Model Art Co, Ltd

Panzer Graph #13, Summer 2008 "To Model the History: 90 Years of Japanese Tanks"

Reviewed By  Scott Hollingshead, IPMS# 34786

MSRP: 2200 YEN Website: www.modelart.jp My how time flies as Japan is marking the 90th year of their involvement with tanks, and for those who are interested in this subject; this is THE book for you. Amazingly, since I reviewed the Model Art issue 756, I have still not learned how to read Japanese. Fortunately, for those who are monolingual with the English language, there are two pages of English translation towards the back of this book (pages 120 and 121). This soft-cover book is 11-11/16 by 8-1/4 inches, so just about the same as a standard sheet of paper. From page 1 to page 111, everything is in color with the exception of some black and white period photographs scattered throughout the articles. From page 112 on, all pages are printed in black and white. The paper used for the printing is a heavy semi-gloss style that captures all of the images nicely. All images in the book are very well produced. Each kit write up is several pages long and takes the reader through construction, including information on dioramas the tanks are posed in when applicable. All of the models in this publication are 1:35 scale. The book begins with the future and shows the scratch building of the JGSDF new MBT (prototype) TK-X. There are seven pages worth of photos and a step through of the building process on this wonderful reproduction. There are three pages of walk-around photos of the real prototype tank that include some interior shots, which will also be of use to those wanting to build this tank. The book then goes back to the past for its first chapter with a two-page article on tanks in Japanese service from 1918 to 1930, which includes period photos. The first kit model article is on the Emhar Mk IV "Female" WWI heavy battle tank, and this includes two period photos of the real tank in Japanese markings. The other kit from this time is the RPM Type 79 "Ko-Gata" (Renault FT 17). The last page in this chapter mentions different kits of the early tanks used by Japan and some after-market track sets that are available for some of the tanks. The next chapter covers 1926 to 1940, with a similar two-page introduction and period photographs including one that appears to be black and white retouched with color. The kits in this chapter include a scratch built Type 89 tank followed by Finemolds Type 94 Light Armored Car "TK", Finemolds Type 95 Light Tank "Ha-Go", Finemolds Type 95 Light Tank "Manchuria Ver.", Gumka Type 89 Medium Tank, Finemolds Type 97 Light Armored Car "Te-Ke", Tamiya Japanese Type 97 Tank, and Finemolds Type 97 Medium Tank Improved "Shinhoto Chi-Ha". This chapter ends with three pages of information on kits and detail sets for the tanks of this era. Chapter 3 covers 1941 to 1945 and begins with another two-page introduction on this period again showing photographs from that era. This chapter includes Finemolds Type 1 Medium Tank "Chi-He", Finemolds Type 2 Tank Destroyer "Ho-I", Finemolds Type 3 Tank Destroyer "Ho-Ni III", Finemolds Type 3 Medium Tank "Chi-Nu", a scratch built Type 4 Medium Tank "Chi-To", and Brave Model Type 5 "Chi-Ri". Once again, there are two pages of kit and after-market information for the tanks of this era. The final chapter of the book covers 1946 to 2008 and the introduction pages has black and white as well as color photographs of the real tanks. The coverage in this chapter are mostly in the form of a short write-up with a photo of the built kit, sometimes a photo of the kit box is included, and in some instances there are additional photos of the kit showing further details. Tanks shown are the Italeri M32 Recovery Vehicle, Modelcraft M8A1 Cargo Tractor, Nitto Alligator LVT(A)5, Tamiya M42 Duster, Italeri M24 Chaffee, Dragon M4A3E8 Sherman JGSDF W/Tank Crew, and Tamiya M41 Walker Bulldog. The more modern variants include the Tamiya JGSDF Type 61 Tank (includes two black and white photos of the real tank), Tamiya JGSDF Type 74 Tank Winter Version (includes three additional pages of photos of the model and a page of walk-around photos of the real tank), and Tamiya JGSDF Type 90 Tank (the only detailed build of this chapter). There is no kit information at the end of this chapter. To finish out the book, there are three pages of listings by manufacturer for all of the kits and detail sets mentioned throughout the rest of the book. There is a nice two-page write up on the modelers who built the kits shown in book with photos of each individual and their tank. I mentioned the English Translation pages earlier, and they are for the building of the JGSDF New Tank TK-X, Type 89 Medium Tank, IJA Type 1 Medium Tank, and JGSDF 90 Tank only. The remaining ten pages are advertisements. As I mentioned at the start of this review, I would highly recommend this publication to anyone with an interest in Japanese tanks of any period. In addition, there are the tanks produced by other countries that have been used by the Japanese over the past ninety years. I would like to thank the folks at Model Art Modeling Magazine for providing this book to the IPMS for review, and I appreciate having been afforded the opportunity to write this appraisal.

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