Cool. I’ll do the early p-38 then!
I’m not in charge here 
, but if you have proof that he participated in the campaign, in my opinion he qualifies for our game … 
but let the “organizer” decide… 
Did a little research on the P-38 and I did not realize they were flying from Henderson so early:
Love this kind of campaign with so many new insights in the realities behind the modeling. 
With us armour builders being able to get away with pretty much any registration number of the period, and with ‘Moby Dick’ being as elusive to pin down as his name sake, I’ll vote that there is enough circumstantial evidence here to support your claim. Big from me… Final call is John’s though.
Love the Stinson L5 “Moby Dick Jnr”…
Ryan @Tank_1812 , with your marine head on…which M4a2 would be a decent Marine one to get ? If I went down that road ?
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it a M2A4 not a M4A2. There is no good/accessible M2A4 on the market. A M3/3A1 Stuart is your best option for Marine armor. You can use the Tamiya or Academy kits.
The first Marine Sherman was M4A1 used in campaign 4/43. First M4A2 was Tarawa.
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Hey Jesper,
I really want to say yes, however, I’ve yet to find evidence that B-24’s were used in the campaign. Give me little time on this, still digging. Any help on this would be nice. So far the heavy bombers seem to be B-17’s. There were also PBY’s in bomber and torpedo configurations, and even New Zealand had Hudson’s operating over the area, mainly as recon.
Still digging!
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FYI, the Italeri and Airfix M3A1 are also the same mould as the Acadamy.
Tamiya’s is an M3 'Late", not ‘M3A1’ but has the correct style turret and if memory serves me correct, most changes were internal anyway (a floor in the turret, gun stabilisation, etc). I think the external turret MG mount might need repositioning or possibly changed on the Tamiya one… but do not quote me…
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Or maybe Academy?
Hi Jesper,
Going to allow this one, and here’s why. The 90th Bomb Group (Jolly Rogers) hence the skull and crossbones on the tail, the 320th Bomb Squadron (Moby Dick), the squadron nose art of an angry whale, on a whale of a plane the B-24. The BG was used numerous times to bomb Rabaul during the battle of Guadalcanal. Additionally, the USAAF conducted a 7 day bombardment of Guadalcanal, Tulagi and Florida, and while information is sketchy, given the resources available it would be fair to say the 90th participated in this as well. Though the big winner was a plane crash on 16 Nov,1942 while on the way to or back from a bombing mission to Rabaul, home of the IJN airforces that attacked Guadalcanal routinely.
Oh, we can also add B-26’s and A-20’s to the list of USAAF aircraft that participated. Apparently the B-25 wasn’t used, though can’t find definitive information.
Long story short, have fun with the build!
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Thanks, John. The B-24 it is then for this campaign 
I have also read that B-24s and B-17s were used to bomb Japanese shipping around Guadalcanal - although with little success due to high level bombing.
Cheers dude. I must of misread the designation … Will continue to ponder on what to build …
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No problem, it’s an easy mistake and one I have probably made before but on that note a 1/35 M2A4 plastic kit would be nice.
I have both the new Tamiya (finished on this forum some places) and Academy offering for the Stuart.
Rivet counters are not fans of the new Tamiya for small differences as I recall and find many more faults with Academy family. That said both can be finished without much heartache and be a reasonable representation of a Stuart, imho.
Star Decals has a sheet with markings for the campaign, 35C1222.
HTH
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Which truck and Jeep kits can be used to match these photos for Marine vehicles?
I think the Tamiya is a later model, so would the Miniart BRC work?
I am even more confused with trucks with Tamiya, ICM and Miniart options.
I was looking at the 1/72 Arma F4F Wildcat as that comes with Guadalcanal decals in the kit.
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What time frame is in the focus of this campaign?
The Japanese invaded Guadalcanal and captured the harbour of Tulagi in May 1942. The Battle of Guadalcanal, which started with the US landings on Guadacanal and Tulagi on 7 August 1942, officially ended with the withdrawal of the remaining Japanese troops in early Februrary 1943.
The Solomons Campaign, which the Battle of Guadalcanal was part of, lasted pretty much until the end of the war, for the main Japanese stronghold in the South-West Pacific, Rabaul, was never captured.
The first operational F4U squadron (VMF-122) landed on Henderson Field on Februrary 12, 1943, after the Battle of Guadalcanal was officially over.
The first 8 P-38s (339 FS, 347 FG, 13th AF) landed on Henderson Field on November 12, 1942, almost two months before the end of the battle.
Me neither. I’m leaning towards that they weren’t, at least not during the Battle of Guadalcanal proper. Nevertheless, two B-24 BGs were based on the island in Koli Airfield following the battle: the 307th between February 1943 - January 1944, the 42nd between June - October 1943.
True, but that’s rather part of the New-Guinea campaign belonging to the South-West Pacific Area (SWPA) commanded by General MacArthur, than the Solomons, which was under the command of Admiral Nimitz’s South-Pacific Area (SOPAC).
That was on Jul 31, 1942. The 90th BG, the first operational B-24 unit of the 5th AF, reached its initial base in Australia only in November.
I think its geared to the actual battle dates Israel, that you highlighted in your first paragraph.
Oh, thanks John, I missed that. I was wondering because some of the suggestions, such as the F4U and the B-24 are correct for the post-battle phase. The LVT(A)1 first debuted in the Battle of Kwajalein in Februrary 1944, a full year after the Battle of Guadalcanal.
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