WWII US Marine Landing Wave - Iwo Jima 1945

To round out my Iwo Jima anniversary collection, I wanted to circle back and depict Marines as they landed on the island. Of note, each landing wave, generally made up of different Marine regiments, landed in slightly different equipment combinations depending on their objectives, and unit orders. Due to lessons learned in earlier campaigns, the size of the island, and expected timeframes, the assaulting waves landed with a much heavier load than seen in previous battles. 

For this figure I've opted to showcase the full combat load, by the book, which oddly enough, may be the closest I'll come to offering a "generic" Marine rifleman figure. Landing photos seem to show Marines landing in largely their HBT uniforms, with their colder weather jackets stowed in their packs, and have not yet discarded or tucked in their leggings. Each Marine landed with a full combat load of rifle belt with load bearing suspenders and the usual canteen and first aid pouches. On their back however, the usual upper field pack was augmented with the bottom portion, used to stow additional changes of clothes, hygiene items, and anything needed for a prolonged fight beyond just additional ammo and rations held in the top pack. Wrapped around this was the full frogskin camo shelter tent, which also held the poncho, and wool blanket inside. Going off the source photos, I've also included new art for the army issue M1943 folding shovel, which began to trickle into Marine supply lines at this late stage of the war to replace depleted WWI surplus T handle shovels. 

Most unique to this figure is the face print, with an odd blue-grey splattering of paste. This "anti-flash cream" was a zinc based ointment distributed to the landing waves on Iwo Jima to help combat fears of Japanese fire traps. This concern was quickly found to be unwarranted, and the face paint was quickly removed or just washed off from sweat shortly after landing. To make the effect look more realistic, and less cartoonish, I hand traced an actual rubbing of graphite, and printed the dot matrix on each minifigure head with the color matched to original color film. 

Original Proof Copy - 1 of 1, first complete minifigure out of the printer. Signature by Landon Reimer, serial numbered, and sealed plastic collectors slab with Brick Warp artwork. 

Collectors Edition - Signed by Landon Reimer, serial numbered, and sealed plastic collectors slab with Brick Warp artwork.

Base Model - Complete figure in hand-stamped numbered case inspired by WWII era packaging. Unsealed. This packaging again, is hand-stamped and is not intended to look perfect. 

• Custom printed BrickArms M1 Steel Pot helmet with tan frogskin camo
• Custom printed minifigure head with M1 Helmet chinstraps and anti flash cream
• P1941 Marine utility uniform
• Marine contract M1923 rifle cartridge belt
• P1941 field transport pack (complete)
• Frogskin shelter half roll 
• M1943 entrenching tool with carrier
• Marine P2 canteen carrier
• M1943 jungle first aid kit
• M1923 army first aid kit 
• Navy N1 "Boondocker" field shoes  
• Inside leg Marine gaiters printing  
• Holographically sealed packaging (original and collectors edition) 
• Hand stamped WWII inspired packaging (base model) 

LEGAL INFO: This is not a LEGO® Product. LEGO and the LEGO minifigure are trademarks of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor, authorize, or endorse this product. The LEGO Group is not liable for any loss, injury or damage arising from the use or misuse of this product.