A machine gun does not travel light, and the men who served it were the pack-horses of the squad. The MG42 itself weighed about twenty-five pounds, but that was only the start: sustained fire meant a heavy tripod to lug as well, spare barrels for when the first one burned out, and above all ammunition — the gun could empty a 250-round belt in seconds, so the whole team staggered under boxes and draped belts of cartridges. The gunner carried the weapon; his number two carried ammunition, a spare barrel and an MP40 for close defence, and hauled more boxes besides. In deep snow, loaded like this, even a short march was brutal work — the unglamorous labour behind the firepower.

The two-man Heritage Classics set has the gunner striding out with the MG42 shouldered and his number two beside him, both in white winter kit with the red arm-band and both burdened with ammunition cans. It pairs with the collection's other German gun team, the MG34 Team, and the winter patrols like On Patrol #1 — and across the snow, the American infantry its fire was waiting for, the Four Man Patrol. In a diorama, a gun team moving up tells its own story: the heaviest-laden men in the squad, carrying the weapon everything else revolved around.

Model: BBG135 / King & Country / 1/30 (60mm) scale / matte finish / 2 piece set