USMC In The Attack

The Waterloo 1815 USMC in 1/72nd scale in the attack. The mortar provide fire support at the rear.

The officer crests the hill and motions for others to follow. The Thompson gunner clears the way as the crouching man prepares to stand and follow the officer over the berm.

Standing and prone BAR gunners lay down suppressive fire on the enemy.

The prone BAR gunner uses a fallen log as cover. The .30 cal eats up belt after belt of ammunition.

The mortars continue the fire and the radioman gives fire direction as the lands impact short and to the right.

Trees from Imex and berm from Aurora.

USMC LMG

Waterloo 1815 1/72nd scale USMC WWII .30 cal air cooled light machine gun. The machine gun looks backwards, and while the machine gun can be traversed 360 degrees, the normal method of firing is with the rear of the gun between the two legs and the barrel over the single leg.

The shooter fits pretty well with the LMG.

The loader is excellent. He is just about the best kneeling loader figure - ever!

An officer figure in a rather odd kneeling pose. He probably looks better posed to crest a hill or on the top of a Japanese bunker.

The machine gun crew together. I would probably add the officer figure with the LMG crew, and use him as the gun leader / spotter. A three man crew is really a minimum on these guns, in fact, they often used many more men to carry ammo, a light machine gun can just eat up bullets.

Overall, this is a great set. Some unique figures like the grenade launcher, and the dog handler are just terrific. The flame thrower is hardly unique, but a great pose. Highly recommended. Someone doing WWII USMC would be well advised to get some of these guys and use them with the Airfix USMC for greater variety and a more late war feel.

Jewels

This is a figure almost unknown in soft plastic. The M1 rifle with grenade launcher attachment.

Every squad had one and they could fire HE and AT rounds. There was even a version that could fire the 60mm mortar rounds. An excellent choice for the Waterloo 1815 USMC set.

Another wonderful figure. Just when you thought the dog handler was great and the Thompson submachine gunner was fantastic, comes this pose. The standing BAR Gunner. Look at that bent front leg and the pressure exerted on the rear leg. He's really leaning into that weapon, firing off the whole magazine no doubt.

A great pose, it looks like it was designed by someone who has actually fired a machine rifle.

USMC Waterloo 1815

A Marine crouching. Can't you just see him behind a sea wall, Japanese machine gun fire whizzing overhead?

Ready to jump up and charge into the teeth of the enemy bunker! He holds an M1 rifle in his left hand and stands up easily without a base.

Another kneeling figure, this time firing his rifle. Stands up very well.

These figures are highly detailed. Many of the poses have two canteens, very typical for USMC in the Pacific.

A second view for the mortar guy. The one legged bipod is a mystery, I will solve it with a bit of plastic rod. Great 1/72nd scale figures, soft plastic, all one piece.

Waterloo 1815 USMC

This figure just screams USMC! The unbloused trouser legs, the cloth covered helmet, the Thompson Submachine gun. Awesome.

He has the correct magazine pouches for the SMG. His eyeline is along the Thompson, in line with the sights. His bent over pose is great, as he leans into the guns recoil.

The bipod using prone BAR gunner. The bipod is helpful for the recoil put out by this heavy weapon.

This is a good pose, the bipod is two separate parts.

The 81mm mortar in the set is a nice addition, but with only one leg of the bipod it is an odd figure. It sort of looks like the bipod legs are folded together, but that would not be a typical method of firing the mortar.

USMC

Another view of the charging USMC figure from Waterloo 1815. Soft plastic, 1/72nd scale figures for late WWII.

The flamethrower was an important weapon for the Marines in WWII. The Japanese were great at building bunkers, and using caves to hide in. The flamethrower could not only burn them directly, but it could suffocate them by burning up all the oxygen inside the cave or bunker.

This is the late war flamethrower. The Marines also used them to set the vegetation on fire. The plants would burn away and expose the enemy positions. This weapon weighted almost a hundred pounds, not conducive to running very fast.

Officer / radio operator figure. This guy is perfect for a forward observer for your artillery.

Marines often had naval gunfire on call. Destroyers would come in so close they would actually run up onto the sand the water would get so shallow! My wargame rules give a bonus to firing with an observer who can see the fall of shot and direct the corrections onto the target.

USMC WWII

Waterloo 1815 are marketing US Marines for WWII. These are 1/72nd scale soft plastic figures.

This figure carries a Thompson submachine gun. He has a dog, Marines used many dogs in the jungle to ferret out the hidden Japanese. The dog is a bit small, the Marines used many Dobermans, this dog is no Doberman.

A kneeling bazooka man. Not quite into position, but getting ready. Like the others in the set, he wears the cloth helmet cover. Very typical of USMC late WWII.

This is a nice figure, really action packed.

Charging figure, with M-1 rifle. These figures are all in the style of Caesar Miniatures. It is rumored they are made by Caesar and sold by Waterloo. Good set, well sculpted. More photos soon.