I am a volunteer at Kingsbury Aerodrome, Kingsbury Texas where WWI replica planes are built (some really nice planes have been built and are being built) but it is also a museum in the making with lots of stuff in storage or just sitting in the hangar WWI ambulances, quad "truck", 1918 Indian Motorcycle with sidecar, lots of WWI machine guns, stuff like that. I am prepping the plans for a running wooden/steel mock up of an Ft 17 that will one day lead to a museum quality replica FT 17 (not a US made six-tonner but the French FT 17) here in Texas. Kingsbury has all the facilities for laser cutting large pieces of steel plate, etc. and I also have other resources for building the suspension, at least something close in appearance to the original. The idea would be to build the "model", refine it with plans, and then use it for a template for the "real" thing in steel. Of course, if done right 1/1 plans might become available. However, right now I want to build the Tank shell and would greatly appreciate some measurements of the plates and the two wheels (front and back and the distance of their centers from each other and the actual length of the bottom of the shell) if anyone has access to an FT 17 which includes the size of the carriage type bolt heads? or rivets? Even a few measurements or pics of a tank with a ruler for reference in the pic!!! Have found lots of pics including the super ones on this site but no rulers for reference!!! I have a RPM model in 1/35 but it really isn't suitable for reverse engineering into a 1/1 model. Thanks for any help! Al Sumrall alsumrall2001@yahoo.com Austin Texas
I have been gathering information about the FT-17 for almost as long as I have been working on the USS Texas! Give me a call or personal email and I'll be happy to share.
As to a model, I have a scratch-built, all-steel 1/6 scale RC model of the FT-17 in the works.
If you are looking for precise measurements off an actual tank, you might want to contact "Tim the Tank Nut". He is restoring a real Renault FT-18 (essentially a FT-17 but with a cast turrent) and might be willing to take some measurements. You can try contacting him here: TankNet or here: Tim's Website
I'll have to check my files to see if I have any drawings with precise dimensions. I hope there are folks here at the Landships forum who can help!