The Road to Singapore: Malaya 1941-42

[rtfoe]

Tim, welcome back. Great detective work and good spotting the difference in stowage for the Ha-Go. Well done on the scratchery. I'm guessing the thin material used could be zinc sheets as it was a popular material used to make containers with.
Would this be the same unit that fought all the way from the North down the peninsular? There may be some images in the earlier campaign to check or did they fit it in Kuala Lumpur where tin and metal workshops made these containers.

Cheers,
Richard

[TIM FORSTER]

Thanks Rick, Tim, Neil, Paul.

And Richard, that's an interesting suggestion. Zinc... is that a bit like tin?

For a nation that would go on to make cameras for most of the world, the Japanese appear to have taken precious few photos during the Second World War... at least there are certainly very few images from their side during this campaign. Or maybe the photos have yet to surface.

I have looked all over the internet and I have yet to find any images of any other Ha-Gos with this stowage configuration. As we will see, there are aspects of their camouflage and markings that also make them unusual...

[TIM FORSTER]

Now I am going to the get on to the painting… which is a story in itself.

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The world of Japanese tank colours is a rabbit-hole all of its own and I am not going to take you all down it with me on this post, but most of us are familiar with the fact that most IJM armour was painted in fairly elaborate camouflage schemes throughout the war.

In this regard they were far ahead of the later war German camo patterns, although it is worth remembering that all the major combatants of the Second World War experimented with disruptive schemes to some extent. The Japanese were, of course, prepared for fighting in sun-dappled jungle environments, although I cannot help thinking that they were also influenced by the French, who used particularly striking camouflage (it is a French word after all) on their early war tanks.

Undoubtedly the best-known pattern is the one where the three main colours were disrupted with a fourth: yellow stripes painted in a wavy cross which subdivided the vehicle into four quarters. This scheme is indelibly fixed in my mind from those Chi-Has which appeared in the early Tamiya catalogues.

However, after intensive study of the photos of the Bakri Ha-Gos it becomes apparent that they did not have this fourth element: despite the fact that the images are in black and white, you can clearly see that they were painted in three contrasting shades.

These were also hard-edged, suggesting that the tanks were hand painted. From what I have read this is consistent with early war Japanese armour. The camo was also painted in a distinctive cloud pattern - almost like jigsaw pieces. You can see this very clearly on these close ups of the leading tank which is the one my model represents…

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However, when I looked for colour plates on line I was surprised that I couldn’t find any that matched this scheme - or the markings (which I will come to a little later). Since the tanks from the Bakri action are probably the most photographed Japanese tanks of the entire war I must say that I find this a bit odd… so I had to ad lib.

[TIM FORSTER]

Some time ago I bought these Hataka paints.

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The Hataka paints were odd compared to my usual experience with Tamiya and Vallejo. Once I realised that I had the brush painting set I assumed that they would need a decent amount of thinning for airbrushing. But even though I used their own brand of thinner, the first mix was much too ‘wet’. They also have an odd, milky sheen when diluted - although this disappears as they dry. Worst of all, they end up with a chalky feel on the model’s surface which doesn’t adhere to the layer underneath particularly well (the odd edge or corner would rub off slightly as I handled the model even after it had been left to dry for a considerable time).

Anyway, I persevered. I began with a base coat of Khaki-Iro, which is not dissimilar the British khaki in that it is noticeably a lot more brown than green. This was then lightened with a little yellow and white for a sort of pre-shading - although it is worth remembering that all colours should be lightened for true scale effect.

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So here is the model after I had finished the base coat…

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One fortunate aspect of the Dragon kit is that I was able to keep the complete exhaust assembly as a separate assembly for painting - it just fits beneath the photoetch exhaust shroud once the latter has been fixed in place.


Something I didn’t notice at the time was that these sets come in at least two types: brush (blue) and airbrush (red) varieties (there are also lacquer sets for some colours). I had acquired the blue brush painting set. As things turned out this was probably a fortunate choice…

[rtfoe]

Hi Tim,
Great SBS on the Ha-Go color scheme and application.
I think the attacks were such a surprise that filming probably wasn't priority.
Tin could have been one of the compounds for zinc but it was used mostly to line the insides of canned foods and beverages an invention that made Tin a sort after ore mineral.

Cheers,
Richard

[Mini Me]

Nice job on the base coat.......unusual characteristics in those paints to cause "chalking" when dry. Is it acrylic, lacquer or enamel base Tim? Rick H.

[scottie3158]

Tim,
A lot of interesting information. The paint job looks good.

[Airborne01]

Tim,
Are those tow cables on the rear engine plate? This is coming along very nicely, I've never considered a Japanese tank before but you've piqued my interest! Thanks
Steve

[adt70hk]

Just had a catch-up Tim.

Rusty is coming on very nicely indeed despite some of the issues you've had.

ATB.

Andrew

[TIM FORSTER]

Hi Tim,
Great SBS on the Ha-Go color scheme and application.
I think the attacks were such a surprise that filming probably wasn't priority.
Tin could have been one of the compounds for zinc but it was used mostly to line the insides of canned foods and beverages an invention that made Tin a sort after ore mineral.

Cheers,
Richard

Thanks Richard, I will bear that in mind when I paint and weather the stowage box...

[TIM FORSTER]

Nice job on the base coat.......unusual characteristics in those paints to cause "chalking" when dry. Is it acrylic, lacquer or enamel base Tim? Rick H.

Rick, they are definitely water-based acrylics, because Hataka have a separate lacquer range. I was also using the dedicated Hataka thinner.

So who knows? All I can say is that I won't be rushing to use them again... Which is a shame, because I believe the colours are accurate.

[TIM FORSTER]

Tim,
A lot of interesting information. The paint job looks good.

Thanks Scottie - hopefully I can keep it up!

[TIM FORSTER]

Tim,
Are those tow cables on the rear engine plate? This is coming along very nicely, I've never considered a Japanese tank before but you've piqued my interest! Thanks
Steve

Steve, they are indeed tow cables.

I too had little interest in Japanese armour until I went to Japan a couple of years ago and bought the original Fine Molds kit. They are, indeed, fascinating little tanks which do not deserve the bad reputation that they seem to attract when people compare them to later war opponents such as the Sherman.

When you bear in mind that the Commonwealth forces had no tanks in Malaya in 1941/42, they were certainly more than adequate!

[TIM FORSTER]

Just had a catch-up Tim.

Rusty is coming on very nicely indeed despite some of the issues you've had.

ATB.

Andrew

Thanks Andrew - more to come!

[TIM FORSTER]

OK, so the next stage was definitely the most daunting.

Hand-painting camouflage is something I don’t believe I have tried since I was about twelve… and that would have been either an Airfix plane or a Matchbox tank.

There are other ways, of course. The most popular these days seems to be to use ‘crazy putty’ to mask the different layers of camo one after the other and then apply the colours with a airbrush. Or you can try and mask each area with multiple layers of masking tape.

However, both of these involve a lot of pre-planning and, it seems to me, an awful lot of work before you even get to put paint on the model. Plus this was, after all, a hand-painted pattern and I had a set of paints that were designed (apparently) for brush painting.

So who was I to argue?

That didn’t stop me from trying to be clever in other ways. Initially, I printed out some line drawings of the Ha-Go and started to map out the pattern on those with felt tip pens. But then I thought: “Just get on with it!” So I did…

As I have said, the Type 95 I am depicting here must be one of the most comprehensively photographed examples of the Second World War, so at least I had something of a head start. However, the difficulties with old black and white photos are many and various. First off, we do not have a nice walk-around to show the tank from all angles. Secondly, even when we have what looks like a decent shot (like some of those above), the tricks of light and contrast simply make some of the tones simply disappear.

However, using the parts of the pattern which are visible - most notably the front of the hull, the turret side and the port side of the fighting compartment - I did my best to guess what else was going on. So I am certainly not suggesting that this is anything like 100% accurate…

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At this stage, with no washes or weathering, the results are a bit toy-like I admit. But then that is what the next stage is all about - making this look more like the real thing, albeit in miniature...