By Jim Mesko
BACKGROUND
The Japanese Type 97 Chi-Ha was a medium tank fielded by the Japanese in the late 1930's. Fitted with a short barreled 57 mm cannon the tank saw its first action in China and Manchuria against Chinese and Russian forces. Against the lightly armed Chinese the Chi-Ha faired well, but against the more heavily armed Russian BT tanks the Type 97 was totally inadequate. As a result a new turret fitted with a 47mm gun was developed. Both types saw action in the Pacific but against tanks like the M4 "Sherman" it was totally outclassed. Later, when it came up against Russian T-34's in the closing days of the war it was literally a deathtrap for its crews.
Tamiya first manufactured the 57 mm gun version in the 1970's, then followed it up later with the 47 mm and self propelled gun versions. When it first came out the kit was excellent, and though it has now been surpassed by newer kits from Fine Molds the Tamiya kit can still be built into a very nice model with a little effort. For anyone with an interest in working on one I would suggest without reservation the excellent article done by Steve Zaloga in Military Modelling, Volume 29, Number 9 from 1999. Many of the things that I will discuss were gleaned from Steve's article. In addition the article has several combat photos along with a series of pictures of the actual build. It is a great piece of reference if you are going to build the kit. or have an interest in Japanese armor.
LOWER HULL
The lower hull has fixed suspension arms so unless you cut them off and reposition them you are pretty much going to have to have the tank sit fairly level. The road wheel arms can be positions at angles but I would suggest you keep them fairly level. The hull has adequate detail and builds up fairly quickly. The rear plate has one set of three lights and a single light (B39) that can be drilled to take either MV lens or tinted Epoxy glue. These make a big difference instead of just painting them in a gloss color. Be sure and add these after you are finished and have dull coated the model.
One addition that I can't recommend enough is the substitution of Friulmodel ATL-70 metal tracks to replace the kit rubber length ones. Though expensive they really give the look of heavy tracks with their characteristic sag. In addition during the weathering process the raised portion can be rubbed down to simulate the shiny surface of tracks coming into contact with the ground. They require some work to assemble but are worth the effort. I normally paint mine a gunmetal and add washes of rust and black before placing them on the hull.
UPPER HULL
The upper hull requires a little more work. The typical Tamiya "open" sponson's need to be filled in with sheet plastic and smoothed out. But if you plan to add dirt and mud to the hull this will cover it up so a perfectly smooth joint is not necessary. The armor panels over the side air intakes need to be either thinned down or replaced. I chose to thin down the outer edges and feel that this is more then adequate. I also rebuilt the jack on the right fender and substituted Evergreen round strips for the tool handles.
The biggest change that needs to be done is replacing the solid mufflers and their molded screen covers that go on the rear of each fender. For this you need the Eduard photo etch set # 35077 which unfortunately is out of production, but still can be found at shows and swap meets. It also has a lot of great detail parts but the screen is the main thing that is needed from it. The muffler front and back have to be cut from the molded on screen and a center section built up from plastic sections and contoured to fit under the Eduard screen. I would suggest painting both of them a rust color and waited until the very end to add them to the fenders so they don't get knocked off during construction and painting.
Aside from drilling out the front headlight and either thinning down or replacing various handles the only other thing that needs to be done is to thin down the fenders. I use a combination of X-acto blade, files, and sandpaper to get the fenders thin enough for "scale effect".
TURRET
The turret basically needs to be cleaned up. If you choose to have the split hatch open the Eduard set has parts that are helpful. But you also need to add some detail to the right hatch (C19) and some vision ports inside the hatch ring (C21 and C22) using some Evergreen "H" beams to simulate them. You have the option of leaving off the antenna and just having the mounts stick up but the antenna adds a cool look to the vehicle. Care must be taken removing the one piece section (C34) and removing the mold seam, but in the end I think it is well worth the effort. The commander's machine gun is actually very nicely molded and when cleaned up looks great at a rakish angle behind the turret hatch. Be sure and mount this and the other turret and hull machine gun after the final dull coat spray. I finish my machine guns in black and brush them with pencil lead to simulate their metallic sheen That pretty much finishes up the construction part of the build.
ADDITION
I planned to make my Type 97 in service on Saipan in 1944. Many of these tanks had a small platform attached to the lower rear hull to carry extra infantry. I decided to add one to mine since it gives the tank a different look. I made the frame out of evergreen "L" brackets and used the large pattern aluminum screening from Chesapeake Model Design for the platform. I eventually attached it to the hull using thin painted string to tie it on the lower hull brackets (B35) and the upper engine deck handles (B28). This was based on photos in the article and ones I copied at the National Archives.
PAINTING
Japanese armor was initially painted a green,reddish brown, and dull sand color with a yellow "cross" type irregular pattern . I believe the late Dave Harper in an article in Military Modelling suggested that the colors were very similar to German green, red brown and sand so I painted my Type 97 in a three tone hard edged camouflage pattern using the old Floquil military colors. Since washes and weathering tone down and blend the colors I think the basic colors are close enough.
I started off with the yellow cross pattern and then laid down the putty to mask it off. Then came the sand color, more masking, then the red brown, and finally the green. I normally let the paint sit 24 hours before masking for the next color. Once everything is dry the putty mask is lifted off. Any touch up can be easily done in one night.
The antenna is given a coat of "Rub N Buff " copper. While this is shiny, copper tends to dull with age. This will tone down when dull coating the model. The insulators on the antenna support are painted a wood color as are the tool handles. The metal parts of the tools are rubbed with pencil lead to give them a metallic sheen
DECALS
I wanted to do a Chi-ha from the 9th Tank Regiment on Saipan, like the one in Steve's article. For this you need the dry transfer Japanese decal sheet made by Ted Dyer. They can be found under Japanese Armor King on the Internet. The sheet contains a large number of markings. I had an older sheet and they are hard to get down but once you get them down they look superb.
WEATHERING
Once everything is done except for adding the MV lens, I sprayed the tank with a dull coat finish. After letting this dry for at least 24 hours I gave the vehicle a wash made up of Weber Turpenoid mixed with a small amount of Raw Umber oil paint. Turpenoid is a low strength turpentine substitute that will not attack the enamel paint base. Once this dried I then took and gave the rivets and panels lines a pin wash using the raw umber that has settled out to the bottom in the Turpenoid. After this has dried, normally at least 24 hours, I then went back over it with more wash. This was followed with a dry brush of Naples Yellow oil paint, hitting the high points.
I then mixed a slurry of fine dirt, water, small amounts of grass and vegetation and water based paint and brushed this on the lower hull. This was followed up with earth colored pastels and once everything had settled in and dried I used a stiff brush to remove the excess. On the tracks I used sandpaper to remove the mixture from the raised portion of the tracks to bring out the metal sheen of the Friulmodel tracks.
Once everything had dried I gave the Chi Ha a final dull coat spray and added the MV lens. Touches of rust colored paint and pencil lead are used to simulate wear and tear. I then added the two turret and hull machine guns.
FIGURE AND BASE
The figure is made from a Verlinden Japanese tanker with the head wrapped in the ceremonial headband. I painted this white with the Japanese flag and writing to give it a little color. The figure is modified using an arm with the samurai sword to depict the banzai charge against marine lines on the night of June 16th-17th, 1944. The oval base is stained, then covered with Acrylic Gesso. While wet I placed the tank where it would make an impression to simulate having moved and torn up the ground. After the gesso dried it was sprayed a brown color and various bits of debris, ferns, palm trunk, and Heki grass were added. I was very pleased with the overall effect and it took a silver medal at the 2008 TORCAN Convention in Toronto.
REFERENCES
"Japanese Armor, 1931-45" by Wawrzyniec Markowski and Andrzej Tomczyk, AJ Press
"Japanese Armor, Volume 1,2,3,4,5" by Andrzej Tomczyk, AJ Press
(If you have an interest in Japanese armor these books are fantastic! Though expensive they are worth the price if Japanese armor is your thing)
"Japanese Tanks 1939-45" by Steve Zaloga, Ospery Publications
(A concise history of Japanese armor at an affordable price with very nice artwork)
"Saipan Chi-ha" by Steve Zaloga, Military Modelling, Volume 29, Number 9
(Excellent article on building a Chi-Ha that formed the basis of my build)
Here is a photo of the Chi Ha at Aberdeen back in 2009 that was opened up especially for us during the AMPS tour. it was the first time it had been opened in 30/40 years. the turret hatch was so rusted shut they had to use a fork lift prong to pry it open.
Jim inside the Chi Ha at Aberdeen back in 2009 when it was opened especially for us during the AMPS tour. It was the first time it had been opened in 30-40 years and the turret hatch was so rusted shut they had to use a fork lift prong to pry it open.
The Japanese Type 97 Chi-Ha was a medium tank fielded by the Japanese in the late 1930's. Fitted with a short barreled 57 mm cannon the tank saw its first action in China and Manchuria against Chinese and Russian forces. Against the lightly armed Chinese the Chi-Ha faired well, but against the more heavily armed Russian BT tanks the Type 97 was totally inadequate. As a result a new turret fitted with a 47mm gun was developed. Both types saw action in the Pacific but against tanks like the M4 "Sherman" it was totally outclassed. Later, when it came up against Russian T-34's in the closing days of the war it was literally a deathtrap for its crews.
Tamiya first manufactured the 57 mm gun version in the 1970's, then followed it up later with the 47 mm and self propelled gun versions. When it first came out the kit was excellent, and though it has now been surpassed by newer kits from Fine Molds the Tamiya kit can still be built into a very nice model with a little effort. For anyone with an interest in working on one I would suggest without reservation the excellent article done by Steve Zaloga in Military Modelling, Volume 29, Number 9 from 1999. Many of the things that I will discuss were gleaned from Steve's article. In addition the article has several combat photos along with a series of pictures of the actual build. It is a great piece of reference if you are going to build the kit. or have an interest in Japanese armor.
LOWER HULL
The lower hull has fixed suspension arms so unless you cut them off and reposition them you are pretty much going to have to have the tank sit fairly level. The road wheel arms can be positions at angles but I would suggest you keep them fairly level. The hull has adequate detail and builds up fairly quickly. The rear plate has one set of three lights and a single light (B39) that can be drilled to take either MV lens or tinted Epoxy glue. These make a big difference instead of just painting them in a gloss color. Be sure and add these after you are finished and have dull coated the model.
One addition that I can't recommend enough is the substitution of Friulmodel ATL-70 metal tracks to replace the kit rubber length ones. Though expensive they really give the look of heavy tracks with their characteristic sag. In addition during the weathering process the raised portion can be rubbed down to simulate the shiny surface of tracks coming into contact with the ground. They require some work to assemble but are worth the effort. I normally paint mine a gunmetal and add washes of rust and black before placing them on the hull.
UPPER HULL
The upper hull requires a little more work. The typical Tamiya "open" sponson's need to be filled in with sheet plastic and smoothed out. But if you plan to add dirt and mud to the hull this will cover it up so a perfectly smooth joint is not necessary. The armor panels over the side air intakes need to be either thinned down or replaced. I chose to thin down the outer edges and feel that this is more then adequate. I also rebuilt the jack on the right fender and substituted Evergreen round strips for the tool handles.
The biggest change that needs to be done is replacing the solid mufflers and their molded screen covers that go on the rear of each fender. For this you need the Eduard photo etch set # 35077 which unfortunately is out of production, but still can be found at shows and swap meets. It also has a lot of great detail parts but the screen is the main thing that is needed from it. The muffler front and back have to be cut from the molded on screen and a center section built up from plastic sections and contoured to fit under the Eduard screen. I would suggest painting both of them a rust color and waited until the very end to add them to the fenders so they don't get knocked off during construction and painting.
Aside from drilling out the front headlight and either thinning down or replacing various handles the only other thing that needs to be done is to thin down the fenders. I use a combination of X-acto blade, files, and sandpaper to get the fenders thin enough for "scale effect".
TURRET
The turret basically needs to be cleaned up. If you choose to have the split hatch open the Eduard set has parts that are helpful. But you also need to add some detail to the right hatch (C19) and some vision ports inside the hatch ring (C21 and C22) using some Evergreen "H" beams to simulate them. You have the option of leaving off the antenna and just having the mounts stick up but the antenna adds a cool look to the vehicle. Care must be taken removing the one piece section (C34) and removing the mold seam, but in the end I think it is well worth the effort. The commander's machine gun is actually very nicely molded and when cleaned up looks great at a rakish angle behind the turret hatch. Be sure and mount this and the other turret and hull machine gun after the final dull coat spray. I finish my machine guns in black and brush them with pencil lead to simulate their metallic sheen That pretty much finishes up the construction part of the build.
ADDITION
I planned to make my Type 97 in service on Saipan in 1944. Many of these tanks had a small platform attached to the lower rear hull to carry extra infantry. I decided to add one to mine since it gives the tank a different look. I made the frame out of evergreen "L" brackets and used the large pattern aluminum screening from Chesapeake Model Design for the platform. I eventually attached it to the hull using thin painted string to tie it on the lower hull brackets (B35) and the upper engine deck handles (B28). This was based on photos in the article and ones I copied at the National Archives.
PAINTING
Japanese armor was initially painted a green,reddish brown, and dull sand color with a yellow "cross" type irregular pattern . I believe the late Dave Harper in an article in Military Modelling suggested that the colors were very similar to German green, red brown and sand so I painted my Type 97 in a three tone hard edged camouflage pattern using the old Floquil military colors. Since washes and weathering tone down and blend the colors I think the basic colors are close enough.
I started off with the yellow cross pattern and then laid down the putty to mask it off. Then came the sand color, more masking, then the red brown, and finally the green. I normally let the paint sit 24 hours before masking for the next color. Once everything is dry the putty mask is lifted off. Any touch up can be easily done in one night.
The antenna is given a coat of "Rub N Buff " copper. While this is shiny, copper tends to dull with age. This will tone down when dull coating the model. The insulators on the antenna support are painted a wood color as are the tool handles. The metal parts of the tools are rubbed with pencil lead to give them a metallic sheen
DECALS
I wanted to do a Chi-ha from the 9th Tank Regiment on Saipan, like the one in Steve's article. For this you need the dry transfer Japanese decal sheet made by Ted Dyer. They can be found under Japanese Armor King on the Internet. The sheet contains a large number of markings. I had an older sheet and they are hard to get down but once you get them down they look superb.
WEATHERING
Once everything is done except for adding the MV lens, I sprayed the tank with a dull coat finish. After letting this dry for at least 24 hours I gave the vehicle a wash made up of Weber Turpenoid mixed with a small amount of Raw Umber oil paint. Turpenoid is a low strength turpentine substitute that will not attack the enamel paint base. Once this dried I then took and gave the rivets and panels lines a pin wash using the raw umber that has settled out to the bottom in the Turpenoid. After this has dried, normally at least 24 hours, I then went back over it with more wash. This was followed with a dry brush of Naples Yellow oil paint, hitting the high points.
I then mixed a slurry of fine dirt, water, small amounts of grass and vegetation and water based paint and brushed this on the lower hull. This was followed up with earth colored pastels and once everything had settled in and dried I used a stiff brush to remove the excess. On the tracks I used sandpaper to remove the mixture from the raised portion of the tracks to bring out the metal sheen of the Friulmodel tracks.
Once everything had dried I gave the Chi Ha a final dull coat spray and added the MV lens. Touches of rust colored paint and pencil lead are used to simulate wear and tear. I then added the two turret and hull machine guns.
FIGURE AND BASE
The figure is made from a Verlinden Japanese tanker with the head wrapped in the ceremonial headband. I painted this white with the Japanese flag and writing to give it a little color. The figure is modified using an arm with the samurai sword to depict the banzai charge against marine lines on the night of June 16th-17th, 1944. The oval base is stained, then covered with Acrylic Gesso. While wet I placed the tank where it would make an impression to simulate having moved and torn up the ground. After the gesso dried it was sprayed a brown color and various bits of debris, ferns, palm trunk, and Heki grass were added. I was very pleased with the overall effect and it took a silver medal at the 2008 TORCAN Convention in Toronto.
REFERENCES
"Japanese Armor, 1931-45" by Wawrzyniec Markowski and Andrzej Tomczyk, AJ Press
"Japanese Armor, Volume 1,2,3,4,5" by Andrzej Tomczyk, AJ Press
(If you have an interest in Japanese armor these books are fantastic! Though expensive they are worth the price if Japanese armor is your thing)
"Japanese Tanks 1939-45" by Steve Zaloga, Ospery Publications
(A concise history of Japanese armor at an affordable price with very nice artwork)
"Saipan Chi-ha" by Steve Zaloga, Military Modelling, Volume 29, Number 9
(Excellent article on building a Chi-Ha that formed the basis of my build)
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