1:35 Fire Fly Tank Crew

The real subject

The Firefly was a British modification of the American Sherman medium tank, into whose turret a 17-pounder anti-tank gun was successfully built. The vehicle thereby received a weapon that could deal with the German heavy tanks too, and it became a sought-after machine in British units. The crew of such a tank matters on a model: figures in the hatches give the hull its scale and a finished vehicle stops looking like an empty shell.

What the set contains

Figures of a tank crew in 1:35 scale, supplied for assembly and painting. A figure at this scale works out at about five centimeters, and correspondingly less for one leaning out of a hatch. The number of figures, their poses and their division into parts are given on the box and in the manufacturer's instructions; check from the illustration too whether the poses fit the hatches of your kit.

Building and painting tips

Try the figures dry right in the hatches of the model before you glue them; half a millimeter extra in the shoulders can jam a figure. Cut any excess material away with a sharp blade, sand and fill the seams. Choose the glue according to the material, and on parts that are not polystyrene cyanoacrylate glue will hold. Before painting, wash the figures, degrease them and give them a coat of primer. Build the faces up in layers and bring the overalls to life with a thinned darker glaze into the folds.

Who it is for

For modelers of Allied equipment who are building a Sherman or a diorama of the Western Front and want to get people into it. The crew figures can be used with other vehicles in 1:35 scale as well, if the pose and the hatch match. The model of the tank, paints and glue are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.