As of 2010 the United States Marine Corps included just under 203,000 active duty Marines and just under 40,000 reserve Marines. The Marine Corps is larger than the armed forces of many significant military powers, being larger than the active duty Israel Defense Forces and the active duty British Army. [source: wiki]
The Marine Corps has the most stable and most recognizable uniforms in the American military; the Blue Dress dates back to the early 19th century and the service uniform to the early 20th century. Marines have three main uniforms: Dress, Service, and Utility. The Utility Uniform, currently the Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform, is a camouflage uniform intended for wear in the field or for dirty work in garrison, though it has now been standardized for regular duty. It is rendered in a distinctive MARPAT pixelated camouflage (sometimes referred to as digitals or digies) that breaks up the wearer's shape, and serves to distinguish Marine uniforms from those of other services.
1/6th scale companies and manufacturers of 12-inch military figures have been producing and releasing US Marine figures for years, with Hasbro's release of the G.I. Joe 12-inch action figures back in the day. More recently, about a decade back, Dragon Models Limited (DML) had already released this USMC LRRP (Long Range Reconnaissance Petrol) "John" in 2002. John already was wearing Woodland digital MARPAT (MARine PATtern) camouflage MCCUU (Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform) back in 2002.
Dragon Models Limited (DML) 1/6th scale United States Marine Corps (USMC) LRRP (Long Range Reconnaissance Petrol) "John" 12-inch Marine figure came fully decked with his USMC MOLLE (MOdular Lightweight Load-bearing Equipment) which consisted of his FLC (Fighting Load Carrier) along with his main rucksack secured to a lightweight frame together with his sleeping mat and additional pouches. The whole system was so detailed and complex that the website had assembling instructions.
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols, or LRRPs (pronounced "lurp"), are special small four to six-man teams employed on highly dangerous special reconnaissance missions deep into enemy territory.
Because of the nature of their mission and the need to be self-sufficient for long periods, LRRPs had to ensure that they had all they needed on their mission and more. Within the U.S. Marine Corps, these missions were typically assigned to Marine Recon, especially Force Recon, units assigned to corps-level (i.e., Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF)) level, as opposed to the Battalion Recon units answering to battalion commanders.
Under the Elite Force brand, Blue Box Toys (BBI) produced and released highly articulated, and accurate depictions of 1/6th scale 12-inch soldiers from various theatres of operation from World War II to the modern day, including Marines from the United States Marine Corps (USMC).
BBI released this 1/6th scale USMC Captain Arthur Fenton 12-inch military figure wearing the USMC MARPAT digital Woodlands camouflage combat uniform as well.
But unlike Dragon Models USMC LRRP 12-inch figure seen above, this BBI figure was rather sparse in terms of equipment and gear.
And then we come to one of the latest releases that is the USMC Rifleman Uniform set by Very Hot.
I had actually just reviewed this figure recently HERE and there are a lot more pictures posted in the entry as well. You can click on the link to check out the post.
I believe this is the most modern and current state in terms of gear and equipment that the US Marines are wearing and using in the fight against terrorism and terrorists in Afghanistan.
This is the STGCC 2011 Soldier Story Exclusive 1/6th scale USMC 2nd MEB (Marine Expeditionary Brigade) Marine also known as USMC SSgt. Nantz 12-inch Marine figure from the 2011 American military science fiction war movie "World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles". Officially, this Soldier Story USMC 2nd MEB (Marine Expeditionary Brigade) Marine is based in Afghanistan Helmand province but unofficially, he was seen in Los Angeles when the aliens attacked Earth.
Besides switching out the Soldier Story Exclusive USMC 2nd MEB Marine 1/6 scale head and 12-inch body (including the gloved hands), I also changed boots because I wasn't fond of the clownish looking USMC boots produced by Soldier Story due to the long vamp. You can see both the original head and boots in my earlier post HERE.
This is a much better looking SSgt. Michael Nantz than the one I tried to kitbash earlier (see my post HERE) because of the more accurate USMC kit (gear and accessories).
This is the BBI Elite Force "Cpl Tony Bishop" of the USMC Expeditionary Unit with MARPAT digital desert camouflage. It was released at the same time as USMC Captain Arthur Fenton (seen above)
He came with this cool AN / PVS-18 NV monocular and his M4 with Beta C-Mag 100-round dual-drum magazine. BBI Elite Force figures never crossed the SGD100 mark and were value-for-money. It's too bad they stopped producing 12-inch figures :(
This is the BBI Elite Force 1/6th scale USMC 26th MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit - Special Operations Capable) 2nd Force Recon "Chopper" 12-inch military action figure and IMHO, one of the BEST figures from BBI.
"Chopper" comes with quite a bit of gear and accessories and once kitted out, he looks like he can take on anything deemed hostile. Tangos better watch out! A fine figure by BBI that still stands out to this day. Best part of it all is, BBI Elite Force figures never cost more than SGD100.
Besides BBI, Hot Toys also released a 1/6th scale USMC 26th MEU-SOC 12-inch military action figure as well. Hot Toys were still doing military figures back then and this was one of their last few releases before they moved on to the more lucrative business of movie merchandising.
Hot Toys also loaded their figures to the hilt with bells and whistles plus the kitchen sink all thrown in as well :) The real operator won't be bogged down by too much gear since it will impede movement and slow him down but for hobbyists and 1/6th scale collectors, it's just nice to see the figure fully decked out and then some. Great for displaying.
See what I mean ;p this guy is FULLY loaded with gear!
More pictures of Dragon Models Limited (DML) 1/6th scale United States Marine Corps (USMC) LRRP (Long Range Reconnaissance Petrol) "John" 12-inch Marine figure can be seen HERE
More pictures of BBI Elite Force 1/6th scale USMC Captain Arthur Fenton 12-inch figure HERE
STGCC 2011 Soldier Story Exclusive: USMC 2nd MEB Marine REVIEW HERE and HERE
MORE pictures of BBI Elite Force USMC Expeditionary Unit "Corporal Tony Bishop" HERE
SEMPER FI - The United States Marine Corps adopted the motto Semper Fidelis in 1883, on the initiative of Colonel Charles McCawley (January 29, 1827 – October 13, 1891), the 8th Commandant of the Marine Corps. Semper Fidelis is Latin for "Always Faithful" or "Always Loyal". On the United States Marine Corps Seal, the eagle of the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor emblem holds a ribbon emblazoned "Semper Fidelis".
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