1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries Type 01 'Shin Hei' JGSDF Labor, 2002

Dizzyfugu · July 09, 2024, 04:29:33 AM

Early teaser, more to come soon...

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Dizzyfugu · July 11, 2024, 12:37:20 AM

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Some background:
The JGSF's Type 01 "Shin-Hei" military Labor was a derivative of the highly successful civil HL-98 "Hercules 21" construction labor manufactured by Hishii Heavy Industries, which itself was a thorough development of the HL-97 "Bulldog". Following an accident with a "Bulldog'' in 1998 the new model adopted an electronically controlled suspension, auto speed control, and a canopy system that eliminated the vibration, noise, and poor riding comfort that were the weaknesses of early two-legged Labors. Another novelty was the HL-98's completely sealed cockpit with VR view of the surroundings for the pilot which offered highly improved crew protection and comfort and also allowed operations in potentially hazardous environment.

With these upgrades the HL-98 became the industrial standard for 2nd generation Labors, being one of the company's best-selling products. This machine was furthermore a priority product into which all of Hishii's state-of-the-art technology was poured into, and "Hercules" became a household name for construction Labors in the late Nineties. There was plenty of consideration for the user in all aspects, such as the reshaped cockpit with an innovative virtual reality interface that made cabin windows obsolete, what also improved driver protection. In addition to the electrification of the actuators, which was a typical feature of the same generation Labors, the battery used a nickel-metal hydride system, which was later followed by the third-generation lithium-ion system. Of course, the reliability and price/performance ratio that Hishii fans always insisted on were excellent, and even today, some say that it is "The best in terms of ease of use at the field level.''

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Hishii's typical simplicity and robustness, with attention to safety and security, was what made the HL-98 machine a hit on the civil Labor market, and its versatility quickly drew attention of the Japanese Self Defense Ground Forces. At that time the JGSDF was looking for a light to medium multi-purpose Labor that could be used for both construction and logistics (primarily for engineer/pioneering units) as well as for armed frontline use, in a secondary role. In service it would partly replace the 1st generation AL-97 Atlas and AL-97B-var Hannibal Labors, being lighter, easier to transport and more economical to operate and maintain.

With its robust design and relatively compact dimensions the HL-98 offered a very good basis for further developments and within only two years Hishii Heavy Industries presented the so-called "JGSDF Type 01", baptized "Shin-Hei" ("First/glorious warrior"). The Shin-Hei strongly resembled the commercial HL-98, sharing its framework and many actuators, but the mechanical systems were upgraded to military spec to allow generally high performance and endurance. Most obvious changes included more complex, hand-like manipulators, so that the Shin-Hei could operate tools and hand-held weapons. A multi-sensor boom (visual, audio, radiation, and atmospheric analysis) was added on the left shoulder as well as a LIDAR projector/receiver on the "forehead", which offered a wide range of tactical uses and added full all-weather operation ability. The system allowed navigation even in total darkness, exact range measurement and three-dimensional analysis of surrounding details. A further use was motion detection (for extended watch duties), and the LIDAR's laser beam could furthermore be concentrated to illuminate targets at up to 4.000 m range, either for laser-guided missiles which the Shin-Hei could carry and deploy (see below), or for ordnance that had been launched from 3rd parties like guided artillery shells or laser-guided bombs and missiles dropped from airborne platforms.

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Although it had, due to being designed as a multi-purpose Labor, inferior firepower to its predecessor, the Atlas series, the Type 01 was fully capable of dealing with armored vehicles and infantry-level forces. On the right shoulder the Shin-Hei featured a fully stabilized articulated hardpoint that covered a conical area of +/- 45° in both horizontal and vertical planes in front of the torso, which could be rotated by 360°. This actuated pylon could accept several external weapons or tools. This included a sextuple launcher for laser-guided LMAT anti-tank missiles, a smoke grenade mortar with eighteen rounds, a belt-fed 25 mm rapid fire cannon with an external drum magazine against soft but also hardened targets, or a 40 mm grenade launcher, also outfitted with a drum magazine. Instead of weapons the hardpoint could also hold a powerful white/IR searchlight, an IR smoke screen generator, or a grapple cannon with an attached carbon-fiber cable.
Handheld weapons from the JGSDF's Labor weapon arsenal could be deployed by the Type 01, too, ranging from a long-barreled 40mm rapid-fire machine gun over a heavy anti-labor bazooka to a short combat knife. For riot control the Shin-Hei could furthermore use a machine pistol-type portable firearm, which looked like a submachine gun, capable of firing standard rounds but also non-lethal rubber frag bullets or flechette ammunition against soft targets.

Less visible upgrades included water-, heat- and ABC-insulation for the cockpit in front torso (together with an air supply for 48 hours of operation) and the Labor's fiber-reinforced plastic and aluminum shell was beefed-up for military operations with composite armor against machine cannon fire of up to 30mm caliber, and optional reactive armor tiles that protected against even larger caliber shells.

Three prototypes were built and the Japanese government ordered 99 production models, which entered service with the JGSDF Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade in 2001 but was also adopted by three JGSDF's pioneer units.

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Technical Data:
Code name: Type-01 "Shin-Hei"
Unit type: Military labor
Manufacturer: Hishii Heavy Industries
Operator: Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces (JGSDF)
Number built: 102
Accommodation: pilot only, in heat-, water and ABC-insulated cockpit in front torso

Dimensions:
Height overall (w. sensor boom): 9.42 meters
Height (hull only): 7.45 meters
Width (at shoulders): 5.12 meters
Minimum revolving radius: 5.5 meters

Weight:
7.89 tons (dry/empty)
9.22 tons (fully equipped/armed)

Armor materials:
Fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) and aluminum hull;
Additional composite armor against small-caliber weapons
Optional reactive armor tiles against armor-piercing weapons

Powerplant:
unknown

Maximum weight lifting capacity:
2.9 tons

Equipment and design features:
Flexible boom with visual and acoustic sensors, range unknown
Heat-, water- and ABC-protected cockpit with 48h air supply
Articulated manipulator hands with opposed thumbs
Full VR pilot interface

Armaments:
No internal weapons installed, but an articulated and stabilized hardpoint on the right shoulder
could accept several weapons, including a 25 mm machine cannon with 150 rounds in a drum
magazine or a launcher with 6x LMAT anti-tank missiles.
Additionally, handheld close and ranged combat weapons could be deployed, as well as a wide
range of pioneering tools

The kit and its assembly:
Some time ago I got my hands on a "reasonably priced" Patlabor IP kit set from Good Smile Company/Moderoid. The company created molds/kits for a wide range of Labors that appear in the original TV series and the movies, thankfully in the old Bandai kits' rather esoteric 1:60 scale. This range also included a lot of civil Labors, which were formerly only available as dubious vinyl kits. The kit set I got was the HL-98 "Hercules" and ASV 99 "Boxer" combo, two civil construction Labors that shortly appear in supporting roles in the early Nineties movies. I did not have concrete plans for the kits upon purchase, but one of them would certainly become/remain a commercial/civil vehicle – and that will be the Boxer, due to its glazed cockpit. The Hercules Labor looked rather aggressive (at least to me, a little like a small brother of the menacing Phantom robot), and I rather thought that it would be better suited as a police or even military vehicle.

I eventually went for the latter concept; my build/conversion would more or less fall into the timeframe of the rather realistic and politically-heavy Patlabor 2 movie, around 2002, when Labors had, after teething troubles, become a more common sight and fully integrated into public services. Therefore, the HL-98 would become a "classic" JGSDF vehicle, not an exotic prototype anymore, reflected in its equipment/mods and the livery.

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

A word about the kit.... After initial enthusiasm I was a bit disappointed by the HL-98 kit, though. While it looks flashy and crisp in the box, molded in a peach orange tone with some dark grey details on alternative sprues (that are shared with the Boxer, beware not to throw them away!), the kit revealed the designers' niggardliness. First of all the kit had been designed to be a rather simple snap-fit model. This is per se not a bad thing, many recent Bandai mecha kits are designed this way to appeal to newbie modelers who can put the model together, put stickers on it, and have a functional action figure within 15 minutes. However, Bandai's designers still have the advanced modeler in mind and typically offer an alternative water slide decal sheet, and the kit is designed to be built in segments that can be built and painted separately, to be assembled in a final step, e. g. thanks to vinyl caps and clever detail solutions that might require one or two parts more, but that pays out elsewhere.

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The Good Smile Company kit(s) lacks this thought altogether, and the number of parts has been reduced to a point that some parts, which would normally require 2 halves, have been molded and cast with "holes". This might not be an issue, if this would remain invisible – but it isn't and that's really disappointing for such a "modern" kit! For instance, the undersides of the feet or of the hips are just "hollow". Additionally, where a Bandai kit would offer a small, flexible vinyl cap in a joint, half of that joint is in the HL-98's case completely molded in an ABS-esque material that is quite soft and poorly accepts any paint – the toy aspect seemed to have priority during the molds' design process! Sure, you can work with this basis, but I feel painfully reminded of the early IP robot kits from the Eighties which did not offer any vinyl caps at all and a very cumbersome, not well thought-through matryoshka layout for arms, legs and torso, so that building separate modules and assembling them as a final step was impossible or required thorough mods.

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Beyond these fundamental issues the kit went together quite well. The IP material is solid and thick, but many openings had to be painted before assembly to hide the material's orange base color. Fit is also not too god, at least for such a modern mold – while the designers tried to hide part seams in natural panel lines, those seams that remain visible are very prominent and require PSR.
Most of my mods went onto the upper torso, including a sensor boom from a Patlabor Brocken on the left shoulder, the prominent LIDAR fairing (from a Bandai Patlabor Ingram Unit 3's head) or the shoulder gun (from the scrap box, from a ruined 1:144 Run-Valam mecha, plus a drum magazine scratched from leftover Patlabor Brocken parts).
The "mitten"-style hands were also procured from a Bandai Brocken kit, replacing the HL-98's original pincer-like three- and four-finger manipulators. To emphasize the military aspect, I added reactive armor tiles to the front and the shoulders, cut from 1mm styrene sheet. They beef up the look and add a military touch to the Labor/mecha.

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Once the basic colors had been applied, I gave the model an overall washing with thinned dark brown acrylic artist paint, to emphasize surface details and somewhat darken the rather pale tones, and some post-shading with slightly lighter basic tones (Revell 67 and 87) for weathering and a less uniform look. Decals/markings came next and were improvised with material from 1:72 JGSDF tanks and a Hobby Boss AH-1. After that the whole model was dry-brushed with khaki drab and light grey (Humbrol 72 and 64, respectively) to emphasize details and edges.
An overall coat with matt acrylic varnish followed. The lights around the hull were created with chromatic PET foil, the LIDAR on the forehead was painted glossy black to simulate a translucent fairing for the laser emitter. As a final step the model received a thorough weathering/dusting with watercolors and mineral pigments, esp. around the lower regions of the model but also on the upper surfaces, simulating accumulated dust and mud.

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Patlabor +++ 1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries JGSDF Type 01 'Shin-Hei', vehicle '2', 10th Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces; Camp Ainoura, Sasebo (Nagasaki Prefecture), 2002 (What-if/Good Smile Factory kit conversion) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

A conversion project that took a while to materialize, due to the inherent problems caused by the kit's design as a highly simplified snap-fit kit. However, the "militarization" of the HL-98 worked well, and with relatively simple means – it looks quite purposeful now. I just wonder about the Tamiya paints, which are supposed to depict authentic JGSDF tones (I cross-checked that with Tamiya's JGSDF tank kits like the Type 10 – the instructions recommend XF 72 and 73, too, or their rattle can alternatives). But esp. the green looks very pale and faded, I am not sold on it, even though I eventually stuck with them, and the Labor does not look bad with the low-contrast camouflage.

And there's the partner kit from the set that is waiting for assembly, too...

Old Wombat · July 11, 2024, 02:21:49 AM

One of the better looking mechas, in my opinion.

However, I think the ERA blocks were either a step too far or not far enough.

Dizzyfugu · July 11, 2024, 02:40:35 AM

Yeah, the reactive armor became a compromise. I wanted a denser "coat", also extended onto the arms and upper legs, but I eventually recognized that the space on arms and legs would be very limited for add-ons, and the bulged/organic shape of the body would not be well-suited for more tiles than what I eventually put onto the model. However, since this is not supposed to be a frontline combat mecha, rather a pioneers' tool, I left it as it ended up - it's still a step away from the Labor's civil origin, and it adds a detail that helps to convey its military role. Not perfect, but O.K..

zenrat · July 11, 2024, 03:55:50 AM

buzzbomb · July 12, 2024, 04:06:31 PM

So good to see a Mecha getting a run.

Dizzyfugu · July 13, 2024, 02:13:20 AM

I try to keep that exotic flag up, every now and then!

1:60 Hishii Heavy Industries Type 01 'Shin Hei' JGSDF Labor, 2002

Dizzyfugu

Dizzyfugu

Old Wombat

Dizzyfugu

zenrat

buzzbomb

Dizzyfugu