Dragon is proud to announce a new release in its 1/3 Firearms Series. The new item is an M14 rifle fitted with a Mark IV scope. Previously an M14 was released but it didn’t have a telescopic sight fitted. Official nomenclature of this weapon is United States Rifle, Caliber 7.62mm, M14. The 5.2kg and 1.181m-long weapon was produced from 1959-64. The 7.62x51mm M14 was the last ‘battle rifle’ (a weapon that fires full-power rifle ammunition), and it was eventually superseded by the M16 assault rifle. Interestingly, the success of the design is seen in the fact that M14s are still being used as specialist sniper rifles by the US military in Afghanistan and Iraq even today! The M14 can trace its lineage back to the M1 Garand, and it served well enough in Vietnam, although its bulk and weight proved unwieldy in the thick jungle foliage. It was the mainstay infantry weapon in Vietnam until the M16 began appearing in 1966.

Dragon’s 1/3 scale kit offers a complete M14 rifle that accurately resembles the real thing. Its realism is illustrated in working features like a detachable 20-round box magazine, simulated bolt action, and even a trigger that has movement like that of the original. The miniature model of the Leupold Mark IV scope is well designed to fit onto the rifle. This type of scope has helped score numerous successes on battlefields around the world. For a very reasonable price, modelers can have their very own M14 sniper rifle, plus the satisfaction of having assembled it themselves!