You're right...there aren't a lot of 'era' photos. I believe they were using Springfield rifles WW1 vintage

You sure don't let moss gather. Watch any of the early Pacific war flicks that pop up on late night tv or youtube. I seem to recall the uniforms being very simple affairs.

Kimmo

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You sure don't let moss gather. Watch any of the early Pacific war flicks that pop up on late night tv or youtube. I seem to recall the uniforms being very simple affairs.

Kimmo

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Thanks Kimmo,gotta keep busy! LoL
Those early Hollywood flix usually have very little basis in reality though so I doubt they would show the correct gear?
J

Jerry,
Again- as mentioned above, ICM makes a very nice set of Springfields in 1/35 with and without bayonets as well as other useful equipment in their US WWI set.
VR Russ

Jerry,
Again- as mentioned above, ICM makes a very nice set of Springfields in 1/35....

Thanks Russ,
I did see that and yes,it would be easy but I get a hankerin' to do something and I have to act! So I will stick with what I have on hand and convert it or fabricate it. Thanks again,
J

As some of you may already know,when I am in the middle of building a large project requiring a lot of time and effort I like to knock something else out quickly so I get that feeling of completing something. Otherwise it is hard for me to maintain the proper mojo to keep going with the bigger project.
This is my very first US Marine project so be gentle my Marine guys,I am a boot!
This subject has always fascinated me,the dogged defense of Wake Island in the face of superior numbers and firepower brought to bear by the Invading Japanese force.
My first leatherneck. He is in the initial mock up stage with all that is not needed being already removed. He started as a GenII Mech Inf guy from Dragon. I started to modify a Kar98K as I am pretty sure these guys didn't have Garands at this early point in the war?

Have a look-see,




The only thing Google helped with was the Marines looked like they had all khaki uniforms,shirts tucked in with pistol belts,ammo pouches and canteens. Leggings and flat helmets. I could use any additional info.
TIA,
J

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Jerry,
Again- as mentioned above, ICM makes a very nice set of Springfields in 1/35....

Thanks Russ,
I did see that and yes,it would be easy but I get a hankerin' to do something and I have to act! So I will stick with what I have on hand and convert it or fabricate it. Thanks again,
J

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Aha! I knew it! Another twisted modeler like me that likes to take old stuff and make it into something useful just for the challenge. We'll soon join the ranks of our brethren scratchbuilders and kitbashers who've gone before us, passing into modeling oblivion, and surrendering our heritage to the invetible crush of the "Internet and Tamiagawa young folk". I never saw the fun of wanting immediate gratification and perfection in modeling. Jerry, it's obvious there's a bunch of us who just get a kick out of cutting, filing and puttying. Thanks for holding the torch high for us! On a serious note, this promises to be a great diorama of a little appreciated subject (today anyway). I consider myself lucky to have walked the beaches of Wake Island (when our 25th ID "chartered" USAF C-141 broke down for a day while transiting to Japan). It's a hallowed place, and there was a fair photographic museum in the terminal. Being there sure stopped and made you think of those guys who knew their time was short in that small place, and fought like the Devil Dogs they were anyway. Many have forgotten they turned the initial invasion force away. Thanks for tackling this subject.
VR Russ

Jerry,
Yes I spent a lot of time in the Pacific (and six years in Europe too). I only spent about 12 hours at Wake. But they let us have free access to the island so I made the most of it. It was rather flat, and sparsely vegetated, mostly small coconut groves and lots of sand. There were several old pillboxes still standing, and remnants of old fortifications here and there, but except for the old command bunker, nothing was really left. Unfortunately, I couldn't get to my camera, so I have no photographs. I did better at Gaudalcanal, were I spent two weeks cataloging US and Japanese chemical weapons-- the differences between Wake and Guadalcanal are impressive, one is a "desert" island, the other is a tropical jungle-- with areas reminiscent of African grasslands. The Pacific has some really diverse habitats-- and is still very remote.
VR Russ