Sporterized Early WWII Arisaka Type 99 Bolt Action 7.7x58mm Japanese Army Bolt Action Rifle w/ Custom Artwork

ARTWORK PREPARATION:

The existing top coating wood finish was carefully removed down to the raw wood, prior to custom artwork and all Woodstock was hand rubbed with two (2) coats of Lin-Speed to protect the artwork and accent the wood grain.

WWII INSPIRED CUSTOM ARTWORK:

Layer by layer, over 100+ man hours of delicate, hand painted artwork by former Texas Lawman and Owner of Bray Armory, Keith Bray.

All of the custom artwork is of original design and hand painted with multiple layers of gloss enamel colors. In addition, the back right & mid-section has some unique preparation prior to paint work. These artwork elements were carved into the wood stock first and then painted which gives it a unique tactile “feel” as well as look.

LEFT SIDE (as pictured)



The back LEFT buttstock features a Japanese Type 89 medium tank rolling into the Battle of Xuzhou which was a military conflict between the Empire of Japan and the Republic of China forces in May 1938 during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

The person illustrated is War Hero and Legendary WWII Japanese Tank Commander Kojirō Nishizoemi . Following his death during the Battle of Xuzhou in 1938, Nishizumi was declared Japan’s first “gunshin”, or War God . The Type 89 medium tank that Nishizumi was riding when he was killed had 1,300 bullet holes was exhibited at Yasukuni Shrine and became a big topic.

To the LEFT of the Tank Commander is the painting of an Arisaka Type 99 rifle with a bayonet attached and a Japanese Rising Sun waving underneath.



The LEFT middle item illustrated is the battleship, the USS Utah, which was hit by two torpedoes dropped from B5N "Kate" bombers at the onset of the attack on Pearl Harbor. She immediately began listing and capsized within ten minutes. Fifty-eight men were lost on Utah during the attack. Attempts to salvage the old ship were abandoned and today her wreck lies in Pearl Harbor as a war memorial.



The LEFT front item illustrated is of three Nakajima B5N Imperial Japanese Carrier-based torpedo bombers entering dive formation during the attack on Pearl Harbor.



RIGHT SIDE (as pictured)



The back RIGHT buttstock features a gray outline of the Japanese battleship “Yamato” patrolling in the Pacific Ocean for its’ next target; with the Japanese Rising Sun in the ominously in the background with its’ infamous red disc & 16 red rays. The battleship next to Yamato is her sister ship, “Musashi” , which was the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed at the time.

The RIGHT mid-section depicts 15 bloody kill marks (unconfirmed) at the hands of a former Imperial Japanese soldier which reflects a stark reminder this was a former battle rifle with the sole purpose of killing enemy soldiers.



The RIGHT fore grip features a lone Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" , which is carrier-based fighter aircraft, hunting for its’ next targets whether in air or at sea. During the final phases of WWII, it was also adapted for use in kamikaze operations .

The three Japanese symbols next to the Zero represent the word The Japanese word “Kamikaze” is usually translated as "divine wind" (kami is the word for "god", "spirit", or "divinity", and kaze for "wind").

UNDERNEATH (as pictured)



Continuing with the kamikaze symbols this variation reads “Japan of Kamikaze” which as history tells us is the suicide bombing tactic used by the Empire of Japan during World War II, in which a pilot would deliberately crash an explosives-laden plane into an enemy warship.

BUTTSTOCK (as pictured)



A crazed skeleton depiction of a Japanese Kamikaze pilot inside the canopy of his Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" aircraft gripping the yoke of the throttle delivering death in a downward spiral toward the naval battleships below.