This is Meng Models little kit of the Renault FT-17, built as the single FT-17 bought by the Swedish Army in 1925 to explore the capabilities of modern tanks. The FT-17 turned out to be neither modern nor very capable, and the tank was not used very long before it was put to the ultimate test as a target. I have found few images of “Putte” as it was called, and the ones I have seen show the tank with the gun removed, when it was used as a command vehicle, with a large bamboo antenna attached. I presume it had the Puteaux gun in place when it arrived, since the gun later ended up on another tank, and later on an armoured truck. I took some liberties regarding the markings. The number is correct, but the font is wrong. I did not have decals using the correct one. I also added the crown markings, since I think it looks nice.
This kit was built for a review in the SPHF magazine Pansar 3-15.
Some more info about “Putte”, and some images can be found on the website of Richard O Lindström: http://www.ointres.se/strv_renault.htm
