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2014/10/09 03:38:43
Subject: Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/10/09 03:52:13
'It is a source of constant consternation that my opponents cannot correlate their innate inferiority with their inevitable defeat. It would seem that stupidity is as eternal as war.'
- Nemesor Zahndrekh of the Sautekh Dynasty Overlord of the Crownworld of Gidrim
2014/10/09 04:02:35
Subject: Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
Decals are running around $13 per blister now so it would cost around $43 to get the PSC tanks + BF decals separately.
Big-ish benefit to the BF kit are one piece tracks though and you'd have to buy one piece tracks separately (at more cost) if you wanted them from PSC.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/10/09 04:08:03
Thread Slayer
2014/10/09 04:10:46
Subject: Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
Unfortunately the new decals that come in the kit are only for the Irish Guards
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/10/09 04:11:10
'It is a source of constant consternation that my opponents cannot correlate their innate inferiority with their inevitable defeat. It would seem that stupidity is as eternal as war.'
- Nemesor Zahndrekh of the Sautekh Dynasty Overlord of the Crownworld of Gidrim
2014/10/09 05:48:33
Subject: Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
You can buy decals from other places. Ebay and Skytrex have decals at much lower prices and a larger range. Don't just look for 15mm,20mm is often the correct size and check sizes roughly near 1/100 mark as they work as well.
You can also get a sharp knife and trim decals to size
Old warriors die hard
https://themodelwarrior.wordpress.com
2014/10/09 08:22:46
Subject: Re:Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
I say that's enough evidence to say that they're not the Open Fire plastics. I do wish they would have put some optional stowage bits on the sprue.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/10/09 14:51:18
'It is a source of constant consternation that my opponents cannot correlate their innate inferiority with their inevitable defeat. It would seem that stupidity is as eternal as war.'
- Nemesor Zahndrekh of the Sautekh Dynasty Overlord of the Crownworld of Gidrim
2014/10/10 19:52:40
Subject: Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
These look like retoolings. I've only put together one Battlefront kit outside of Open Fire so far (The Pershings) and it went together beautifully. Hopefully they are keeping the standard up.
"And if we've learnt anything over the past 1000 mile retreat it's that Russian agriculture is in dire need of mechanisation!"
2014/10/10 20:17:34
Subject: Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
Way too many changes in the kit just to be a retooling.
Daston wrote: Any idea how one goes about getting Sherman Crabs I cant seem to find them, was hoping the BF plastic kit would include the mine sweeper.
The Sherman 'Crab' Flail Tank is in the online store UK -> Vehicle, AFV -> Tank on page 5. A specialized unit like the Sherman Crab is very unlikely to be in plastic for quite some time (if at all).
'It is a source of constant consternation that my opponents cannot correlate their innate inferiority with their inevitable defeat. It would seem that stupidity is as eternal as war.'
- Nemesor Zahndrekh of the Sautekh Dynasty Overlord of the Crownworld of Gidrim
2014/10/10 22:38:00
Subject: Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
LuciusAR wrote: These look like retoolings. I've only put together one Battlefront kit outside of Open Fire so far (The Pershings) and it went together beautifully. Hopefully they are keeping the standard up.
The plastic allied halftracks went together beautifully as well. I've heard a lot of gripes about the open fire Sherman's but I didn't really have much trouble with them. This year of battlefront plastics releases has been great!
2014/10/14 14:33:37
Subject: Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
LuciusAR wrote: These look like retoolings. I've only put together one Battlefront kit outside of Open Fire so far (The Pershings) and it went together beautifully. Hopefully they are keeping the standard up.
The plastic allied halftracks went together beautifully as well. I've heard a lot of gripes about the open fire Sherman's but I didn't really have much trouble with them. This year of battlefront plastics releases has been great!
I had a little bit of an issue with the German halftrack hulls, however.
2014/10/26 10:30:47
Subject: Re:Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
'It is a source of constant consternation that my opponents cannot correlate their innate inferiority with their inevitable defeat. It would seem that stupidity is as eternal as war.'
- Nemesor Zahndrekh of the Sautekh Dynasty Overlord of the Crownworld of Gidrim
2014/11/07 01:29:10
Subject: Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
Has anyone bought either these or the new StuG's? They look really good, from the pictures the tracks are miles ahead of PSC's stuff.
But I do wonder if we're being lied to... because both these tracks and the StuG tracks look like they have undercuts, something I didn't think was possible with plastic kits.
The raised U shaped sections on the tracks I didn't think were physically possible to do like that in plastic...
Same as the StuG's...
The detail on the track shoe (in between the grousers) looks like it has undercuts.
Are they really that good or are we being deceived?
2014/11/07 01:47:03
Subject: Re:Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
I don't know anything about whether the track detail is possible or not. But I would imagine that one of the various sites that does FoW reviews will have a product review up fairly soon.
2014/11/07 02:15:29
Subject: Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
'It is a source of constant consternation that my opponents cannot correlate their innate inferiority with their inevitable defeat. It would seem that stupidity is as eternal as war.'
- Nemesor Zahndrekh of the Sautekh Dynasty Overlord of the Crownworld of Gidrim
2014/11/07 02:45:04
Subject: Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
Don't forget that plastic injection technology advances as time goes by and generally speaking any technology aims to remedy its flaws in subsequent versions. It could be that BF's manufacturer has more advanced machines and talented engineers who can handle the designs better. Plenty of examples of crazy detail being accomplished when the parts are properly engineered.
2014/11/07 12:51:22
Subject: Re:Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
Don't forget that plastic injection technology advances as time goes by and generally speaking any technology aims to remedy its flaws in subsequent versions. It could be that BF's manufacturer has more advanced machines and talented engineers who can handle the designs better. Plenty of examples of crazy detail being accomplished when the parts are properly engineered.
If it's really like that it's pretty amazing. It's not the detail that's amazing (though it does have good detail) but if they can manage those undercuts that's a mind blowing advance in the area of plastic models. For decades we haven't had undercuts in plastic models because the moulds are made from steel so you can't do undercuts.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/11/07 12:51:45
2014/11/07 13:36:59
Subject: Re:Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
You can do them, they just require more complex tools and more advanced machines. This also noticeably increases the costs to create the parts, and that's what makes them uncommon in niche markets like miniatures where the cost of tooling even basic molds represents a very large amount of a given company's capital. Again though, as technology moves forward the cost of doing things goes down, and you're seeing a number of miniatures manufacturers starting to do some really amazing things. The kind of work being done by Wargames Factory for Kingdom Death and Dreamforge would have been nothing short of insane to try and do in say, 2005.
This is where PSC has been awesome in prodding BF to up their game. Competition is always good for the consumer.
2014/11/07 22:00:22
Subject: Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
As far as I was aware the only way to do an undercut was to have a mould with more than 2 parts, then I'm not sure if it's still called an undercut The BF Shermans don't appear to be done like that though because that would be insanely expensive and there's injection ports where the extra steel mould pieces would have to go.
I can't say I've ever seen a plastic kit made from a 2 part mould (which all of the ones I've ever seen are) that had undercuts.
I'm very curious to see them in the flesh, unfortunately I've already bought a bunch of 15mm WW2 stuff and I don't intend to buy more until I've painted what I've already got (which may very well be never ).
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/11/07 22:01:52
2014/11/09 23:36:01
Subject: Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
'It is a source of constant consternation that my opponents cannot correlate their innate inferiority with their inevitable defeat. It would seem that stupidity is as eternal as war.'
- Nemesor Zahndrekh of the Sautekh Dynasty Overlord of the Crownworld of Gidrim
2014/11/14 02:07:30
Subject: Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
That looks really impressive. I don't have any PSC StuG's to compare, but I am currently building a bunch of PSC Panzer IV H's and the Battlefront StuG looks heaps better.
The tracks especially just look far better, more detailed, there's more detail between the grousers and the track links look more realistically sized.
The thing I'm currently hating about the PSC models is the tracks. Most people complain the 2 piece tracks are hard to assemble and have gaps... I haven't had any problems with that, using plastic glue I'm not getting any gaps and they fit together fine. What I hate about them is that there's a lack of detail where the track goes to vertical on the sprue... which is unfortunately the most prominent areas once assembled. You can see at the front and back of the track the detail really drops off and also the spacing between individual track links changes. They actually probably should have gone for 4 piece tracks instead of 2 piece, it's kind of pointless having 2 piece tracks when the extra detail it allows is obliterated where it matters most, at the front and back... the only fully exposed sections.
I also have the PSC 1 piece track sections, but they lack detail and have an annoying mould line all the way around that goes in and out of each track link so takes agggges to clean off, it doesn't take much longer to just assemble the 2 piece tracks.
Hopefully BF release more plastic tanks, if they expand their range a bit I might swap from PSC to BF for my next force even if they are slightly more expensive.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2014/11/14 02:08:20
2014/11/14 03:47:13
Subject: Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
Wales: Where the Men are Men and the sheep are Scared.
When I compare the resin Battlefront tanks to the plastic PSC tanks then the plastic PSC tanks seem to come out ahead in both quality and price. However these new flames of war plastics look like a step up in quality and may even justify the extra cost.
2014/11/14 16:23:03
Subject: Battlefront's Plastic Kit for October - The Sherman V/Firefly VC
I have been impressed with what I've seen of BF's recent plastics. I really hated the plastic tanks from the "Achtung!" boxed set, they were terrible (from what I understand they are the same as what's in Open Fire as well). But I bought some plastic Grenadiers from BF and they're really nice (I prefer them to the late war British I've got from PSC) and I've been impressed by the reviews and images I'm seeing of the plastic BF Sherman and the StuG.
It's good to have some solid competition in the plastic 15mm arena.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/11/14 16:23:32