Saturday, January 23, 2010

Dragon "Duel at Stalingrad" German Jäger "Major Kater"

Continuing from my earlier post on the Dragon twin pack of World War Two DUEL AT STALINGRAD Action Figures (limited to 4,000 pieces) released in 2001

Now we take a look at the 1:6 scale 12-inch German Jäger (Light Infantry) "Major Kater" military figure. He's supposed to be Ed Harris who played Major König in the 2001 war film "Enemy of the Gates". While Vasily Grigorevich Zaytsev (Russian: Василий Григорьевич Зайцев) was a legendary Soviet sniper who participated during the Battle of Stalingrad, there is no evidence that any Major Erwin König ever existed.

Here's Dragon 1:6 German Jäger "Major Kater" right out of the box wearing his M36 Feldbluse (field-blouse) or tunic with Silver Knight’s Cross (War Merit Cross) and the Wehrmachtsadler (Imperial eagle symbol/National Badge) above the right breast pocket, breeches and jack boots, and showing off his Mauser Karabiner 98k Sniper Rifle with turret mount sniping scope.

Close-up of the 1:6 scale turret mount sniping scope

German Jäger "Major Kater" with his sidearm Luger pistol with removable pistol magazine



Dragon 1:6 German Jäger "Major Kater" head sculpt which is supposed to look like Ed Harris, the actor who played Major König in the "Enemy of the Gates (2001)" World War II film. Edward Allen "Ed" Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor, writer and director, known for his performances in Appaloosa, Creepshow, The Rock, The Right Stuff, Enemy at the Gates, The Abyss, Glengarry Glen Ross, Apollo 13, Pollock, A Beautiful Mind, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, The Hours, Milk Money, and The Truman Show, among many others.



From certain angles, you can catch a glimpse of Ed Harris' likeness in "Major Kater"

The Jäger (Light Infantry) patch worn on the right sleeve

Dragon DUEL AT STALINGRAD 1:6 scale 12-inch German Jäger "Major Kater" figure also came with "Einheitsmütze" (Field cap), Gebirgsjäger windjacket, M1939 leather suspenders ("Y" strap), belt with hard shell leather holster for his Luger pistol, M1930 cartridge pouches, M1931 breadbag and water bottle, and scope carrying case.

Close-up picture of the scope carrying case

German Jäger "Major Kater" in his complete outfit








Close-up picture of the fabric "Bergmütze" (Field cap)



Close-up of the "Bergmütze" (Field cap) with an edelweiß (Edelweiss) or a grouping of Jäger leaves on its left side, stem to the front. This distinguishes them from all other German army soldiers who wear berets and the Austrian army, whose edelweiß has its stem to the back.


Even the M1931 breadbag is unique, not green (Heer or Army) or blue (Air Force or Luftwaffe)

Dragon 1:6 scale Mauser Karabiner 98k Sniper Rifle, the sniper version of the Karabiner 98 (hand selected barrels with hard points for a scope mount and a scope) used by Major Erwin König (Ed Harris)



5 comments:

desmond said...

Considering the price range during Dragon time, this was a pretty good sculpt :)

Anonymous said...

Is the patch on the right arm a 3rd class sniper's patch (with golden trim)? It should be though I may be wrong.

RadlerAdler said...

That's not a mountain infantry patch, or Gebirgsjager patch. It's a Jager, or light infantry patch.

alex teo said...

thanks for pointing it out pete, i've corrected the error :) CHEERS

RadlerAdler said...

It's a pretty common confusion, Jagers worked closely with the Gebirgsjager. The only reason I knew is that I've been collecting Gebirgsjager and Wehrmacht millitaria for a number of years. Pretty cool figure though, pretty close likeness to Ed Harris. Good blog site by the way, keep up the good work...