“The gun has played a critical role in history. An invention which has been praised and denounced, served hero and villain alike, and carries with it moral responsibility. To understand the gun is to better understand history.”
-Intro to History Channel’s “Tales of the Gun” TV Series
For the next foray into my plastic armory series, I wanted to take a more specific look at some of the most prolific weapons, individually. As a student of history in addition to being a collector, I have long been fascinated by the cult status that certain weapons take on and how that translates into merchandise. It’s equally fascinating to see in particular how these weapons find their way into the hands of our figure collections, sometimes in truly unique ways. This is not, however, a political or ideological discussion. I suspect preaching my personal views will likely not change someone’s mind on the subject, and I can assure you, you will not change mine.
Instead, what I want to do here is break down the weapons a little bit, discuss some of the history and real-world features of them, where you will find them among your action figures and the places in your collection that they would make sense.
I can think of no better place to begin than the Thompson. Truly a weapon that has been in the hands of hero as often as villain, I can think of few other weapons that can elicit the emotional response the Thompson can trigger. Developed late in the First World War, the “trench broom” — as described in it’s initial military pitch — didn’t make it to France in time to actually take part in the conflict. The concept was at once simple and impressively complicated: in the age of the very first automatic pistols and bolt-action rifles, designer John Thompson developed a breach-locking, small-caliber, individual-portable weapon unlike anything fielded in the war.
But that was the problem — it was a dramatic change in small-arms warfare that showed up too late to go to war. In order to keep in business, Thompsons were marketed toward the civilian market, especially police forces, throughout the 1920s. While in truth, law enforcement generally fielded this weapon more often, there’s no mistaking it was this availability that made the gun a favorite among prohibition-era criminals as well. Gaining infamy as the “Chicago Typewriter,” the Thompson is the original archetype of the “evil gun,” so much so that it played a major role in the creation of the National Firearms Act of the 1930s — essentially curbing the civilian ownership of machine guns through taxation and regulation.
John Thompson was deeply saddened by this, as he had envisioned this uniquely American gun as a tool for soldiers, lawmen — folks defending their homefront, civilian as well as military. The bloody reputation of his creation haunted him throughout his later years. Sadly, he didn’t live long enough to see the gun’s finest hour, as it was called on by the desperate Allies to fight against the Axis Powers. Starting with the British in 1940, the Thompson became a favorite of commando units, and it found more favor among all branches of the U.S. forces following their entrance in the conflict. Mid-way through the war, the classic lines of the M1928, with its drum magazine finned barrel, cutts compensator and vertical foregrip, gave way to the M1A1, with its smooth lines, box magazines and simplified construction. The Thompson served throughout World War 2, and even continued in various armories around the world for decades after.
It’s not hard to see why the Thompson makes its way into so many accessory boxes. As a coworker once noted, the Thompson is the last American service weapon that prided craftsmanship over price. The real deal weighs in at nearly 10 lbs, and even in its heyday ran nearly quadruple the cost of its replacement — the M3 “Grease Gun” could be stamped out at around $10. Its ergonomics are very interesting, especially for a weapon that existed long before that word did. And while it is heavy, this goes a long way in dampening felt recoil, making this a fantastic shooting experience with surprising accuracy. It’s just not a cheap experience. A transferable full-auto version will cost you more than a new 4-door sedan, and even my semi-auto version will set you back about a dozen Hot Toys figures.
You are in luck if you need a 6-inch plastic one, though. Available in both configurations fairly easily, the Thompson is a regular inclusion with any WW2-period character, and a lot of mobster-types as well. Hasbro has released the M1921/M1928 version most recently in the Spider-Man Legends series with the Chameleon. This version is interesting because it has the box magazine instead of the drum — totally fine for the M1928, as it could accept either.
The M1 version, on the other hand, takes only magazines. Hasbro regularly includes this one with WW2-era Captain America figures, and it’s one of my favorites. Similarly, there are many to be found among the Plan B Special Forces WW2 figures, and of course the DC Direct Sgt. Rock figure. The NECA BioShock Lady Splicer has another variation, something akin to the M1927 semi-auto carbine, with a longer barrel.
The most interesting variant, though? Your NECA and McFarlane M41A Pulse Rifles are, in fact, M1 Thompsons under the set dressing. So technically, those too are small-scale Thompsons.
The Thompson is also often emulated, like the ToyBiz Mr. Fixit’s massive stylized version, and the DC Superheroes Two-Face, whose weapon is more of a hybrid between the Thompson and a PPsh-41, whereas the DC Collectibles Animated version is fairly accurate. Shocker Toys’ Dick Tracy figure also came with a bizarre variant, combining the foregrips and giving it another strange barrel, sadly making one of the best-looking guns of all time very odd and ugly-looking.
Obviously plenty of figures come with this gun already, but where else would it make sense in a collection? Definitely in the hands of Nick Fury, as it is in fact his favorite weapon, despite never being packaged with one. Surprisingly available on the black market even almost a century after its introduction, the Thompson still makes sense in the hands of any would-be gangster or enforcer, up to the present day. Likewise, its place in armories make it a viable option for any soldier types well into the 1970s. And, of course, any lawman-type from the 1930s onward, especially Dick Tracy, or some Untouchables-types.
Hopefully this proved somewhat informative and maybe even a little entertaining for you folks. Please let me know in the comments below if you’d like me to take a look at some other famous weapons among action figures.
