Japanese Type 5 Ho-Ru

[hansolo]

Hi Guys,

I would like to participate in this SIG with a conversion of a Papanese light tank.
It’s a conversion from the tank to a self propelled tank destroyer.
The tank is the Type 95 Light Tank and the name of the conversion is Type 5 Ho-Ru.
As it turns out there was 1 prototype that was never produced in serial production
cause the war was over by that time. So it never saw action.
Now I know this will disqualify me for the SIG, but I’d like to enter it anyway,
cause I likes conversions.

Here’s some more info on the Type 5:

Experimental Type 5 47 mm SPG Ho-Ru
A tank destroyer based on the Ha-Go chassis. Following the idea of Marder and Jg.Pz. 38 (t), it utilizes an open-back casemate to lower the height while also allowing a more powerful gun to be installed. It was originally planned to use a shortened version of 47 mm Tank Gun Type 1 (Model II), but development delays and stronger enemies led to the installment of a regular 47 mm Tank Gun Type 1 for tests, which were successful. 
The basic form is that of a Ha-Go hull with the turret and superstructure removed. Instead, a open-back casemate was added, with armor of 30/12/0 mm (back was open). In addition, the track width was increased by 100 mm to 350 mm allowing for better mobility to the level of T-34. By resorting to these changes, the obsolete Ha-Go chassis had an extension of life, being converted into cheap and agile open-back tank destroyers.
The main armament was planned to be a shortened version of 47 mm Gun Type 1, called Model II. Originally designed for Ke-Ho, it had a muzzle velocity of 720 m/s, compared to 810 m/s of the original Model I. This was made to reduce the recoil for installation on lighter vehicles. While the gun was finally developed in March 1945 after three years (apparently other priorities delayed things), ultimately it was abandoned in favor of Model 1 due to penetration issues. Given that Model I was already having difficulties penetrating Shermans unless fired from the side, a weaker gun was out of question. Both 47 mm Gun Type 1 models had a side traverse of 10° and a depression/elevation of -15°/+20°.
The crew consisted of commander (loader, radio operator), gunner, and driver. With a height of 1.82 meters, it will likely the second shortest vehicle after ELC AMX (assuming something else doesn't come along). With this short height, concealment would have been high, allowing for defensive ambush attacks. One prototype was finished, with the war ending before serial production had begun.

I came across an image, on a site with lots of oddballs and conversions:


And this is the image:


I did some research and came across a site of a japanese guy that had made this conversion
http://www.fg-site.net/archives/post_old/97784

Note: These are his pictures of his build, not my pics!















I don’t know if it’s a plastic or resin conversion set but I’m going to scratch-build the conversion anyway.
Good thing is that I don’t even have to buy two kits to make one conversion this time.

Here are some more reference pics I found:






The gun that was put in the hull was the 47 mm Gun Type 1:


And this is the kit that I just ordered on eBay:


That’s all for now guys

cheers

[shortCummins]

this is going to be interesting

[Hank]

Sir, you have my curiosity and after seeing the Panzer Selbstfahrlafette conversion you've just done, I'll certainly be paying attention to this build aswell.

[gustavlekstal]

Now that is an oddling ugly duckling. Good luck on your new oddling adventure!

[hansolo]

Tanks guys!

cheers

[wappynutter]

Can see another winner here!....
I may just retire from gluing styrene altogether as i will never get as good as some of these builds you magically create..
The skill and building prowess you display is another level.... always...
ISM have a collection of true Masters amongst their ranks.... You Sir, are one of them!..
Continued success.... looking forward to seeing you build this up..
Gonna camp here for a while....

[hansolo]

Can see another winner here!....
I may just retire from gluing styrene altogether as i will never get as good as some of these builds you magically create..
The skill and building prowess you display is another level.... always...
ISM have a collection of true Masters amongst their ranks.... You Sir, are one of them!..
Continued success.... looking forward to seeing you build this up..
Gonna camp here for a while....

Many thanks for your very kind words. They're to much honor.

cheers

[hansolo]

Hi guys,

The kit arrived.


It's a Dragon smart kit. And the details are awesome!!! Just perfect and crisp!
A top quality kit and it hurts to have to cut pieces away for the conversion.

The wheels. I could choose between to types of suspention.
I chose the one most simular to the type 5's ones.






The front before cutting


The upper hull before cutting


The front after cutting of what I didn't need.


The upper hull after cutting




The back with Some details put on.


That's it so far. Some more details to ad and than comes the hard part and the fun part: the scratch building of the converted hull.

Cheers

[hansolo]

Hi guys,

I finished the conversion build.

Scratch built the upper hull.








Added all the details. Used all the parts from the kit that I could use and added some small left over parts, like parts of the hinges of the top doors and a looking hole on the front.




Due to the fact that this was only a prototype and not taken into production yet, I decided to make a little scene in which the Type 5 is situated in an old workshop, not painted in the final colors and totally forgotten. Just sitting there, gathering dust in the abandoned workshop.

So I started building a workshop.

I lend some lego from my son to make a mold for the walls.


I used plaster to pour into the mold.








I scraped of the mold lines.


Now it's time to start scratching in the lines for planks and bricks.
That's up next.

cheers

[hansolo]

Hi guys,

Small update.
I did some detailing on the workshop wall.


Made a second wall and gathered some scrap to go in the shop.


That's all for now.

cheers

[Hank]

It's looking great! You work fast.

[gustavlekstal]

in love this build

[hansolo]

Thanks guys.

cheers

[hansolo]

Finished the walls.


And painted them.

That's all for now.

Cheers

[Goose]

Very nice dio!!
two questions:

isn't it too heavy?

how do you do the broken glass?

Looking forward to the rest of it.

See u

Bruno

[hansolo]

Very nice dio!!
two questions:

isn't it too heavy?

how do you do the broken glass?

Looking forward to the rest of it.

See u

Bruno

How do you mean "to heavy"?
Like is the Knauf to heavy in weight to make a dio?
It is quite heavy, but i'll make a sturdy base to support the walls.

The broken glass is made from thin plastic packaging material.
A see through packaging from a product. Like a blister.
And I cut two squares and cut out the 'broken' parts.

cheers

[hansolo]

Very nice dio!!
two questions:

isn't it too heavy?

how do you do the broken glass?

Looking forward to the rest of it.

See u

Bruno

How do you mean "to heavy"?
Like is the Knauf to heavy in weight to make a dio?
It is quite heavy, but i'll make a sturdy base to support the walls.
Plus, if I make the walls to thin, they break easily.

The broken glass is made from thin plastic packaging material.
A see through packaging from a product. Like a blister.
And I cut two squares and cut out the 'broken' parts.

cheers

[Goose]

Thanks,

yes that was the sense of my question, is the plaster not too heavy to make walls

thanks again

[Schoof]

Looking great. ... Like the idea off using Lego to make a mold

[hansolo]

Hi guys,

Did the painting of the Type 5.

The idea is that the prototype of the Type 5 is painted in the manufacturers primer paint.
Put together from different sources, being a prototype, there are two colors of primer paint.
Some parts are pre painted in a light sandy color and some are pre painted in a redish earth tone.
The barrel, being a loner from a 47 mm gun type 1, is not even painted at all.

So first the sandy base color.


Than the other parts and some detailing.




This Tank Distroyer has been sitting in this workshop for years and years, gathering dirt and dust.
So the first thing to do is a strong dark- and pin wash.


The nice thing about this scene is that I get to weather the prototype, even though it's not used.

So, lot's of lovely weathering ahead! Lots of dust, dirt, bird droppings, spider webs and maybe even a birds nest...

That's it for now, folks.

cheers

[hansolo]

Hi guys,

Did some more work on the workshop.


Made a little workbench.


And it's gonna go here.


Did some work on the T 5.
Pigments, some bird droppings, a rag on the back and one wrapped around the gun. Made from toilet paper in water and white glue. It rippes very easily but dries up hard and has a nice texture and thinness to it.




That's all for now.

Cheers

[Lego]

Love ettttttt

[shortCummins]

this is going to be great

[hansolo]

Thanks guys!

Cheers

[hansolo]

Hi guys,

Last small update before final reveals!

I promised to make a birds nest. So I did.

I used yarn to resemble the little twigs.
Wrapped them around a toothpick and made them stick to each other with glue.





Painted and weathered it and stuck it on the Type 5.


Next up the final reveals!

cheers

[shortCummins]

ha ha, brilliant!

[hansolo]

Hi guys,

Check out the final reveals here:
http://www.intscalemodeller.com/viewtop ... 38#p159038

Enjoy
Cheers

[panzerman]

Learned something new....never knew the Japanese had their version of a Stug....cool. I like the prototype setting you made. The steel casement with construction marks on it is very realistic. The base work is awesome too.
Bill.

[hansolo]

Thanks Bill!

cheers