Renault FT-17

1917 French Tank

Renault FT-17

1/72nd Scale

(AC-26) French Army - Renault FT-17 Kit $12.50

The Renault light tank became one of the most famous tanks of the Great War. By 1918 the French Armyh had over 3,000 of these vehicles. This remakable machine was the forerunner of the modern armored fighting vehicle. The four-cylinder engine was at the back and the tank, which weighted 6 3/4 tons, had a speed of just over five miles per hour and a range of 25 miles. There was a crew of two, a gunner in command and a driver. The turret had an all-round travers and could carry a 37mm gun or a Hotchkiss machine-gun.

The FT-17 saw action with the French and U.S. forces durring the Great War. George S. Patton commanded a unit of FT-17s. The vehicle was utilized as far away as China, during the Chinese Civil wars and against the Japanese during the invasion of China. A large number found their way into both Republican and Nationalist hands during the Spanish Civil War. They were used in the Russian Revolution by both sides; by the Finns against the Russians, by the Germans as Police vehicles during the occupation of France in World War Two. The Polish army also had a number of them. There were even a few still in active use in Morcco as late as 1942.

Our 21 piece kit contains both the cast and rivited turrets, with guns and mantelets for the Hotchkiss machine-gun, the 37mm cannon, and the later, 1940 Lebel machine-gun.

FT-17 with rivited turret and Hotchkiss MG