Tim Reynaga

Brengun's resin Renault FT is a remarkable little kit!

Thanks! This is an exceptional kit, building it was a real pleasure. And with the addition of some tiny bits of railroad foam scrub and set on its base, the Renault FT is complete!

The ground base looked reasonably good, but the tiny tank seemed lost in it, so I added a fence to fill some of the excess space. The fence was made from .020 X .020 inch plastic strip posts with small gauge wires strung between them. The lines came from a copper transistor coil I often use for ship model rigging. The thin wire has a film of wax which causes enamel paints to bead up unrealistically; I usually remove it with lacquer thinner before painting, but in this instance I used the effect to suggest barbed wire... Tucked in behind the tank, the inconspicuous rusted fence gives a nice bit of background atmosphere.

For the groundwork I used a piece of Evergreen .040 inch plastic card with the edges smoothed and rounded down. Once shaped, the plastic was covered with Squadron green putty thinned with Testors liquid cement. A pinch of model railroad “snow” (i.e., marble dust) was also added to give it a rough, earth-lke texture. When dry, the groundwork was given a coat of Tamiya Flat Earth (XF-52) with Noch static grass flocking added on top.

The base was airbrushed with Tamiya Desert Yellow (XF-59) acrylic paint followed with a streaky coating of Winsor & Newton Burnt Sienna artist’s oil to simulate the look of a wood plinth.

Waiting for the oil wash to dry, I set about preparing a base. Starting with a stand from an old Pyro Santa Maria kit... I filled the hollow pegs and front plate from below with super glue, then nipped them off to level the surface. I also added a piece of .060 inch plastic sheet to seal the bottom. Sanded smooth and primed, the former ship stand is now a handy base for the tiny tank.

I guess my little FT's tracks had just been reconditioned in 1940!

Thank you gentlemen! Acrylic paints now dry, a thin wash of Grumbacher Raw Umber artist’s oil serves to deepen recesses and creates a brownish filter which helps integrate the various colors. The finish should matte down to a low sheen as the oils dry.

Painting starts with an airbrushed coat of Tamiya Desert Yellow acrylic (XF-59) with some yellow added – then Tamiya Deep Green (XF-26), Red Brown (XF-64), and Dark Grey acrylics (XF-24) were applied by brush. Brengun’s decals are amazingly petite and dead sharp, with the colorful roundels printed beautifully.

Brengun provided decals and illustrations to depict any of five vehicles – three with the cast turret, two with the riveted one. I found the multicolor French Air Force vehicle with the Berliet cast turret to be the one with the most interesting scheme. Besides, I dropped the Renault turret and broke off and lost the tiny gun! Some of these appear to be derived from Steve Zaloga’s 1988 book, The Renault FT Light Tank (Osprey Vanguard No. 46), such as the Renault FT Char Canon of the French Air Force, used for airfield security in 1940: According to Zaloga, these FTs used the usual cocarde (roundel) insignia and, “were repainted in the late 1930s with the French scheme typical of that period, an ochre color somewhat darker than the Great War shade, with red-brown and dark green horizontal bands.”

Thanks gents - yes, it is tiny! You are right, Tim, the FT seems out of place among Brengun's other air-oriented releases... but one of the options for this kit is a French Air Force airfield security vehicle... I attached the machine gun and 37mm to the Renault and Berliet turrets, respectively. Which version shall I choose...?

The muffler comes as a separate, amazingly tiny part. I went to install the muffler and dropped the damned thing onto my Persian carpet! Several minutes and a lot of swearing later... I found it. Whew! It is now safely glued to the hull along with FT’s characteristic tail assembly. ...and the remarkable thing is, it isn't even the smallest part in the kit: That 37mm Puteaux SA 18 canon is seriously small!

Looking good, Ivan. Getting all those wheels to touch the ground is a challenge on this one! I already like yours a lot better than my own Stalwart built from the AB kit in 1/76th...

The whole running gear/hull assembly of the tiny FT is a mere three parts, but it was surprisingly awkward to get assembled square and true as there were only very small attachment points between the track assemblies and hull. This was not Brengun’s fault – it matches the design of the original. However, the gear shaft nubs to which the drive sprockets connected at the stern were a little too long. This necessitated a bit of sanding and fitting to get the tracks to fit closely to the hull as they should. During this process I managed to break off and lose one of the delicate driver’s steps at the bow; to keep them consistent, I replaced both steps with bits of plastic strip. I’ve never built a Brengun kit before, but this Renault FT released in January this year is pretty impressive. It even comes with a choice of Berliet or Renault style turrets!

I felt like I was all thumbs as I cut away the casting pour... The running gear was easier, requiring only the removal of a thin film of resin.