#091 IJA Type 89 I-Go Otsu Medium Tank

Building the IBG Models 1:72 representation of the IJA Type 89 I-Go Otsu Medium Tank.

Notes

The Type 89 I-Gō medium tank (八九式中戦車　イ号) was a medium tank used by the Imperial Japanese Army from 1932 to 1942 in combat operations of the Second Sino-Japanese War, at Khalkhin Gol against the Soviet Union, and in the Second World War.

The Type 89B model was the world’s first mass-produced diesel engine tank. With a short-barrel 57 mm cannon, it proved effective in early campaigns but lacked the armor or armament of 1940s generation Allied armor; it was regarded as obsolete by the time of the 1939 battles of Khalkhin Gol, against the Soviet Union.

The Kit

Type 89 Japanese Medium Tank OTSU Diesel IBG Models No. 72041 1:72 is the 2017 re-boxing of the 2016 tooling, with 2 figures added.

Paint Scheme

I’ve used kit scheme 1: IJN Land Forces unit 1941

Build Log

A simple base to show it off, with another figure from an Airfix WWII Japanese Infantry set.

Credits and References

• this project on scalemates
• Type 89 Japanese Medium Tank OTSU Diesel IBG Models No. 72041 1:72
  • on scalemates
  • on IBG
  • instructions
  • Purchased from IBG Models for €9.80 (Feb-2023).
• Vintage Classics: WWII Japanese Infantry Airfix No. A00718V 1:76
  • on scalemates
  • Purchased from Hobby Bounties for SG$24.00 (Mar-2023).

Research References

• Type 89 I-Go medium tank - wikipedia
• Osprey Japanese Tanks 1939-45