Are there any 1:35 WWII Chinese Army figures out? Been watching WWII in HiDef and got me to thinking. This would be a much better application of Japanese armor.

Matt, I can't say as I know of anyone who makes any?

maybe somebody will prove me wrong.

paul

I think this old Warriors set is one of the only ones:



It is VLS Warriors set number WA35616. The guy in the tank is only a half figure though.

I believe they are Nationalist soldiers, probably between late 1930s to the end of 1945.

Karl. I don't think the helmet on the full figure is Chinese. The only thing I can see is that he is wearing the correct boots for a soldier in the Chinese army. The helmet and rest of the uniform appears to be German issue.

The Chinese Nationalists had a few different backers throughout their existence and they bought equipment off a lot of different countries. The Germans were very much involved in the organization, training and development of the Nationalist Chinese military hence the M1935 German helmet was fairly common for their troops, and the uniforms were usually somewhat similar looking to the German ones too- they also used a lot of pre-WW2 German weapons. In some pictures of the Chinese Nationalist militay, if not for the faces, the troops could be mistaken for Germans.

Some links of interest.

Bronco Sd.Kfz. 221 of the Chinese Nationalist Army.
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/review/4527
http://www.ww2incolor.com/chinese-forces/200_2.html

And a link providing further information.
http://www.histomil.com/viewtopic.php?f=94&t=7004

I had thought there was also a kit released of the Pz. 1 with Chinese markings, but apparently not.

In addition to German equipment, there were German military advisors present in China up to 1938, when Japan insisted they be removed.

Another link from Hardcorps models.
http://www.hardcorpsmodels.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=27&Itemid=28

Karl: I can see that in the links Russ posted. Thanks Russ. It looks like I can use some early war Germans to stand in for Chinese figures. I can definitely see some early war Russian armor.

I always think this is a good image to show the similarities between the NRA uniform and the German uniform:



Thats General Von Seeckt in the middle- although he is wearing a nice Officer's uniform you can see the Germanic style of uniform among the soldiers behind him.

During the war the NRA and the PLA were on the Allied side, the Germans had stopped equipping the NRA due to their pact with Japan. During the war the NRA were re-equipped with US equipment- most commonly the M1 Helmet, although some operating with the British would have used some of their equipment. I don't believe the uniforms were ever as similar to the US or British in comparison to the German style.

Have you anything planned at the minute?

I have to finish a few campaigns and my build for nationals, first. After that, I am thinking the early Japanese invasion of China. Perhaps the Japanese light tank being held off by soldiers of the NRA or PLA.

enter chinese 1/35 resin at ebay.com and you will find a M3 and a Sherman crew

I have Academy's M3 in my stash. This would be a good reason to finish it. I am at a loss as to what to pair it with. I have very little knowledge of Japanese operations in China. I see some midnight oil being burned while I study it.