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Frot-Turmel-Laffly M 1915

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16 replies
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  • Member since
    February 2011
Posted by GreySnake on Monday, October 11, 2021 1:51 PM
Interested to see how this one turns out RG. I’ve been considering getting some other kits by the same manufacture the price right now is what is stopping me.
  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Posted by Real G on Friday, August 27, 2021 1:56 PM

RBaer

It would have been bad for me....   in Vegas, and the Nats? I have a system for both: bring only the cash I have allowed myself, use no plastic, never ever go anywhere near an ATM and walk away if and when the cash runs out.

I also have a "no plastic" policy.  No cash = no buy.  I only ran up to the edge once, when I went to Japan and the dollar was below 100 Yen.  I had only enough money to pay the airport usage fee ($20 I think) plus dinner.

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Dripping Springs, TX, USA
Posted by RBaer on Friday, August 27, 2021 12:54 PM

Real G

 

 
RBaer

You went to Nats and only bought one kit?!?!?  Dang it man.

 

 

Kinda like the last time I went back in 2018.  But to be perfectly honest, I used to buy, buy, buy until I ran out of money.  But that was long ago...

 

It would have been bad for me....   in Vegas, and the Nats? I have a system for both: bring only the cash I have allowed myself, use no plastic, never ever go anywhere near an ATM and walk away if and when the cash runs out.

Apprentice rivet counter.

  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Posted by Real G on Friday, August 27, 2021 12:33 PM

RBaer

You went to Nats and only bought one kit?!?!?  Dang it man.

Kinda like the last time I went back in 2018.  But to be perfectly honest, I used to buy, buy, buy until I ran out of money.  But that was long ago...

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Dripping Springs, TX, USA
Posted by RBaer on Friday, August 27, 2021 11:51 AM

You went to Nats and only bought one kit?!?!?  Dang it man.

Apprentice rivet counter.

  • Member since
    November 2005
  • From: Formerly Bryan, now Arlington, Texas
Posted by CapnMac82 on Thursday, August 26, 2021 5:30 PM

Gamera
It shows this awesome paint scheme- is this what you were thinking of Capt Mac?

I had not seen that precise image, but, that's the "look" I was thinking of.

And in a near pristine look, shown off somewhere near le quartier général du commandement de la Grande Armée, with a minor cloud of Field-grade Officers:

"Voyez, messieurs, Avec des merveilles comme celle-ci, la guerre sera gagnée d'ici Noël"

A subtle touche--and resisting having a flower pot of poppies might be tough . . .

  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Posted by Real G on Thursday, August 26, 2021 2:23 PM

You guys are incorrigible!  Yeah, I like the classic black outlined camo scheme.  I reserve the Jackson Pollock paint schemes for the St Chamond, and the Bob Ross schemes to canvases featuring "happy trees".  The painted background may seem ludicrous to us, but I remind myself that AFV design was in its infancy back in 1915.

I DID think "Jawa Sandcrawler" when I first spied the kit on the vendor's table...  Uchee-dee!!!  Stick out tongue

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Wednesday, August 25, 2021 7:39 PM

I looked it up in Francois Vauvillier's 'The Encyclopedia of French Tanks and Armoured Vehicles 1914-1940'. 

It shows this awesome paint scheme- is this what you were thinking of Capt Mac?

If you wanted to show one in service you could use a little artist's creativity like this Saint Charmond apparently camoed by a very young Jackson Pollock.

Or this Renault ED Machinegun Car or Renault Blindee camoed by an ancestor to Bob Ross.

  

 

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Posted by Real G on Wednesday, August 25, 2021 5:05 PM

CapnMac, you are a TROUBLEMAKER!  Now I cannot unsee that!  Aaaargh!  Must...  Do.. Vignette...

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

  • Member since
    November 2005
  • From: Formerly Bryan, now Arlington, Texas
Posted by CapnMac82 on Wednesday, August 25, 2021 4:28 PM

Real G
appears from period photos that the vehicle was just an overall gray.

Yeah, but a person could be forgiven for using a black-outline 3/4 color French camo scheme--for the élan, comprendezvous Smile

Which a person could set upon a pristine bit of cobblestone street, perhaps with some senior officers in formal French uniforms, just because.

  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Posted by Real G on Wednesday, August 25, 2021 12:25 PM

Gamera,

I was looking for a quick, easy build, and this one fits to a tee!

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Wednesday, August 25, 2021 11:14 AM

Oh wow, how cool!

And fun to paint, grey and mud...

You could almost scratchbuild one- though after the Bakagalas you're probably sick of rivets...

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Posted by Real G on Wednesday, August 25, 2021 11:09 AM

During tests it was found to be unsatisfactory.  I would imagine its cross country mobility would have been terrible.  The roller and rear wheels lacked treads of any sort, so they would have afforded zero traction in mud.  With 1/4" thick armor, its occupants would have been protected only from the enemy's harsh language.  And with its tiny 20 HP petrol engine, they would be unable to escape hostile ridicule with any haste.

To be honest, I am out of storage space, so buying less is easy!  I used to come home with stacks of kits that would have made the FSM Mob blush.

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

  • Member since
    July 2015
Posted by MR TOM SCHRY on Wednesday, August 25, 2021 8:13 AM

Very interesting subject. I can't imagine this vehicle making it across No Man's Land very easily.   I commend you for only making one purchase while at the nationals!  It must've taken a lot of will power to walk past all of those kits.

TJS

  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Posted by Real G on Wednesday, August 25, 2021 12:52 AM

We'll see how long they last!  Stick out tongue

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

  • Member since
    April 2015
Posted by Mopar Madness on Tuesday, August 24, 2021 10:02 PM

Such an odd subject. Those grab handles really do look extra delicate!

Chad

God, Family, Models...

At the plate: 1/48 Airfix Bf109 & 1/35 Tamiya Famo

On deck: Who knows!

  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Frot-Turmel-Laffly M 1915
Posted by Real G on Tuesday, August 24, 2021 1:21 PM

This weird WW I French prototype AFV was my only personal model purchase at the 2021 IPMS National Convention.  After a quick dive into the Google-verse, I learned it was an actual vehicle built on a steamroller(!) chassis.  I like weird subjects, and even more so when they were actually built and tested.  So this 1/35 kit by Vargas Scale Models ticks off all the right boxes!  It is 3-D printed using the SLA (resin bath) process, which is superior to FDM (hot glue gun).

Notice the door grab handles molded integral with the hull.  I'm not sure how they will look under paint, and if they will survive handling.  They will be easy to replace with wire if need be.

As slow a modeler as I am, this one has GOT to be a quick build!  Although no color or marking guide is provided with the kit, it appears from period photos that the vehicle was just an overall gray.  So weathering will be key to making it look interesting.  I will do my best to get this one across the bench faster than my last completion (the 33 year old Bakagalas).

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

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