Bolt Action Sherman V + Sherman VC Firefly

[SiamTiger]

This year Warlord Games brought along a lot of love for the British Armies of Bolt Action, beginning with the Sherman V in early summer 2016.

Dont confuse this kit with the M4 Sherman by Warlord Games as well. This one has a few minor and one big difference. First of all, this isnt an Italeri/Warlord collaboration kit (speaking resized model kit), this is a proper "gaming" kit, with the thick sprue frame and a bit less nimble small parts.

But let me introduce the Sherman V, it was the british lend-lease variant of the US american M4A4 variant. This one is the base for the converted Sherman Firefly VC, that Ill cover in a separate review later this month. Most Of the build 7.499 M4A4 units were shipped to allied countries and not even used by the US Americans themself.

What is in the box? For 20 GBP you receive 3 grey plastic sprues, an instruction leaflet and a small decal sheet. All the parts you need for the 28mm / 1:56 scale plastic Sherman.

The sprue is cleverly used and shares two frames with the Firefly VC (as the only difference is the upper hull and turret/weapon). A nice addition is the tank stowage and the two tank members added to the sprue. They are kept in the same design as the older metal variants, that were part of some of the resin kits.

As with most kits, this Sherman starts with the track sections. Quite easy to build, upper tracks, lower tracks, the suspension and the sprockets.

Those are aligned left and right to the lower hull, along with the front armour (differential cover) and engine plate in the back. Before you glue the differential cover, make sure if you want to use the hedge cutter or towing lugs.

As with all my plastic tanks, I added a bit of wheel weight to the body. After that, the hull is closed with the upper part of it.

This step is a bit fidly, as some of the smaller parts are easy to loose during assembly, so keep an eye on them.

This is a two step process, some smaller details for the back and the front of the tank. If you want to, you can keep the drivers and / or gunners hatch open.

The hull is completed so far. Next step is the turret. Pretty straight forward, not much to do here. The gun can be positioned in an elevated way, but is glued into position, no moving parts here. No options on the gun, just the 75 mm M3 L/40 gun in the kit.

The commanders hatch can be closed or open, in the later case you can use one of the two crew members. The other parts are for the detailling of the turret.

Last but not least, a turret-mg and a bit of stowage. Two spare wheels, a jerry can and two pieces of track. The Sherman has options to track guards, but as these Shermans will be used in Northwestern Europe, I kept them off.

And heres a small Sherman V/VC platoon, along with the long nosed brother in the middle. The second and third picture show all three of the plastic Warlord Games Sherman, with the VC Firefly on the left, the Sherman V in the middle and the M4 Sherman (Italeri) on the right.

As a final row of pictures, see a small turn around the tank here.

Conclusion
There is something about Warlords own plastic range. They are a bit more sturdy than their Italeri cooperation tanks (not bad tank kit though) and they cant deny their origin, as this is clear some Nottingham "plastic-craft". If youve build one of the more modern Games Workshop vehicle kits, youll know what Im talking bout.

20 GBP is a reasonable price, you get proper quality, a few options and a solid kit. Yes, the Rubicon variant has more options / variants, and Warlord could work more with hybrid kits (Id love to see the sandbag armour etc. as additional parts of resin instead of a whole resin kit), but never the less, it gets the job done.

The British received as part of the Lend-Lease policy the most tanks of all the allies, almost 80% of all the tanks shipped during this program were under command of the Empire. The Sherman V was used mostly in Northwestern Europe (some of them by the Polish 1st Armoured Division), but saw action by the Chinese in India.

Bolt Action is a brand of Warlord Games.

[SiamTiger]

Shortly after the Sherman V Warlord released the more dangerous VC Firefly - time for a follow up review.

As already mentioned with the Sherman V kit, this is a Warlord Games solo-product, not a cooperation with Italeri. Not a rescaled model kit, but a wargaming kit. As the VC was build from converted M4A4 / Sherman V, this kit is based upon the regular Sherman V kit but with a replaced third sprue, that covers the QF 17-pounder gun turret and the modified hull without MG.

The VC Firefly was an unlicensed conversion of the Sherman V / M4A4, but other Firefly were build on other M4 chassis as well, but most of the 2.100 units were based upon the V/M4A4. The Firefly saw action for the first time at D-Day and was therefore mostly used in Northwestern Europe. After the war countries like Italy, Belgium and the Netherland used Shermans with the 17-pdr gun. The last operations of the firefly are told to be in the 1970s in Libanon.

But whats in the box? The 1:56 / 28mm scale plastic kit covers 3 hard plastic sprues, an instruction and a small decal sheet. Warlord Games calls out a price of 20 GBP for this kit, the same as the regular Sherman V.

The sprue is cleverly used and shares two frames with the Sherman (as the only difference is the upper hull and turret/weapon). A nice addition is the tank stowage and the two tank members added to the sprue. They are kept in the same design as the older metal variants, that were part of some of the resin kits.

This build begins as usual with the tracks. Simple 4 part sections of upper and lower track, the suspension and the sprocket. The tracks cover the T54E1 chevron design.

In the following step, where the tracks and lower hull are build, you can decide if you want to use the hedge cutter or towing lugs. Take care to choose before you glue, as the towing lugs are placed from within the differential cover. As this will be Firefly used in northern France and other parts of Europe, I went with the hedge cutter and left the optional track guards off.

One thing you cant see in the upper step, I added lead weight to the hull. Can only recommend it.

In this step, the details are added to the upper hull. The lukes for driver and crew can be placed open or closed, along with a few small parts.

The turret is quite simple, just the 17-pdr gun, that can be elevated in a few degress. Other than that, no other gun options. The gun is glued in place and not moveable. The turret is prolonged to have room for the much longer 17-pdr gun, compared to the regular M4 turret with 75/76mm guns.

Last step, before adding the stowage, is the optional choice of one of the two commanders. Or you can close the commanders luke if you want to. The MG can be used as well, there are even documented cases of twin mgs on the turret.

For comparison, here you see the VC in the mid of two regular Sherman V, along with the comparison of all three plastic Shermans by Warlord. From left to the right, the VC Firefly on the left, the Sherman V in the middle and the M4 Sherman (Italeri) on the right.

And a short 360° view of the VC Firefly.

Conclusion
Like the Sherman V, this is a solid kit. With a bit of tinkering you could have put both into a single kit in my opinion. The price is reasonable and you get a good quality of fit and casting with this tank. Building the direct Warlord Games vehicles is fun, it reminds me of the times when I build the Mk2 Rhino, as the parts are less nimble and assembly goes faster compared to the Italeri kits.

If you want to save some bucks and are looking for a platoon anyway, go for the platoon of 3 shermans (2 V and 1 VC), as the box saves you 10 GBP compared to buying them individually.

Fireflys are a proper choice for any british army that was involved in the late war conflicts of Europe, as they were used in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. The polish 1st Armoured Division used them in Northwestern Europe and Italy as well. After the war in 1949 16 Fireflys were sold by Italy to Libanon and two were passed on to a militia in 1976.

Bolt Action is a brand of Warlord Games.

[Queeg]

Two useful and comprehensive pic reviews ..... a little unconvinced by the look of the front drive sprocket but that's a tiny personal niggle and they are still a vast improvement over the resin previous offerings.

cheers
Brent