The bazooka did not stay an American secret for long. In Tunisia in 1943 the Germans captured examples of the new rocket launcher, studied them, and built their own — a bigger, heavier version firing a fatter 88mm warhead that could punch through far more armor than the American original. They called it the Panzerschreck, "tank terror," and its blast and back-flash earned it a second nickname, the Ofenrohr, or "stovepipe." It was in some ways the better weapon, though the compact American bazooka was far easier to carry and conceal. There is a certain symmetry to it: the launcher this GI shoulders was the parent of one of the deadliest tank-killers the Germans turned back against the Allies in the Ardennes.

The figure is on the move, the M1A1 bazooka slung over his shoulder and a spare rocket carried ready in his gloved left hand — a man heading to where the tanks are. He is the natural partner to The Bazooka Team, bringing up the ammunition a two-man crew burns through fast, and he moves with patrols like the Four Man Patrol toward the German armored spearhead of Joachim Peiper. In a diorama he adds the sense of a fight still gathering — reinforcement and resupply hurrying toward the sound of the guns.

Model: BBA117 / King & Country / 1/30 (60mm) scale / matte finish / 1 piece set