King & Country WS257 Handschar Advancing Rifleman: A Longer Weapon Line in the Forward Movement

The release belongs within a later-war context

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s chronology places the division’s recruitment in 1943 and its Balkan deployment in 1944.

Those dates matter when arranging the figure among other German-service subjects. The shared WS prefix does not make every release appropriate to every campaign.

Compare two forward-moving figures

WS255 carries the shorter MP40 close across the body. WS257’s rifle extends farther ahead, changing the relationship between the weapon and the leading step.

The bent torso creates a diagonal under the fez, while the equipment on the back adds volume behind the shoulders. The forward and rear details make a side-quarter view especially useful.

WS257’s collecting role is the advancing rifleman within the group. It supplies another weapon and posture without duplicating the stillness of WS256 or the broad gesture of WS254.

When identifying an example, look for the full rifle, bent forward body and red fez together. A distant photograph showing only the headgear can make several distinct releases appear interchangeable, obscuring the specific pose that belongs to this code.

Release record and collecting notes

Sager’s archived WS257 product record lists a release date of December 2013. These are catalog dates, rather than a statement about today’s secondhand availability. Compare the seller’s actual photographs with the reference image here, including any projecting equipment and the base; a familiar box title alone is not a condition report.