This is a 1:48 Blitzkrieg resin model of a Sherman V Firefly that I bought to beef up my British armour in Normandy. I had to buy 1:48 to match my 1:50 Corgi Sherman and 1:48 Tamiya Wolverine.
The model comes fully assembled. One only has to add the gun. It is beautifully detailed and flash free. These are expensive models but very high quality. The only extras I have added are the baggage and the Browning in the AA mounting.
The Firefly was a specialised vehicle and the best allied tank killer of the war because it was fitted with the 17 pdr anti-tank gun, arguably the most dangerous at-gun of any of the WWII combatants.
The Anglo-Canadians and Poles in Normady took on the bulk of the panzer divisions and beat them. The Firefly was the key weapon: it was a Firefly that put paid to Wittman's career.
In mid '44 there was one Firefly per three Sherman 75s but this rose to one in two by '45.
Initially the Firefly took the Germans by surprise as they associated Shermans with ineffectual puny 75mm guns and would parade their armour past British armoured formations. They soon learnt and Fireflys were always the first tank taken out in an ambush.
The British response was for the Fireflys to hang back behind the '75s in overwatch. They also countershaded the barrel to disguise it (see model), even eventually fitting fake muzzle breaks half way down.
