FineScale Modeler – October 2019

The turret
The M1917 turret was almost identical to
the French Berliet octagonal turret, but
major changes were made to the gun mount
and cupola (or ‘tower’ according to the
M1917 manual). The mount for the main
armament had its own evolution on the
U.S. tank, but the version I would be repli-
cating was a casting with a shielded ball
mount, while the tower was changed from
an octagonal, bolted structure to a cylindri-
cal casting. Although the tower’s vent cover
remained very similar, it had a slightly dif-
ferent profile. For me, it wasn’t different
enough, so I used the kit cover. The entry
hatch on the M1917 is also shifted to the
right, an important detail to keep in mind
during assembly!

30 FineScale Modeler October 2019

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Be sure to shave or file the step in the roof
armor where the door was originally located
on the French FT so it fits cleanly into the
turret’s side armor.

The roof needs to be scratchbuilt or have the
fittings for cupola removed. The red arrow
indicates that the M1917 roof comprised two
plates, so a line should be scribed at the bend.

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The tower was easy, I coiled thin styrene inside

a 1-inch circle template opening and glued the

lamination together. Two days later, I fitted the

lower flange and cut view slits.

As with the hull, the first step was to relocate rivets. Those marked in red should be removed, blue indicates their new position. On each side of the
pistol port (gun loop), there are bolts rather than rivets on the M1917.

I used photos of the M1916 37mm gun to

build the tank’s gun using parts from the kit

and scratchbuilding. I made a working ball

mount because I wanted it to rotate.

RIGHT LEFT

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Making room for the 37mm gun was a simple

case of cutting sheet styrene to fit the turret’s

front and sides. The opening is 11 scale inches

for the gun’s ball mount.

Construction proceeds much as in the

instructions except that doors are on the

opposite side. Here, the right side armor and

door frame have been fitted in their new spot.

Here are the completed assemblies inside and out. You’ll notice that the inner sides of the

suspension housing aren’t filled with styrene. A little dirt applied here will hide the FT details.