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Flames of War

 

Assembling The Sherman Armoured Platoon

Assembling The Sherman Armoured Platoon Assembling The Sherman Armoured Platoon
with Blake Coster

During 1942-43 the standard size of an armoured troop (platoon) was three tanks and had served the British well. However, it became clearer as the war progressed that the standard 75mm gun of the Sherman would not be powerful enough to deal with the ever increasing amounts of armour the German were applying to their tanks.

Learn more about the Sherman Armoured Platoon here...
The Sherman Armoured Platoon contains the options to model both the Sherman V armed with a 75mm main gun or the Firefly VC armed with the mighty OQF 17 pdr! So let's break out the hobby tools and plastic cement and get started. But before we begin any assembly, let's ensure the entire contents of the Sherman Armoured Platoon box set are all present and correct.

If you have any problems or issues with the contents of your box set, please feel free to contact our Customer Service team at:
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The Contents of the Sherman Armoured Platoon Box Set
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Description of Components
a. 5x Plastic Sherman V / Firefly VC hull sprues.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Description of Components
a. 5x Plastic Sherman V / Firefly VC track sprues.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Description of Components Description of Components
a. 1x Tank Commander sprue. a. 1x British Tank Decal sheet.
Components Required For The Basic Sherman Hull
I'll begin construction of the Sherman Armoured Platoon box set by demonstrating how to assemble the basic hull of the vehicle first; using the components that are common to both the Sherman V and Firefly VC.

The components required to assemble the basic hull of the Sherman can be seen below highlighted in white on the sprues below.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Assembling The Basic Sherman Hull
Step 1. Begin by attaching the final drive to the front of the lower hull. Step 2. Next, attach the tracks to the lower hull.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Tip: Although regular Hobby Glue can be used to assemble plastic vehicles, we recommend that you use good quality plastic cement instead. It gives the strongest bond when gluing plastic to plastic.
Below: Each track has been keyed to correspond with a particular side of the hull; this aids in ensuring the correct orientation of the tracks when assembling the miniature. Below: The right-hand side track attached to the hull. Below: The left-hand side track attached to the hull. Step 3. Next, attach the upper hull section to the lower hull.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Tip: When referring to left or right-hand side in regards to a Flames Of War miniature, the orientation is determined as if looking at the vehicle from the rear.
Below: The upper and lower hulls now joined. Step 4. Attach the stowage bin to the rear of the hull. Below: With the stowage bin attached, the basic hull of the Sherman is fully assembled.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Components Required For The Sherman V Hull
With the basic hull now assembled, we can now use it as the foundation to create the Sherman V. The additional components required to assemble the Sherman V can be seen below highlighted in blue on the sprues below. Note the position of hull MG on the extreme left in the second row on the sprue directly below; its small part and can be easily missed!
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Assembling The Sherman V Hull
Step 1. Begin by attaching the glacis plate to the front of the hull. Step 2. Attach the hull MG to the glacis plate. Below: With the hull MG in place, the hull of the Sherman V is fully now assembled.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Components Required For The Sherman V Turret
To complete our Sherman V, we need to contruct the turret. The components required to construct the Sherman V turret can be seen highlighted in blue and white below.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Assembling The Sherman V Turret
Step 1. Begin by joining the upper and lower sections of the turret. Step 2. Attach the gun trunnion to the front of the turret. Below: The back of the gun trunnion of the has an arrow to indicate which way is up.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Below: The gun trunnion attached to the front of the Sherman V turret. Step 3. Next, attach the 75mm gun mantlet to the gun trunnion.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Step 4. Attach the 75mm gun to the gun mantlet.
Step 5. Next, attach the commander's hatch to the top of the turret.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Step 6. Finally, attach the .50 cal AA MG to commander's hatch ring. Sherman V tanks can be upgraded to have .50 cal AA MGs for +5 points. Below: With the turret added the hull our Sherman V is now complete.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Components Required For The Firefly VC Hull
The hull of the Firefly VC differs slightly from the Sherman V; it uses a different glacis plate along with two extra pieces of stowage, the gun travel lock and cleaning rods for the main gun. These components are highlighted in red below.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Assembling The Firefly VC Hull
Step 1. Begin by attaching the glacis plate to the front of the hull. Step 2. Next, attach the cleaning rods to the rear of the hull.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Step 3. Finally, attach the gun travel lock to the engine deck. Below: With the gun travel lock in place, the hull of the Firefly VC is fully now assembled.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Components Required For The Firefly VC Turret
To complete the assembly of the Firefly VC, we need to construct the turret. Below highlighted in red and white are the components required to assemble the turret for the Firefly VC.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Assembling The Firefly VC Turret
Step 1. Begin by joining the upper and lower sections of the turret. Step 2. Next, attach the turret bin to the rear of the Firefly VC turret.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Step 3. Attach the gun trunnion to the front of the turret. Below: The back of the gun trunnion of the has an arrow to indicate which way is up. Step 3. Next, attach the OQF 17 pdr gun mantlet to the gun trunnion.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Below: The OQF 17 pdr gun mantlet to the gun trunnion. Step 4. Next, attach the OQF 17 pdr gun barrel to the 17 pdr gun mantlet. Step 5. Attach the commander's hatch to the top of the turret.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Below: The commander's hatch attached to the top of the turret. Step 6. Finally, attach the .50 cal AA MG to commander's hatch ring. Firefly VC tanks can be upgraded to have .50 cal AA MGs for +5 points. Below: With the turret added the hull our Firefly VC is now complete.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Components Required To Add A Tank Commander
Adding a Tank Commander to a vehicle allows you to distinguish the platoon command vehicle from the rest of the platoon. It also can also add some modelling variety and interest to your miniatures. With the plastic Sherman Armoured Platoon, adding a Tank Commander is as simple as replacing the closed commander’s hatch with the open version highlighted in white below.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Adding The Tank Commander
Step 1. Begin by replacing the closed commander's hatch with the open version. Note: Depending on the Tank Commander figure chossen; you may need to model your Sherman V or Firefly VC without the .50 cal AA MG. Step 2. Next, attach a Tank Commander of choice to the inside of the open hatch.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Attaching The Turret
Attaching the turret to the hull can be done two way; using the turret peg inlcuded on the plastic sprue highlighted below in white or using rare-earth magnets (not included in the box set).
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Using The Turret Peg
Step 1. Simply attach the turret peg to the bottom of the turret. Below: The turret peg then mates with the hole in the top of the hull. Simple!
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Using Rare-earth Magnets
The alternate method of attaching the turret to the hull is to use rare-earth magnets. To do this, simply glue a rare-earth magnet into the recess in the bottom of the turret rather than using the turret peg. Then glue another magnet into recess located on the top of the hull and you have a safe and secure way of attaching the turret to the hull.

Read Chris' guide to Rare Earth Magnets here...
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Adding The Extras
The plastic Sherman sprue also includes a number of extras that can be added to your vehicles for some modelling variety. These are highlighted in black on the the sprue below.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Below: Examples of the stowage of used on the plastic Sherman V.
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27) Sherman Armoured Platoon (BBX27)
I hope you find this assembly guide useful when it comes time to assemble your own Sherman Armoured Platoon.

As always; happy modelling!

~ Blake.