Military Model Scene

Title:  TopDrawings, Renault FT and M1917

Author: Samir Karmieh

Publisher:  Kagero

ISBN:  978-83-65437-64-8

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A new TopDrawings title from Kagero for a tank this time, the WW1 Renault FT and M1917.  The Renault FT was built in large numbers in France and was of course the first true tank design as we now take as standard, with a turret on top of the hull, capable of complete 360 degree traverse.  It was set to be built under licence in the USA at the end of the war, though only 64 were built before the war ended, and only 10 had made it to France, though none went into action.

A fairly thin paperback, the book holds 15 pages of excellent scale plans for the different variants plus some equally helpful colour profiles.  The colour profiles are featured on the back cover as well as the four centre pages.  The scale plans provide detailed scale drawings of both the cast turret and multi-faceted plate turrets in 1/72, 1/48, 1/35 and 1/16 scales.  Tucked within the book is a separate A3 size sheet of larger (unscaled) drawings of the track units and showing the interior arrangement of the hull.

With a number of fine scale models available of the little FT these days, in 1/72, 1/35 and, thanks to Takom, even the much larger 1/16 kits.  Both 1/16 and 1/35 kits are available with interior detailing.

One other little bonus for modellers that you will find tucked into the pages is a small sheet of masks for the markings seen in the colour profiles.

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Distributed in the UK by Casemate Books, who kindly provided my review copy.

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Robin