F is for Firefly

An unprepossessing name for a vicious little critter which did a lot to help win the war, and yes, lots of things make that claim, SOE, SAS, Bletchley/Ultra, Bomber Command, Fighter Command, Trinity, Boeing, Hobart and his Funnies, Rolls Royce and their wizard, and to be fair, they all played their part, but this was one of the balance-tippers!

 

Back during a more combative phase of the Blog's past, a lot was made of, and opined, about the announcement by Airfix of new 1:35th stuff, which in fact took forever to get to market, were finally released a couple of years ago, weren't model kits, nor full ready-mades', but rather clip-together, and only appeared - locally - earlier this year, in Hobby Craft, where I shelfied them.. But I thought I ought to actually get them, which I recently did, and this is the first of two posts on the subject.

 

The Airfix 'QuickBuild' Sherman Firefly, a clip-together model which uses the Lego (Hestair-Kiddycraft) mechanism, for that constructive element, even to being compatible with 'other leading bricks', but an addition to your Lego tub it ain't.

 

Everything comes in one bag, with separate instructions and a small, basic sticker sheet, the grey block to the far left is the only piece which might be useful to a Lego fan, being a large, five-way, stud direction changer.

 

My first criticism, and it's far truer for the Sherman than the Tiger, is that the track-links are a bit wank. They go together OK, until you try putting them on the vehicle, at which point they reveal weaknesses which totally destroy the 'playability' of the 'toy', as the slightest carpet-move produces breaks in the tracks?

 

The most Lego-likey element is the instruction sheet, which has full colour stages, each of which involves only three or four parts, highlighted by not being greyed-out, and tracks aside, there aren't many parts, (around twenty-five/twenty-six?), and most of them are chunky bits!

 

Second - obvious - criticism; I had a large spigot of [failed release-pin?] plastic on one of my hull sides, which prevented the construction, until removed, although it resulted in a useful piece of 'styrene rod for the spares box, so "Every cloud . . . "!

 

Turret components, result in a reasonably robust turret, with revolving action utilising the twin-lug system from Tamiya, rather than Airfix's traditional central spigot, for a firmer attachment. Frankly though it's a simplified and toy-like rendition, but that's a criticism for the whole model, and it is meant to be a toy first, and a Sherman second!

 

A small accessory runner in a different colour, this is identical for the Tiger Tank, and contans the turret-interior retaining-piece for the gun-barrel, a jerry can, two ammo-boxes and a pointed entrenching shovel.

 

Running gear; quite simple and straightforward, it took me a minute or so to work-out how the two halves of the drive-sprocket went together, but that might have been more about the need for proper glasses than any failure of my mental faculties, or errors in the instructions!

 

In the end, three useful looking pieces of waste plastic joined the greeble stash! There were a couple more on the track runners, but the tracks are definitely a different polymer, probably polypropylene, which is as much of a nightmare to glue as polyethylene, so they both went to recycling!

 

It definitely looks the part, and, in real life, must have come as quite a surprise to the big cats of Nazi Germany, but it's not terribly accurate, nor that detailed, and certainly not as detailed as it could have been, in this scale. It states 1:35, but seems closer to 1:32nd, but that might just be me, and I'm notoriously bad at judging scale.

 

Although, conversely, the underside has quite a bit of detail, compared to other Sherman models over the years! Also, you can see in this shot, how the drive sprockets don't actually engage the tracks and have been made ridiculously wide as a result, just to keep their teeth away from the track rod ends!

 

The two 'spare' track links don't clip in, and keep falling off, but there are actually quite a few spare links, so you can field 'appliqué' your tank with extra frontal armour!

 

 

 

All-in-all though, a disappointing effort, with track issues that render it unplayable once built, the simple construction is a plus, not including the tracks (and my sprockets!) it can be assembled in about eight-minutes, no more than twenty with track-faff, but simple detailing and stickers, leave it as a toy you can't push anywhere, for fear the tracks will part like the red-sea. I think 7-out-of-10 is a generous score?

F is for Follow-up - Dime Store Row Crop Tractors

The first of a few (?) follow-ups to things seen recently here at Small Scale World, and it's those pesky row-crop tractors, a design which never took off here in the UK, indeed, while there may have been a few demonstrators, or experimental imports, they were never a 'thing' over here at all, but, nevertheless, British toy companies ran with them, as mould-swaps or straight lifts from US dime-store vehicle manufacturers, and may have instigated some?

 

Partially as a follow-up to this post;

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2025/11/m-is-for-mohawk-and-more-military.html

 

A line-up of the recent additions to the genre, with from the left marked Tudor Rose, x2 unmarked, marbled blue is slightly larger, both likely British, possibly Tudor Rose or Kleeware, the previously seen (in the above-linked posts) marked Made in England in military green, and a marked Banner in dark blue, The last two being bigger again, but not the same. Obvious differences in wheels, also contribute to the question marks.

 

Comparison between the Banner and unknown tractors, frankly the unknown (which I floated as possibly Kleeware last time) is the better moulding, did it come first, or was it re-cut? Maybe it was a mould swap with someone else - Pyro, Wannatoys or Wyandott - with the Banner being a copy of whatever donor's tool, the England mark was using?

 

I then found the military pattern Banner-marked version, so re-took the comparison, light conditions differed, so here's two, the lower image is eye-true colours, and you can see how the engine details are cleaner and more symmetrical on the Made in England - left hand of each pair.

 

The two Banner's, the blue one is marked Banner USA, the military-green one has had the USA removed, otherwise they are the same, and one wonders if it's a case of domestic and export, and if so, which is which?

 

They both have a hole on the right side of the engine-bay, which could be for a missing flywheel (more normally found in the other side in the UK, when present), or a higher-price-point's clockwork conversion, unlikely as the wheel is partially obscuring it?

 

The two known British ones, they are different mouldings, with the yellow Tudor Rose one slightly smaller, and only marked in the upper portion of the hollow engine cavity, while the 'army' one has the Made In England along the length of the engine on the right-hand side.

 

A larger, closer to 1:32nd scale, soft polyethylene Tudor Rose row-crop, in reversed colours from the smaller one, which is an earlier 'styrene, or less stable polymer (phenolic or urea-formaldehyde type?), but with perfectly stable polystyrene wheels.

 

Kleeware marked wreaker-truck (a straight mould-swap of the Pyro dime-store model) behind the 'England' pulling its gun, just for a colour study between the two, and because it was kicking about! The gun is a much copied design, and really, I don't think anyone knows who did it first (Auburn Rubber?), or in what size! And - of course - there was that close connection between Kleeware and Tudor Rose, and between both of them and Pyro on the space-stuff.

 

This artillery combination appears to be the one seen in this post;

 

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2016/11/d-is-for-dimestore.html

 

Where a mix of a Bell machine-gun, a pair of unmarked Gilmark (possibly Tudor Rose) AFV's in bright colours, and some of the 'Built-Rite/Hardy/Kilty/Loeser/Spencer' semi-flat GI's were all found together with the tractor-gun combo'?

 

We've looked at them before, and looked at three versions of the Merit (J&L Randall) offerings, with solid wood, solid-rubber and hollow-backed plastic wheels like all the above. When I've got them all together, we may be able to work out a timeline of piracy, from US originals, to n'th generation Hong Kong clones!
 

All six. This post doesn't prove anything, but it didn't set out to, beyond the fact that there are many of these, and their heritage/origins aren't clear! When marked, we can say, they are what they claim to be, even if the tool is someone else's, but when unmarked, it's all a bit grey. More images are here;

 

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2025/03/b-is-for-banner-and.html, and I bought them in the end!

 

And knowing at least one was used as an artillery-tractor, I'll have to look at them all again, with the guns present? There were several already in the stash, mostly military green ones, but there are some other 'farm' ones.

K is for Kennedy Space Centre - Helicopter

I think it's fair to say this helicopter is a bit fictional, looking more like a deformed Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw from the 1950's, rather than the famous Sikorsky SH-3D Sea King '66' of the Apollo programme, but then this set probably predates the Apollo missions by a year - my cursory investigations suggest these sets date from 1968, the set was renamed the Johnny Apollo Moon Launch in 1970?

 

In the simple style of a dime-store 'readymade' but in a soft, polyethylene plastic, like the T.Cohn/Airfix vehicles in the shops at the same time, rather than the more frangible polystyrene of the true 'dimestores'.

 

The hook and string are missing, usually a sturdy length of button-thread, I'll have to hope one turns up on a damaged model, going cheap! There was only one helicopter in the set, one of the few pieces not duplicated.

 

The bulges seem to be an attempt at the flotation wheel-housings of the Sea King, but placed up on the top of the helicopter? It's a 'space helicopter' isn't it? For a space station! It's certainly in 'space toy' metallic blue plastic!

F is for Follow-up - Noreda and Injectaplastic

I mentioned in a comment the other day that I try to avoid 'khaki' subjects in December, and that's true, especially the more war'y stuff, but the odd bit gets through, and these ready-made AFV's are a perennial favourite of mine, with two purchases in recent months, both European brands.

 

I think this is the Injectaplastic Jeep, with a gun that's new to the collection, the owner has added waterslide transfers which some of you may recognise from plastic kits (Airfix and Esci - I think?), and which completes the line-up with their Munga and Kubelwagen, both seen here passim. It's darker green than my existing sample of these, though.

This was in the same purchase and is the Noreda one, which I seem to already have, but the trouble with show-purchases is that you are pressed for time, and have to make split-decisions on whether or not to buy something, based on what you can remember having, what you think you may have, and/or what you've seen and/or posted from elsewhere!

A comparison shot with the Triang Minic tin-plate in clean state, but missing it's key, hopefully I'll have one in the spare key zone! All a similar kid's handful size, and two of them needing a comparison shot on the Airfix Jeep page!

 

Also with the two jeeps and gun, came this truck with yet another take on that 1950/60's staple, the twin AA 'pom-pom' gun, now euphemistically referred to as a 'technical'! Again this seems to be Injectaplastic, from the wheels, and is new to the existing sample, but needs paint-removal, before I take better shots.

 

Then I picked these up last Saturday, from Tony Herrington, long time 'plastic warrior' who was stalled-out at the London Toy Solder Show, these are the Noreda truck we've seen before with canvas tilt and GS trailer, but now, also, as a tanker version, with tanker trailer and an additional 'goulash cannon' field kitchen.

 

The kitchen, while simplified for production in one shot as a pocket-money toy, follows the basic design very well, we had similar trailers on field exercises in the 1980's, four hot-plate/bain-maries over an oven and grill with the chimney long-enough to take the gas fumes (wood smoke or burnt oil in earlier times) away from the faces of the troops operating the equipment, or queuing-up for 'range-stew' - baked-beans, tinned potatoes and tinned mixed-vegetables cubed, with cheap sausages, diced in a thick gravy!

R is for Renwal . . . or not?

Further to the earlier post, and in part an answer to Andy B's comment on that earlier post, I already had one of the tanks Brian sent, but mine was marked Renwall and is silver and green. Brief research (a google images results page!) reveals that they come in reversed colours as well - green body/silver turret &ect . . . missile, gun, whatever. A rule which breaks-down on the single mouldings, as seen on Ed's Blog with the Army Ambulance, where you get one or the other!

 

Brian's donation on the left and my sample on the right, it's possible they are trying to depict the M103, a heavy tank designed to face-up the JS/T10 series of Soviet biggies during the early Cold War, which, unlike the Stalin's or Britain's Conqueror (that all looked 'heavy'), was more of a scale-up on the M46/7/8 series, and looks quite normal in some photo's?

You can see clearly, that where mine is marked 'Renwal' the new addition has a clear remnant of mechanical scrubbing on the tool to remove the maker's mark. I think Plasticraft bought some Renwal tooling, could the all-green (more realistic) one be a Plasticraft issue? It's also a different shade of green, but I've seen other colours/shades so that proves nothing!

Another silver/green marked Renwall combo', they all have other markings including a title block, normally on an upper (normally visible) surface, and a stock-code/tool-number, along with the branding, usually underneath.

 

And another, this being a sort of giant Sparrow Missile, doing service as a Nike/Ajax anti-Nuke' SAM. Sadly, it's not a working "You'll 'ave yer' eye out..." toy, but a useful item for space bases and the like.

 

Comparison with the Norada we saw the other day (back), possibly also trying to be an M103? The Airfix 'Pershing' (front, nominally an M26?) and a diminutive, carded Marx cap-firing die-cast to the right!

M is for Military Marvels from 'Merika!

So, around the same time as the show the other week, I got a lovely parcel from the other side of the pond, and having covered the show a couple of weeks ago, and Peter's stuff from it, last week, it's time to show gratitude to Brian Berke, by sharing his plunder with the rest of the loyal readers, and we're starting with the military, in what was a vehicle-heavy donation.

This should be a Renwal readymade, very much in the same vein and size as the similar Airfix Attack Force, or stuff we've seen here from Injectaplastic, Jean Hoefler, Manurba or Norada, but this one isn't fully-marked, and has already led to a follow-up! It's quite 'space-tank'y isn't it?!!

 

Gilmark's Sherman behind and a lovely, early, polystyrene, US-made Lido jeep, trailer and gun in front. Following the pattern of the 25lbr and quads, I suspect some artistic licence from the 1950's dime-store supplier, with the very British limber added to a jeep, and a gun closer to the early war 37mm, which, although quickly rendered ineffective by advances in German armour, remained far from obsolete, retained as a very useful infantry support weapon, and which WAS towed by jeeps, among other tractor-vehicles.

 

It is a sad inevitability, that Royal Fail have to take their boatman's coin from pretty-much every parcel from Brian, Chris or Peter, and on this occasion it was the Auburn jeep which paid the price. No matter, I will glue it, and before the cyanoacrylate dries whitish, shoot it with the Airfix jeep for that post, on the Airifx blog.

 

Annoying though, as I'm pretty sure I have the original Auburn Rubber 'rubber' one somewhere (chunk of PVC), and having the polyethylene replacement turn-up is a fine showing of the other side of that coin!

Also the Auburn one I think, or 'based on', although we have seen various versions here over the years, not least the Banner, Bell, Lido and Merit ones, but unmarked and a clean mould-shot, so probably one of the US 'army man' issuers rather than Hong Kong's finest?

 

These on the other hand, are Hong Kong, but rather uncommon 'German' blue plastic, probably from Ri-Toys (Rado Industries), and one of their bagged or carded rack-toys of the 1970/80's, but equally possibly a sub-pirate, the tank being a cruder copy of the Blue Box one, than I remember Rado being responsible for!

 

Brian kindly put these to one-side when I mentioned them a while ago, and it's the Faun 6x6, NATO-era, 10-ton Bundeswehr truck from Roco Minitanks, with a load of assault boats and the larger rubber-boat.

 

Interestingly, I think that grey wheel, is the early sign of 'styrene-rot, and it's only the second time I've seen it, but on the other occasion it was A) also Roco product, and B) also from the 'States, probably AHM over-stamped stuff from the late 1960's? On that previous occasion, I rather blamed the climate in Florida - well, Americans themselves, seem to blame Florida for most things!

 

It's not like the brittleness of dying polyethylene, but more like the Mazak-rot you get in early die-casts, the grey bloom eventually getting fine cracks in it before crumbling, more like biscuit. As with other plastic diseases, I'm sure it's a batch thing, but whether it's down to too-high or low injection temperatures, incorrect operating-pressures or corrupting additives/inclusions . . . as yet, as far as I know, that work hasn't been done.

Many thanks to Brian for all these, and there will be more on the Renwall tank next!