WW2 Marines - Pacific (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter kingtoot
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cutting_arrow
Private 2
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- Apr 13, 2009
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Marines are great, but what about Army in the pacific. My Grandfather was in the 24th Infantry division. Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Phillipine liberation medal, U.S. Presidential Unit Citation. They were the first to fight and the last to stop. They helped liberate the Phillipines. I would love to see CS make some 24th infantry division Figures. PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would be willing to spend some money. The Marines need to be honored but so does the Army! I had a Great Uncle that was a wounded Marine also. Thanks CS!!!! I love your stuff!
Good point. My former father-in-law was in the Army in the Pacific. He died from from injury received 35 years before.
Stryker II
Corporal
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- Oct 13, 2008
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THE PACIFIC maxi series is going to explode in February and these veterans are going to go from the back-waters to the for-front where they belong. Hanks and Spielberg saw thier mistake and it took them a few years to get it right. Hopefully the manufacturers will see this opportunty, and also "see the light". People already want this stuff, and the series isn't even out yet. What an outcry this will caus in the collecting society, if figures are not made yet to supply the demand...................Stryker
Don't count on it, Jay. Marines don't make enough money for anybody to make even though they tell you that they will. All that blood, honor, American pride just doesn't sell. Even in small number, limited edition sets like so many other sets that are still just sitting there on the shelves.
damian
1st Lieutenant
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You need to take that up with your fellow countrymen.
As I showed in my post on the related thread I have the Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima and it is one of my favorite pieces and I am not American
I have taken it up with my fellow countrymen, wanting to spend my hard-earned U.S. dollars on some WW2 AMERICAN MARINE sets, not a continuing cycle of Nazi collectibles. There is just something wrong about that. For a while it looked like CS was going to think outside the box and do something creative and different for OTHER collectors to get interested in. Even after encouraging messages from them, they finally shot us down. You take it up with them.
Rob
Four Star General
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- May 18, 2005
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I've never understood why the USMC figures are not so much more popular in the US?.The country has great pride in them but it just doesn't seem to translate into sales,if America went big for them it wouldn't matter if they didn't sell elsewhere.
Rob
Rob
This is a really interesting question that has no easy answer. I find the Pacific War every bit as interesting as NW Europe. I do more reading in the Pacific arena than NWE, yet I own NO Pacific War figures or vehicles. I do not know why. Lack of uniform variety or armor? Difficulty of display? Large involvement of undisplayable naval units? Maybe some of each. I am a real fan of the Pacific aviation war, all aspects and both sides. I certainly love the US Marines and their actions and would like to see some related TS that could be used for Tarawa or Guadalcanal. Hawkins clearing the pier or Basilone holding his MG position on the 'canal would be great. I would hate to think that the lack of collecting interest is motivated by the racial aspect or misplaced guilt about the A-bomb, but who knows. I do not. -- lancer
Phantom Warrior
Major
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- May 1, 2009
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As I have said before, the big part of collecting WW2 are the AFVs, pbobably more so than collecting just soldier figures. North Afrika and western Europe have the greatest variety of well known AFVs and each area went through 3 stages of armour development. The Pacific , as far as collectors are concerned was mainly a carrier and foot soldier war. Pacific area diecast warplanes are very popular to collectors. Pacific aircraft also went through 3 stages of development and there is a large number of types of planes. But there is much less in the way of armour or stages of armour development and this has been of less interest to collectors.
Terry
Good point about the aircraft, Terry. I just realized that 75% of my 1/48 scale die-cast aircraft are Pacific War related.
-- Al
Rob
Four Star General
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For me and i understand many of my generation it was always figures first then the vehicles.As kids we all collected Airfix Toy Soldiers and had the odd vehicle,this followed us into adulthood.I was first attracted to K&C by the figures,the vehicles were a happy addition!.
Rob
Rob
It's funny - I've heard of that "racial"aspect of Pacific War collectibles or interest. It sure seems to me that there were no bigger racists than Nazi Germany AND Imperial Japan in the world, ever! The Japanese tortured, butchered, raped and killed everyone who was not Japanese yet we hear nowadays that the allies that fought against them were the racists. Sounds like BS to me. As far as the A-Bomb, they forced that upon themselves by their own "die for the emperor" way of life.
For me and i understand many of my generation it was always figures first then the vehicles.As kids we all collected Airfix Toy Soldiers and had the odd vehicle,this followed us into adulthood.I was first attracted to K&C by the figures,the vehicles were a happy addition!.
Rob
Thank you - that's why this hobby is collecting sets of "FIGURES"with the occasional vehicle thrown in. I'm not interested in glossy or semi-glossy pretty sets of row upon row of marching or standing figures. Realism has taken the place of the old "Toy Soldier". Matte finish, sculpted in action poses with weathered uniforms and boots are much more exciting than anything else, if you want to utilize them in dioramas with terrain and vehicles. Again - that is why I continue to beat the drum for Pacific sets - US Marine, Imperial Japanese, Aussies, etc..CS creates just the type of matte finish metal figure to do it and do it well. We need to continue the fight for this. Someone out there scared them into backing down. We have to show our support for an American company to create American AND their Allied counterparts in metal figures.
Nobody has put out a big effort to create Marines in a grand way. Figarti's earlier attempts were too clumsy looking, that's why they didnt sell that well. There are enough people out there who would love to have some action-type WW2 figures of the Pacific Theater. We just need a leader and not a follower to buy from. From what I've heard, K&C's latest ACW union infantry do not sell well at all. Do you think that they will never make another set of ACW Union figures? I doubt that seriously.
The war in the Pacific was undeniably a racial war, regardless of what side. Was it the prime force? No, I don't believe so, but, the differences in culture and the misunderstandings between east and west certainly fed the causes and execution. Both sides were guilty of racism and it shows in the terrible casualties and particular viciousness of the fighting. You are right when you say the Japanese were guilty of the reprehensible treatment of prisoners and civilians, wherever they went, whoever they fought. They viewed themselves as the superior race. To deny US racial views of the time, though, is deny the facts. We had no respect for them or their mysterious culture or Code of Bushido. As for the A-bomb, you reap what you sow. The Japanese started the war, the US ended it in a way to head off an invasion that would have cost millions of casualties. Not JMO. -- lancer
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maddadicus
2nd Lieutenant
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My feeling is that the lackluster sale issue is not against collecting the Allies, but buying the Japanese, for what ever reasons. Actually, as a kid, most of my plastic soldiers were Marines and " Japs "...The Marx sets were the best and I still remember most of the figure poses. Admittedly, Japanese tanks were terrible and limited in types. Whereas a mfg. can pick from 100 plus of European vehicles, the choices for the Pacific are embarrassing...I did buy the K/C Japanese tank, but it is my only Pacific piece..Would love a current Stuart to go with it and a Sherman..Michael
My Marx Marines mowed down many a Marx Japanese Banzai attack, also. In fact, despite sometimes heavy casualties, the Marines NEVER lost. I don't believe the Japanese ever had any survivors, either. Somewhere in storage there is a box with all my Marx soldiers, allied and axis, still dusted with the dirt of the battlefield. Will have to dig them out someday. -- Al
We all remember so fondly our plastic Marx Marines and Japs, with vehicles no matter how crappy they were. If we enjoyed the top of the line toy soldiers for their time, we would now still enjoy our top of the line soldiers of today! Only if somebody made good sets of them. That's my whole point. K&C's last sets of defensive posed japs just weren't that good. They were boring..Their first series of japs are hard to find now. They were good action poses..