Hello everyone! Long time, no post... I have been diligently practicing my sculpting and have finally created something I felt comfortable showing off. This is a one-off for my collection, as I have a fondness for the JGSDF.

In the early months 2004, the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force mobilized a battalion to deploy in Iraq. Based in Samawrah, the JGSDF team known as the Japanese Iraq Reconstruction and Support Group helped the community by providing food, water, and building schools. Because of Article 9 in the Japanese Constitution, the JGSDF could not engage forces unless fired upon so most of the security for the unit was provided by the Australian Army. The JGSDF completely withdrew from Iraq in 2006 and disbanded the JIRSG almost immediately.

This is a figure that depicts the average JGSDF soldier in Iraq sometime in between 2004 and 2006. I sculpted this from 31-DEC-2013 to 4-MAR-2014.

Here's the step-by-step adventure!




These steps are just fleshing out the armature using Sculpey and a bic lighter. Sculpey is meant to be hardened in an oven so it doesn't get brown and crispy. I don't have that kind of patience and it gets covered up by the two part epoxy.

Here the base of the body is then puttied and sculpted with Aves Apoxie-Sculpt, a two-part epoxy. There has been quite a time lapse in between these photos. The arms were moved up from their original pose so I could sculpt the magazine pouches on the vest. Also a face magically appears.



With the arm positioned approximately where I want, I take a break from the figure and begin working on the rifle. Using photo-editing software, I take the actual measurements of the rifle and scale it to the appropriate size. Accuracy is in the "close enough, they'll never figure it out" range. Print it out, cut it out, and make a template. I take layers of thin styrene and build it up to the thickness I like and then I sand out the corner and sculpt details with putty. If you've ever made a stock for your bolt-action rifle, this technique should be familiar.



With the rifle finished-ish, I sculpt the hand around the grip and sculpt terrible looking sausage fingers. Hands are another source of utter frustration, still working on techniques to make hands easier to do and look like hands. In the last picture, one arm is sculpted and the other is not. This is to ensure that the arm can be bent to grab the rifle after it has cured to the firing hand. Once posed the way I like it, I sculpt in the other arm and hand. After it cured, I sculpted the radio and chinstrap. Radio wire is made from curled solder wire.

Once completely cured and rock solid, I primed it using Tamiya Flat Surface right out of the rattle can.

I have managed to find time to attempt to mix paint. According to the Tamiya "JGSDF Humanitarian Force" kit, the base coat of the uniform is a 50/50 mix of Green and Buff. Using as many pictures as I could find, I set off to mix the color using Artist's Oils. The base color I found to be accurate (and accurate according to my non-colorblind friends) is a mix of Sap Green and Titanium White.



I ran out of paint, so while I go to buy more Sap Green I painted the face. I used a mixing ratio for Asian flesh tone from Mike Dawdson's book on figure painting. It's a mix of Yellow Ocher, Canary Yellow, Cadmium Red, Burn Umber, and Titanium White. Burnt Umber is for shadows and Titanium white is for highlights. I have extremely little experience painting figures. I like to make 'em not paint 'em. Any help would be greatly appreciated in my quest to being a better model builder.



I mixed some more paint up and painted the vest with the base Sap Green/Titanium White mix.



Then, mixing Canary Yellow, Burnt Sienna, and Titanium White.. I made a tan color. Then mixed scarlet and Raw Umber to make a red-brown.



Finally, I put the last color of the pattern; Paines Gray.



The Gray really sets off the pattern, and it is a result that I'm satisfied with at my current skill level. There's always something to improve though. Now I need to wait a month for this sucker to dry and I'll get to painting the boots, the gloves, and the rifle.



Here is one of a million reference photos I'm using for this project. This picture was taken on a training exercise in 2010. The uniform styles have changed since 2004 but the camo pattern itself has not changed. In Iraq, the JGSDF wore simple black or brown gloves and wore tan hot-weather boots.

Until next time...
- Hiroshi

Welcome back!!
Good sculpting, the rifle is well done, and overall proportions look good!!

Going by the reference photos, there is a bit too much contrast between the tan and the green, although the photos are of weathered and worn clothes, yours could be fresh from the quartermaster.

Good work though!

Cheers

Jamie

Hi Jamie! Thanks for the kind words! What would be the best way to get the tan to be less contrasted now that it has dried?

I would use a wash to blend the colors

I added a few washes to tone down the pattern. The Region 6 IPMS contest was held in my tiny town of Wichita, KS and entered it in for giggles. It got a lot of attention in the figure category and I learned a lot about paint techniques from the guys who would eventually take home trophies for their figures. Overall this was a fun learning experience but I'm so glad to finally move on to a whole new project. After 5 months of looking at Japanese military stuff its nice to see other things on my work bench.