Renault Ft-17 FlyHawk 1/72

[mostrich]

My dear friends,

my on-again, off-again relationship with this project has now finally found an end. Like in every build so far there were some first-timers for me:

1. First model kit in 72nd scale.
2. First armor kit since returning to the hobby.
3. First time dealing with all that glorious mud, grime and dirt poducts. Felt like a kid in a puddle, lol.

The kit itself is nearly perfect. Awesome details, great fit and six varied schemes to choose from. The real challenge, at least for me, were all those incredible tiny parts. Keep in mind that Renault built a tank with 5 m (16.4 ft) of length and 2.14 m (7 ft) of height. Beside the priming the whole build took place under the magnifier. If you're interested in the progress of the build, please click here for the WIP.

There is an interesting fact about the history of this tank: Renault started production in 1917, late in WW1. Thus most of them never saw action on the field. This one was, like many of its kind, transferred to the French colonies to ensure dominance of the occupying force. Later, after the armed truce of Compiègne (06/22/1940), in which the Germans allowed France to keep its colonial forces armed, this vehicle became part of the Armee de l'Armistice. The writing on the turret states "Le Champagne".










For the presentation I cut and sanded a piece of ebony. What a great material!


I finish with the obligatory scale picture.


Looking forward to your comments and suggestions.

Torben

[BorgR3mc0]

Let me be the first to compliment you on an fantastic build. It is a tiny machine but you only realise that when you show the relative size to the lighter. It could be any scale including 1/1 judging from the pictures.

[Stikpusher]

Fantastic build! I had seen Duke Maddog's build of one of these 1/72 FT-17's at club meetings so I know how tiny these kits are in real life. And that makes this build even more impressive with your level of workmanship here. Assembly, painting, weathering all are top notch. And that mud stuff is quite fun, isn't it?

Just curious, but did the time instructions happen to say what particular French colonial area that this tank served in?

[mostrich]

Thank you both, Borg and Stik. Much appreciated!

Just curious, but did the time instructions happen to say what particular French colonial area that this tank served in?

Ah, forgot to mention it: Marocco. A friend from a German modeling forum sent me these two awesome pictures today. The first one shows our tank during Operation Torch in November 1942 in Safie, Marocco. The writing on the turret is missing, though. Maybe it was only on the right side.


The second photo shows the tank in the background. It still has its writing, stating "Le Lorraine".


It is claimed that three Ft-17's were part of the fascistic Vichy Army and were part of the resistance to the advancing U.S. Troops. What an anachronism they were.

[Stikpusher]

Interesting! Something that the US Infantry anti tank weapons of 1942 could actually knock out. I had read that the Vichy used tanks against US troops during the opening phase of the fight in North Africa, but I always figured it was more modern tanks. At least something along the lines of the Renault or Hotchkiss light tanks.
Also interesting to note that the US troops in the photos have M1903A3 Springfield bolt action rifles, another WWI era weapon and not the more modern and common autoloader M1 Garand rifle.

[speedgraflex]

It is past midnight but I have been thinking about this build all day—the sheer beauty and wonder of what it means to be a model builder is here in all of its glorious forms. I personally believe what you do Torben is pick a subject and bring everything to it, that there is no difference between "doing something the right way and doing something." I love the black borders lining each finished frame! Excellent photography, sir. You are an ace! Something out of Rilke may work... Aber, die sich uns sonst verschweigen, unsere fröhlichen kräfte—zeigen sich in diesen tanzenden tränen. Happy tears. Joyful. Thank you, Torben.

[mostrich]

Thank you so much, Bruce. Again you managed to make me blush in front of my screen.
I have to admit that this project is some kind of failed experiment for me. Last year I ran out of steam in the middle of two airplane models, so I thought it could be a refreshing move to take part on a WW1-GB in a German forum. I chose the FlyHawk kit because of its simplicity and high quality, up-to-date molds. I really thought I'd finish it within a month. Ha ha, you know nuffin', Jon Snow!
The smaller scale didn't make it easier, not by far! I had to learn so many things about the behaviour of colors on such tiny surfaces, the way light plays its games with all those little corners, rims and edges. Geez, I opened a whole new book.

But here I am, one more scale under my belt and maybe a pinch smarter than before.
Can't answer with Rilke's words here, but a lesser known poet comes to mind:

Die Mütze voraus und frisch ihr nach
so kommst du über den bösen Bach

[Duke Maddog]

Well, I for one love the looks of this tiny tank. It looks like you learned it's lessons well. In many ways, your first armor is better than many of mine! Way to go and congrats on completing a miniature masterpiece!

[BlackSheep214]

Holy Cow! That's really one tiny tank! Well done!!

[speedgraflex]

Beautiful poetry, both from the poet and from the builder. I also find your method to add a photo and a link to your completed projects as a signature to be a superb idea. Is that done with <<>> in some magical combination? I wish all of the builders here would follow your approach to adding these links to their signatures.

All the best.