Airfix 1/72 Sherman Firefly Vc, Step By Step Build, Model Tank Full Build

[@blairframpton9196]

I made a couple of Matchbox 1/76 Sherman firefly’s in the mids 80’s. I still have them.

[@georgewilson5303]

Very nice. Nice relaxing build. Looks good. I just finished my sherman m4. Not to paint it. Finding out it hard to get the look your going for useing acrylic paint. But I don't really care for the other paints. Acrylic are very forgiving. You have a happy and safe day

[@tornadofairy5376]

Just picked up the gift set version of this model from Lidl's for £6.99. A bit different from this one, only 2 sprues, just the one piece track and running gear combined, no optional link and length tracks. Instead you get the little paint pots, a brush and a small tube of glue.... Markings for one tank only, 1st Sqn 2nd Armoured Regt, 10th Armoured Brigade, Polish 1st Armoured Div. 1944, so with the regular boxing you have 3 schemes between them. The box is end opening, one way to spot the difference!

[@stuartblakeston3986]

Hello I have only just found your channel and your videos are excellent I still have airfix sherman 172nd tanks I made for wargaming in the 1980s. After years I am returning to the hobby and am building an Allied armour force again After watching your video on the new airfix 172nd sherman firefly I'll be buying 3 to add to my normandy wargame board Thank you for the review and the inspiration it's given me

[@the.just.able.biker67]

Excellent 👍 Ive just started building this today, and I'm glad I watched this video before I moved on from the lower hull. I'll keep an eye out for those track link parts that need trimmed, and I'll have a go at making the light surrounds as well.

[@OneofInfinity.]

Great finish. Weathering brings them to life, now some 20mm AB crew.

[@johnbrown7858]

Excellent build. At 1/72 this is not a very big model. Lot's of small parts. The paint and weathering are top quality. Thank you for posting.

[@michaelperry4308]

Just a point, the undrilled muzzle brake is so you can make it as a 'in transit' configuration with the bag fitted to keep out the dirt from moving in non battle areas.

[@TheRyatt]

You've made a basic kit look so good. It must be great to have the skills

[@Andrew-se4tg]

Glad to see airfix doing actual 1/72 armor...

[@doejon9424]

Very cool ! And you are correct.. the British Sherman Firefly w/ the 17 pound cannon was a very formidable advisory to German Tigers. Many times german armor would mistake these for "normal pea shooter" M4s and just get rocked into a uselessheap of molting metal (or so I've read in various books). You did an excellent job ! Subscribed.

[@ChileanWagner.777]

It was actually a Sherman Firefly if I'm not wrong that killed Michael Wittman in his Tiger tank.

[@doejon9424]

@@ChileanWagner.777 It's most likely true. But not 100% known for sure. All we know for sure is he has 100+ tank kills. Which is crazy. We also know he got too comfortable

[@ChileanWagner.777]

@@doejon9424 If that's true. That means that he got to trusty with his tank. Could be a possibility.

[@doejon9424]

@@ChileanWagner.777 or his crew

[@doejon9424]

@@ChileanWagner.777 he created a battle within a battle, inside a war. A unique tanker for sure

[@stevesinclair4159]

Wardaddy : Best job I ever had!

[@tomroland5467]

Really enjoyed your build. Looks like a nice straight forward project which I'm sure is what Airfix intended.

[@Simon_Nonymous]

Good to see the bow MG is now not modelled, thanks for the video

[@briansmith6862]

You mentioned about not adding texture to the turret at this scale. I use this method: a coat of primer evenly over the surface, then with the same primer in the airbrush, spatter over the wet surface by 'flicking' the airbrush trigger back and releasing. This builds tiny blobs of primer over the surface. Go easy, less is more here. Dry it quickly with a hairdryer, then repeat the process little by little until you have the effect you want. If you're not confident using an airbrush to do this you can do the spatter with a toothbrush. Great vids.

[@anyblunder6782]

Very nice build of this basic kit.

[@kevinhale9400]

There is a difference in the running gear on later Tigers. It is in the positioning of the lead wheels. I’m not sure which way round these differences are on the relevant marks but the outer most wheels take the lead on one of the marks but behind the foremost/aft on the other mark. There was an excellent article in one of the Airfix magazines, which I miss a lot. Are these magazines still in print. I would really like to know.

[@SteveJonesScaleModellingSite]

Terrific work. Luv the dust finish. Lovely work all round

[@Krejii05]

Built this and the tiger recently as my first model, it was fun, did mess up a tiny bit on the sherman, but the tiger so far is going good

[@rcboaterbill7173]

Excellent video- very informative. I just started on my model today- I picked up some useful tips for my build. I’m going to try out some of your weathering tips! One comment on the build: I don’t think “dark rubber” is an appropriate base color for the steel chevron tracks- no rubber there! Most builders start with a dark rust color…

[@mikesmith2905]

Re 'who it's for' - Since retiring I have been making up sets of 'toy soldiers' to give away, for reasons of cost I opted for 1:32 for 3-8 year old and 1:72 for 7 and up.. Thus far most of the recipients have gone on to add more items to the sets provided (I do offer suggestions in the attached notes) , now that Armourfast have gone I'll need to spend a bit more and this looks like a viable candidate. Hopefully they'll do a Mk5, this would look a little odd next to their old 1:76 Shermans. Some youngsters do make display models but most just want more toy soldiers or kit for wargaming and cost is always an issue. I hope I can give enough of them 'the bug' so kits will still be available for me to buy and enjoy.

[@neilrobinson1956]

Cracking job, nice finish and a really good video to follow for guidance and tips.

[@huwtindall7096]

I've got to get me some of those dust effect washes and pigments as my WW2 western europe allied armour looks so boring in just the green. I've done a fair amount of dry brushing to get dust style effects in there but it's nothing like the quality here. Also good to see Airfix getting around to retooling some classic kits. They are clearly making a concerted effort to revamp their scale modelling line up with things like relaunching the Airfix Club and changing the plastics and releasing new kits. For such a venerated brand name it's about time they upped their game to compete with some of the more modern kits. Guess they'll always be more beginners focused, and there is nothing wrong with that. In fact it's probably crucial to have a big brand making fun and easy builds to get beginners in. Imagine if a Dragon kit was your first build!?

[@BrianSanders-tn7pi]

Hi. The door on the side of the turret was used to chuck out fired shell case's. Although I don't think the crew would have liked that in the heat of battle.

[@melvinjohnson2074]

Good show, mate!

[@Fred-Wilbury]

Happy new year and nice vid just finally getting mine built 😮 regards Fred

[@darrenhillman8396]

Lovely job! You have a like and a new sub!

[@toboldlygosmodelworks1973]

It's a really gorgeous little tank

[@foreverplastickits138]

*The Firefly was feared by the german armored forces because of its gun, mortal for all the german tanks at its time. But make a comparison with the Tiger is very hard, because the Sherman was a middle tank and the Tiger an heavy one. Thousand of Sherman were produced, but only 1400 Tiger (which fought on the Eastern Front too). Finally the industrial power of USA and USSR made the difference. The dust on your kit is very realistic, 👏👏*

[@gsken6180]

Nice work!! It's coming soon in japan.

[@Hateweek1984]

I do resin printing and am working on an M4 Sherman..i wish there was more "decals" available for self printing instead of having to buy waterslide decals...

[@ChampionScaleModelling]

If you can self print them on to decal paper then all the insignia is freely available as images and you just pop them in Word or similar then print them out, whites are tricky though

[@PeteCourtier]

Great stuff. Builds up nicely. 👍

[@alesisplayer2493]

The Firefly Shermans was put with normal Sherman’s 1 firefly to 3 or 4 Sherman’s ,the Germans tank commanders got wise and was ordered to take out the firefly first. So the Fireflys tank groups camouflaged gun,making it look shorter, the 17lb gun couldn’t go in the turret the normal way,they had to turn the gun sideways to make it fit. Great Video btw 👍👍👍

[@iatsd]

They started out in Normandy at ~1 in 4 for a troop, but by war's end they were up to 2 per troop or the troops were using the 76mm Shermans, or in 2 divisions, the Comet had come in. The gun wasn't turned sideways to get it in the turret. It had a new breech system to get it to fit and that breech worked at 90 degrees compared to the older models of 17pdr. (The recce regts had the Cromwell's and, by wars end, either a Challenger per troop of Cromwells or a dedicated Challenger troop per squadron)

[@modelloverman]

*An excellent tank, the mud turned out especially beautifully) And which military unit was it from? Or did I not hear?) I need to draw the same thing, only the paper model will be a little more complicated on a 1x35 scale model. Cool British Tiger Hunter;)*

[@hijinkstodeath1722]

Wonderful lil guy!

[@lappin6482]

Sherman time!!!💯👍

[@BasicModelling]

Very good, Sir.. :)

[@tomoldaker1268]

This was the first amour build I did, I’m upset I didn’t find this video before I made ir

[@thescalemodelclub1952]

brilliant video loved it

[@DRSBusinessSoultions]

Really good guality build and video. Surprised and disappointed though that Airfix are starting to roll out 1/72 scale armour, rather than sticking with 1/76 scale, as per their Tiger 2 & Cromwell kits....now their range is inconsistent.

[@sirbachelorboredmen1314]

Fortunately for me, the scale is standard

[@professional1298]

thier range was already inconsistent and 1/76 isnt nearly as popular as 1/72. 1/72 is pretty universal, submarines armor and aircraft are all in this scale meaning the possibilities for dioramas is endless. i mean to be fair it also has the "fist of war" series by modelcollect meaning mech tanks and UFOs

[@craighanson9694]

Great video. Thanks. Will you consider doing a beginners series on air?

[@GEEISKING]

Could this 'tutorial' also work for the Tamiya 1/48 M4?

[@alexandremarcelino7360]

Muito bom! Eu sou colecionador na escola 1/72

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

Nice video nice build!!!

[@Red-rl1xx]

Looks good!

[@polmao5959]

May I ask, what is the average height of a 1/72 Tank Scale in Centimetres? I have been trying to find the exact height of one on Google but google keeps giving me in inches or foot, I dont know any of this but anyways great vid! 👍

[@ultimatebucco3181]

I would say 3 to 4 cm.

[@Simon_Nonymous]

find the height of the real tank in centimetres, and divide that by 72.

[@daveansell2418]

What glue/dispenser are you using there please?

[@ecconomicus]

Nicely done! How did you paint the base colour? By brush or an airbrush?

[@kevinhale9400]

That raised semi circle is called a chevron.

[@yorkshire6458]

Just some information the American Version didn't use the 75 mm Canon (firefly) only the british Tank Regiments used it.

[@mrjockt]

Most Sherman’s used the 75mm gun (the M1 variant I believe, the same gun as used in the M3 Lee/Grant) the Firefly used a 76.2mm (the 17 pdr.) and later U.S. Sherman’s used the 76mm High Velocity gun which had similar hitting power to the 17 pdr.

[@yorkshire6458]

@@mrjockt sie müssen geschickte richtig information holen, english Sherman Tank firefly genannt haben die englische Panzer Regiments nur gehabt

[@reefhog]

Cannon, not Canon. Canon is a brand name for cameras and printers.

[@milgeekmedia]

It's interesting that Airfix chose to bring out this kit instead of doing a improved retooling of their vintage 1/76 M4 Sherman. It's like they have chosen NOT to please anyone (though I reckon they had realised that nobody was buying their old M4 any more). Looking at this model, t looks only *slightly* better than the old Matchbox (Revell) Firefly, again in /1/76. What a shame.

[@Kettleman1.0]

My first model tank ever! Gosh it looks so bad on my shelf next to my better models.

[@HemingwayDonna-w3m]

Ferry Light

[@carlosescobar6973]

Niceee 👌!!!

[@cherchezlesoir7166]

Its old matchbox? Aitfix never did a firefly?

[@captaincool3329]

It looks good, but I won't be buying any as I only do 1/76- in my mind, a vastly superior and universally compatible scale to the upstart 1/72. So I went and got some Revell Fireflies instead.

[@willthorson4543]

Naaah...the firefly was ok but it didn't match up with 76 or 88 mm guns because of the space inside of a sherman turret. There literally was no room. The gunner had to put himself into crazy positions to shoot the gun. And when it fired, it kicked up a bunch off dust. Which along with the gun having to be put back on targets. A crew just couldn't fire the main gun quick enough. Yes the 17 pounder was a great anti tank gun. But being crammed and shoehorned into a turret not designed for it made it way too complicated.

[@ChileanWagner.777]

Maybe if they made the turret more big the tank would be as powerful as a Tiger.

[@bobbybates2614]

I think there was two firefly to every tank battalion

[@insomniacbritgaming1632]

why do people glue to the visual side of the model?? this is something that really irks me, if you can't glue the underside of the piece to join in, pre glue the piece before attaching... and it doesn't look nice close up either

[@russouk]

armourfast are far better 2 kits for min ive paid "£8 for 2x jagdpanther cromwell,su85 cruiser panther stug IIIetc really good detail..tho dont think do tiger

[@rickmoreno6858]

I wouldn't say the fire fly was better than the tiger. That was a funny joke. The 17 pounder wasn't even the best at gun. The American 76mm was way way better than the 17. Hell I'd say the 75mm was better than the 17.

[@donhlohinec2242]

Toward the end of your commentary you stated the obvious, that you are a modeler & you require more detail in your builds. I & many wargamers are okay with less detail & easier builds so we can get many of them out on the table quickly. So I feel that yes dragon & other kits have more detail for modelers but as a wargamer it is good enough. There is your niche

[@brendaneric8333]

I'm Alone 😍😥

[@reaperofsouls7700]

Me too