The Type 1 Self-Propelled Gun was produced from 1943, and around 140 were manufactured. Due to severe damage suffered during their transportation to the front line in the Philippines, a large number of Type 1s never actually made it into battle, but those that did are said to have been rated highly by the opposing U.S. forces. The Tamiya model kit faithfully captures all the details of this iconic self-propelled gun. Tamiya's designers have taken great care in researching archives and real world restorations to bring the avid modeler the most accurate scale model of the Type 1 self-propelled gun.
The Type 1 self-propelled gun was an improved version of the Type 97 medium tank, with a 75mm field gun added to the hull. Its gun could penetrate armour of up to 85mm from a range of 1,000 meters. While the fighting compartment was roofless, it did feature 50mm-thick armored plate on the front. It was produced from 1943 and around 140 were made in total, to be deployed with armoured divisions. In January of 1945, 4 Type 1s were part of the 2nd Tank Division on the Philippine island of Luzon, where they engaged in fighting with U.S. M4 Sherman tanks.