Cheers guys!

Well Ben, you get a second chance and that's nice.  I hope it all goes well for you...I will be looking forward to it.

tread

There you Ben, crank out a nice Tamiya kit to cleanse your mind.

BRILLIANT!

Hey tread,

Well, for a change luck has come my way!

A friend of mine over here has allowed me to purchase his Dragon 6228 Firefly which is in his stash! He is about to build the Tasca one and says he will never find time to build this one so I'm posting the cheque tomorrow and will be starting over!

This time I'll know EXACTLY how to go about the build and as an added bonus my model group top man Alan is also building this kit too and is going to assist, particularly with the PE. He helped last time but now I have the assembly sequence correctly mapped out I think I'll be fine.

Fingers crossed I'll have it in the next week!

In the meantime I'm going to build my Tamiya Jeep then build the Firefly again!

Ben

Hey man, that's a dam shame  

Sorry,it looked like it was coming nicely .

tread

Yes it was a real high wattage ............one of those lights meant to light up your backyard ! Lots of light but not a bright idea !

Hi guys,

That Panzer! OMG! Jeez, that was some high wattage lamp! That must have really hurt - particularly as it was looking sooo sweet

Anyway, I feel a lot better - that kit was running me down and was becoming a real boring chore. I feel like a weight has been lifted but it was daft to smash it - it was just a second of mad anger! 

The turret is perfect and intact as it wasn't fitted when the tank went flying so when I tackle the kit again (which I'm planning to do in the new year) the turret, fitted with RB barrel, is good to go!

In the meantime a Tasca build looks good - the 'Jumbo' interests me or maybe a basic Tamiya job to start with. I definately prefer building German armour though without a doubt! Probably because it's all I know!

The Jeep will be fun. I'm looking foward to finishing that now and sorting a base for it.

By the time that's done I can start thinking about Tigerman's GB.

Cheers guys,

Ben

Sorry to hear it bud. There has been a time or two that I simply trashed the whole kit without the demolition. Haha

Ben, am so sorry to hear about this but glad you are not alone as many of us have done the same thing.  At least you can save the RB barrel and maybe try either Tamiya or Tasca kit.  I have couple of TASCA kits and they look GREAT and they don't come with PE either.  

Shellback

Ben , in an effort to try to make you feel better and to help you realize it happens to all of us to some degree here are some pics of a Pz. 1 i had just built .

I was taking these pics when i left the photo booth with a high wattage lamp on the model .

When i finally returned the plastic had melted. Two months of work gone .

I looked at the mess for a couple of seconds , in shock of course . Then in a split second i reacted . Hurt my hand i smacked it so hard .

Hope this helps you get past the disaster .

Aw man, that's a bummer Ben.  Alas, my Dragon Firefly suffered a similar fate.  The original indie tracks were shite and they fell apart.  That's why it is sitting in the closet with no shoes.  

Cheer up though, mate.  That Dragon Firefly can be had for under $20 here or on Dragon's web site.

Don't feel alone, brother, I've stamped on a few of them myself. Made me feel foolish, but also felt pretty good on a certian level.

Regards,

Mark

Yow Ben! When I get mad I've thought about turning it into a kamikaze but so far I've just shoved the thing back in the box and walked away.

As Darren said you might try one without the PE, gosh I hate the stuff, doing a nice outta-the-box build helps me to decompress...

Good luck with the jeep!

Yikes Ben!  Sounds like you definitely pulled a "HULK" with the Firefly hull!!  Ah well, those things happen and sometimes we need to vent.  A plastic kit is relatively cheap and noone got hurt in the process.  Use the experience you gained on future builds, Shermans or not!  I'm eager to see your work on the Jeep!

Carl, yeah I remember your melting Pz II!  Can't believe how it just....uh, melted!

Hi Ben, you may not be in the mood for another Shermy for a while, but if you are looking for a beautifully detailed 35th Sherman (that does not rely on masses of PE) then have a look at Tasca's offerings.  All the fenders, sand shields and light guards are in finely detailed styrene and are a please to work with.  I'm building their British Sherman II DV at the moment and it is lovely.

Cheers

Ben , in an effort to try to make you feel better and to help you realize it happens to all of us to some degree here are some pics of a Pz. 1 i had just built .

I was taking these pics when i left the photo booth with a high wattage lamp on the model .

When i finally returned the plastic had melted. Two months of work gone .

I looked at the mess for a couple of seconds , in shock of course . Then in a split second i reacted . Hurt my hand i smacked it so hard .

Hope this helps you get past the disaster .

Cheers Tojo72,

It was all going so well but not being well versed in Allied builds and particularly Shermans I really screwed this one up. I know that a second attempt will be far more succesful. I also know what NOT to do and when to do it now!

It was a Christmas present from a couple of 18 months ago which makes it worse but the turret with the RB barrel turned out great and will be used again - I don't give up easily and will definately be buying and building this kit in the New Year! I've plenty of spares now too!

I'm going to build my Tamiya Jeep - a nice relaxing build. See my blog post which I've just resurrected from April, I had to put it on hold to finish a GB build but then decided to build the Firefly. I should have stuck with the Jeep! LOL!

I'll check out your Isherman, I think that kit looks great and definately one for the future

Ben

Sorry to here that Ben,that's a lot of time and money down the drain,not to mention the heartache.I feel your pain.Check out my post,I am working on the new M51 Tamiya Isherman,it builds up very nicely with no issues,perhaps something to look at for another shot at a Sherman.

Best wishes on future projects trying to get the bad taste out of your mouth.

Hi guys,

First off the BAD news

Okay- I had everything looking as good as I could get it to with the PE now fitted and a few little missing items fiited and other parts corrected. It still looked very rough and I wasn't feeling any love for this build today.

It was slowly dawning on me that I'd given very little thought to this build and would find it even harder when it came to detailing. My stomach felt like water because when I airbrushed the primer over it instead of making it look a little smoother and tidy of course it didn't - it showed up the horrible mess that was this Firefly in front of me. Glue marks, rough edges and PE that looked Godawful. Why do we use primer - to show up imperfections! They showed up alright!

So, in a rare fit of rage and despair I threw this model at the wall as hard as I could, instantly regretting my rash action but knowing at the same time the build was going nowhere and it just wasn't to be

Sorry to all of you who have provided help and guidance along this journey.

Now the good news (or better news at least)

The turret was a total success and with the RB barrel and Antennae mount it looked splendid so that has been retained (it wasn't on the build when it got launched at the wall). I'm VERY DEFINATELY planning on buying this kit again and the turret I have here will be perfect after today as I spent time on it tidying it up. The barrel is fixed with CA so it can't be removed.

The plans for the hull are to use it as a knocked out Firefly. Maybe next year but for now I want nothing more to do with it!

So, moving on. I will be resurrecting my Willys Jeep build which got put on hold when Andy asked me to build a StuG for his Panzer III GB. It's all good to go and left in a very nice place to start from. That will tide me over just fine until a GB that is starting in September. I've already got wip photos and a start of a blog in progress so I'll get it posted in here next weekend.

Shermans are a very different thing to Panzer III's and this was not a wise choice of kit to be my first Allied build (apart from a couple of old Tamiya things that I built a couple of years ago and ended up as test-beds).

I'll know EXACTLY what to do when I tackle this kit again. I think a basic Tamiya Sherman will be a good idea before I start this 'tricky and testing' build again. I just couldn't feel the love for this build and when the kit started getting messy and rough - well, you've just read what happens.

Onwards and upwards,

I hold out hope for a decent little Jeep now!

Cheers guys,

Ben  

I think the PE looks great.  Probably one of the more difficult things with this medium is to mate two edges together  - like on the front fenders.  I don't think you need to go as far as soldering as some do, but you do have to hold the edges in place until the glue sets.   Adding a thin strip of brass across the two plains on the inside could help strengthen it if you find it is not staying in place.

I 'm not quite sure of your question about bolt detail.  Might depend on the original Sherman hull type as three different kinds were used for Fireflies.  The Hybrid utilized the welded/composite hull type.

regards,

Jack

Stay with the PE Ben, it gets easier the more you work with it. Looks like you've done a good job with this one and expanded your skills in the process.

Not sure on the length? At present they are obviously dry fitted and I'll be wanting them to sit on the return rollers so I think when I fit them and glue the undesides of the tracks to the return rollers to make them sit down I may find I need to shorten by a link.

No big deal!

Thanks for the 'well done'! This PE was sooo hard for me but I damn well did it! When primed tonorrow with the airbrush and ab primer it should look a lot tidier.

Roy - I've looked into your suggestions and will move the rear rings and I have already lowered the turret rings. Thanks.

This is my first Sherman and I've obviously got a LOT to learn about them!

Does anyone know if there should be vertical bolt detail where the gearing housing and the main lower hull butt up together(behind the front suspension assemblies)? It looks like there is something missing and I recall someone saying about the bolt detail that should be there?

Cheers matey,

Ben

Wow Ben, its really coming along!  The PE work looks great, even if its a bit scruffy!  As far as nearly throwing it against the wall.....many of us have been there before!!  I almost had a moment a couple of days ago when a 1 YR old build almost fell to the floor  I caught it in time, but a few delicate parts broke off and I felt like taking a baseball bat to it!  Fortunately I don't have a baseball bat, but you get the picture!! 

That Dragon kit looks top rate and I love how the DS tracks fit!  Did you have to shorten them any? 

Cheers Tojo - i'm struggling a bit tbh!

I am in awe of all those who produce outstanding feats of PE assembly! I've spent all afternoon fitting those bloody PE fenders and strips to the side of my Firefly! Aagh!

Also the RB antennae base is done which worked well and the other niggly bits too.

Please don't take the mick if you so feel inclined - I may explode

I know it's looking a bit messy at the minute but the Firefly is complete (assembly, at least). I've got the spare tracks to fit tomorrow and the travel lock and then she'll be primed ready for painting next weekend.

I'm in a rush as I need to tidy up but I wanted to post a progress report!

Thanks for looking guys,

This build so very nearly got thrown against a wall today but I hunk on in there and am glad I did.

Some additional glue and tidying is needed before priming but overall - not too bad imo. Just scruffy which I don't like - at this stage I like my models to be 'tidy'!

All the best,

Ben

Making nice progress Ben,great PE work

Oh btw,

T26 - I'll get them removed! Cheers for that!

Ben

Cheers Gam!

I've got the main assembly all sorted now which then leads onto the dreaded PE which has impacted on my build speed somewhat. Last weekend I had to go to a friends house (he runs our club) for PE tutoring as I really wanted to use the lovely PE fenders up front. They are now assembled but I could not have done them without his guidance.

He refused dead to do any work on my PE and insisted that I did everything - I'm glad he did as I learnt more in them few hours as I have in total all this year. I've definaly learnt that I need a decent and chunky Etch folding tool!

I'm going to start fitting it now so will either post photos later or tomorrow.

Thanks again buddy,

Ben

Super work there Ben, lost track of her for awhile but it's great to see you back in action!