Modelling > SciFi & Fantasy

Gate: Thus the Japanese Self-Defense Force Fought , Idea for Diorama

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strikehawk:
I'm planning on making a build from this anime, Gate: Thus the Japanese Self-Defense Force Fought. Season one is playing on Hulu at the moment and it has plenty of potential for dioramas in any scale. Simply put the story begins when  portal opens in The Ginza district of Tokyo in present day Japan. From the gate of the portal come mounted knights on horseback and riders on wyverns as well as archers, Roman soldiers with spear and shield and to add spice to the mix, an assortment of beings from Dungeons and Dragons.

After an initial shock the police and JSDF repulse the attack and drive the invaders off. Flash forward a few months and the JSDF cross over the portal and sets up camp in what is called the Special Region. After a few weeks of 'battle' with the local empire and it's vassals armies thing settle down. The Japanese gov't and the JSDF now decide to start sending recon units to scope out the land and get information from the locals. This is where my diorama idea comes into play.

My idea is one of two scenes, the first one of the recon teams meeting up with a local mounted unit set late in the first season. The second is a team escorting refugees from a village than's in danger of being wiped out from a Flame Dragon. My problem is that most of the modern equipment is available and I have some of what I need. What I don't have are the Light Attack Vehicles, the Japanese equivalent of the Humvee, mounted knights, did I mention that this particular unit is co-ed? Anyway, I need to find those, medieval villagers and wagons.

Anybody know where I can get those items without resorting to metal wargame figures? I plan on using the Aoshima JGSDF Armored 3.5 ton truck and either Revel Dingos or what ever Humvees that look good unless someone knows where I can find one or two LAVs. I know it's easier to scale up to 1/35 scale but I'm retired on a fixed income so the smaller the scale the more I can afford. I know that this isn't a total what if with everything more or less stock but the concept is a complete what if. It follows some of the Warhammer 40K games I used to play where the table was set up to look like a late Roman to mid Dark Ages town.

Right now I'm just putting this up for a sounding board so I can get my ducks, rather kits, in a row. I've still to set up my work room but my step daughter is still delaying in moving her and her kid's junk out of the house and for me to find all my gear and kits buried under more of her stuff in the garage. I'll post from time to time as I get things into my inventory and the ideas are worked out to the final plans. I also may need some buildings for that time period. For anyone interested the anime is worth your time as it is a big what if concept. At least the what's available to watch is dubbed in English and the voice acting is better than a lot of domestic shows. Having two grandsons living with me means that we have the TV on shows geared for kids younger then five. Somebody shoot me now, please.

Jeffry Fontaine:
Gate does look like it has a lot of potential across the entire spectrum of modeling.  Just had a peek at the first episode to try and understand what you were describing.  Interesting and intriguing story.  My last foray in to anything anime was Attack on Titan and I really enjoyed the anime and live action films that followed. 

strikehawk:
Mr Fontaine, thanks for your kind words to my rather...unconventional, idea. All that aside, I was able to access the first and second manga volumes. In those more equipment the combined JSDF use in the "Special Region". To my earlier list of options I can now add MRAP, the Komatsu LAV that resembled the Panhard VBL. There are also many heavy and light armored vehicles that are of previous generations and as explained in the mange (comic book) that the equipment while obsolescent is more useful due to the lack of reliance on modern electronics as well as using up surplus that can't be exported outside the nation. It seems as if it was following the example of the US deploying M117, very old Mk 80 series as well as other Vietnam/Cold war ordnance stores that had been in magazines since the late 60's to mid 70's.

As I stated this expands the possibilities for What If diorama's. In fact the helicopter platforms are AH-1's, UH-1D/H's, and CH-47's with the Kawasaki OH-1 Ninja scout helos being the most modern. The only fixed wings shown in the anime are the F-4EJ and Kawasaki C-1 transports. In the manga the Mitsubishi MU-2K / LR-1 Recon aircraft.

Having the chance to read the manga opened a bigger field of possibilities to get a chance to combine my love for model building, creating a fictitious setting and having the opportunity to blend in my passion for anime and manga. At the moment I don't have a place to build anything since on the day I was able to clear out one daughter's room and plan to turn it into an office/work shop my youngest girl announced that she was going to use that room for a nursery since her and her lazy boyfriend were having a kid.  As it stands now, we now have to dig out all of my model things and I mean everything, from the garage. Now I won't be building anything until late August. When I had decided to set up my office I was working with a good salary  where I could buy top of the line desks, chairs and shelving. Now that I'm retired I'll bee looking in Goodwill stores for that same stuff.

Sorry about the mini rant but it still hurts that I can't enjoy my hobby and my retirement like I had planned but the sad truth is that my would be office was never used as the kid's room but turning into storage for her stuff. While all my planned builds are behind schedule at least I have more time to plan. Until I am able to commit and begin a project I would love to discuss anyone's ideas as well as my own should anyone decide to do a build along the lines of the anime or manga.

elmayerle:
My sympathies on the delay on room access.  Modeling the MU-2K/LR-1 would require purchasing one of the conversion kits out there to make a stock "short body" MU-2 from Hasegawa's MU-2S (sometimes labeled MU-2A) and then modifying that (unless, of course, you can find one of the old Otaki/Paramount kits of the MU-2B).  If you wanted to do a subtle whif, upgrade the engines to those from the final "short body" variant, the Solitare with four-bladed propellers (note that they rotate opposite from the three-bladed ones).

It sounds like a fascinating concept and I am quite tempted to look up the manga volumes (at least) for myself.

Story:
I had to look this one up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItsnTstVsKI

Seems to fit into the Anachronistic Group Build parameters http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=8033.0

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