Jeff,
Been following this build also and am very impressed with everything you've done. If I may, having spent the last 9 years working with the Japan Self Defense Force, I'd like to offer a few suggestions.

First, I would recommend removing the chest holster from the commander. Have never seen JSDF ever use those, and it really seems out of place to me. Can't say definitively someone might have carried one in Iraq, but it's not something they would use during training, exercises or demos.

Second, reference your question about the camo, I would definitely recommend going with the camo unless you have some specific scenario in mind. It's pretty much the only field uniform you'll see these days. Looks like the guys in the photo on the left were probably representing OPFOR during an exercise. The plain OD is definitely not standard for JGSDF. Also, it's not digital camo, per se. More like polka-dots over a multi colored background (at this scale, probably looks all the same anyway). Lots of closer-in photos on the web for reference.

Lastly--and this is admittedly a real stretch--JGSDF camo uniforms have fabric loops sewn onto the back right over the shoulder-blades. These are for inserting grass, etc. for camouflage. Under normal use these stay pressed pretty flat, but they are there. A couple of rectangles of foil glued to the backs of your figures would mimic this pretty well. You can just make them out in this photo:



Ignore the rest of the kit in the photo: this guy is an Airsoft fan, not a soldier, but the best photo of the back of the uniform I could find.

Good luck with your continuing build! I have a Trumpy Type96 in the stash, and I will definitely be using your fantastic blog as a reference.

Jeff -- This has been a blast to study. Thanks for tracking your progress! I can't wait to see it again in person!

Mark,

Thank you for your comments and suggestions. You deleted your earlier post right after I saw it, so I was worried you had changed your mind about commenting.




Do you know what pistols and holsters, if any, have the JGSDF APC Crewmen used?




I found these images on the web, is it the correct pattern and is the web gear correct for the APC Crewmen?





And I just found this of the back of the uniform. Jackpot!



And I'm humbled that you plan to use my blog as a reference for your Type 96.

I'll bring it to the next meeting. Are you going to bring yourself? (hint, hint, nudge, nudge)

Thank you for visiting my blog.

That is one impressive build.

I'm shocked I've never seen this build before! Amazing work!! Super impressive!!

Jeff,
Yes, jackpot indeed on the photos. The top picture looks like it may be a commercial reproduction (knockoff) of the patterns simply because the colors look a little off, but could be lighting. The lower photos are showing quite a bit of fading, but the pattern itself is correct.

Wikipedia has a pretty decent page on JGSDF Equipment

Talks about camo patterns as well as individual equipment. May be useful if you are going for a specific timeline. Based solely on my observation (and no other solid references so I stand open to correction by anyone with better knowledge), I would say that it is not very common to see personnel carrying sidearms, so if you left them off completely I think it would not be at all incorrect.

Cheers, and thanks for allowing me to contribute in my own small way to such an outstanding project.

Jeff, I wanted to say, as a fan of obscure modern armour, I've enjoyed every word of this thread. Japanese military vehicles sure provide a welcome break from all the more common types we usually see. Thanks for your perseverance.

Thank you, Hyder. I'm glad you like it.

James,

I'm actually not surprised you haven't seen this before, since I have been posting updates ANNUALLY.

Hopefully, I'll get my rear end in gear and finish this up in the next couple months.

Mark,

I appreciate your help and guidance, since my knowledge on the JGSDF is rather limited. Actually, nearly everything I've learned about them is from this build.

Feel free to keep commenting.

Rob,

I'm glad you've enjoyed what I've done so far, and I agree that learning about this "obscure" vehicle has been quite enjoyable.

I'll try to post a little more often so everyone can enjoy this more, but don't hold me to it.

[Picture Links Corrected]

A brief update.

I started the painting phase by first washing all of the various parts in a warm water and dish soap solution, followed by a warm water rinse and air drying. Due to using PE, copper wire, metal tubing, etc., I primered most of the parts with either Tamiya #87044 Fine Surface Primer L (White) or TS70 Olive Drab (JGSDF) in a rattle cans. The White was used on the hull and other parts primarily to enable to also “paint” the white interior. The OD was used on the suspension parts, M2 MG Mount and Ring, Tools, inside the Air Intake, Jerry Cans, Ammo Boxes, Tow Cable, and the Tail Light Units.














I also started hand painting some details inside the crew compartment such as the Seat Cushions, Knobs, etc. The interior details are just to look like something if you look around the crew figures that will be in the hatches.








I plan to paint some more details in the interior such as the floor, and then I'll doe some pin washes to get the details to stand out a little.

Still more primering to do.

[Picture Links Corrected]

Well, I didn’t finish in time for the 2016 AMPS International Convention. Bummer, but I also didn’t want to rush and make a mistake that I couldn’t correct.

I detail painted some of the items I added to the interior and did a wash to emphasize shadows and details. I forgot to take any pictures of this before I covered the openings with tape masks so I could paint the exterior, so I’ll have to take some then.

I pre-shaded the exterior with Tamiya JGSDF Olive Drab rattle can #TS-70, followed by an AB coat of Tamiya JGSDF Dark Green #XF-73. The same was done to the exterior of the hatches, Hull Top Plate, Heavy MG Mount, etc.














Since the can of Tamiya OD ran out, I painted the tools and other accessories with Polly Scale Olive Drab #505370, as that appears to be their standard color. For the tools I added some Citadel Boltgun Metal dry brushing.


The 3 Periscopes for the Driver’s Hatch and the single Periscope for the Hull Gunner’s Hatch had strips of painters tape added to mask the clear glass portions were also painted with the Polly Scale Olive Drab. The tape was removed revealing the periscope “reflectors” inside the clear windows. I’ll have to drill a hole in the flat side of each of the Driver’s Hatch Periscopes to provide a reinforcement for gluing them in place.


The 0.50 Cal HBMG received a coat of Pactra Black followed by a thin coat of Vallejo Oily Steel #70.865. The grips were painted Vallejo Flat Brown #70.984.




I painted the tracks a pre-shade of Pactra Black. Then I cut narrow strips of painters tape the width of the inner track pads and placed them on each side of the track guide horns. Then I AB sprayed a coat of Vallejo Track Primer #304. For the outside track pads, I decided I’ll just brush paint the flat surface to represent the black contact area. I thought about using masking fluid, but the product indicated that it should not be used over water-based products. Once I remove the tape, I’ll paint the short strips of track primer in between the pads with a brush.


In order to close up the Hull, I first will have to install the Driver and Bow Hull Gunner in their seats, since they won’t fit through their respective hatch openings. I first sprayed them with Tamiya Surface Primer Fine L (White) #87044. The figures shown are the Track Commander and the Heavy Machine Gunner.




Then I painted the uniforms with a base coat of Polly Scale Italian Hazel Tan 4 #505284, followed with splotches of Polly Scale British Brown Drab #505032 and Vallejo Flat Brown. This was followed with a wash of Testers FX Black Stain #79312 and a dry brushing of Polly Scale Dust #505202. The faces were painted by first base coated with Vallejo Flat Flesh #70.955, followed by an overcoat of Vallejo Dark Flesh #70.927, detail painted the eyes and eyebrows with Pactra Black, the lips & nostrils with Vallejo Flat Brown, and a wash of Testers FX Rust #2 Stain #79313. The CVC Helmets were painted Pactra Black, followed with Polly Scale Olive Drab, the Goggle Straps with Polly Scale British Brown Drab and finally a dry brushing of Polly Scale Dust. I painted the CVC Helmet Mikes and Wiring Harnesses Pactra Black separately, and then glued them into pre-drilled holes in the bottoms of the headsets. A sprayed coat of Testor’s Dullcoat toned down any shine.








I cutout a “Clear Goggle Lense” shaped piece of thin clear plastic sheet for the Driver’s Goggles, and glued in place using Testers Canopy Glue, but I’m not happy with the result so I might remove it, trim it some, and use super glue.




I’ve still got a lot more to paint, but first up will be masking and spraying the JGSDF Brown Camouflage pattern on the hull. Fingers are crossed that I will start masking this evening...

[Picture Links Corrected]

(started on 09SEP16)

Well, I screwed up. It took me awhile to figure out what I did wrong, but I realized what I did. Actually, a few wrongs.

In June, I masked the Hull and the Hull Top Plate with Silly Putty and wide masking tape for the JGSDF Brown Camouflage pattern following the instructions pattern for Scheme 1 (Schemes 4 & 6 also following the same standard pattern). I tried painter’s tape, but it wasn’t sticking to the Silly Putty (Mistake #1).










I also placed the Road Wheels, Drive Sprocket and Support Rollers that needed to be painted the JGSDF Brown Camouflage on the ends of tooth picks.


So on the morning of a Saturday Club Build Day (04JUN16), I rushed to airbrush the Tamiya JGSDF Brown (XF-72). I thought I was adding my premixed 50/50 Tamiya Lacquer Thinner (X-20A) & commercial Lacquer Thinner, which I had in a clear 35mm case. I added this with the paint and sprayed it onto the masked hull parts. After drying, there were still some shiny spots (Clue #1). Oh well, not that big of problem, since I plan to Flat Coat the model after adding decals and washes.


I took my freshly painted model to the Club Build Day, and while there removed the masking tape and Silly Putty. Besides the shiny spots, I also noticed that some of the masked edges of the Brown were thick and raised (Clue #2). I also noticed that the masking tape had left some glue residue, but I figured this can be removed with “tacking” with tape (like removing lint from cloths). To top it all off, the Silly Putty left a “residue” mark in the JGSDF Light Green paint, which I had read that it’s NOT supposed to do. So here’s how the hull camo looked:






Needless to say, I was a bit frustrated, so I “walked away” from the build for a while.

Earlier I forgot to take some pictures of the interior after painting and applying a wash, so here are a few:






I’m not trying to make it accurate or even all that realistic, just that you see some details around the figures that will be in the hatches.

After about a month or so, I was looking at something on my MESSY work bench and noticed a clear plastic 35mm Film Canister with a clear liquid in it. And it had “50/50 Thinner Mix” marked in it (Clue #3!). Then I suddenly realized, after using my vast set of deductive powers, that the clear plastic 35mm Film Canister containing a clear liquid that I had used to thin the Tamiya JGSDF Brown, was actually my clear plastic 35mm Film Canister containing Pledge Future. #$@#$%#$^!! I didn’t THIN the brown paint, I THICKENED it AND made it gloss!

More time to “step away” and cool off. Almost two more months.

In the middle of September, I was finally ready to take another stab at trying to finish up this LONG build. I have looked at the paint finish, and it appears that the “residue” mark in the JGSDF Light Green paint seems to have almost disappeared.

I didn’t like how the clear plastic that I had glued into the Driver’s Goggles using Testor’s Canopy Glue had turned out (one side was sticking out of the goggles frame), so I removed it to try again.


[BREAK]

Actually, I was mistaken. It’s been THREE more months, and I’ve done next to nothing on this build, so I obviously wasn’t ready to start back on it. I guess I’m still kicking myself for making such a dumb mistake after working for so long on this build.

I did purchase a bottle of Deluxe Materials' “Strip Magic” to possibly remove the “bad” sections of paint. Or all of the paint. The main advantage I’ve read about for this product is it is a gel consistency that you can apply to specific areas with a q-tip and then remove after a few minutes, thus only stripping targeted areas of paint from the plastic.



What to do, what to do? Have any of you used Strip Magic for a similar situation? Or should I just attempt to sand down the raised edges of brown paint and continue? I’m not worried about the gloss, as I plan to use a final spray of Testor’s Dullcoat.

Hi Jeff
I can't understand how I missed this fabulous build this long!
First let me congratulate you for all the details you put in it.

Concerning the paint,I'm not sure that trying to rmeove the excess of Brown with your magic product will bring satisfatory results. You'll still have edges between the "cleaned" areas and the green.
To me you just have two options:
1. sanding the brown with fine grit car sand paper,
2. striping all the paint with your magic product.

I do hope you'll fix this. Good luck!

Olivier

Had the same problem with silly putty masking on a Land Rover.

I think the solution to avoid those marks is to use the method ONLY on glossy finishes (i.e. put a good coat of gloss varnish first BEFORE the masking).

Cheers,

Christophe

Thank you for your kind words and encouragement, Olivier.

I too agree with your possible solution points. I think I'll try to sand the raised edges first, and if that's not successful, then resort to stripping the entire outside surfaces and repaint.

I'm glad you like this, and since I've been working on this intermittently for YEARS, your missing this build is easily understandable.

Happy Modeling,

Thank you for stopping in and commenting, Christophe.

So what did you do for your Land Rover with Silly Putty Masking residue?

I went over with drybrush, washes and clear coats, but it never went away...

You can still spot it when you look on the border of the black camo.

Here's how it looked jut after I removed teh silly putty...

Christophe,

Thank you for the pictures and the details of what you did for your Land Rover. It looks to me that you may have a had a little over spray in between the lines of Silly Putty, but that could just be me.

A master in our local AMPS Chapter suggested spraying the surfaces with lacquer thinner, but I haven't tried that, yet.

I have noticed that the residue marks on my Type 60 have almost completely disappeared in the past six months. I'll try to post a picture soon. I think over the Christmas break I'll try the Lacquer spray to see if it removes the remainder.

Happy Modeling,

Well, I tried using a q-tip soaked in lacquer thinner to try and clean off what remained of the Silly-Putty residue and the glue from the masking tape.

I should have tried just spraying the lacquer thinner on instead. The q-tip "distressed" the brown and green camo paint, so now I'm forced into stripping the paint from the exterior and repainting it.

Oh well, I did think I had laid the multiple coats on too heavy.

I'm going to try Deluxe Materials' Strip Magic and see how well it works.

Hopefully, I won't turn the model into a melted pile of polystyrene.