DISPATCHES
December
2017
And suddenly... before you know it... it’s almost
the end of the year and Christmas will soon be upon us!
To be honest it’s also my favourite time of the year... I’m fortunate to get to go to
Europe at this point and meet many of our most enthusiastic collectors and
dealers at events and shows in Italy, France and the U.K.
What delights and amazes me is the
huge amount of background knowledge these collectors have... about both the
hobby in general and K&C
in particular.
PLUS I’m fortunate to get a wealth of great
ideas and suggestions from those very same collectors and dealers that often
turn into some of the most popular and best-selling K&C figures, fighting vehicles
and aircraft!
So, many thanks in advance for all the
support, advice and, from time to time, constructive criticism...
A very Merry Christmas and a Happy,
healthy and prosperous New Year!
Andy
1.
BEING RELEASED IN DECEMBER...
A.
“THE U.S. ARMY AT WAR 1944/45”
Our 2nd batch of ‘Fighting GI’s’ from
the latter days of WW2 add some extra firepower in the shape of TWO MORE Riflemen... a
‘Bazooka Guy’
and a kneeling, shouting ‘Tommy-
Gunner’... All dressed for battle in the ETO (European Theatre of Operations)
during 1944/45.
DD309 ‘Kneeling Rifleman’
DD310 ‘Standing Rifleman’
DD312 ‘Kneeling Bazooka Guy’
DD314 ‘Shouting Tommy-Gunner’
AVAILABLE: Early December
B.
“THE BATTLE OF HONG KONG 1941”
During
the Second World War, the British
Crown Colony of Hong Kong was destined to be the first place the
Canadian Army fought a land battle against the Axis powers.
On
December 8, 1941, 2 x battalions of Canadians, The Winnipeg Grenadiers and The Royal Rifles of Canada were an important
part of the British garrison defending Hong Kong against a Japanese attack.
Just
hours after simultaneous Japanese attacks on
Pearl Harbor, Malaya, Singapore and the Philippines the enemy struck. Within 5
days they had occupied all of the
New
Territories (bordering
mainland China) and the Kowloon Peninsula. Now they were
poised to invade Hong Kong Island itself!
VALOUR &
SACRIFICE
There
are many tales of bravery and gallantry among the beleaguered and besieged defenders
of the small British Colony but one in particular is remembered in this initial
release...
On
19 December, the second day of fighting after the Japanese had landed on Hong
Kong Island, soldiers of “A”
Company, Winnipeg Grenadiers were holding
defensive positions in the centre of the Island.
Japanese
troops had surrounded the ‘Winnipeggers’
and were lobbing grenades into the Canadian position. On numerous
occasions, Company
Sergeant Major John Osborn, a WW1 veteran, picked them up and
threw them back at the enemy.
When
one fell where Osborn could not reach it in time, he shouted a warning to his
men and threw himself onto the grenade smothering the explosion. He was
killed instantly but his sacrifice saved the lives of many of his men.
CSM
Osborn
was posthumously awarded the Victoria
Cross, Britain’s highest military award for bravery in the
field.
K&C’s CANADIANS
King & Country is proud to
produce a squad of 6 x
fighting Canadian infantrymen in two small sets as they
appeared in the dark days of December 1941.
FoB154 “Taking The
Fight To The Enemy”
CSM John Osborn V.C. leads 3 of his Winnipeg Grenadiers into
battle. In one hand he holds his ‘Tommy-Gun’,
in the other a grenade.
All
3 infantrymen carry the standard British .303
Lee Enfield Rifle.
FoB155 “Bren Gun Team”
As
the Bren Gunner
moves forward his ‘Number 2’
provides covering fire.
AVAILABLE: Early December
Further Reading: A great book on the Battle of Hong
Kong is Oliver Lindsay’s
“The Lasting Honour”... Highly recommended!
C.
“HONG KONG IN PEACETIME”
From
the Colony in time of War to the Colony in more peaceful times...
HK268 “Standing Coolie w / Water Baskets”
In
those far off days there was little or no indoor water supply so most people had
to go to a nearby fountain or well to collect fresh water using a wooden bucket
like the one shown.
Here,
the lady is about to fill up her bucket.
HK270 “The Watcher”
As
we all know there is nothing more enjoyable than watching other people
work. Here, this Chinese gentleman stands, arms folded, observing others
hard-at-work.
HK279 “The Flower Stall Set”
Another
version of another old favorite... the Lady
Flower-Seller waters her colourful
blooms.
AVAILABLE: Early December
D.
‘MARINE REINFORCEMENTS’
When
we launched this ‘TARAWA’
range of U.S. Marines at
the recent Chicago Show (September 2017) little did
we realize just how popular they would become!!!
They
have been a huge success worldwide. So, we decided let’s keep the range fresh
and exciting by adding new figures as often as we can. Here are FOUR
of our latest... ‘reinforcements’
USMC023 LVT(A)-1 “Alligator”
This
is the THIRD
Amtrack K&C has produced over the years and the FIRST to carry the
turret-mounted 37mm gun from
the M3 Light Tank.
In addition to the main gun this amphibious vehicle has TWO Marine-manned .30 caliber machine guns as
part of its defensive/ offensive armament.
USMC026 ‘Marine Sniper’
A sitting (on
ammunition crates) Marine taking careful aim with his M1 ‘Garand’ Rifle.
USMC028 ‘Kneeling B.A.R. Gunner’
With
both knees ‘on the deck’
this Leatherneck opens fire with his Browning
Automatic Rifle.
USMC029 ‘Running Marine’
A
running Marine sprints for cover as the bullets fly around him.
AVAILABLE: Mid December
E.
“ON THE STREETS OF BERLIN”
During
the 1920’s and into the 1930’s the SA,
Hitler’s Brownshirts, were always on
show... in demonstrations, parades and rallies the brown-clad, street-brawling,
bully-boys were much in evidence among the most infamous was...
SA001 ‘Horst Wessel’
A
Berlin ‘tough-guy’
and petty criminal... his star rose rapidly in the SA (Sturmabteilung) and he
became well-known to the Police, fellow comrades of the SA and, of course, to
his enemies, the Communists.
In
February 1930 his enemies caught up with him and he was shot by two left wing
assassins. After his death he was promoted by Josef Goebbels, Berlin’s Gauleiter,
as a ‘martyr’ to
the Nazi cause and celebrated in words and music by a specially
composed song “The Horst
Wessel Lied” which during the Nazi years became almost a second
National Anthem to “Deutschland
Uber Allies” (Germany
Above All).
Here,
Wessel strides
confidently forward, right hand adopting the ‘half-Hitler’ salute favoured
by some Nazi Leaders and their acolytes.
SA002 “Marching Flagbearer”
SA003 “Marching SA Man”
SA004 “Marching w/Side Glance”
AVAILABLE: Mid December
F.
“DOWN AMONG THE PEASANTS”
As
regular collectors know K&C has produced a great number of Soviet armoured
vehicles and Red Army figures.
We’ve
also, of late, produced several individual Russian
Peasants to help populate any Eastern Front display or
diorama. It seemed logical for the next step to be a Russian dwelling of
some kind...
SP097 “The Russian Farm House”
This
typical wooden structure features TWO different sides to the building allowing
collectors to reverse sides to crate alternative displays as well as, if you
buy 2, to create a small two-building settlement somewhere out on the Russian Steppes.
The
building itself measures 26 x 15 x 18cm.
AVAILABLE: Mid December
G.
‘STREET FIGHTING PANZER GRENADIERS’
As
the war lengthened and Germany weakened important changes were made to the ‘look’ of the German
soldier himself.
Due
to clothing and material shortages the German Army began to copy some of the
ideas from their enemies... these Panzer
Grenadiers are ample proof of that.
Gone
are the high, traditional jackboots, replaced by short ankle boots and
web-style gaiters (copied from
the British).
The
uniform jacket also became shorter and waistlength (again an influence borrowed from
British battledress).
These first five Panzer Grenadiers are
perfect for any late war street-fighting scenes... A second group of Panzer Grenadiers will be available
shortly...
WH075
“Kneeling
Panzerschrek Grenadier”
The Germans were pioneers of these
rocket-propelled, anti tank grenades and many an
Allied vehicle fell victim to their accuracy and
lethality.
WH079 “Kneeling Panzer Grenadier with Schmeisser”
Another German favourite... the
soldier with the MP40
machine pistol.
WH080 “Standing Firing Panzer Grenadier”
This Panzer Grenadier is armed with
the standard German rifle of WW2... The Mauser
K98, a bolt-action rifle firing the 7.92mm cartridge.
First issued in 1935
it saw continuous action until the end of the war in 1945.
WH082 “The Sniper Team” (2 figures)
Our sniper here is firing the “Gewehr 43”
a semi automatic rifle that owes some
of its development to the earlier Soviet ‘Tokarev SVT-40’.
It fired the same 7.92mm round as the K98
and had a 10-round box
magazine.
Kneeling alongside our sniper is his ‘Spotter’ observing the
enemy and selecting targets.
AVAILABLE: Mid December
2.
BEING RETIRED THIS MONTH...
AE047 The Mummy’s Statue
BBG055 Winter Guards
DD274 The M36 ‘Jackson’ Tank
Destroyer
LAH138 Walking “SEPP” Dietrich
WoD007 Miss Lucy
WS308 SS-Oberscharfuhrer Karl Otto
SAF001 Singapore Commando on Parade
And that’s the
story for December... Let’s hope there’s more than a
few K&C things for you under
your Christmas Tree this Festive Season!
All the very best and... happy collecting and Great Sales,
Andy