IJA Type 94 Tankette TK (early version)

Type 94 was the first Tankette of the Imperial Japanese Army, it’s based on the British Carden-Loyd Mark VIb tankette which was imported to Japan by the IJA for field tests alongside Franche Armored Cars. After conducting tests both French and British vehicles were defined as to small to be of use for the Army and  Tokyo Gas and Electric Industry (later known as Hino Motors) was requested to design and build the first tankette for Japan. The design was finished in 1933 with the first model being ready in 1934. Mass production started in 1935 and continued until 1938 when it was replaced by Type 97 Te-Ke. Its name (TK) stands for Tokushu Keninsha which translates to “Special Tractor”. The model pictures an early version of TK with lifted rear drive wheel caused its tracks to fall during sharp high-speed turns.