle of the part - you can see the head in the Bovington picture.

Adrian.

[John Wiggins]

Thanks Adrian

You answered my question, the mesh is too small. I will take it off and visit B&Q, to find something larger.

When ever you see Shermans, with louvers, they seem to be fitted in different ways. Some with the mesh facing forward, some with top following the slope of the rear deck, some with the top following the horizontal. The drawings I've got, show it with the mesh facing forward and the top horizontal, is this the correct orientation ?


Best regards
John

[Adrian Harris]

The majority of pictures in the Mark Hayward Firefly book show them facing forwards with the to level, but there are still quite a few where they are other ways around.

What I've never understood is that what's underneath the vent is usually referred to as a grouser storage box, so I don't know why they went to the trouble of casting these vents. Other marks of Sherman just have a flat plate instead.

Adrian.

[John Wiggins]

Thanks for that, I'll go with Mark Hayward.
It would be interesting to see inside the Firefly, to what is below the louvers.
I've only ever been inside two tanks, a late mark Centurion, that was in 1965, so I don't remember what it was like.
Also climbed into a Cheiften turret, that was in a local scrap yard, possibly 15 - 20 years ago. That was tight a tight fit! It was one from the Berlin brigade, with the unusual camouflage scheme.

John

[Stephen White]

I'll tell you a story about the Berlin Brigade Chieftain colour scheme. I was serving in Berlin in the early eighties. We had a chap in the Mission who was an accomplished model maker and he had a very dry sense of humour. He made a Tamiya 1/35th Chieftain and painted it in blocks of colour, with a lot of pink (I suspect as a comment on the shirts that the officers used to wear of the cavalry regiment who provided the Berlin Squadron at the time). As the story goes, the model was on his desk when the General Officer Commmanding happened to be visiting and Foley was asked what the model was. He replied with a straight face that is was the new Army urban camouflage scheme. Oh, said the General, that's just the job. I'll tell the Brigade Commander to get his tanks painted straight away. And the rest is, as they say, a very dodgy piece of history.......

Actually it was quite effective but a pain to paint and maintain.

Regards

Stephen