[Rubberduck]

While the latest announced JPz IV left me in a state of strange confusion, I'd say this one could be a winner. A captured Firefly, but unlike the other one with proper German camo:

[Legio LXXII]

Very nice, I like that alot. Might need to get a few of these. This is a better move in the right direction than the last announcement that had added skirts as the only difference from the previous release.

[Hornchurch]

Nah, we didn't give Fireflys away (couldn't afford to ).

Now captured Panthers ! that's another matter.

I used to belong to Hornchurch I.P.M.S. where one of our senior (much older) members, used to serve in a British armoured regiment that had no less than 6 (yes, SIX) captured Panthers, that were being used against their former owners, in the last six months of the war - one was famously named 'Cuckoo' (there are photo's that survive - somewhere).


Wishful thinking, that 'Firefly' colour scheme......

Remember - that ' Tan' coloured base coat (that German A.F.V's used from '43 on - as a STANDARD base colour).........
WAS APPLIED AT THE FACTORIES

IF (& it's a very big if) ANY Fireflies WERE captured, do you really think that the German unit in question would be carrying around stocks of Tan base coat paint, when there were FAR MORE pressing needs in weakened & understrength units (look at the difficulty in Wehrmacht fuel supply alone........ & medical supplies).

The 'Dunklegraun' & 'Rottbraun' (feel free to correct spelling !) top colours were applied using whatever came to hand........Brooms, Mops etc - & were invariably thinned & mixed with kerosene or what ever came to hand in a 'mend & make do' type situation.

Most model A.F.V.'s made by modelmakers & die-cast manufacturers nowadays give a colour-scheme impression of neatness & style, when in reality (& in the field) they could be messy & haphazard applications.

i.e. You don't see C.47 Dakota's & P.47 Thunderbolt's with messy & irregularly applied 'D-Day stripes (like they MAY have been in real life, do you???????).

[sgtsaunders]

What

How about issuing the tank in the orginal country of orgin FIRST.

[Legio LXXII]

Originally Posted by Hornchurch

Wishful thinking, that 'Firefly' colour scheme......

Remember - that ' Tan' coloured base coat (that German A.F.V's used from '43 on - as a STANDARD base colour).........
WAS APPLIED AT THE FACTORIES

IF (& it's a very big if) ANY Fireflies WERE captured, do you really think that the German unit in question would be carrying around stocks of Tan base coat paint, when there were FAR MORE pressing needs in weakened & understrength units (look at the difficulty in Wehrmacht fuel supply alone........ & medical supplies).

I'm not sure about that. There is a firefly very similar to this on the front of the book "Captured American & British Tanks Under the German Flag". I can't confirm there is an actual picture of one inside the book, but my guess is there is if there's one on the cover. I'm going to see what else I can find out.

[Rubberduck]

I got this book, it's part of a series on captured tanks from different nations.
There are pictures of both captured Fireflies insinde.
About this particular one, I don't think it's dark yellow but you can see it's been repainted with some simple camo pattern. It was common to paint numerous crosses on captured tanks but as crews were trained ro recognise vehicles by their silhouette, and not by their markings, driving around AT batteries was still dangerous (friendly fire is not a recent invention )

(click to enlarge)



About captured tanks in general, sometimes they were not just repainted but modified by the new owners. Particularly the T-34 proved to be a very good tank as it was still superiour to most of the German vehicles so they were kept in good condition.

EDIT: two interesting modified captured tanks, a Matilda II with 5cm gun in open turret and a Mk VI light tank turned in to a self-propellef 10,5cm gun.

[panzercommander]

With display space at such a premium, I just don't have any want/need for vanity pieces that served in such small numbers. I think this is just a continuation of Dragon's perception of the markets obsession with all things German. If so, they are mistaken as witnessed by all the captured T-34s languishing on retailers shelves. At least in North America, maybe different in Asia.

[sgtsaunders]

Originally Posted by panzercommander

With display space at such a premium, I just don't have any want/need for vanity pieces that served in such small numbers. I think this is just a continuation of Dragon's perception of the markets obsession with all things German. If so, they are mistaken as witnessed by all the captured T-34s languishing on retailers shelves. At least in North America, maybe different in Asia.

B-I-N-G-O !

Again, Dragon give me a piece I can buy. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful piece to look at, just not to buy. Maybe when the retailer become more selective and the Dragon Armor line become to saturated, they'll learn their lesson.

[Legio LXXII]

I'm all for it and will get a couple. I do not like the captured Firefly that has the "W" and "G" markings all over it and probably won't get that, but some of their captured tanks are pretty nice. However I wish they would make more Allied tanks that weren't captured.

I have two local hobby shops within 10 minutes of my house and they sell pretty well. The ones that sit on the shelf are Maus tanks, some of the diorama pieces and some of the T-34s. Anything German seems to sell pretty well, though there is a captured German T-34 with a gray turret that sits there and won't sell even for the reduced price of $10-$11.

[salazar]

Its seems that the guys at dragon finally have gone nuts...

There are too many german captured vehicles...They are beginning to loose interest

I purchased today altayas KVI..now thats something original...