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Over a decade ago, the first proper model I ever worked on was a 1/72 scale Dragon Firefly VC kit. Unlike other Shermans, the elongated gun barrel and distinctive British Sherman design on the box art deeply captivated me. Since then, the Firefly has become one of my favorite tanks.
More than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. The 1/72 scale Dragon Firefly kit has long been out of production for many years. To fulfill my dream, I decided to recreate the entire Firefly series based on the resources available to me. My first thought was to use the Dragon M4/M4A4 kits, which share the same chassis as the Firefly IC/VC. Modifications included replacing the hull machine gun port with the armored cover style of the Firefly, adding a travel lock at the rear, fire extinguishers, a gun cleaning rod, and 3D-printed tracks. It’s worth noting that the Dragon M4 kit is a deep-wading version, with the rear transmission cover differing from that of the standard M4/Firefly IC. To address this, I sacrificed an M4A1 hull to salvage a transmission cover and transplanted it onto the M4 kit, then filled and sanded the seams with putty for a smooth finish. For the Firefly IC with a hybrid M4 hull, I opted for a resin conversion kit, and a dedicated article on modifying this resin vehicle will follow later.
For the upper structure, the camouflage cloth-wrapped turret used a Black Dog resin part, while the Firefly VC turret employed a Planet Turbo 3D-printed turret. The turret hatches, gun shield, and antenna base were all 3D-printed components. Additionally, an RB metal barrel was used, along with some handcrafted tarpaulins and photo-etched parts.
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Nice collection! 
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I’ve often wondered why the British didn’t mount the Firefly turret on the M10 (called Wolverine by the British?) as it was the same turret ring size. The M10 chassis was much lower than that of any M4, and still shared the same drive train. The M10 had better angled armor protection (but probably still needed the extra bolted-on plates), and the resulting hybrid would have had a much lower profile. 
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After all, they have already upgraded the M10 with a 17-pounder gun to create the Achilles, so there should be no need to produce a tank or tank destroyer featuring a Firefly turret on an M10 chassis .That would not lead to a qualitative improvement in the tank’s performance either.(just my personal opinion).
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Well, it would no longer be used in a tank destroyer role, but as a tank such as the Sherman Firefly, but with improved shot deflection and a lower profile. All the neccessary components were available…all they had to do was modify ammo stowage for 17 lb rounds. I think it would at least be an interesting experiment just to test it’s performance.
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Good looking kits.
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