If there is a soldier that scares me from World War II this is the Japanese soldier. They fought to the last man usually. When an American GIor a German Landser would surrender the Japanese soldier would keep fighting and that's seen in the heavy losses they always suffered and how little was the number of prisoners of war their enemies could take. And today I bring you minifigs that represent those brave men. The Japanese army isn't represented very often in Lego either the Pacific front gets the recognition it deserves sadly but I would say some here are one of my favourite minifigs from the ones I did so far over the years.
To start this post the first minifig is the Japanese standard soldier. I made 3 of them. The Japanese army had tropical uniforms and winter uniforms that won't be represented here because I didn't find the proper parts to do them. Because shortages there were variants in the Japanese uniforms but tan and specially dark tan seems the best color to represent them. I also want to mention that you may find some heads a mistake since they don't look Asian but LEGO has done very limited ones over the years so I had to use the "normal" ones I could use for any other minifig.
This first minifig consists of a full dark tan body. Torso and cap are from AliExpress. Same for the neck flaps you will see in this post. The gear is from Brickwarriors and I hand painted it myself. The rifle is an Arisaka from BrickArms also hand-painted by me.
Now with the Japanese steel helmet from BrickArms too.
Now a variant using tan parts. The torso is from UnitedBricks from like 10 years ago so sadly they don't sell it anymore. Cap is from AliExpress. Legs are hand painted too. Arm is a CrazyArm by CrazyBricks.
Some reference pictures now.
The bayonet in the machine gun is very curious to see. Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Tau40K/comments/bozd04/this_is_a_bit_of_an_odd_question_but_im_gonna_get/
Next one is the "relaxing" soldier I did sometimes inspired by pictures of soldiers dressed not for fighting but resting or something similar. This one is inspired in the pictures of the Japanese soldiers marching at Singapore after it fell in their hands. Because army dressing rules it was forbidden but done sometimes anyway.
Next one is the tanker. Torso is from AliExpress and
rest is LEGO. This one is supposed to be the winter uniform. He really wants a Japanese tank in my collection.
Reference picture.
Source: https://www.cafr.ebay.ca/itm/364279976888
Time for the Japanese paratrooper. There were
several kind of paratroopers inside the Japanese Army. First of all
is important to say that the Japanese army was divided between the
navy and the rest of the army. The navy had it's own paratroopers and
planes and projects and so and the lack of collaboration between the
two parts for sure made them weaker. The paratrooper I represented
belongs to the unit called 1st Yokosuka SNLF (Special Naval Landing
Force) who took part in some drops at Celebes. If you want to know
more here there is more information about the
SNLF https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Naval_Landing_Forces
I find very interesting these little drops the Japanese did in the
southern Asian front. Here is more info about the Japanese drops during the war https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2015/12/17/japanese-paratroop-operations-in-ww-ii/ Gun is a Type 100 SMG from AliExpress. Helmet
is a T90 Japanese helmet from BrickArms that I customized myself
cutting the lower part or "wing" and painting it dark gray.
Torso is like the hand-painted legs in Light Bluish Gray color and
has a Japanese pilot decal from Roaglaan Decals over it. Backpack is
from AliExpress also. The minifig represents a paratrooper ready to
jump. Head is from United Bricks.
The next one is a special soldier. I love this minifig. It's a Giretsu Kuteitai. They were chosen upon the paratroopers from the army and their (suicidal) mission was to land by force in United States airfields in the Pacific islands and damage and destroy as many bombers as possible. They were equipped with automatic weapons and many granades to try to cause as much destruction and chaos they could. Their uniforms were hand made and I suggest you read more about them because their story and the few raids they did are so interesting to read. I wish I can do a MOC with them in the future! A similar unit was the Takasago Volunteers chosen inside the indigenous Taiwanese soldiers the Japanese army had.
The minifig itself uses gear from AliExpress same as the gun and the body and the cap. The head is from Citizen Bricks.
Now it's turn for the Japanese pilot. The torso is the most interesting part. Surprisingly it's from LEGO and I think fits very well in this minifig. It's Item number is 973pb4517c01 if you want to search at Bricklink. Maybe the back part creates me some doubts but anyway I really like it. Headgear is from Brickwarriors hand-painted by myself like the legs.
Finally we have the last minifig which represents a soldier in Manchuria in the early 1930s. It is not very known but the Japanese started their WW2 years before it oficially did in Europe. China was their main objective during the 1930s even there were some problems with the Soviets too. The cap (from AliExpress) gives it an older look. Some third-party brands sell better caps. They are made for Soviet soldiers but it still works for Japanese soldiers.
Reference picture. The one in the right. Source:
https://www.pinterest.fr/pin/381257924684672306/
The guard at Tokio and I guess some other units still had this cap
Japanese soldiers from the early years of the past century using the cap shown above.
Thanks for reading guys. Here is a video showing all the minifigs where you can see each one of them in a short 360º clip.
If you want to know more about Japanese uniforms I suggest you this YouTube channel I found out months ago. You will enjoy it! https://www.youtube.com/@hattorihan7503
Welcome again. Today I want to celebrate with you that we have hit the 1000 subscribers milestone on YouTube. I have chosen some kind of soldiers across the history to include them in a special video. Most of the minifigs are new for this video using some ideas I had over the last years for possible projects. It's a mix of units with many wars represented incluiding both world wars of course. So let's start in order from the oldest to the newest.
First minifig to start this post is the Late Empire Roman soldier. Years 300-500 AD. Roman army was smaller and equipment was more irregular among the ranks. Shields had a round or oval shape now. For the minifig I modified a "Battle Helmet" from Brick Forge cutting the crest and the dots on the sides then painting it using Tamiya paint. I used a Lego Castle torso and the legs cloth is from Capes4minifigs. The spear is from AliExpress painted by me. Probably my favourite minifig here.
Second minifig is a Late Empire Roman officer. Almost the same but they had more resources. Helmet keeps the crest this time and torso is from Lego Minifigure Series Spartan.
Next ones are one of the enemies of Rome: the Huns. They were tribes coming from Asia lead by the famous Attila. Rome and its allies stopped them at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains at 451 AD. Here you can see two of them.
Now Attila the Hun itself. No reference pictures this time since info about him and how he looked like is limited. All are Lego parts.
Next one is the Varangian Guard. They were vikings who formed an elite personnal guard of the Byzantine emperor and existed between the 10th and 14th century. One of my favourite figs here. Cape is from AliExpress. The helmet is from Brick Forge and the rest of the parts are LEGO ones. Torso is from Lego Castle.
Reference picture. As you can see they were almost like any other viking living in the north of Europe.
Turn for the crusader. This minifigure is a mix of AliExpress parts with Lego head and hands (I never use AliExpress heads and hands by the way). They fought against muslims for the holy land of the Middle East. I'm not really interested in the Middle Ages but I have some ideas for the future using the Crusades topic.
Now the Spanish Tercios. The rulers of Europe and world in the 1500s and 1600s. Their new tactics made them famous across the world. They used long pikes together with firearms of course. Their battles include Lepanto, Pavia, Rocroi, Empel or Cagayán where they fought against Japanese samurais. All the minifig uses Lego original parts. Made it a year ago for a Vienna siege MOC but I lost interest in the idea.
Next one is the samurai. They were the warrior class of the Japanese society. Minifig is done using Lego parts and the armor is a painted one from BrickWarriors. In the future you will see more samurai minifigs here hopefully.
Napoleonic Wars must be represented too. I have chosen an Italian soldier. Fig is from AliExpress and I have painted the bag and added the tail of the jacket I got from Capes4Minifigs.
The one in the middle is the reference. Source: https://www.pinterest.fr/pin/550705860663502184/
Now it's time for some Crimean War minifigs. First one will be the British regular infantry. Torso is from an AliExpress Napoleonic Wars British soldier. Cap is from my friend @labriquedecambronne. You can find him at Instagram. I used Tamiya paint for both the cap and the legs. Painted musket is from Brickarms.
Reference picture. Here you can see a soldier and an officer.
Finally the Russian standard soldier from this war. As a cap uses a Pickelhaube from AliExpress since the German cap and the Russian one from the 1850s are very similar. Coat is from the Russian Napoleonic Wars soldier from AliExpress. Backpack is hand painted.
Now a Danish soldier from the Second Schleswig War. In this war Prussia and Denmark fought for the second time for some territories in their borders. Here you can see a Danish soldier. Musket and backpack are hand painted. All the minifig uses Lego parts you can find at Bricklink except from the waist black part which is from Arealight Custom Works. One of the coolest minifigs here if you ask me.
Reference picture. Theres a TV series about this war called 1864 which is very good and I recommend it if you are interested in this war.
Next minifig is a British Highlander from the Second Anglo-Afghan War fought between 1878 and 1880. Kilt is from AliExpress. The suspenders are from BrickWarriors and they are hand painted. Legs painted by me too. Torso is from a Lego Indiana Jones minifig. So useful to create minifigs.Very happy with this one and I hope I can make a MOC in the future using them. Gun should be a Martini Henry but I have none.
To continue now we have a British soldier from the same era but fighting in the south of Africa. To be exact in the Zulu Wars. Legs are hand painted. Torso is from AliExpress. Suspenders like the previous minifig are from BrickWarriors and painted by me. Again the gun should be a Martini Henry from Brickarms. Uniforms from the 19th century have something special.
Reference picture.
Now the Zulu warrior. They had some old muskets but mostly spears and shields. A very interesting war and I guess you will see more content about it coming from me in the future. The minifig uses a Star Wars Gungan shield I painted and a spear I got from AliExpress and I painted too.
Turn for the Japanese soldier from the Russo-Japanese War. Legs and cap are painted like the gun from Brickarms. Suspenders are from Brickwarriors again and the rest you can find it at Bricklink. For the Japanese uniform M1886 I used a Lone Ranger torso which works perfect for these kind of French style uniforms from the 1800s.
For the next one I thought World War 1 must be represented in the video and I wanted to use one of my favourite minifigs from the war. This French soldier from 1917 uses a cloth from Brickfabric and suspenders from Brickwarriors. Helmet and the Lebel gun painted by me are from Brickarms. I can make 2 of them so I would like to do a little scene with them in the future.
Now turn for World War 2. We start seeing first the US Tanker in the tropical uniform they used in the Pacific theather of war. Body is from AliExpress with Lego head and hands and helmet is from Brickmania if I remember well.
Reference picture:
Source: https://www.ebay.com/itm/180697694696
Now a German general. I got some clothes like these not long ago and I love this minifig. Clothes and cap are from AliExpress. Rest of the parts are from Lego. One of the cheapest minifigs here but still one of the coolest I would say.
Now a curious minifig I'm sure you didn't expect. A Dutch soldier from 1940 when they fought against the Germans. SimpleFigs is the creator of the helmet. I bought it at Brickssoldier. They sell pretty interesting stuff and I recommend you check them out. Body is from Lego and I added a Roaglaan decal on it. They work amazingly but sadly he doesn't sell anymore as far as I know.
Now Vietnam War. We have the Vietcong one first. Vest is from AliExpress and I painted it. Rest of the minifigs use parts you can easily find at Bricklink since they are all Lego and nothing special. A cool simple and cheap minifig. Gun is a Brickarms AKM I modified and painted.
Now the NVA soldier. NVA was the army from North Vietnam. Body is from Lego Indiana Jones and gun is again a painted AKM from Brickarms. Again the vest is a painted one from AliExpress.
Rhodesian soldier now. Rhodesia had a very interesting story I recommend you to search for. The little I know I find it so interesting and I wanted to show you this minifig. Body is the only parts I own from TMC. Cap is from Brickarms and I painted it kinda like a Woodland camo one. I tried to. Vest is from AliExpress and unpainted. Gun is a FN FAL from Brickarms.
Now some minifigs I doubted whether to use them or not. They are four minifigs related to the never ending problems in the Middle East. With them we will finish this post. First one is the Syrian soldier from the 1980s. They fought in the Lebanon in their civil war. Body is from AliExpress with a WW2 Soviet helmet from BrickArms.
Now a Muslim paramilitary trooper. It fits for several factions and different decades. Headgear is hand-painted by me and the rest of the body are Lego parts. I used it in my Beirut 1982 MOC.
There isn't a reference picture for this minifig. But I took inspiration from this picture. I own the original book from Lebanon's civil war (1982) and it's very useful for these lesser known uniforms. Most of the artwork I use here is from Osprey books by the way.
Now soldier from Israel. The IDF army. First a tank crewman. Helmet is a painted Star Wars Rebel pilot helmet. Body is olive green parts with a Roaglaan decal applied on the torso. Gun is a Mini UZI with a silencer. IDF tank crews use/used them.
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