1:12? World Fighter Collection Imperial Japanese Army

A figure of an Imperial Japanese Army soldier, 1:12 scale

A figure from the World Fighter Collection range, devoted to a soldier of the Imperial Japanese Army. The name places it in 1:12 scale, which is among the larger scales for figures. In that scale a person one hundred and seventy centimeters tall comes out at roughly fourteen centimeters, so even small items of gear and the expression on the face are visible.

The real subject

The Imperial Japanese Army was the ground arm of the Japanese armed forces until 1945 and fought both in China and in the Pacific theater. Figures of its soldiers are among the subjects that make a counterweight to European and American figures in a display case and go well with a model of Japanese equipment or an aircraft.

How to work with the figure

A larger scale is rewarding, but it hides nothing. A few principles are worth keeping to:

• Wash the surface in lukewarm soapy water before painting and let it dry
• A primer levels the surface and the following coats hold on it considerably better
• Paint the face and hands separately from the gear, as every transition shows on a large figure
• Shade the uniform thinly and in several coats, as one heavy glaze fills all the folds at once
• Pick out the metal parts last, so that the sheen is not spread over the cloth
• Stand the finished figure on a base, otherwise it rubs against the shelf during handling

Who it is for

The figure suits a collector and equally a modeler who wants a figure in a larger scale to go with equipment and is not afraid of working on a face. Unless stated otherwise, paints, brushes and glue are not included.