After long time delay, I eventually finished my US-ton converted from the 1/35 RPM kit with (very little) help from the MR Modelbau resin set.
At firt view the two tanks look very similar, if not identical, but if you look closer, there are a lot of change!
For exemple, the turret shoult be totally rebuilt
The finished tank before paint :
Painting the tank seems not be so easy. I planed a late 6ton on US marines hands in China, and I would turn to a light brownish OD, but I don't found a lot of pics especially about this expedition circa 1927 to complete the marking. I use the Landship article and some pics from friends, but the real color of the camo remains uncertain.
Very nice work! The Light Tank Platoon consisted of 5 6-tonners (mix of 37 mm and 30 cal. MG armed vehicles) on loan from the US Army, so I would guess the color would be standard Army Olive Drab of the Period. A photo in the Osprey Renault FT volume shows a front view of one of the MG tanks with the red/blue/yellow triangle of the Army Armor Branch still on the nose just below the driver's hatch, with no other markings visible. The color plate shows the nose marking replaced by the USMC Eagle/Globe/Anchor, and US MARINES painted of the suspension bar, with a black 3 on the rear hull. Were the vehicles remarked after their arrival in China, or is this color plate the imagination of the illustrator? A photo of a 37 mm tank in Marines Under Armor, shows a white 2 on the rear hull, with no other markings visible.
Thank you very much Rob! I'm very happy to see people pays interest on this little tanks, and your comments are very helpfull to me. I allready notice the marking on the nose of the tank, but I havn't understand it was the US army flag! I now working on the paint, trying to found a good OD tone. Regards Gilles
I'm afraid the 6ton will wait until I recieve the Decalcomaniacs sheet, but there are a lot of models to be painted on my workbench!
Regarding the "moneybox" on the roof, it is just the ventilation outlet over the fan. On the 6ton it is usally covered with a wire louvres, but on many tanks there is just nothing. On the french FT, the crews usually attach a rag there avoid engine probem! Proudly standing rag means that all is OK. A falling down rag means the fan belt has broken and the engine should be stopped very quickly.
