JGSDF Future Armored Fighting Vehicles

While the tanks of the "Ghost in the Shell" universe include some incredible ambulatory tracked tanks like this one that I'd still love to see in 15mm, you also see some contemporary tanks or futurized versions of them.



This scene from Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig shows two small vehicles on the left which are very similar to the Komatsu LAV. In between them is a 6 wheeled APC that bears a strong resemblance to the current JGSDF Type 82 Command and Communication vehicle. The mechanical designers of GiTS seemed to have a lot of fun taking some current designs in vehicles and then futurizing them a bit. They have done the same with the personal firearms in the series. Take a look at the Internet Movie Firearms Database for the various Ghost in the Shell series and you'll see what I mean.




Patlabor 2 includes a military declaration of martial law that showcases both the Type 90 Tank and the Type 89 IFV. Surprisingly they are even called by name. The Type 90 Tank is not the most recent Japanese Tank, that title goes to the Type 10. The Type 90 most closely resembles the Leopard 2 or the French LeClerc. I'd say the LeClerc is the closest match, but no one makes one in 1/100. You could go with the Leopard 2 for the Type 90 and the British Warrior would be a good match for the Type 89. But I chose to go the whole hog and take a chance on the Fujimi 1/76 model of the Type 90.

The length of the model is 10.8cm, the width is 4.6cm and the height is 3.3cm. But in real life this fellow is also very big with a length of 9.755m, a width of 3.4m, and a height of 2.33 m. So for a 1/100 model the width is pretty accurate, the length is 1cm too long and the height is also about 1cm to tall. Since I'm using it with a lot of 1/87 HO vehicles this is something I can live with.



Perfect for firing a tank round at Tetsuo in the movie "Akira." "But he's just a kid!!!"

Or creating a roadblock. Here it is with my Oshkosh Matchbox which I've futurized to look like a GiTS futurized Komatsu LAV. I think I will pick up some Japanese Flag decals to put on the doors of the Komatsu.



Another view with a few more troops. With the troops standing next to it the height looks very appropriate. One thing I did with the kit is that I shoved the crew figure as far down in the cupola as I could so as to hide his size and the height of the vehicle. I had to shave his arms a tiny bit to do this.



Most AFV's in Anime don't have a Camo pattern, so I didn't feel tied down to using the current colors for the Type 90, which really looks like this. I was more concerned with getting it to match the paint job on my Komatsu vehicles. The color is a VMC U.S. Dark Green but the Komatsu is a lighter shade with more drybrushing. The Japanese Flag is not something you normally see on these tanks, but it was included in the decal set and I couldn't resist using it. There is no mistaking whose military this tank is in now.
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