Scale: 1/72 | Models used: Italeri – DUKW (ITA-7022), Zvezda – US Marines (6279)

A DUKW (or Duck) has arrived at the vulcanic beach of Iwo Jima. The U.S. Marines jump out to see if the vehicle can be moved up the beach. The DUKW proved itself as a very useful amphibious vehicle, carrying supplies and military personnel to their desired destination.

DUKWs were initially sent to Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater, but were used by an invasion force for the first time in the European theater, during the Sicilian invasion, Operation Husky, in the Mediterranean. USMC DUKWs were used to cross the coral reefs of islands such as Saipan and Guam as the tires were not affected by the coral.

DUKW carries Marines from LST to the shore of Iwo Jima, february 1945.

Building the Italeri kit was a pleasure. Plenty of details, a good fit and transparant parts were included for the windscreen. The supplies in the vehicle are a combination of scratch built boxes and parts I grabbed from an Academy kit.

The vignette was built using slices of carving foam combined with Vallejo Earth texture. I used darker tones for the sand, to replicate the vulcanic sand that was iconic for Iwo Jima. The sea was created in a few steps. I painted the base with blue tones and applied Acrylic Pacific Water from AMMO. Last step was to accentuate the waves with a white paint.

I’ve sold this diorama in 2025.