The triangular sheet rolled on this grenadier's pack was one of the most useful things a German soldier owned. The Zeltbahn — the M1931 shelter quarter — was a water-repellent triangle that did the work of half a dozen items. Worn over the shoulders it was a rain poncho; buttoned to three or four others it became a four-man tent; spread flat it was a ground sheet, and knotted between two rifles it made an improvised stretcher for a wounded man. Printed in camouflage from the start, it doubled as a concealment cape. Every soldier carried one, and in the field it was rarely idle.

The grenadier strides forward with his 98k, the oak-leaf Zeltbahn rolled tight on top of his pack alongside mess tin and entrenching tool — a soldier carrying his whole field life on his back. He falls in with the other SS riflemen working the Mauser, the Grenadier Kneeling with K98 and the Grenadier Firing 98k, and answers the Grenadier Directing Movement waving the squad on. Advancing, kneeling and firing poses together build the staggered look of a squad in the attack.

W. Britain model 25131. 1/30 scale, matte-painted metal. Single figure — a Waffen-SS grenadier advancing with a 98k, an oak-leaf Zeltbahn on his pack. Boxed.