Introduction
French tanks are not so common in war games so the models tend to be more expensive. Although they are available in both metal and plastic, both seem to retail for $15 dollars per tank. Thus I had plenty of incentive to design a paper model. After making sure they were not available from another designer, I set out to make a model.
One of the difficulties in building a French tank out of paper is that the hulls were usually cast with lots of curves. I have taken some artistic license to represent a curved hull without requiring the builder to actually make one.
Download
You can download the model and instructions in a Zip archive here: renault_r-35_v4.zip.
Construction Details
Development has gone slowly. After examining other models, I decided to create a new track section with the bogies and wheels layered on top to give it more visual depth. In the picture below, the new track section is on the right.
The new suspension is built up in layers. The first step is to cut out all the wheels. The holes in the rear wheel are approximately 1/16 in diameter and so I was able to use a punch from the craft store.
The springs are glued on above the wheels and then the outer axle parts are glued over the wheels and springs.
The main part of the hull goes together as one piece. I have been gluing the rear to the sides first and then working the top on starting from the front.
Finished Views
