How To: Airfix Starter Set - Sherman Firefly (A55003)

In this video we take you through how to build your Sherman Firefly Starter Set
Find out more here: uk.airfix.com/products/small-...
Usually deployed in a ratio of one Firefly to four standard Shermans, German tank commanders soon learned to look for the longer barrel of the Firefly and attempt to knock these tanks out first. In order to make identification more difficult, British crews would camouflage the front of their guns with light coloured paint, giving their tank the appearance of a standard 75mm equipped Sherman, hoping this deception would give them enough time to get in the first shot during any engagement.
Complete with painting guides, water-based acrylic paint, adhesive and a brush, this kit is a great start to anyone's model building career! To further extend the pure enjoyment Airfix can bring to so many, these new simpler to build and paint Starter Sets are perfect for any beginner. This fantastic new model comes not only come with a more child-friendly build, but also easy to model tracks for the tank to sit on.
Model build by ‪@ScaleModelMedic‬
#airfix #howto #plasticmodel

[@moparnut6286]

Very cool video just picked up one for me and my daughter to build together.

[@resrussia]

Thanks for the tip of putting a bit of glue on a piece old cardboard. I used a toothpick for applying the glue to the model.

[@tomsenior7405]

Fantastic job Airfix. When I was 8 years old, this kind of tutorial would have been invaluable. It took years to learn these fundamentals by trial and lots of error. And here they are, all in one place. Excellent Work. You are clearly committed to helping the Beginner.

[@rickrichards2829]

Thank you for this guide , started on my Sherman today, first model in 30 years after a bit of a break!

[@1hackmodeller557]

These make a lot of sense in this day/age and hopefully will bring more people into the hobby. I hope we'll see beginner sets for Churchill Mk VII, Bf 109, P-51, A6M, and a vintage Porsche to go along with the upcoming Jag. 😉

[@novicejohnd5803]

Another fabulous instructive video, thank you Airfix, as I’m a beginner modeller

[@lanatracy2016]

so true

[@alexthibodeau979]

This was a fun little video! I liked that you guys chose to brush paint the model instead of using an airbrush. The final result looked really good!

[@JoshHemingwayThewlsiMetcalfe]

Looks fantastic. Very nice model tank indeed. Thank you Airfix

[@joeshmoe9978]

Looks nice except for the guide horns going from one side of the track to the other, as a single solid piece . If this was ever retooled, the track and running gear could be split into two pieces like the Airfix Tiger 1 (to get rid of the connected guide horns.)

[@Simon_Nonymous]

Some nice tips there when spraying the primer. If painting straight onto the plastic with no primer, I would suggest a quick wash in soapy water to remove fingerprint grease. Your instructions on how to thin and use the paint in several coats are very useful for a learner.

[@e-rj8984]

Beautiful Done Job 👍🌷

[@coling3957]

A simple fix for Firefly , remove hull mg. The firefly did not have one.

[@DRSBusinessSoultions]

Any worried newbie would be reassured by the clear, matter-of-fact style of the narrative. Great video. As an aside though, why have Airfix gone for 1/72 scale? We now have another AFV release that is inconsistent with the earlier new releases of the Tiger 2 & Cromwell in 1/76 scale!

[@gleggett3817]

Though now in same scale as aircraft and other manufacturers. And scaling on 1:76 vehicles was a bit off in the past anyway. New tools can be more accurate even when simplified for the build

[@captaincool3329]

@Ralph Savage Airfix should have stuck with 1:76, I agree. 1:76 is a common scale used across Hornby OO, Oxford diecast road vehicles, and even wargaming, making all these products cross-compatible. The move to 1:72 by armour model manufacturers is just to match aircraft scaling, which needlessly chose 1:72 to be different. Airfix doesn't even release much armour anyway, so it would have made sense to keep the same scale as their vintage classics range.

[@vordanijczyk4419]

The model is nice, but I was very surprised when it turned out that I have a ready-made chassis in this set. Polish decals are great, although our Polish TORO MODELS produced them, which is not a measure for Firefly destroyers

[@julianmhall]

With the multiple layers of thin paint you didn't mention minimising the visibility of brush strokes. Disappointed there was no mention of accentuating details with a wash, as it would be easily achievable even for a newbie. Just dilute the black supplied much more than it was for painting, then brush over areas of detail like the wheels and maybe the tools on the hull. Any excess could be dabbed off with / soaked up by, a paper towel.

[@udorechner6846]

Very nice and informative video. One thing you forgot to mention. At first all of the parts on the sprues should be washed in soap water to remove any residues from the production process. This would help the glue and paint tohold onto the model later. 😃

[@WulfCorbett]

Considering this is a new tool kit it's a pity you didn't actually make it a Firefly by removing the hull MG...

[@sniperguy-ic6lx]

haha thats funny

[@Simon_Nonymous]

Indeed - it's these little things that make big differences.

[@karson450]

ƤＲＯ𝓂Ｏ𝕤ᗰ 😝

[@vhjmvn]

Simple, yet too simply designed without bottom plates for the turret extension and the sponsons. These and the tools being flat parts of the hull make this toy unfit for the step to advanced modelling and true learning about the real thing. It may be a good starter, but what does the maker say when he gets a model with 45-65 parts?