FCM 50t

ScaleX, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Zack Sex

S u m m a r y

ScaleX
FCM 50t
1:72 scale
Item No. SM72001

Available from ScaleX www.scalex.art

In the immediate post-war years, the French Army—l’Armée de Terre—was equipped with a true hodgepodge of tanks and armoured fighting vehicles. Captured German Panthers served in small numbers alongside American Shermans and Stuarts, the latter soon finding themselves fighting in northern Vietnam against Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh forces.

In 1945, however, France was not yet focused on colonial wars. Her attention lay firmly on reclaiming a traditional position of influence in Europe—an Europe that had been profoundly reshaped by the Second World War. The Soviet Union now dominated Eastern Europe, and tanks such as the T-34/85 and the formidable IS-3 were viewed as serious threats in the rapidly emerging Cold War. France could not afford to fall behind in the development of domestically produced armoured vehicles.

A first step had already been taken with the ARL 44. On paper, and certainly in appearance, it was an impressive beast, designed before the end of the war. In practice, however, it failed to meet expectations, and production was ultimately capped at just sixty vehicles.

That same year, the French firm Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée (FCM), along with competitors such as the state-run Atelier de Construction d’Issy-les-Moulineaux (AMX), was tasked with developing a replacement for both the German Panthers and the ARL 44 heavy tank then in service. FCM went straight back to the drawing board and produced a design that would never reach production: the FCM 50T.

The FCM 50T was a fascinating hybrid, blending elements of German heavy-tank design with distinctly French ideas. Its turret bore a strong resemblance to the Porsche Tiger II turret, mounted atop a stretched Panther-like hull running on tracks reminiscent of those used on the Char B. With armour up to 120 mm thick and a powerful 90 mm main gun, the FCM 50T would have been a formidable battlefield presence. Alas, it was not to be.

Were it not for the efforts of the legendary video game World of Tanks, the FCM 50T might have slipped entirely into obscurity. Fortunately, ScaleX of Ukraine has stepped into the void, producing a 1:72 scale, 3D-printed FCM 50T kit. Known primarily for their extensive range of wheels for modern and Second World War vehicles, this marks ScaleX’s first foray into complete tank kits—and it does not disappoint.

Inside the box is a thoughtfully designed and well-engineered set of parts, easy to remove from their print trees and designed to fit together cleanly. One important note for builders: the inner road wheels must be installed first, followed by the tracks, and only then the outer wheels. The decal sheet represents a hypothetical vehicle operating in Indochina, as depicted in the striking box art by Volodymyr Booth.

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Watch this space— a full build of the ScaleX FCM 50T is coming very soon!

Highly Recommended

Zack Sex

Thanks to ScaleX for the sample www.scalex.art