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I dont play WW2 in 28mm, but I occasionally do pieces for display, or in this case, as gifts for friends.

My chum from darkest Dorset, Mike, is currently training to run next years London Marathon in aid of an Asthma charity in the UK. Along with this he is also going to run an online wargames auction to raise funds for the charity too. He has some really cool items going into the auction, I have pledged to paint a tank for one item, and has also managed to work on this while also putting on a huge 28mm WW2 demo at Bovington this year.

As he looked suitable frazzeled when I saw him at Bovington, and didnt take the mikey as much as usual (he must have been tired), I offered to do him up a tank for his latest mad project – WW2 Far East in 28mm.

Below is the result that will soon be packed up and sent off to him… Hopefully he likes it!

That came up well - evidently one of Warlord's better resin models. I've said before that your style is particularly well suited to this scale (although Japanese armour tended to be painted in a more hard-edged patten). I'm sure your friend will be very pleased with this.

Most was hard edged... But I found soft edged patterns in use.... admittedly generally seen on 57mm armed Chi Ha tanks...



I wasnt overly impressed with the kit to be honest. Had to drill out all the barrels, tow hooks and exhausts, had to fill a huge gap from warped track units and rebuild the vision blocks that didnt cast.

Yeah, Warlord's resin kits really didn't get good til about the last year or so. Can't remember if the chi-ha was one of the 'acquired' kits like many of their original vehicles. But the last year and a half worth of releases have been pretty stellar.

 judgedoug wrote:
Can't remember if the chi-ha was one of the 'acquired' kits like many of their original vehicles.

Pretty sure it is (comes with Banzai box, which in turn came out about 2 years ago). When I got my Hellcat (came out May 2014), I was thunderstruck. WLG makes nice things.

Nicely done.

My Chi Ha fit together perfectly but another one of my tanks needs big pieces of resin cut off for the tracks to fit. Can't be bothered doing it.

Big P wrote:
Most was hard edged... But I found soft edged patterns in use.... admittedly generally seen on 57mm armed Chi Ha tanks...



I wasnt overly impressed with the kit to be honest. Had to drill out all the barrels, tow hooks and exhausts, had to fill a huge gap from warped track units and rebuild the vision blocks that didnt cast.

They where supposed to be hard edged but like a lot of nations you will find heaps of variation. I personally love the hard edge with yellow cross.

I too found the Chi Ha a pretty bad model from War Lord games. Not a fan of their vehicle kits. The overall vehicle looks really... soft or something.

Built and painted one not too long ago. Had to unbend the tracks. And the "peg" in the center of the turret was both too long, and angled. So not only did the turret stick up too high, but it also wouldn't lay flat. And the radio antenna was flattened.

Didn't have any other issues, though.

Out of couriosity, did you not paint the bronze imperial star on the front of the tank?

Would you want a shiny bronze star on the front of a tank in camo?

From pics I looked at, alot seemed to have been painted over.

Big P wrote:
Would you want a shiny bronze star on the front of a tank in camo?

From pics I looked at, alot seemed to have been painted over.

Given the operating conditions, nothing would have stayed shiny for long.

:p

True!

Though as an old tanker once said to me... 'we painted everything on the tank, spades, axes, everything - we'd have painted the driver if he had stood still long enough...'

Big P wrote:
True!

Though as an old tanker once said to me... 'we painted everything on the tank, spades, axes, everything - we'd have painted the driver if he had stood still long enough...'

That's good to know - now I won't bother painting the shovels anymore

Nice work once again big p, saw the table he put together down at bovington, great table and great show.
Was first time going and will go again, you don't happen to have any pics of his layout do you. Took a few but the camera was having a fit that day lol