Firefly VC Progress Pics Part 2

Dwight, yeah, I had a lot of luck with the tracks. They are going together really well and very fast. It's taking me about an hour a side to do them. Oh, did I mention, I bought a set of Friuls!! lol I totally gave up on the kit tracks. They just weren't coming out right. And I was stupid enough to start cutting the 3 "studs" off the face. So it was really taking me a long time just to clean everything up.

I don't know what I can do about that plate under the idlers. It's way too late to remove anything and start over. I wouldn't have or even know what the right part was, either. What was your source for them? I need to note it down for my next Firefly! (Yes, I have another. It's the kit version DML released before the current one. I'm planning on putting a full Formations upgrade kit on that one. Maybe it will take care of the idler problem.)

I didn't get pictures done last night. I still need ot shoot some dust and mud on it. But I did get all the parts glued back on that got broken off during painting/weathering. And I got the lenses in the headlights. I had some 2.6 and 3.0 lenses. I think I needed about a 2.8.

Take care

Bill,

You are lucky to get AM for the tracks. There are a lot of problems with the fit and alignment. But I have no choice...I have to use them.

The plates are available in one of the sprues also provided with the kit. It is a bit similar to the ones mentioned in the instructions but short enough so that they do not come in conflict with the suspension assembly.

Are they one piece tracks Bill? Dragon's are down right scary.

Tigerman,

The scariest indy tracks I've assembled so far were for an Academy M5A2 Stuart/Honey. Tiny blocks with individual separate connectors for both sides. I could only manage to build it in sections of 3 at a time and by the time one set was done, I had glue in my eyebrows and could hardly unclamp my hands from the tweezers.

Are Dragon's indy links for the Sherman family in the same category? If so, it makes a great case for the rubber band variety.

wbill76,

The Dragon indies are 3-parts per link, too.

QUOTE: Originally posted by tigerman Are they one piece tracks Bill? Dragon's are down right scary.

No, Eric. They are standard Friul tracks. The big advantage is that the end connectors are molded with the links. The hole for the pin is on one side of the connector. There are only two real down sides to them that I've found. First, you have to drill out both sides of every link. I think they are intentionally molded that way, but unless it was a matter of expediency, I don't know why. But the sections to be drilled are too uniform and too thick to be a flash over problem. Secondly, all the links are molded exactly the same way. (There are actually two types of slightly different links, one with the guide teeth molded 90 degrees to the link and the other with the teeth pointed back about 15 degrees from 90. Those are meant to go around the idlers and sprockets, mostly, but they sure don't look that much different and it probably wouldn't matter a lot if you didn't use them.) Anyway, the problem is that all the links have the hole in the end connectors on the same side. Since on a Sherman the links go the same way around the wheels, unlike a Tiger, you wind up with one side of the tank having all the pins on the outside of the track with all the nicely molded nut detail on the inside. The otherside, of course, has the nut detail on the outside of the run and the ugly old pins nicely hidden against the tank.

They are still soooo much easier than the kit tracks it's amazing! With a Dremel to do the drilling, about an hour per side compared to at least a week for the kit tracks! The sag (or correct lack thereof) is still my biggest worry.

Thanks Bill, I worded my question somewhat incorrectly, but you answered it anyway. There shouldn't be any real sag at all, unless I've been inhaling too much dunkelgelb again. Are you saying there are too many links and it's loose?

Hmmm...I starting to envy you guys for having Frui...LOL.

QUOTE: Originally posted by tigerman Thanks Bill, I worded my question somewhat incorrectly, but you answered it anyway. There shouldn't be any real sag at all, unless I've been inhaling too much dunkelgelb again. Are you saying there are too many links and it's loose?

Nope, I haven't gotten that far yet. I won't know until I actually string the tracks around the wheels. It's going to be close one way or another. It's not a matter of too many links, I can probably handle that, unless I've really screwed something up. The problem is that there's a loooong way between the return wheels, even with the cast on spring things, and Friuls are WAAAAY heavy, as I'm sure you know. But a possible answer is once they have been set for length, position, etc. to take them back off and super glue the links on the top together to hold them straight. I don't see why that wouldn't work, if I am careful doing it.

Bill, you're up surprisingly late this evening, you must have the house to yourself. LOL

QUOTE: Originally posted by tigerman Bill, you're up surprisingly late this evening, you must have the house to yourself. LOL

Partly, as a matter of fact. The wife took all the kids but the 8 year old to the Rodeo. He didn't want to go, and at $14 a ticket, I didn't see any reason to force him!!

Okay, here's my entry into the idler problem. I think that DML's wonderful instruction sheet editing/proofreading staff has struck again. Below are some pics I took this morning of my Firefly and in particular the idlers.


This is a shot shows the way the instructions say to put on the plates Dwight was talking about. Notice how close the idler is to the sponson bottom. Also, the idler is way above the line of the return wheels and springs. (Looks more like a German alignment than a Sherman!)


This one shows the idlers from the back. Notice on this one how the part of the idler bracket closest to the hull doesn't come close to aligning with the brackets on the rear hull. I thought this looked funny, but didn't know enough about Sherman's to think it through!


Okay, check out how the idler sets now. Lots of room between it and the sponson bottom, and dead even (or close) to the tops of the return wheels and springs. I managed to pop off the idler brackets from the hull side (thanks to a particularly weak glue job!) and put the "left" side on the right and vice versa. Looks a little better, hey?? But what about the alignment with the rear hull?...


As you can see, the brackets all line up now. What a surprise! I'm really going to have to start being much more careful with DML's instructions. This kind of stuff happens all the dang time!


And, just in parting, here's an overall pick of the hull after I've washed it with black, a little rust, and a few coats of drybrushed highlighting. Looks kind of stark, but I think it will all tone out.

I think you have done a nice job Bill. Really like the weathering job.

Way to go Bill. Your Firefly really looks older than mine. Well you are older than me actually. LOL.

Great job.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Dwight Ta-ala Way to go Bill. Your Firefly really looks older than mine. Well you are older than me actually. LOL. Great job.

OOOOhhhhhh........that was cold.

why is it called the Firefly???

I am not really sure. What I am sure of is the Firefly is the only Sherman variant that has a gun powerful enough to defeat the armor of Panthers and Tigers at long range.

It's called the Firefly because that's what the Brits wanted to call it!! lol

Real reason, I don't have any idea!

Thanks for the comments, guys. Except for Dwight, that is!!! (I am older, though. By a long shot! I'm probably about Dwight and Eric put together!!! lol)

QUOTE: Originally posted by wipw It's called the Firefly because that's what the Brits wanted to call it!! lol Real reason, I don't have any idea! Thanks for the comments, guys. Except for Dwight, that is!!! (I am older, though. By a long shot! I'm probably about Dwight and Eric put together!!! lol)

QUOTE: Okay, here's my entry into the idler problem.....

As soon as I read this I went down to my workshop to check out my Firefly. I was positive I was going to have the same problem, becaue I know I followed the instructions on that particular step. As it turns out mine fit exactly as do Bill's in his second set of pics. Talk about relief! I figured I was looking at yet another delay while I fixed a fit problem.