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DISPATCHES June 2019 JUNE to me has always meant D.DAY The Invasion of
Europe by British, American and Canadian Forces on the morning of June 6,
1944. Those landings on 5 separate beaches in Normandy signaled
the end of Hitler and his entire Third Reich. Together with the Soviet
armies in the East the Nazis were now caught in an unyielding vice that
would, less than 12 months later, come together in the ruins of Berlin. But first the landings had to be successful and that was
going to be no walk in the park. King & Country is proud to
celebrate that remarkable amphibious landing operation on this its 75th
Anniversary with some very special releases... Now read on... 1.
THIS MONTHS ATTRACTIONS A.
As many K&C collectors already know our Normandy
44 range of Allied soldiers, fighting vehicles, aircraft and even
landing craft is the most extensive and far reaching in the
hobby. Over the years, since we first began releasing D.DAY related
figures in the 1990s the scope and variety is, I truly believe,
second-to-none. That
being said, we always like to grow and develop certain ranges by adding
new figures and other items that help continue the story... This is just
one example. SEARCHING FOR PRIVATE RYAN Steven
Spielbergs epic 1998 film Saving Pvt. Ryan has always
been a major source of inspiration for myself and K&C. Having watched the
movie countless times and being able to meet and talk with Capt. Dale
Dye, the films military trainer and adviser, I have been struck with
just how much care and attention was focused on the characters and the
military action in the movie. The attention to detail and historical
accuracy set a new standard for war films and the people who make
them. When I
originally saw the movie I said to myself I want
to make toy soldiers / military miniatures that are as gritty and authentic
as the guys in that movie! And, in the
ensuring years, thats what we have attempted to do. I believe among
the very best D.Day
soldiers K&C has ever produced were the two Searching For Pvt.
Ryan sets released in October 2017. Most collectors must agree
because they are on King & Countrys Best-Seller list of all
time! Those seven US
Army Rangers, PFC Ryan and the cowardly Cpl. Upham made me
think about how we could extend the Rangers especially by designing extra
GIs in action on and after D.DAY. What you will
see this month is just the Advance Guard of nine of the 19 US Army
Rangers in action on the morning of June 6, 1944 on OMAHA BEACH. DD319 D.DAY
Command Set A Ranger
Sergeant takes careful aim with his M1 carbine as his Captain lets loose a
burst of tommy-gun fire in support. DD324 The
Flame Thrower Team This 2-man set
shows two kneeling Rangers, one carrying the Man-Portable M2-2
Flamethrower. This had a burn-duration of just 9
seconds and could hurl a jet of flame up to 40 yards. It was mainly used
against enemy bunkers and fixed defences. Backing
up the Flamethrower Guy is another Ranger rifleman. DD325 The
Bazooka Man Providing additional
fire support for the rifle squad is this lying prone Ranger about to fire his
M1 Rocket Launcher. Measuring just
over 5 feet long and firing a HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) round it
was the best infantry anti tank weapon of its time
and quickly copied by the Germans. As well as taking-out
enemy armour it was also useful against bunkers and
other defensive emplacements. DD327 Storming
The Beach Set No.1 The first of TWO
4-MAN Ranger sets going into action. These four
Rangers include 2 x riflemen kneeling... 1 x kneeling Tommy-Gun
carrying Sergeant and a crouching NCO with an M1 Carbine and a Walkie-Talkie
radio. SPECIAL NOTE: These are just
the first nine Rangers-in-action... TEN more will follow shortly in a mix of
single, 2-man and 4-man sets. ALSO: Look out for
the SPECIAL EDITION 75TH Anniversary D.DAY LCVP landing
craft model... Coming Soon! DD328 General
Charles De Gaulle A very brave but
difficult general to deal with... At least for his Allies! De Gaulle was
the leader of all FREE FRENCH forces from 1940-1945. Always conscious
of Frances great history and proud traditions he was the spirit of
liberation for millions of the French people. AVAILABLE: Mid June B.
From the beaches of Normandy to the Holy Land in
one swift leap... MK183 Fighting
Crusader MK189 Templar
Defending MK191 Kneeling
Crusader MK192 The Axeman Cometh Wielding the
two-handed battle-axe this fighting knight is about give some unfortunate
Saracen a splitting headache! MK193 Victory
is Ours! This Templar
knight celebrates another victory. MK194 Templar
Commander Another senior
Templar knight, helmet in hand, shouts order to his men. MK-S03 Crusader
Knights Value-Added Set Order the
complete SIX figures and you hold onto some extra cash! AVAILABLE: Early
to Mid June C.
REDCOAT RESURGENCE Our K&C
British Napoleonic Redcoats receive some welcome reinforcements in the
shape of a few Tommy Atkins to join
their ranks. NA434 Riflemen
Reloading After firing his
last round this private soldier rapidly reloads. Here he is biting off
the paper wrapping at the top his cartridge and preparing to pour the powder
into the muzzle of his Brown Bess musket before dropping the ball
in. NA435 Regimental
Sergeant Major The senior non commissioned officer in the
battalion and a man to be both respected and feared. Sword in hand he gathers
his men into line to face the foe. NA436 The
Temporary Regimental Standard Bearer In battle and
other times the Regimental Colours
were usually held by a junior subaltern. In battle, standard bearers were
often prime targets for enemy snipers and riflemen and suffered accordingly. Here, a lowly
corporal holds the Regimental standard after the young officer was killed...
He is also seen firing one of the officers pistols. NA437 Kneeling
to Repel A classic
infantry position formed up in the front rank of any British Square. NA438 Engage
the Enemy Fix bayonets and
ready to offer cold steel to the approaching Frenchies! NA-S08 The Redcoat
Value-Added Set Combine ALL-FIVE
Redcoats and we will make you an offer you cant refuse... AVAILABLE: Early-Mid
June D.
RETURN TO THE ALAMO Just 21 years
after Waterloo another battle was fought a continent away and on a much
smaller scale... The Last Stand at The Alamo... Although dwarfed
in numbers by the huge struggle at Waterloo the 13-day siege of the old
Spanish mission in San Antonio, Texas has gone down in American history as
the event that sparked the blaze that led to Texas independence. Here are 5 more
defenders... ALL proud Tennesseans who fought and died there. RTA111 Samuel
B. Blair RTA118 Squire
Daymon RTA119 Burke
Trammel RTA121 Andrew
M. Nelson RTA122 Joshua
Smith AVAILABLE: Mid June E.
Another transcontinental and historical leap from Texas in
March 1836 to somewhere in Western Europe in late Autumn 1944. F.
WS351 Panther
Ausf. G. This is the 9th
Panther K&C has produced and the first one since 2014... This latest Panther
Ausf. G is painted in the colour scheme known as Hinterhalt-Tarnung
or Ambush camouflage specifically designed to help conceal combat
vehicles under trees and other kinds of foliage. This particular colour scheme came
about from the actual battlefield experience learned from the Normandy
campaign where German vehicles and tanks suffered disastrous losses from
Allied fighter bomber attacks. That
necessitated a new, improved camouflage of contrasting spots and colours that simulated the shadows and shards of light
passing through and under a canopy of trees and woodland. Together with
the very-recently released TIGER this new PANTHER makes a welcome addition to
King & Countrys BIG CAT Collection. The model includes
the tank commander figure and is representative of a Panther of the 2nd
SS Panzer Regiment of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das
Reich. WS353 Sky-Watching
Panzer Crewman A Sitting German
tanker scans the skies for any sign of Allied fighter-bombers. WS354 Relaxing
Panzer Crewmen Two sitting
German tankers enjoy a rare break from battle... Both figures can perch
on various German tanks and self-propelled guns including both new Tiger and
Panther models. AVAILABLE: Mid
to Late June 2.
BEING RETIRED THIS MONTH... BBG100 Winter
Fallschirmjager BBG106 Fallschirmjager Radio Operator BBG107 Fallschirmjager Sniper BBG108 Over
there, Fallschirmjager BBG109 Falling
Back, Fallschirmjager DD200 Knife
To The Neck MG058 British
Paras NA302
Mtd. Hussar w/Carbine NA329 Artillery
Officer NA330
Drummer NA331 Gunners
Set#1 NA332
Gunners Set#2 NA333 Armed
Gunners NA334 Line
Officer w/Telescope NA335 Gunner
w/Servers Pouch NA336 The
Gribeauval 12-pounder Cannon NA337
Gunner w/Rammer And that my
friends is June for you... In a few days my wife
Liza and myself are off to Europe for a friends daughters wedding and a
special K&C Event in Paris, thanks to our good friends at Figurines
& Collections on Thursday 13 June. So, very best
wishes to all and looking forward to seeing some of you in Paris. Happy collecting, Andy C. Neilson Co-founder & Creative Director King &
Country Ltd. |