United States Marines (Guadalcanal 1942)

The Battle of Guadalcanal was fought in the air, and on the land and sea, between August 7, 1942 and February 7, 1943. Located in the southern Solomon Islands, Japanese troops stationed on Guadalcanal were well positioned to threaten Allied shipping routes, plus they helped defend the major Japanese base at Rabaul. The Battle of Guadalcanal represented the first major Allied offensive against the Japanese, and it marked a strategic victory and turning point for the Allies. The battle pitted 60,000 Allied ground troops against 36,200 Japanese soldiers, and the bloody conflagration resulted in approximately 7,000 Allied and 30,000 Japanese deaths.

Dragon’s new 1/35 scale figure set depicts a group of four U.S. Marines fighting in this epic battle. It perfectly captures the tension and apprehension of a typical jungle patrol in enemy-infested territory. The Marines are wearing M1941 utility coats and trousers. In keeping with the time period of the battle, they carry such weapons as newly tooled Springfield M1903 rifles and Reising M50 submachine guns. The beauty of these figures is that they can also be used for later Pacific campaigns if modelers choose to exchange their weapons for M1 Garands or Thompson submachine guns. This is a very versatile set of figures, and it will prove invaluable for those wishing to depict the Pacific Theater of Operations in greater detail.