Chi Ha Shinhoto - painting guide
The Shinhoto Chi Ha was apparently just a normal Chi Ha but with a 47mm Anti Tank gun instead of a 57mm infantry support weapon. I think that this came about after meeting Soviet armour in 1939 and coming off worse. In any event this is Warlord's Shinhoto painted up in a slightly later version of the Japanese three colour camo. Reading other people more knowledgable than myself (almost everyone in this case) the nice yellow stripe and black outlining was dropped in 1942 so doesnt appear here
Three colour hard edge camo needs Panzer Putty and the ability to think in reverse as you will see. I put the lightest colour on first which in this case is the 'dry grass' colour which i started with a coat of vma japanese army khaki as a base.
I then added in some vmc dunkelgelb to get a yellower dry grass tone when modulating then lightened further with dark sand to get the 'been out in the sun' fading effect. All colours become a bit fugitive in direct sunlight especially those applied in wartime conditions.
Faded and very dry grassy.
A coat of satin varnish at this stage to protect the very thin airbrush layers.
Now its panzer putty time. what you sre doing here is covering the bits you want to remain dry grass colour at the end. I try to chose ares which will show some nice modulation otherwise what was the point of modulating?
This leaves the spaces for the first addition, a darkish vmc luftwaffe green which again will be highlighted up as seen below.
Next up more panzer putty which is ADDED to the previously placed putty. Never remove any until you are sure you are finished. By this stage I,m left with about a third of the surface to cover with vmc Flat Brown, darkened then lightened for modulation.
The degree of modulation is down to personal taste and on WW2 vehicles is significantly less than i would use on Sci Fi or Fantasy models. Similarly edge highlights are less as am going for a more 'realistic' look.
Main painting finished so time for another coat of Satin varnish...
which is both needed for protection and to help with the next stage which involves an enamel wash to run into the crevices on the surface to create depth. Neatness not at max here as will be tidying up with a thinners brush.
And this is the result. Again some people wash around every nut and bolt which looks cool but to me diminishes realism a bit in favour of style.
Superstructure largely done now so the tracks and suspension next. I use vma burnt umber for tank tracks as below and then dry brush with aluminium to bring up the metal
wheel rims were painted vma german grey and the edges highlighted as below. The wheels themselves are not uniform as i always reverse zenithal highlight when spraying as if light bouncing up from the floor so lower parts are lighter.
With the tracks painted decals were added over gloss varnish. unless you know Japanese its a good idea to pay attention to which way is up while the decals are on the decal sheet...just saying. The exhausts were then painted using vma camo dark brown, flat brown and orange brown to get the 'probably not passing MOT' look.
Machine guns were painted black and drybrushed silver and some slight chipping effects were added using the spong/brush/highlight effect around the areas whre boots of the crew and usage may have worn away flakes. More visible on the photo after this one on the fenders and edge of the turret.weathering pigments were added around the tracks awheels and suspension to give a dusty appearance and a thin spray of vma desert yellow on the lower front hull and the back..Then a final thin coat of varnish.
Sayonara Shinhoto!
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