Post by beekster on May 23, 2014 16:22:30 GMT -5
So, as a bit of respite from the heavy expenditure of creative energy lately working on resin master patterns, I've started playing with this. It's not quite a what-if, but I have some leeway with how I tackle it since it's so poorly documented. Behold the American M4A3 Firefly, or Firefly IVC in British parlance. I'm sure you know that US First Army Group under General Bradley bypassed official procurement channels to order 160 Fireflies for American service, to be built on wet-stowage M4 and M4A3 hulls. They were to have a larger radio box to fit the SCR-528, with fittings on the box to store the M2 .50 cal MG. By the end of the war, 80 had been completed and some number (unknown) had been delivered in-theater. It has never been established if any of these were issued to combat units prior to the end of hostilities.
My choice here is to build an M4A3 Firefly HVSS. What you see is a Tasca hull and a Tank Workshop high bustle turret shell, with an RB Model barrel dry-fitted and a scratchbuilt radio box. The calipers will tell you it's about .040" wider and .060" longer than a typical radio box, but that isn't really apparent. I'll be going with a CDA-built hull from roughly December of '44, using the Q1 '45 drawing in Son of Sherman as my guide. Close enough date-wise, and it would have allowed time for the tank to be shipped to Europe and diverted to the Firefly conversion line sometime in late March of '45. I'm keeping the bow MG, on the theory that service reports would have already shown the awkwardness of the hull ammo stowage normally fitted there. I am undecided about fitting the usual gun travel lock on the left rear, since it appears that the standard front one would have worked well enough with the gun near full depression. Your thoughts on that are welcome. Not shown here is a radiator panel in the back. I used a reject copy of my M60 HMGS panel and cut it down to fit. The plan will be to use a Tank Workshop armored air deflector and have it propped in the up position so that a view from behind and below reveals the radiator.
My choice here is to build an M4A3 Firefly HVSS. What you see is a Tasca hull and a Tank Workshop high bustle turret shell, with an RB Model barrel dry-fitted and a scratchbuilt radio box. The calipers will tell you it's about .040" wider and .060" longer than a typical radio box, but that isn't really apparent. I'll be going with a CDA-built hull from roughly December of '44, using the Q1 '45 drawing in Son of Sherman as my guide. Close enough date-wise, and it would have allowed time for the tank to be shipped to Europe and diverted to the Firefly conversion line sometime in late March of '45. I'm keeping the bow MG, on the theory that service reports would have already shown the awkwardness of the hull ammo stowage normally fitted there. I am undecided about fitting the usual gun travel lock on the left rear, since it appears that the standard front one would have worked well enough with the gun near full depression. Your thoughts on that are welcome. Not shown here is a radiator panel in the back. I used a reject copy of my M60 HMGS panel and cut it down to fit. The plan will be to use a Tank Workshop armored air deflector and have it propped in the up position so that a view from behind and below reveals the radiator.
