By the time this Marine carried his M16 on patrol through I Corps in 1967, the rifle had nearly wrecked its own reputation. Issued without cleaning kits and fed cartridges loaded with ball powder it was never designed for, early M16s fouled and jammed in the heat and damp of Vietnam — Marines were found dead with cleaning rods rammed down their barrels after the Hill Fights near Khe Sanh that May. A congressional subcommittee under Representative Richard Ichord investigated through 1967, forcing chrome-lined chambers, a new buffer, and a relentless cleaning regimen. The Marine here carries the weapon that came out the far side of that scandal, kept spotless on the trail.

W. Britain sculpts the figure mid-patrol, the rifle held across the body at the ready and the weight settled back as if scanning a treeline. He wears the M1955 flak vest over faded, torn jungle utilities, M1956 web gear at the waist, and a bandolier of M16 magazines across the chest, with the helmet cover pulled low over the eyes. Cast as the second pose in the studio's USMC Vietnam study, he falls naturally into a patrol file behind the No.1 Marine to build a jungle fire-team tableau — both standing in the long line of riflemen that runs back to legends like Chesty Puller.

W. Britain model 13063. 1/30 scale (approximately 60mm), solid metal hand-painted in a matte finish. Single foot figure, No.2 pose, on a sculpted groundwork base. Supplied in original W. Britain packaging.