Dragon 1/35 IJN Type 2 Ka-Mi amphibious tank
Posted: 29 Jan 2021, 22:28
I needed a project where I could just glue styrene, minimum of PE and no aftermarket, that I could take to the holiday house over summer. Rainy days or too hot outside, I can sit at the kitchen table, and with only a basic set of tools build a decent kit.
This little guy seems to fit the bill, very little PE, parts count is modest and online reviews for fit and finish are good.
So I could be wrong here, but from my online research, the Ka-Mi was a light tank designed for and by the Imperial Japanese Navy for anticipated island assaults. The Type 2 went into production in 1942 but only a little over 180 units were ever built. Based on the Army's Type 95 Ha-Go light tank but welded instead of riveted to make it water tight and with rubber seals around all the hatches etc. It had a crew of 5 (one an onboard mechanic, so confidence in reliability was high
) so space must have been tight for a vehicle only 4.8m long without the pontoons. Armed with a 37mm high velocity gun, one coaxial type 97 MG and a further hull mounted type 97 MG it was pretty out gunned by the time it was introduced. Floatation was provided by a front and rear pontoon held on by "claws" that could be released from inside once the tank came ashore. The pontoons were divided internally so gun/shell fire was less likely to sink the tank. Propulsion through the water at max speed 10kph was via twin props at the back. Range was 140km on water (thats a long way in a semi-submerged brick for any crewman 
), 170km on land with a top speed on the road of 37kph.
The little guy saw action from 1942 onwards, and rumour has it there was the only recorded "amphibious tank vs. amphibious tank" battle when Type 2s confronted LVT-1s of the Marine Corps on Leyte. This is thought to be dubious as most Type 2s had been destroyed after they came ashore. 3 survive, one in Kubinka, Russia and two in Palau. The former is complete with pontoons the later are partial having been dug up by locals some time after the war. They were either buried to prevent capture or dug in as fortifications.
This kit is a retool released in 2011 and doesn't come with the pontoons. Somewhere between 2012 and 2017 Dragon also released a couple of kits with the pontoon sections included (according to Scalemates).
The parts count is modest, Sprues A - D with multiples of some sprues. One Sprue (F) of clear parts, one small PE fret and a very small decal sheet for two marking choices. The moulding is very good, ejector pin placement is concealed, flash is absent and mould lines (when present) are easily removed. Tracks are the "magic track" style. Instructions are clear and thought out in a logical sequence, step 1 has you building a large number of smaller subassemblies including the running gear. This is nice as it makes things later a bit less confusing. You have the option of building a "late" or "early" version, but the differences are minimal between the two. You get a partial interior, ie gun breach, internal detail on hatches and a lot of the flotation and pontoon attachment devices, but no engine or crew seats etc. This makes no sense to me, one more sprue would have been all that would have been necessary for these parts, especially as you can model all the hatches open, including all the inspection and engine hatches.
So....after one quiet evening of building I have this;
All bogie units are workable and everything is pressfit to the suspension arms without polycaps.
Bad weather predicted for the next day or so, therefore this build my progress faster than I thought!
This little guy seems to fit the bill, very little PE, parts count is modest and online reviews for fit and finish are good.
So I could be wrong here, but from my online research, the Ka-Mi was a light tank designed for and by the Imperial Japanese Navy for anticipated island assaults. The Type 2 went into production in 1942 but only a little over 180 units were ever built. Based on the Army's Type 95 Ha-Go light tank but welded instead of riveted to make it water tight and with rubber seals around all the hatches etc. It had a crew of 5 (one an onboard mechanic, so confidence in reliability was high
) so space must have been tight for a vehicle only 4.8m long without the pontoons. Armed with a 37mm high velocity gun, one coaxial type 97 MG and a further hull mounted type 97 MG it was pretty out gunned by the time it was introduced. Floatation was provided by a front and rear pontoon held on by "claws" that could be released from inside once the tank came ashore. The pontoons were divided internally so gun/shell fire was less likely to sink the tank. Propulsion through the water at max speed 10kph was via twin props at the back. Range was 140km on water (thats a long way in a semi-submerged brick for any crewman ), 170km on land with a top speed on the road of 37kph.The little guy saw action from 1942 onwards, and rumour has it there was the only recorded "amphibious tank vs. amphibious tank" battle when Type 2s confronted LVT-1s of the Marine Corps on Leyte. This is thought to be dubious as most Type 2s had been destroyed after they came ashore. 3 survive, one in Kubinka, Russia and two in Palau. The former is complete with pontoons the later are partial having been dug up by locals some time after the war. They were either buried to prevent capture or dug in as fortifications.
This kit is a retool released in 2011 and doesn't come with the pontoons. Somewhere between 2012 and 2017 Dragon also released a couple of kits with the pontoon sections included (according to Scalemates).
The parts count is modest, Sprues A - D with multiples of some sprues. One Sprue (F) of clear parts, one small PE fret and a very small decal sheet for two marking choices. The moulding is very good, ejector pin placement is concealed, flash is absent and mould lines (when present) are easily removed. Tracks are the "magic track" style. Instructions are clear and thought out in a logical sequence, step 1 has you building a large number of smaller subassemblies including the running gear. This is nice as it makes things later a bit less confusing. You have the option of building a "late" or "early" version, but the differences are minimal between the two. You get a partial interior, ie gun breach, internal detail on hatches and a lot of the flotation and pontoon attachment devices, but no engine or crew seats etc. This makes no sense to me, one more sprue would have been all that would have been necessary for these parts, especially as you can model all the hatches open, including all the inspection and engine hatches.
So....after one quiet evening of building I have this;
All bogie units are workable and everything is pressfit to the suspension arms without polycaps.
Bad weather predicted for the next day or so, therefore this build my progress faster than I thought!
