Flames of War Pacific Army deal unbox and paiting – A box full of Japanese!

By Paolo Paglianti

Our friends at Battlefront sent us one of the Limited Editions from the new Pacific range — and it’s packed with Japanese troops! What do you think, shall we do a nice unboxing together?

Inside the box, which costs $150, there’s a ton of stuff. Since the Japanese army is infantry-based, it’s no surprise that we find two full platoons of Japanese infantry, which can be used as either Army or Navy troops. We talked about the Japanese powerful infantry and lists here, by the way.

 

• 2 HQ command teams
• 1 command team and 9 medium bases (with 4 soldiers each) x2, allowing you to field two “large” infantry platoons
• 8 50mm mortars, to fully kit out the above-mentioned platoons
• 2 flamethrower teams (not listed on the box), which allow you to build the two available flamer bases for the Engineers platoon
• 2 anti-tank rifle teams
• 2 HMG teams

On the guns and artillery side, we get:

 

• 2 x 47mm anti-tank gun teams
• 2 x 70mm infantry guns
• 2 x 75mm regimental guns

More than enough to give you some anti-tank capability and two batteries to shell the enemy and lay down smoke.
Don’t forget — the Japanese have a special rule that allows each gun to count as double, so it’s basically like having two full 4-gun artillery batteries!

Then, a few tanks:

• 3 Type 97 Chi-Ha — these are pretty much the backbone of Japanese armored forces
• 3 Type 89 Chi-Ro — those quirky tanks with Top 2, Front/Side 1 stats

What a wonderful present for every FOW player!

 

Finally, as a bonus, we get a set of Rising Sun dice and a set of tokens. The usual mini rulebook is also included — you probably already have a stack of them, but it’s perfect to give away to new players in your club. Of course, there are also the unit cards for everything in the box — but sadly, no decals, which aren’t even available on the website. I found a very good solution with HeresyBrush, the site and shop of one of the most talented painters in wargaming, Ruben Torregrosa. He sells a range of 15mm decals, including the Japanese ones. 

Back to our Battlefront box: all the infantry, tanks, and guns are in metal, likely cast from the same molds used in V3. The casting quality is excellent. For the infantry, there are at least 10 different poses, including variants with the iconic Japanese flag hanging from the rifle — so there’s plenty of variety.

The only minor downside is that the officers with katanas are limited (only 4), and there are “just” 2 figures holding large banners. I will 3D print some of them from some STL ranges to add some variety.

What is inside the Japanese army box deal: Unit Cards, Dice, Objectives, tokens, 6 tanks, 6 guns a throng of infantries!

How much is the box worth?

If we were to buy the components separately, we’d end up paying significantly more:

• Type 89 Chi-Ro (3 tanks) – $47
• Type 97 Chi-Ha (3 tanks) – $34
• Japanese Dice – $16
• Japanese Tokens – $16

That’s already $113. We know the Japanese infantry platoon will release in mid-June, while the gun teams won’t be out until July. We don’t know the prices yet, but we’d need to add:

• 2 infantry platoons
• 3 gun platoons

We doubt these will cost less than $40 total — more likely, they’ll push the total well above $80. Metal soldier platoons cost around $45 (as the British one for Team Yankee, with a similar number of pieces), and the guns could be around $20. If we guessed the cost, that would be a total of $250+. 

How many points is it worth?

Using Battlefront’s standard points system, we have a core force worth 49 points. Just add the For the Emperor! card (1 point — it lets you reroll a die), and we’ve got our first 50-point Japanese army.

 

 

If we switch to the Dynamic Points 2025, already available on Forces,  the Battlefront site to digitally create lists, things get even better — the cost of light tanks has gone up, so this box gets more value. If we want to go all out and choose the best Japanese infantry, the Imperial Navy troops, we reach 54 points.

 

 

What’s missing to reach 100 points?

Since we usually play games around 95–105 points, we’ll need to add a few more units to complete the base box.

First off, we’re missing a scout platoon. Here we can choose between scout infantry or tankettes — the latter might be the better option, especially with the AT 6 gun upgrade.

We’d also add a mortar platoon (4 points for 4 bases), which is the only Japanese artillery unit with 4 stands, making it slightly less vulnerable to counterbattery fire.

A 75mm AA battery (AT 10, 8 points for 4 bases) wouldn’t be a bad idea either, along with a pair of Zeroes (8 points). With their bombs, they’re one of the few Japanese units that can really threaten heavy German and Soviet tanks: AT 3, FP 2+, Skill 3+.

Another option is to field a second formation with tanks. For example, if we want to go full anti-infantry with the Chi-Ro, a formation with an HQ (2 tanks), 2 platoons (one with 3, one with 4 tanks), and a scout tankette platoon costs 27 points — a perfect way to use the two tank boxes you’ll need to buy anyway.

So here’s the 100-point list, with Naval Infantry and a Chi-Ro tank formation. To make everything fit, we’ve added two Human Bullet cards (which let the infantry threaten tanks) and an observer team to help spot for the three artillery units. This gives you a list full of options — a great starting point to conquer Midway!

 

Let’s start painting the Japanese!

This will be a big painting project — a list like this includes over 140 models, counting infantry, mortars, and guns.

Here’s the first platoon we’ve fast painted over the weekend.  Not super precise, but works. 

The first  Japanese platoon is ready to look for troubles in the next Italian Mid tournaments!

I love giving my infantry bases a story. Since this army is “set” in the Pacific, I imagined a unit of Japanese Naval Infantry landing on a remote island and stumbling upon the ruins of a forgotten temple.

After doing some reading, I found out that Naval Infantry used gear almost identical to the Army, but in a more greenish tone. So I went with a base of Russian Uniform WW2 – 924.
For the boots and the central satchel on their back, I used a warm brown, like Leather Brown 871.
The big satchel on the left got a coat of Dark Yellow 978, to add a bit of variation. For the straps and harnesses, Khaki 988 did the trick.

Once the base colors were done, I applied a black wash (my favorite is Nuln Oil from Games Workshop) and let it dry completely.
Then I highlighted using the base colors, followed by lighter shades — just avoid white, as it tends to “burn out” flat colors. Try Pale Sand 837 instead. For wood and leather parts I highlighted  with a soft brown, you can use Games Workshop Mournfang Brown.

For the skin, the fastest method is to prime it white, let it dry thoroughly, and apply a Contrast paint like Guilliman Flesh from Games Workshop. The miniatures are so detailed that a single pass does the job — though if you want to spend more time on them, you can always add some flesh-toned highlights later on.

Bases from top down views. Is it art?

 

Let’s build a ruined temple

For the bases, I spent a couple of hours digging through my archive of STL files for 3D printing. The great thing about 3D files is that you can resize them however you want — so I found some wall sections from a set of Chinese fortifications and asked to Ignazio, a friend of mine very talented 3D sculptor (have a look at his creations!), to modify them to look like ruins.

To add a bit more variety, I came across (and bought) this amazing set — it almost felt like it was made for this exact project.

I also found plenty of small props like oriental lanterns, a couple of Buddha-style statues, and even some carnivorous plants that add a bit of humor. As for the vegetation, I didn’t have to look far — I was inspired by this fantastic article on Breakthrough Assault by my friend Soren Petersen, where he thoroughly explains not only how to print tons of jungle plants, but also where to find them and how to paint them.

Here’s the final result: all the infantry models are from Battlefront, except for two command bases that I deliberately chose from other manufacturers to add some visual variety to the HQ. It also helps make the HQ stand out more clearly on the table!

The platoon – I hope – should give the idea of the “jungle fight, but we are scouting a lost temple!”

 

 

All figures are from Battlefront, except  a very few officers, for variety. I wanted  all different looking leaders!