FCM36 - a great looking French Char Léger

[Chris ITA]

Hi Guys,

Here is my current pet project, the Azimut ADV FCM36

The FCM 36 was developed in the early 1930s by Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée in response to a tender invitation from the French Armée to develop an inexpensive mass production light tank. FCM competed with established tank development teams at Renault and Hotchkiss and eventually the R35, H35 and FCM36 were all accepted by the army and entered production

100 FCM36s were produced and when they saw combat with Panzers in 1940 it fared relatively well, easily coping with PzI and PzIIs, and although its small calibre 37mm gun was insufficient to knock out the Panzer III, its 40mm of sloped armour was capable of withstanding the best armour piercing round available to the PzIII at that time resulting in something of a draw

As we know, the majority of French tanks available in 1940 were technologically superior to the Panzers of the time, and were available in far greater numbers. However; German tank tactics were lightyears ahead of French armoured doctrine meaning that the Chars never really got to show what they could do, distributed as they were in small packets all along the French lines

 

[Chris ITA]

So on to the kit!

As far as I know, this is the only FCM36 available in 1/35, but the box is something of a mixed bag.

The detail on the kit, latches, grilles, rivets etc, is superb. Clearly someone has spent a lot of time making a great master

However the fit, as we shall see later, is less than good indicating a lot of new moulds have come from a very old kit (with all the problems that brings). In addition, the way in which the master was prepared for casting brings its own problems

The kit does have a basic interior. Unfortunately none of it (and I mean not one piece) is mentioned on the instruction sheet :huh: So some research is required

Anyway, here's where I started: the upper hull:

The ribs across this have likely been put in there to brace the upper hull and reduce warp in the casting. Unfortunately with the hatches open and the work I need to do on the turret, they will need to come out.

Some hackerizing later:

As you can see, I have also hacked a ring for the turret. the kit would have you attach it to a lug on the top of the hull, but as the turret hatch is very large and I want it open, I have some work to do.....

 

[lupanzer]

Dear Chris.

...hope to see another great job on this one!...good luck my friend!

Best!

Luiz.

 

[Chris ITA]

With that done I added some stowage missing from the kit: the 37mm ammunition racks. I don't know about you, but its bad enough being given a peashooter without them leaving out the ammo

A bit ropey, but should look right viewed through the hatches later

Next I made a new floor for the turret as it was easier than cleaning up and coverting the kit one

And scratched a basic set of vision port interiors, gun breech, gun sight and MG breech for the turret interior before attaching the base

 

[Chris ITA]

Thanks Luiz :laugh:

 

[Chris ITA]

So then I attached the running gear (reasonably straightforward) and completed the interior as per photos off the tinternet

The firewall is my own creation as the kit didn't have one!

I also opted to add Hobbyboss H35 track. This is not technically correct, but the kit tracks were appalling, and these were close, so on they went

With all that done I could seal the upper and lower hulls and the full hoorror of old moulds emerged, you could drive a bus through that gap:

I favour a filler made of superglue and talcum powder; it sets solid in 5 minutes, sands to a very fine finish and leaves your models smelling nice. It is also particularly good on resin as it adheres to resin very well indeed.

After about 10 minutes (including setting time) I had this:

 

[Tim A.]

Hi Chris, This looks interesting. My next project is the B1 bis so watching this build will put me in the French mood

Tim

 

[Chris ITA]

Thanks Hood. That Char B is a really superb kit it'll be even better when the aftermarket boys get their finger out and finish that interior :laugh:

So on with the build, with the gaps zapped I moved on to some of the fittings. These are mostly OK, although the kit suffers from 'not supplied-itis' where its specifies chain etc that you have to source yourself :huh:

The exhaust however was quite badly cast with a lot of mould slip where the two mould halves have become badly misaligned over time. It was easier to just make a whole new one

And to help you all get your head around the size of this thing, here's a comparison with one of the better known dinky-tanks; a 38t

 

[Chris ITA]

apologies now for a bit of a fastforward.

I finished the tools and whatnot, shot some primer, then the preshade, then the base colour

Then I had a go at a 3 colour scheme but it went a bit wrong, so I oversprayed with more base then added just green disruptive. As you can see, the base colours are now pretty much done and the decals are on courtesy of the excellent Minitracks sheet

Next up: weathering begins, a base is painted and a figure is started

 

[Kreighshoer]

damn good work on that tricky kit!

 

[Chris ITA]

Thanks Laura

I done slapped some more paint on it and weathered it with oils and apart from the figure its done :laugh:

 

[Kreighshoer]

oh yessssssss! i love the mufflers in particular!

 

[Jenny Croft]

Yeah me too , those Mufflers are sweet , I love that you have given some rich robust tones to the weathering . I think you get such a thrill out of making a pig of a kit into an awesome work of art . Top Marks Chris

Jenny :kiss:

 

[Legio Italica]

Very interesting subject Chris and the building and painting looks very well done ! ! !...

Cheers
Massimo

 

[Tim A.]

It looks Superb Chis. I love the weathering. Can't wait to start the Bis but must finish the Sturmy build first.

Tim