The light machine gun was the heart of a Japanese infantry squad's firepower, and the Type 96 this soldier carries had a detail that says everything about the army that built it: it could mount a bayonet. Fixing a blade to the muzzle of a machine gun made little practical sense, but it fit an army that prized the bayonet and the offensive spirit above almost all else. Introduced in 1936, the top-fed 6.5mm Type 96 was a capable, portable weapon — some could even take a small telescopic sight — but the Imperial Army fielded fewer automatic weapons than its Western enemies and leaned hard on the machine gun, the rifle and cold steel. Firepower, in Japanese doctrine, was meant to be carried forward, not just poured out. The gunner stands with the Type 96 held ready, its curved top magazine and slim barrel unmistakable, in tropical uniform and a steel helmet with a cloth neck flap against the sun. He is the firepower a Japanese squad was built around: group him with the riflemen he supported, the Soldier at Ease and the Soldier on Guard Duty, under their Sergeant. Dug into a bunker or a jungle firing position, the machine gunner gives a Pacific diorama its center of gravity — the weapon everything else was arranged to protect and feed. Model: JN071 / King & Country / 1/30 (60mm) scale / matte finish / 1 piece set
