Global Scale Modeller

Hi all!

This month I started a new challenge, my very first kit in 1/16 scale and on top of that from World War One, the Takom 1/16 FT-17 Renault! At first I was reluctant to choose this kit, since I have no experience on that scale and I have read about WWI in the past, but never work a kit from that era, so I'm on uncharted waters in many ways. I order the kit with a book reference which I receive from Spruebrothers in just 4 days! (consider that I’m out of the States in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico).

Started right away to look at the parts and get familiarized and also look at the information and pictures of the reference book. So I started now calling this a Char, not a panzer, not a tank, that’s the word for tank in French. Also found that this tank was call during WWI just as FT! The FT-17 name was later after the war due to the amount of variants and other French’s projects related. This Char was considered the first tank ! and was used in many conflicts and many countries, so I found a lot of references for the colors.

I started right away with the engine, at first the pictures were difficult to find, and even I confuse the American version with the french one.

The engine its just called 4 HP Renault engine, the American one is the BUDA HU engine.

The building its very straight forward, some cleaning is needed, but is minimal, the fitting is perfect. I added the cabling, the sparks plugs and some metal tubing to represent it as much real as possible.

Primer was next in black and for that task I used Krylon black color in a can. The cover is great and its dries in 15-20 minutes. (sorry for the bad pictures)

The instructions give you a guide of color for the engine, but I used instead the pictures of the reference book.

Weathering of the engine started with a wash of black, then another with burnt umber.

Test fitting of the hull, always do this from time to time to detect any issue before you get to a more complicated stage.

Beautiful fitting, like a glove, and look at the size! okay is smaller than almost all the tanks but still is a great one.

For the next part I started weathering the engine compartment, I wanted to show a lot of everything but not in a exaggerated way, so with that in mine I used a very fine wash of burnt umber to tone down the white, chipping and scratch marks using a mix of black and burnt umber applied with a toothpick, a fine brush and a sponge. Later I added stains and some 3 tones of rust due to water exposure, etc.



On the other side, that reside inside the tank's belly, the story is a different one. The rust is not present, only stains, scratches and grime.



The driver floor also receive a similar treatment as the previous parts, except for the rust.

This recipe is repeated to the interior walls of the tank, then I added the pedals, the seat, and all the small details on the driver's area, and glued in place the complete engine. Here I put one side to test again the fitting, and still perfect. A lot of retouches were done overall to match the tones between the parts.

Great detail and beautifully painted. I'm looking forward to seeing this progress

Some great work going on here
Loving your engine details and weathering skills
Good stuff

After inspecting the tracks vs the reference I found that they were casted and the textured was missing in my plastic kit. So for this task I used the Tamiya Thin glue and cover the whole track, then I used a stiff brush to tap all the track, showing the following result. ( I think I overdo this one, but the next ones are ok). I remove the numbers from a sprue using a new blade and here is the result after applying it to the track.

FT-17: gun barrel. I decide to switch to brass tube for the gun and for the sight. Also drill the hole for the periscope too, still need a flat ring to make a better look on it. Here you can see the results, I think they look much better. Next the turret!

I'm still thinking in what colors & nation I would paint this fella.

I'm Between a Polish Version I found named "Janka"



or a postwar option in Japan under testing. (type 79 Kogata)

For this one I was thinking to make the wheels in bare wood, and Kanji marking like the one done in militar weapons on that era.



With this Legend I can decifer the type of Equipment . For example here in the gun sight means " Type 44"

More evidence that this fella at some stage of production was used with unpainted wooden wheels.



And another good reference for the Japanese version. Look at the Kanji at the side of the hull.

Loving that you scratched a brass gun for a tank instead of buying one
Good for you

You've certainly done your homework on this with some superb pictures of the real thing. Great work.

FT-17: gun barrel. I decide to switch to brass tube for the gun and for the sight. Also drill the hole for the periscope too, still need a flat ring to make a better look on it. Here you can see the results, I think they look much better. Next the turret!

'm still thinking in what colors & nation I would paint this fella.

I'm Between a Polish Version I found named "Janka"



or a postwar option in Japan under testing. (type 79 Kogata)

For this one I was thinking to make the wheels in bare wood, and Kanji marking like the one done in militar weapons on that era.



With this Legend I can decipher the type of Equipment . For example here in the gun sight means " Type 44"

More evidence that this fella at some stage of production was used with unpainted wooden wheels.



And another good reference for the Japanese version. Look at the Kanji at the side of the hull.

Following my previous work on a Sherman howitzer, I wanted to start the kit in Black & White too. This help me a lot to know were I'm going with the painting and weathering of the kit.

Superb detail work!

I like the Japanese version; the Kanji characters would really make this model stand out.

I ordered the resin to cast the wheels, but while waiting I wanted to experiment a bit painting the wood grain and see the results.

Started imitating the lines using a fine brush and Tamiya Linoneum deck brown xf-79,


Here I experiment using filters of yellow and brown applied by brush, then another thinned black wash, and painted the metal parts.

For the base color I was looking for a initial color use in Japanese war machines, Steven Zaloga have some articles about the theme, and also found some more inf here (http://matadormodels.co.uk/tank_museum/ ... 2japan.htm)

So after a research I decided to go with a very light Olive Drab. So I use the Color Modulation set from AMMO for the task.

Here the results using the Basic Highlight Olive Drab.

Starting the initial dust using a mix of Tamiya Buff, Deck Tan and Flat earth. Still a long way to go.

Great job so far and I'm enjoying watching this come together

amazing, the engine is well done. Keep posting your progress

Detailing of the layers of dust, dry and wet mud in process using the whole line of Dust & Mud from Ammo.

Superb work. I'm enjoying seeing this come together

This is looking great. Very nice contrast on the green along with the weathering, but I especially like how the wood grain looks on your test piece. Amazing job.

Hi! I'm back with a new update on the FT-17. I just finished the main weathering of the tracks & wheels, so I attached it to the hull. Some oils and wet mud also added, but I'm with mixed feelings, probably I make some minor changes to the actual mud effect. More to come!

Now 2 pictures of the full kit, still in progress, but almost done. Need some micro-detailing here and there and the base.

Looks awesome! Great job overall. What sort of set up do you use for your photography? I've tried light boxes with white backgrounds in the past and have had very limited results, but the white background tends to give the best color representations.

thank you! the key is to use daylight bulbs not directly of course.

I have one in the room and two at each side with a piece of white paper as a filter for each one. pretty cheap and effective.

Well the kit is finally done, only the wooden base is pending. I present you my version of the Japanese FT-17 Trainer tank during the 1929-1940 period more or less, using the Takom 1/16 FT-17 Renault. Hope you have enjoy the ride like I did.

PICTURES REMOVED DUE TO PHOTOBUCKET ISSUE

pictures removed due to photobucket issue.

catdude01 wrote:Hope you have enjoy the ride like I did.

I certainly did great workmanship and end result, well done

For the base I used a native wood base donated by one artisan last year.


For the final touch, a Rising Sun flag printed in high quality paper, cut and trimmed.

And here the final result!

This has been an outstanding build all the way through, and that base was an amazing idea, I've printed flags and books for my builds but never in that scale, again amazing build catdude01,

thank you very much! Glad that you like it and hope that can give inspiration to everyone. Now build something! (^^)/

Superb build !
I really enjoyed your build and it puts a new spin on this kit being a Japanese example . Your attention to detail is superb and love your colour and weathering choices .
I'm still toying with the idea of getting one of these . I think you just made my mind up for me .