French Ft-17 Light Tank (Riveted Turret)

MENG plastic model kit, for the construction of a French Ft-17 Light Tank of the First WW, in 1/35 scale. Includes sprues with plastic parts, assembly instructions, P.E. parts, metal parts and decals.

The Renault FT-17, was a French light tank that was among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. The FT was the first production tank to have its armament within a fully rotating turret. The Renault FT's configuration (crew compartment at the front, engine compartment at the back, and main armament in a revolving turret) became and remains the standard tank layout. Consequently, some historians of armoured warfare have called the Renault FT the world's first modern tank.

Over 3,000 Renault FT tanks were manufactured by French industry, most of them in 1918. After World War I, FT tanks were exported in large numbers. Copies and derivative designs were manufactured in the United States, in Italy and in the Soviet Union. The Renault FT saw combat during the interwar conflicts around the world, but was considered obsolete at the outbreak of World War II. Although it has sometimes been stated that the letters FT stand for the French terms faible tonnage (low tonnage), faible taille (small size), franchisseur de tranchées (trench crosser), or force terrestre (land force), none of these names are correct. Neither was it named the FT 17 or FT-17; nor was there an FT18. The name is derived from the two-letter production code that all new Renault projects were given for internal use: the one available was 'FT'.