Nicely done, however i'm not particularly enthusiastic about so many smgies. Surely Warlord gave us opportunity to equip 1 per squad, but i think that they've made a mistake. In fact smgies were so rare that ww2 US military intelligence didn't even mention them in their japanese infantry weapon compendium. Moreover I think that they are just not worth taking(i mean in ordinary infantry squads), because they get fully effective in range up to 6 inches when japanese squad would probably charge instead of shooting. I prefer additional dice when in long range and 3 points savings, more historically accurate loadout is a nice bonus.
You are aware that assault weapons give you the tough fighter keyword and that 2 shots hitting on 4 have a higher potential and absolute damage output than one shot on 3? SMGs are brutal on any unit you intend to get close to the enemy. I run a pretty effective US Airborne list with 5x7 squads equipped with 3bars + pistol and 4SMGS. That's 14 shots on range 0-12 plus 7 tough fighters. I yeeted them into 15 man Japanese Infantry and won. Sure, if you build a Rifle/MG squad that is supposed to sit in the back all game they are useless, but in an agressive squad they are extremely effective.
I managed to build 30 Bamboo spear fighter Infantry from 2 unit boxes and a box of bamboo infantry. You can build 12 spear Infantry by kitbashing the AT suicide bomber arms, one officer with katana and the remaining 7 with a little bit more elaborate kitbashing based on matches, not too hard and 30 Bamboo spear infantry is a solid foundation for every japanese list, still strong, but not broken
Grenadiers do really well as regulars vs vets. The light mortars might not seem like much, but if you can manage to get any hits the +1 pen will start killing way above their weight class.
LMG DOESN'T give extra firepower on regulars. Only range. For the same prize on an lmg you can have 2 extra soldiers: 1lmg + reload guy = 4 dice/ 40 points. 4 rifles = 4 dice/ 40 points. I'd much much rather have 2 extra lives with the japanese. Guys don't be afraid to build rifles.
The problem there is that MMGs have double the range of grenadiers. Thats a lot of ground to close. From my experience they excel against infantry in cover or buildings, which seems accurate. Still, that 18" range is hard to make work with such random dice.
So, if I buy: - ija starter - ija expansion - snlf box I should have enough infantry for building up at least 3 full strength squad with full optional? Which the suggested tanks/vehicles to buy next?
Also if you get an older starter be aware it's a resin kit and just the chi ha and not the shin hoto. The plastic kit is an absolute delight compared to the old one resin and metal ome
