Japanese Infantry
Atlantic 1:72 Scale Miniatures Review
Atlantic Japanese Infantry was sold under the name “Sendai”, apparently referring to the 2nd Infantry Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, which was commissioned in the city of Sendai on 14 May 1888. The division was involved in the Marco Polo Bridge incident on 7 July 1937 against Russian and Mongolian troops, and it fought US and British troops from 1938 to 1945. The figures are in no way limited to the 2nd (Sendai) Infantry Division, they might have served in any other Japanese unit if it weren‘t for this one serious mistake: Atlantic gave all of its Japanese soldiers very stylish neckties which – if they were part of the Japanese uniform at all – certainly would not have been worn in the field.
Contents
44 Figures in 11 Posen – 24 mm equal 173 cm Height
- Japanese Officer with »Shin-Guntō« Army Sword (4)
- Japanese Standard-Bearer with »Kyokujitsuki« and Pistol (4)
- Machine Gun Team, Type 3 Taishō 14 HMG
- Japanese No. 1 Machine Gunner (4)
- Japanese No. 2 Machine Gunner with 30-round Feed Strip (4)
- Type 3 Taishō 14 Heavy Machine Gun (4)
- Japanese Bomber, prone, throwing Hand Grenade (4)
- Japanese Soldier with Mannlicher 1895 Rifle, standing, firing (4)
- Japanese Soldier with Mannlicher 1895 Rifle, charging (4)
- Japanese Soldier with Mannlicher 1895 Rifle, bayonetting (4)
- Japanese Soldier with Mannlicher 1895 Rifle, crawling (4)
- Japanese Soldier with Mannlicher 1895 Rifle, camouflaged, standing (4)
- Japanese Soldier, falling (4)
Evaluation
Atlantic Japanese Infantry are wearing tropical uniform, consisting of a light cotton shirt (»Bousho Jyu-han«) with patch pockets, long trousers (»Bousyo-ko«) with puttees (»Kya-han«), field cap (»Sen-bou«), and boots (»Amiage-gutu«). The tropical combat jacket was not worn in warm weather; it had the same cut as the M.98 combat jacket (»98 Shiki-Gun-i«), with inside side pockets and breast pockets with curved or straight pocket flaps.
Unfortunately, Atlantic gave the standard bearer and the rank and file neckties that don‘t fit this practical and comfortable field uniform at all. What is fascinating is that the neckties of the prone soldiers are perfectly flat on their chest. These men are either using fashionable tie clasps or gravity was turned off during the Pacific War. At least the officer is dressed correctly: open shirt collar, no tie; the standing, firing rifleman has his right arm over the necktie, conveniently hiding it. Purist and rivet counters may want to carefully remove the unnecessary neckties with a scalpel or soldering iron. Damage to breast pockets is inevitable during this delicate operation; this may be fixed by reconstructing the entire breast pocket with modelling wax or Green Stuff, or converting the shirt to an M.98 combat jacket with pocket flaps only. In the latter case, consider sculpting an open collar, and adding pocket flaps of the side pockets, or simply painting these on later.
The puttees are modelled without the crossed straps, which is ok. Unfortunately, the sculptor decided to wrap these puttees in an unlikely fashion, quite reminiscent of an impossible object by Dutch graphic artist M. C. Escher. It can only be hoped that painting and shading will not accentuate this mistake.
The standard-bearer appears to be an enlisted man, corporal or sergeant, because he does not wield a »Shin-Guntō« officer‘s sword nor the »Kyūgō-Shiki Guntō« Typ 95 carried by senior NCOs. Of course, the »Kyokujitsuki« Rising Sun Flag, which is only 60 × 100 cm in size, is far too small for a field sign of he Imperial Japanese Army. The sculptor may have had the »Buun-Tchokyu« Good Luck Flag in mind, but this was attached to a soldier‘s rifle or bayonet, not carried on a stave. The plastic material of the flag is so heavy that the soldier can hardly stand on his own feet. The easiest way to fix this is to remove the flag entirely, place a 0.6 mm piano wire stave in the figure‘s hand, and glue a hand-painted paper flag to it.
The soldiers are armed with the Mannlicher M1895 infantry rifle (converted to 7.7 mm Arisaka) with protruding box magazine immediately in front of the trigger guard.
The heavy machine gun (Hotchkiss M1914) cannot be clearly identified as Type 3 (Taishō 14) or Type 92 (M.1932). What speaks in favour of the Type 3 HMG is that this weapon did not have a pistol grip, which the Atlantic model also lacks. Both machine guns were loaded with 30-round strips that were fed into the left side of the receiver. The extremely sporty loader appears to want to insert an approximately 25 cm long strip into the weapon while doing one-arm push-ups, while the completely uninvolved No. 1 machine gunner looks very relaxed, with just one hand on the weapon and his gaze wandering off into the distance. Clearly, this is not what a machine gun team looks like in training or action.
What little personal equipment there is, it is mostly worn incorrectly. Only three soldiers have a water bottle, which they mistakenly carry on the left hip, where the bayonet normally belongs. The few soldiers who actually own a bayonet scabbard, wear it at their own discretion, on the left or right hip. Of the Japanese soldier‘s three cartridge pouches, most figures only use one or two, which they carry in different places on the waistbelt. The bread bag, normally carried behind the right hip, can be on the right or left, but is mostly missing. In this, the designers and sculptors failed miserably, even though they seem to have had access to historical images of the items, because the items themselves have been sculpted quite faithfully to the original. It‘s interesting that manufacturers do not notice such obvious errors in time, and correct them well before production begins. There must be some perverted pleasure in ruining military miniatures by placing their tried and tested equipment in absurd places, preferably where it cannot be reached.
At 173 cm height, Atlantic Japanese Infantry are unusually tall, and they have been given a thick base which makes them significantly larger than comparable figures from Airfix, ESCI, HäT, Mars, Matchbox, Revell, Strelets, or Waterloo 1815. If they are to be deployed in mixed units, consider shaving a good 1.5 mm off the bottom of the base.
Conspicuous mould lines, need to be removed prior to painting.
Possible Conversions
- Italian Infantry, 1940–1944
Apart from the typical »Sen-bou« field cap and »Shin-Guntō« army sword, there is nothing uniquely Japanese about these figures. Fitted with turbans, Italian M.1935 steel helmets, or German M.35 steel helmets, these Japanese soldiers may be recruited into British Indian, Italian, or Chinese infantry units.