Sooo....exactly thirty months and one week ago (that's over 2 1/2 years for those of you keeping track at home), I posted pre-paint photos of my Tasca Sherman Firefly, and promised an update within a week.
I guess you could say it's been a long week. 
Between several modeling mishaps and an extraordinarily busy 2009, it's taken quite a while to finish. Here's a timeline so you can all get caught up:
July 2007: Botched the paint job, knocked off half the PE while trying to strip said botched paint job, spilled super glue all over the engine deck while trying to re-attach the damaged PE, and finally shelved the project in disgust.
February 2008: Fixed the PE, scraped off the glue, and painted it. Got it right this time.
March 2008: Got bored with the weathering process on a monotone paint job. Put it back on the shelf.
September 2008: Pulled it off the shelf to use in a diorama. Ended up scrapping the dio but finally finished the weathering.
November 2008: Painted the crew and added stowage. Pronounced the model more or less complete.
March 2009: Realized it was less complete after coming up empty at a show (goodbye, sagging tracks!)
June 2009: Fixed the tracks to be super-tight. In the process, got super glue all over my favorite pants, which made me angry enough to put it back on the shelf yet again. 
October 2009: Added more duckbills since nearly half had broken off in the process of tightening the tracks. Gave it a final dusting of pigments, and pronounced it complete.
November 2009: Forgot to post photos on the Finescale.com forum. 
January 2010: Saw WIP photos of the model while sorting through my photobucket account. Decided it was about time for my FSM forum hiatus to be over, so here we are. 
Without further ado (like I could possibly say any more than I already have), I present my Sherman VC Firefly - Tank #18, HQ Sqn, New Zealand 20th Armored. I've built it as it would have appeared while the 20th was hunting down the few remaining German tanks in northern Italy, April 1945.
Figures are Ultracast (the gunner is the kit figure), stowage is Verlinden. Netting is surgical gauze with tissue paper strips. Tracks are AFV Club, barrel is Aber, and PE is Tasca and Eduard.
Airbrushed Tamiya acrylic, markings hand painted with dry transfer numbers/insignia. Weathering with oil washes, MIG powders, and a pencil on the metal parts of the track.
The 3 missing duckbills and taillight brush guard are not intentional - I accidentally broke them while handling the model, but didn't notice until after the photos. Also, sorry for the poor photo quality - my good backdrops and lighting were in use elsewhere.
Enjoy! (and don't tell me about any missing bolts or weld seams. I'm waaaay past doing any more of that )