CHUUK - NIPPO MARU

Built in 1936 by the Kawasaki Dockyard in Kobe, the 3,763-ton Nippo Maru began its life as a civilian cargo ship before the Imperial Japanese Navy requisitioned it in 1941. It spent the early years of the war functioning as an auxiliary transport and water tanker, delivering vital munitions and supplies to Japanese forces throughout the Pacific.

The ship's service came to a violent end during Operation Hailstone on February 17, 1944, when USS Essex dive bombers struck it with three 500-pound bombs. The crippled vessel plunged into the waters of Chuuk Lagoon, where it now sits upright at a depth of approximately 50 meters. Today, the wreck is famous for the hauntingly preserved Japanese Type 95* tank that remains parked on its port side deck alongside artillery and other wartime cargo.

            

In late June 2015 I spent nearly three weeks hopping between different Pacific locations exploring WWII sites both above and below the surface. I dived the Nippo Maru at least three times in the week I was in Chuuk, with the goal of trying to get a "good shot" of the tank* and unfortunately due to a number of factors - silt, lack of light, equipment, and mostly user error the images on the left above were the best I managed to take. Those on the right, are after much fighting, cajoling, and AI hallucinations, Gemini enhanced. Below are some shots from the back of the same wreck where there sits three 47mm Type 1 Anti-tank guns all jumbled up, these have been edited only for exposure, brightness and contrast, no AI help at all.

 

* There is some debate, and some sites actually list the "tank" as a Type 97 Ke-Te  Tankette, however the Senshi Sosho (the official Japanese Ministry of Defense's history)  lists the logistical manifest of the 52nd Division Tank Unit as explicitly being equipped with Type 95 Ha-Go tanks. Added to which the supply chain convoy that the Nippo Maru operated in included the San Francisco Maru and it famously has three Ha-Gos on its decks and was sunk nearby.

AT ARMS DISTANCE

So yes I “bit the bullet” and procured some IJA troops for Bolt Action. Or rather I secured some more troops, since I already had a tank in the "lead-pile". BUT,

I hate painting miniatures. 

There I said it.

I’m not very good at it, I never have been and I have never bothered to spend the required time to get good at it. 

And if I am 100% honest I am not sure I will ever spend the time to either.

I love the look of a painted army, and would never field one unpainted, but it is the history, the research, playing the game, the collecting, and the camaraderie that are the highlights of the hobby for me. I do however like making terrain which ironically does include some painting. (go figure)

The fact I have painted armies is more a result of, at one time, having a disposable income high enough to start my various collections, and throughout my wargaming life buying or being dumped with old projects from friends for whom a period or scale no longer held fancy. The number of units that I have actually painted is quite small, and while it is in double figures, it’s not as high as it probably should be for forty plus years in the hobby.

Kleve-Berg, my single painted battalion from my first "lead" purchase.

The figures I have painted are “table top” quality at best only saved by some nice basing and some pretty flags. So “at arms distance” is how I hold my mini’s and how I like to look at them. It’s also probably why I love 15mm, there is enough detail to look good en-masse but not enough to show my lack of paint brush dexterity, thus I get to have the “sense” and “look” of a battle while also recognising my painting limitations. 

Sadly being of a certain vintage, I now need to get myself a magnifying lamp* before I start putting paint onto plastic and I need to embrace more "modern" painting techniques beyond blocking and dry-brushing. Which brings me to Speed or Contrast paints, brand description aside, these do offer a short-cut to someone like myself. Videos online show a 28mm figure table ready in as little as 10 mins (plus drying time).

Whole squads ready to fall-in and offer themselves up to the vagaries of my poor decisions and the fickleness of the die in a gentlemanly repast accompanied by a fine spirit. Sounds too good to be true.

Wargames Delivered, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LURg44kQekY&t=5s

And while this sounds so simple, there are no hobby stores where I live, the mail is unreliable at best, and as I mentioned in a past post things like paints have to be purchased as part of holiday and travel plans, which sometimes limits the options available often due to stock and delivery time limits. And while others question the use of AI in the hobby, its support in identifying matching colours between manufacturers of both model paints and commercially available spray paints has proven a boon for me, and has helped plan my next (painting) steps.

* I can no longer see the little buggers in enough detail to paint them without some technological help. And even with the help of my specs I don’t feel comfortable unless the model is a lot closer, thus a good light source and a magnifier is now needed.

DIPPING MY TOE - BOLT ACTION

not pictured: a box of IJA Bamboo Spear Fighter Squad

I decided to do it.

Many years ago after a visiting my mum and hometown I was later surprised by a parcel from a friend. He had inquired into the "what's and wherefore's" of Wargaming, "dipped his toe", decided it wasn't for him, and then sent me his few initial purchases as a gift. A single IJA Type 95 Ha-Go tank accompanied by a Japanese Daihatsu-class Landing Craft, both were 28mm, which immediately told me my description of scales had failed, but I was quite touched by the gesture and these have sat proudly inside one of my collection cabinets ever since.

I have also Dived (and travelled) across the Pacific and thus swum (and trod) many of the battlefields for that theatre, and while I did start to raise forces for the Fall of Singapore in 20mm (painted but not based) I have never really fully embraced the Pacific and the Far East. 

And with too many options on the Allied side to narrow down without some long thinking, but only one for the Axis, I resolved to start there and raise a small IJA force. After all the Japanese are needed everywhere in this theatre so are somewhat essential.

So I then did what all "real" Wargamers do, I rushed out and spent a pile of money without a clear plan or any idea what I really needed. And when I say "rushed out" I mean I spammed an online store with my credit card and had the parcels delivered.

And thus, faced with a boxes of figures and a new "lead-pile" I have retroactively decided on a plan to start with a small 3rd Ed.* 500 pt. force, a (hopefully) manageable chunk to try and paint and ONLY when it is done slowly expand this effort 250 pts. at a time. Ideally I should not have to purchase anything beyond my initial "splurge" apart from the usual consumables that a new project usually demands. (any paints, glue, decals and basing materials, etc...) But I am sure this will change as no "army" is ever really complete, and I already know I need an extra tank or two...

So my first "paint of attack"

So 40 figures to paint up, with a rough plan for the next 250 points to include some tanks, but first things first, and for the start of the new financial year, I now have the start of a plan. (maybe even a cunning one)

* I will most probably need to buy the 3rd Ed. Rules and the new Armies of Japan book as well.