Original Item: One of a Kind. Incredible Piece of Great War Era sculpture of an advancing FT-17 Tank. The sculpture consists of a cast Renault FT-17 which has been set in a base made of a matching cast material. The entire piece has been painted a dark brown color to give the entire piece a faux bronze appearance.  Secured around the base of the statue are two sections of two varieties of barbed wire. This gives the feel that the Tank is advancing over enemy barbed wire through No Man’s Land.

The Tank is marked under the front “B. (C within circle) W. 1918”.   Undoubtedly this is a period piece, based on materials alone this was made likely either during the war or up through the 1930s, likely by a veteran. The barbed wire is obviously a later addition. The base of the sculpture is covered with cardstock painted green.

The tank itself measures approximately 6 1/4" x 3 ¼” x 2 ¾”  The sculpture base measures 8 ¾” Long by 5 ½” wide, with a total height of 5” Tall.

This would make a fantastic addition to a WWI collection!

The Renault FT (frequently referred to in post-World War I literature as the FT-17, FT17, or similar) was a French light tank that was among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history.The FT was the first production tank to have its armament within a fully rotating turret.[note 1] The Renault FT's configuration (crew compartment at the front, engine compartment at the back, and main armament in a revolving turret) became and remains the standard tank layout. Consequently, some historians of armoured warfare have called the Renault FT the world's first modern tank.

Over 3,000 Renault FT tanks were manufactured by French industry, most of them in 1918. After World War I, FT tanks were exported in large numbers. Copies and derivative designs were manufactured in the United States (M1917 light tank), in Italy (Fiat 3000) and in the Soviet Union (T-18 tank). The Renault FT saw combat during the interwar conflicts around the world, but was considered obsolete at the outbreak of World War II