The M3 "Grease Gun" was a weapon built by the logic of the assembly line. The Thompson, for all its virtues, was expensive and slow to machine, so the Army turned to General Motors' Guide Lamp Division — a maker of car headlamps — to stamp out a submachine gun from sheet steel, riveted and welded together for a fraction of the cost. The result was crude, ugly, and so utilitarian that soldiers thought it looked like a mechanic's grease gun and named it accordingly. Compact and light, it was ideal for men who fought in cramped spaces — vehicle drivers, paratroopers, and tank crews like this one, who needed a personal weapon that would fit inside a turret.

The figure stands in tanker jacket and M1938 helmet with goggles, the stubby M3 in hand — the sidearm of a crewman who has climbed out of his hatch. He completes a tank-crew diorama with the Tanker Standing Gesturing and the Tanker Walking with Ammo, gathered at their M4A3 Sherman.

W. Britain model 25199. 1/30 scale (approximately 60mm), matte-painted metal. Single foot figure on a sculpted groundwork base. Boxed.