The German rifle squad had always been built around its machine gun — the MG 42 was the squad's real firepower, and the riflemen mostly existed to feed it, carry its ammunition, and protect it. The StG 44 began to change that. By putting controllable automatic fire into the riflemen's own hands, it hinted at a squad where every man could lay down a burst, not just the gunner — the shape of infantry combat to come. A section leader with an StG, like this one directing his men into a firing position, could deploy real volume of fire across his whole squad. It was a glimpse of the future, arriving too late to save the German army from defeat.

The figure is caught mid-command, shouting and pointing his men on, the StG 44 ready in his other hand, in a camouflage winter parka and steel helmet. Deploy the squad around him: send the Grenadier Firing StG 44 into position and set the Grenadier with MG 42 as the base of fire — against the American squad driven by the U.S. Infantry NCO Shouting.

W. Britain model 25076. 1/30 scale (approximately 60mm), matte-painted metal. Single foot figure on a sculpted groundwork base. Boxed.