Meng French FT-17 Light Tank 1.35 – build review

Full review by Mark Rooks

Intro from Geoff…

I just wanted to say a big welcome to Mark and to thank him for this contribution – his first article for SMN and so we have much to look forward to here, not only with this great build of the Meng FT-17 French light tank but other builds we have yet to see

What I particularly like about Mark’s build here is his attention to detail – all the small details you’ll see in the project are produced so well; add to that some great painting and weathering and you have a lot to like and learn from. Here is a photo of Mark’s completed project…

…thanks Mark, over to you…

A little bit about the FT-17

The French FT-17 Tank is regarded as the first modern tank, in that it’s layout of a rotating turret on top of the hull, engine at the rear of the vehicle and driver at the front, is now the accepted format for nearly all tanks since that time to the modern day. Many of this French tanks revolutionary designs was created by Rodolphe Ernst Metzmaier and was built by Renault Company. It could be fitted with either an 8mm Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun or the 37mm Puteaux SA 18 gun. So successful was the design that the FT -17 that it went on to be used by 27 nations. At the outbreak of WWII there were over 500 of these tanks still in use. The German army pressed them in to service as the Panzerkampfwagen 17R/18R in the defence of airfields and patrols of occupied territories.

The Kit…