Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

You may also want to consider the 1st Polish Armoured Division PDF as the Poles also used British equipment during the war.

Note that Open Fire! box is currently out of stock. There's some rumours that the next print run will have the new plastic Sherman/Firefly and StuGs, but nothing concrete as to if or when that will happen..

No need to go to eBay for the rules. I doubt you'd find it cheaper than the ₤7 the pocket rulebook sells for by itself.

Late War Brits would be either the M4A4 Sherman and Firefly or the Cromwell unless you want to go for the infantry tanks or the more varied Sherman variants used in the Italian campaign.

 carlos13th wrote:
Think I might go for the cromwell box. That way I can still get open fire in the future without doubling up on everything.

There's no list that allows you to take both Cromwells and Shermans and Fireflies all at the same time and only one from Overlord that allows both Cromwells and Fireflies. On average, you'll need at least a half dozen tanks to play an Armoured Company if not more. For example, my 1,750 point Grenadier Guards list using Overlord has 12 Shermans, 4 Fireflies, 3 Stuarts, 2 Crusader A/A and a Sherman ARV and that doesn't include the motor platoon, the artillery or the AOP.

 carlos13th wrote:
Might sound stupid but what exactly are lorried infantry.

It's infantry transported in a lorry, versus being transported in an armoured half-track or hoofing it across the continent.

Also note that after taking a quick look in my books, it looks like Churchills can only support ground pounders while lorried or motorized infantry are supported by Shermans or Cromwells. Of course you could always do a Tank Company (Churchills) instead of an Armoured Company (Shermans/Fireflies) or Armoured Recce Company (Cromwells) and have three or four platoons of Churchills along with a couple of rifle platoons.

 carlos13th wrote:
How many cromwells would a Recce company require?

That's hard to say. It really depends on which nationality and book you use and what their Motivation and Skill ratings are (Reluctant Veteran, Confident Trained, Confident Veteran or Fearless Trained) and whether you want to upgrade your Armoured Recce Platoons with a Firefly or Challenger where appropriate and whether you want to go tank heavy or a more balanced spread of units and the points value your group usually plays at. I would say you'd want at least ten Cromwells at minimum to begin with.

You may want to take a look at the 1st Polish Armoured Division and the The 1st Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade Group (CIABG) Intelligence Briefings to get an idea of what you'll need or want to get.

 carlos13th wrote:
I would rather variety where avalable rather than loads of identical models or tanks. Not sure how much of an option that is though.

There will almost always be at least one or more models that will be more prevalent in your collection due to the way the rules dictate you build your company. An armoured company will have a preponderance of tanks (usually of the same type), an infantry company will have lots of infantry, etc. It's just the nature of the game. Your best bet is to decide which you prefer (tanks, infantry, armoured cars, etc.) and choose a force based on that.

The M4A2 Sherman (known as the Sherman III to the British) were generally used in North Africa and Italy. Only rivet counters will complain if you try to use them as M4A4 Sherman (Sherman V) which is the variant used almost exclusively in Northern Europe. The only problem is if you want any Fireflies as they're only on the M4A4 kit and they're distinctive enough that you can't really substitute another model of Sherman without some conversion work.

The Firefly is a modified M4A4, so they're both on the same kit (PSC and Battlefront).

Rules wise, the Sherman III and Sherman V are identical. Primarily they're visual differences, hence only the rivet counters will care.

M4A2 SHERMAN



M4A4 SHERMAN / FIREFLY VC

 carlos13th wrote:
I can see that the front of the chassis is different between the two now that you mention it. Never noticed before.

I believe what you're seeing is actually improvised armour created from spare tank tread sections, used to cover a weak spot on the front hull.

It's also hard to see especially at 15mm, but the Sherman V is also longer with more widely spaced bogies (the wheels in the tracks).

According to this website the M4A2 was 5.92 meters long while the M4A4 was 6.05 meters long. The centers of M4A4's bogies were 63.625" (162cm) apart, while those of other Shermans were 57" (145cm) apart. The most visible difference at this scale IMHO would be the armoured box on the back of the turret of the Sherman V.

Remember that this is a historical game based on real life vehicles. You don't want them to look unique, you want them to look authentic but at the end of the day they're your models and you can do with them what you wish.

IIRC, PSC is supposedly working on a 15mm British Stowage Set similar to their recently released 1/72 German Stowage Set. No word on a release date unless we can Big P to spill the beans.