Review of Meng French FT-17 Light Tank (Riveted Turret)

After much prevarication I've decided that this will be my next build. I bought the kit a few months ago after hearing such positive things about Meng kits and seeing several builds of this and the cast turret version in different magazines.

I couldn't afford the cast turret version, which is more than twice the price of the riveted turret kit, although I really wanted to build a French subject and that's only available with the cast turret kit. Nonetheless, I'm glad I chose this kit as a relatively cheap but astonishingly high quality introduction to Meng models. Lifting the lid off the box reveals a very high level of detail and excellent casting with no sign of flash at all.

The final kit will be pretty small, especially in comparison with the post-war AFVs which have previously been Meng's specialism. Nonetheless, a lot of detail is packed into a small area. At this stage I have no idea if there are any fit issues but the photos I've included here give a good indication of the care which has been taken of the interior and external detail, notably the many rivets which were a feature of this vehicle. Panel lines are crisp and clear, with a decent definition without producing trenches.

The kit uses a flat pack system for the main hull and the turret, as you can see above and below, which presumably has helped in the casting process. This gives the modeller plenty of parts in the box, but Meng haven't gone down the route favoured by some other companies recently, such as Bronco, in providing exhaustive parts breakdowns where a single moulding will suffice. I can see the merits in both but the approach taken by Meng appears to be the happy medium.

In terms of the interior, you get a complete driver's section but no engine, which is a feature of the more expensive cast turret kit.

Even without the engine there is a pretty comprehensive level of detail, with pipes, non-slip surfaces, etc, giving the modeller plenty of scope for using their imagination.

There are even well detailed seats, as shown below, and these are supplemented by seat belts/ straps which form part of the PE set.

For the weaponry, well this was an early vehicle, but it set the standard for future AFVs by mounting the main armament in a rotating turret on top of the hull, with the engine at the rear and the driver at the front. The two marking types include the option to use a beautiful Hotchkiss machine gun for a Chinese Nationalist colour scheme, or to choose a well cast 37mm gun with the US Army camouflage scheme.

The gun is a short barrelled weapon which Meng have cast as one piece, so avoiding seam lines and removing the necessity of looking for an aftermarket alternative. I'll be building the US Army scheme, above all because I find this more attractive, but Meng provide a tripod for the Hotchkiss so I might place this outside the tank because it's so well rendered that it would be shame not to use it.

As you can see in the image below, manufacturer's casting marks are included in the moulding where relevant and these really are very fine indeed.

The turret, which again is in a flat pack as shown below, looks particularly good and should be an impressive focal point for the kit.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of the kit, though, is provided by the tracks. These are produced as separate pieces in a small bag and they simply click together. They are well detailed and in proper proportion, they flow and sag just like the real thing, and they are astonishingly easy to construct.

It took just a few seconds to clip together the three tracks you see in the images here - it took longer to open the plastic bag. A similar system has been used on some recent Tamiya kits and I know I'm not the first person to wonder why all tracks can't be done this way. Yes, Friul tracks are great and they provide realistic weight, sag and detail, but these tracks compare very well with Friul tracks in every respect yet without the same hassle of construction. There is a small cast mark in the centre of the outer surface, but this is easily removed with a sanding stick and that's it in terms of clean-up.

The box is very full indeed and this is partly because of the inclusion of a diorama base. This consists of two sprues which provide a flat-back box over which goes the various mud surfaces and wooden revetments for the trench which is illustrated on the box.

I'm unsure whether to use this but am tending toward placing the kit onto a rectangular wooden base instead.

As to the instructions, these seem clear and well laid out, with colour call outs for Vallejo paints. Of course actually using the instructions might be a different matter entirely but first impressions are favourable.

Overall then this is a small but highly detailed kit with a lots of parts and a great deal of potential. It's a lovely vehicle and of course it's also historically significant. If the build itself lives up to my initial response to the parts I suspect this will be the first of many Meng kits, but of course I could be getting ahead of myself.

Any criticisms? Well I would have liked the option of French markings, but that's not the end of the world. So, all looking good for an enjoyable build of this small but important tank.

Happy modelling.

Nick