Old Japanese Shinhoto Chi-Ha tank finished!

[Faust]

A lot of people feel like they should root for the underdog. Well, if that was the case, then the Japanese stable of WWII tanks would be getting love like no tomorrow! Of course, that’s not the case, and it fact I didn’t know much about Japanese tanks, other than that they were largely inadequate, until I picked up the old Fuijimi 1/76 Shinhoto Chi-Ha at a show. It was the same scale as my Matchboxes, and it looked weak and unloved, so I thought why not.

Just like Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tree, I thought if I gave the little guy some love he might turn out okay. Given that this is only my third tank, I actually am rather pleased at how it ended up. If you’re a fan of obscure and ineffective military hardware, follow the link below.

Given that I’m pretty new to armour, I’d be very appreciative of any comments you guys have!

https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/fujimi-1-76-type-97-kai-shinhoto-chi-ha/

[cobraman]

Looks good to me !

[Jim N]

Very nice looking!  Interesting camo scheme.

[Mike999]

Great job!  I thought you had airbrushed that hard-edged camouflage using the Blu-Tack method.  Hand-painting it so neatly is really an accomplishment, especially in Braille Scale.

If you're insane enough to try a Braille Scale diorama...here's a Japanese page with a battle history of Japanese tanks, 1932-44.  It gives the type and number of tanks used in each battle, the units and even names of the unit commanders.  The last entry is the horrendous battle of Peleliu in Sept. 1944, where 17 Type 95 tanks took part in a coordinated attack on the US landing force. As you mention, they were no match for Shermans or even bazookas and all were destroyed.

http://www3.plala.or.jp/takihome/history.htm