Kit Review: Dragon Models Limited 1/35 scale =9139-=9145 Series Kit No. 656=
8; Firefly IC Welded Hull - Smart Kit; 675 parts (554 in grey styrene, 73 e= tched brass, 45 clear styrene, 2 DS Plastic track runs, 1 twisted steel wir= e); pre-order price US$52.95 via Dragon USA OnlineAdvantages: first offering of this specific variant by DML; new turret and = clear styrene specially done for this kit
Disadvantages: T48 tracks probably not the most common on this vehicle
Rating: Highly Recommended
Recommendation: for all Commonwealth armour fans
The Sherman Firefly was one of the few marriages of a useful gun with a us= eful chassis that worked, and worked well. The high-performance British 17-= pdr antitank gun had a short recoil and short breech end which lent itself = to fitting in the relatively roomy turret of the M4 series tanks, and so th= e conversions were made. By the end of the war over 2,100 Sherman Firefly t= anks were converted.=20
But three different models of the chassis were used: the M4 welded hull wi= th 56 degree glacis (British Sherman I); the M4 composite hull with cast gl= acis and welded hull (British Sherman I Hybrid); and the M4A4 with Chrysler= A57 engine (British Sherman V). All of these tanks were given the =93C=94 = suffix to indicate the 17-pdr along with the project name Firefly added to = the Sherman name.=20 =09 From what I can glean from Mark Hayward=92s excellent book on the Sherman = Firefly series, out of the conversions two out of three were either Sherman= IC or Sherman IC Hybrid tanks. As no differentiation was made by the Briti= sh on numbers =96 the turrets being identical =96 it is pretty much nigh im= possible to sort out how many of the tanks were =93regulars=94 and how many= were hybrids.=20
Nevertheless, while most models up to this point concentrated on the Sherm= an VC Firefly variant, as can be seen the IC and IC Hybrid bore the lion=92= s share of the work. However, the VC models got the lion=92s share of the = publicity!=20
The bulk of IC photos extant show primarily the IC Hybrids, so any informa= tion on specific IC tanks will have to come from photos.=20
Given all that, DML has provided all the bits needed to make an accurate m= odel of the Sherman IC Firefly from this kit. Using =93mix and match=94 com= bined with two new sprues and a new sprue of clear parts, they have the bas= ics for making a good likeness of the IC.=20
According to Hayward=92s plans, the Sherman IC Firefly has the modified tu= rret with loader=92s hatch, full US applique armor, a blocked-off bow machi= ne gun port, a new travel cradle on the left rear of the engine deck, flat = return roller mounts, five-spoke wheels with six-spoke idlers, =93machined= =94 or =93fancy=94 drive toothed rings, side skirts, radio box with circula= r access panels, and a choice of T48, T51 or T62 steel chevron tracks. The = only thing missing here are the skirts, albeit etched brass skirt mounts ar= e present.=20
The kit provides a plethora of options, such as any variation on the road = wheels, idlers or drivers. It only provides the T48 tracks, which while not= incorrect, are less common than the T62 type steel chevron ones on these t= anks.=20
The modeler has a choice of air cleaners, either round (assembly E) or squ= are (assembly F1/2). Attention must also be paid to opening up holes in the= hull to mount all of the external bits. There are also two commander=92s c= upolas, the stock M4 one and a British low-profile vision cupola; a .50 cal= iber is provided for the former but will not fit on the latter.=20
Technical assistance was provided by Pawel Krupowicz.=20
Only one finishing option is provided: Census Number T263113, 2nd (Polish)= Armoured Regiment, 1st Armoured Division, Normandy 1944. Considering the f= amous =93Rycerz-I=94 (T270012) from the 2nd Polish Armoured Brigade, 2nd (P= olish) Armored Division, in Italy in 1945 was a Sherman IC Firefly it is cu= rious DML included those markings with their Sherman VC Firefly kit and not= this one! A small sheet of Cartograf decals is provided for the model.=20
Overall this is a nicely done kit and one that =93completes the set=94 of = Fireflies from DML.
Thanks to Freddie Leung for the review sample.=20
Cookie Sewell