I am working on a diorama of a Japanesse carrier deck in 1/48 with a Zero on the deckand I cannot locate any good figures for the deck. CMK has some nice stuff in 1/72 but I am looking everywhere. Any tips other then making my own as I am no where ready to make my own [:)]
Several of the Tamiya aircraft kits come with Japanese figures. The newest Zero releases contain several figures.
I am using an older kit that doesn’t have additional figures.
Well then perhaps someone that has the newer kit and wont be using them can send you the figures, or you can buy the figure sprue from Tamiya.
I checked the 1/48 Tamiya kits over on HLJ, they come with 5 figures( 1 seated and 4 standing pilots).
In short no ground or maintenance, etc personnel, not sure if some of the 1/48 figures from the other Tamiya Military sets might work.
Said that they might be a good start if reposed.
HTH.
How good are you at conversions? US Navy figures could be done into Japanese deck-apes relatively easily… If you want to tackle a couple, I have some resin-cast figures that I’d send you from the Monogram TBD-1 and TBF…
Thanks everyone for the replies. Hans I might be willing to take a stab at a conversion because I don’t see any other options. Can you email me offline at jlseese@charter.net Thanks!!
Tamiya’s new A6m5 kit has 5 figures, 4 standing and 1 seated - all except one is a pilot. The exception is someone holding a briefcase, could be a pilot.
The old Tamiya A6m5 kit also has figures, at least 2 or aircraft cremen waving their caps. I have this kit at home, but don’t remember exactly how many it has. Unforunately, the two kit’s crewmen sizes are quite different when put side by side.
I have pictures of both kit’s figures in this page on my website. The old figures are toward the beginning, 3 of the new figures are finished toward the bottom.
http://waihobbies.wkhc.net/models/Tamiya_A6m5_2008/TamiyaA6m5.html
The old kit is quite cheap, I think most places sell for under $15 and you can pick it up on ebay or model shows at around $10. I think someone on hyperscale forum was selling 4 or 5 boxes of the old ones for $45 or so.
Eduard does do a nice set of Imperial Japanese ARMY ground crew. They might be a start for a conversion or even a kitbash with modern US carrier air crew though.
No mechanic figures, but I think there might have been a few included in Hasegawa’s 1/48 Nakajima B6N2 Tenzan (Jill) Type 12 w/Radar JT Series: HSG09304.
http://www.hlj.com/product/FNMAC-31
Those might work for what I am trying to do. Has anyone ever ordered from Hobby Link and how long does it take to get products from them? Is there any addition charge for internation orders using my credit card? Sorry for all the questions I do all my shopping in the US 
Scratch that with shipping those are going to be over $30. Looks like I am scratching something, or trying, lol…
Hans, what do you want for your US figures so I can try to convert them?
I HLJ has excellent service and is a top-notch Online shop.
Delivery-time will depend on what shipping method you decide on, read their FAQ.
Did you check into the Tamiya 1/48 Japanese Military items?
I looked but didn’t see anything in 1/48.
I can also vouch for HLJ. Recently I’ve gotten orders in as little as 4 business days using the EMS option. I’d probably order more than one item and average out the cost of shipping. Check HLJ’s sales. The ModelKasten 1/48 Rabaul Zero Fighter Pilots would be the best option if you need a large group of figures. http://www.hlj.com/product/MDKSP-08
If you only need a few (with optional poses) I’d recommend the 1/48 IJA IJN pilot 6 figure set. If nothing else it would give enough figures for several projects. http://www.hlj.com/product/MDKF-01
About the cheapest option I can find would be Hasegawa’s 1/48 WWII Pilot set. 6 IJN pilots, but just 2 poses. http://store.spruebrothers.com/148-hasegawa-wwii-pilot-figures-set-36007-p6639.aspx
Thanks for all the info. I am going the Hasewaga route. I originally wanted a crew but just the pilot will work in my case. Thanks everyone for the help!!
If you reconsider, it looks like HLJ just started a 50% off Fedex shipping promotion till August 11th. [whstl]