March Dispatches
Dear Partners,
Well, now that the Chinese New Year Festivities are
over it’s time for all of us here in Hong Kong and in mainland China to get
back to work and present you with our latest releases…
Actually, King & Country in Hong
Kong only had a couple of days off while the factories and our sculptors in
China had anywhere between 2-3 weeks away from work to celebrate the Lunar
New Year and visit their friend and families located all across
the country.
And so, without further ado, let’s take a look at what
we’ve been up to these last few months…
Recent years have seen a
resurgence of interest in King & Country’s ‘Ancient Egypt’ series
depicting life and death on the Nile both in The Age of the Pharaohs,
the period we normally think of when Egypt was ruled by the Pharaohs… after
3100 B.C.
As many collectors already know
K&C has designed and produced an amazing and colourful
variety of figures and display pieces illustrating many of the everyday aspects
of life on the banks of the Nile for both the rulers and the ruled of this
incredible civilization.
An added bonus for both ‘Egypt’ collectors
and anyone interested in the more recent past was the launch in 2022, of the ‘Discovery
of Tutankhamun’s Tomb’ by the famed Egyptologist, Howard Carter who
along with his patron Lord Carnarvon found the long-lost tomb
of the ill-fated, boy king ‘Tutankhamun’.
The young Pharaoh’s tomb was the
only royal resting place to remain untouched (and undiscovered) by
the gangs of grave robbers who foraged throughout The Valley of the Kings for
many centuries prior to Carter’s amazing discovery.
The launch of that off-shoot of
our ‘Ancient Egypt’ series has created a whole host of new collectors
who are equally fascinated by an entire cast of characters from fact and
fiction who have journeyed to Egypt to see for themselves the wonders and
mysteries of this cradle of civilization.
The Egyptian exploits and
adventures of these real and fictionalized personalities have been immortalized
in books, television and, of course, the cinema.
With all this growing interest in
Egypt, both ‘Ancient’ and ‘Modern’ it’s always
useful to have a very special ‘backdrop’ for our figures that
can be adapted for a variety of different time periods and scenarios…
AE106
‘The Ancient Egyptian Temple’
Using various aspects of
traditional Egyptian architecture and design elements K&C has produced this
striking 3-dimensional temple façade cast in sturdy polystone (marble
dust and resin) and beautifully painted.
As a backdrop it can of course,
be utilized for ‘Ancient Egypt’ figurines as well as our ‘Tutankhamun’
series of 1920s and 1930s people and personalities and even Afrika
Korps!
AVAILABILITY: Mid-Late
March
AE109 ‘Miss Jane Marple’
Here is one more famous traveller to Egypt…
Miss Jane Marple is
another fictional character from the prolific pen of Britain’s most famous (and
most read) crime novelist, Agatha Christie. Living
in a small, quiet English village Miss Marple is an ‘amateur consulting
detective’.
Often characterized as an elderly spinster, she is one of
Christie’s most beloved characters and has been portrayed in numerous films and
television series.
It would appear that Miss Marple is also a ‘lady of
independent means’ and has travelled widely both around the British Isles
and on the Continent and so, having read about the recent discovery of Tutankhamun’s
Tomb decides the time is right both for a change of scenery and the
opportunity to delve deeper into the many mysteries surrounding Ancient
Egypt, Tutankhamun and a number of unexplained deaths surrounding the
tomb’s discovery.
Our figure portrays her shortly after arriving in Cairo and waiting
for her transport and a local guide to take her to ‘The Valley of the
Kings’.
AVAILABILITY: Mid March
Staying in Egypt but moving
forward a few years to the early 1940s… 1942 to be exact, and the Deutsches Afrikakorps better
known simply as the ‘Afrikakorps’ is
pushing Britain’s 8th Army back
across the Western Desert into the sands of Egypt and almost up to the
gates of the great Egyptian port city of Alexandria.
Here are a few useful
reinforcements for the hard-driving, desert
AK150 ‘AK Water
and Fuel’
Two of the most precious
commodities for any army fighting across the blistering heat of the Middle East
are water and fuel.
This 2-man set combines one AK
trooper carrying a pair of ‘jerricans’ filled with fresh water
while another rolls a heavy 50 gallon drum of precious
gasoline for their petrol-starved fighting vehicles.
AK151 ‘General
Erwin Rommel’ (Desert Uniform)
A brand-new sculpt of probably
K&C’s most popular German General… Generalfeldmarschall
Erwin Rommel, better known as ‘The Desert Fox’.
Already a highly-decorated
veteran of WW1, Rommel stayed in the military throughout the Weimar Republic years
and in to the Third Reich’s Wehrmacht.
He commanded the 7th Panzer
Division during the defeat of France in 1940 before being transferred to
North Africa to take charge of the combined Italian and German troops fighting
there.
It was there that he burnished
his military reputation as a bold and fearless leader who led from the front
and achieved remarkable results despite being outnumbered by his Allied
opponents and being chronically undersupplied with men, vital equipment and
other supplies.
After the fall of North Africa to
the British and Americans he went on the command the German forces opposing the
cross-channel invasion of Normandy in June 1944.
This first ‘Afrika Korps’
Rommel shows the General wearing the light ‘desert-tan’ AK
Jacket as he goes to inspect some of his troops. A pair of captured
British binos hangs on his chest.
AK152 ‘General
Erwin Rommel’ (Summer Uniform)
Among the uniforms Rommel took
with him when he transferred to North Africa was this standard Wehrmacht ‘White
Summer Uniform’ jacket which was introduced in the 1930s in pre war Germany.
This was normally worn with the
standard ‘feldgrau’ officer’s riding
breeches complete with the double red stripes down the outside seams of the
trousers denoting a senior General’s field rank.
AK153 ‘Afrika
Korps Staff Officers’
A Generalfeldmarschall must
have at least two Staff Officers with him when he goes on a
tour of inspection.
This pair of AK officers make a
useful addition and are an upgraded paint version of previous individual
releases.
AVAILABILITY: Early March
HKY014 ‘Young
Girl w/Baby Brother and Puppy’
As Hong Kong rapidly grew and
prospered it meant both Mothers and Fathers often had to work full-time jobs
away from home.
That meant older siblings usually
were tasked with looking after their younger brothers and sisters and perhaps,
even the family pet.
This young teenager certainly has
her hands full as she carries her younger brother on her back as she cradles an
even younger puppy to her chest.
Hong Kong children in those days
were very resourceful and useful to their parents and took over a host of
household duties while Mum and Dad were hard at work.
HKY015 ‘Royal
Hong Kong Police British Officer’
As some of you guys know it was
the RHKP that originally brought me to Hong Kong back
in 1977 as a trainee ‘Police Inspector’.
At that time and up until the
handover to China the standard ‘summer uniform’ was this very
smart, lightweight, pale olive green, tropical, 4 pocket field jacket with matching trousers.
Until the early 1970s, shorts
were worn with this ‘summer’ uniform however by the time I joined
in 1977 they had been replaced by standard long trousers in the same
lightweight material.
As can be seen in our figure the ‘summer’ uniform
was worn with a black ‘Sam Browne’ belt and holstered
revolver.
In addition
all officers wore a black whistle lanyard over the left shoulder and a black
peak service cap along with black shoes.
Special Note: Back in
the late 1970s and early 1980s the strength of the RHKP was approx. 28,000 officers
and men including some 1200 expatriate (mostly
British but also some Aussies, Kiwis and the occasional Canadian and even South
African) commissioned officers.
HKY018 ‘Royal
Hong Kong Police British Officer’
Once a very familiar sight in
Hong Kong was the traditional ‘black and white’ Chinese ‘Amah’.
These ladies would often stay with a family all or most of their adult working life
and would be tasked with many of the most important duties in a middle or upper class Chinese family… Looking after
the children, the security of the home and food shopping for the household.
Other home duties such as
washing, cleaning and perhaps gardening would be done by other more junior
amahs (helpers) employed by the family. These ‘black
and white’ Amahs were a force to be reckoned with and much respected
by everyone who came into contact with them.
AVAILABILITY: Early March
According to the gospels, Jesus
was arrested and tried by the Jewish authorities before being sentenced by Pontius
Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea to be ‘scourged’ before
being finally crucified by the Romans.
METHODS OF CRUCIFIXION
Most
Christians believe Jesus was crucified using the traditional two-beamed
cross. While many historical paintings depict Jesus hanging on the wooden
cross, pinned to it by large iron nails driven through the hands and feet these
alone would not have supported an adult male.
Some modern depictions suggest
that a number of ropes would also be used to support
the victim on the cross in addition to the nails. Whatever the
combination it was an extremely cruel, slow and horrifically painful method of
execution!
In addition to Jesus, two
convicted thieves were crucified on either side of him using the same painful
methods of execution.
LoJ058
‘The Crucified Christ’
Crucifixion was a long, bloody, brutal
affair and this figure of Jesus displays some of the many
injuries he must have suffered after his scourging and long painful
procession through the city from the Roman jail carrying the cross beam up to
the hill of Calvary on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
There, he would have been nailed
to the cross by the Roman soldiers and have the additional ropes attached
before being hoisted onto the vertical position… The extreme pain and
loss of blood would have been excruciating!
Above Jesus head a crude sign was
attached to the main wooden beam that read ‘This is Jesus of Nazareth the
King of the Jews’.
LoJ059
‘The Crucified Thieves’
The Gospel of Luke says that the
two thieves crucified on either side of Jesus were called ‘Dismas’, the good thief, who repented for his sins and
‘Gestas’, the unrepentant thief, who
reviled and mocked Jesus.
As can be seen both thieves have
been crucified in slightly different but equally painful ways with one having
his arms extended up and over the back of the crossbeam while his feet are nailed
through the ankles to either side of the vertical wooden beam.
The other thief is anchored to
his cross in a similar manner to Jesus with iron nails driven through the palms
of the hands and other nails through both feet. Again, a series of ropes have been
used to hold both men on to their crosses.
LoJ060
‘‘Jesus on The Cross’’
This is the same figure as LoJ058 but
in a less brutal depiction with much less blood.
AVAILABILITY: Early March
One such occasion happened back
in July last year when I journeyed down under to Australia, for
the first time in 4 years, to meet up with our friends and trading partners
there.
In Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and
Melbourne the suggestions came thick and fast. I was
encouraged to find out that some of the best ones echoed a few of my own
thoughts for new ides as well as fresh developments and extensions to existing
series.
One excellent example of this
came about in Sydney where I spent a few days in ‘Peter
Nathan Toy Soldiers’ new shop talking with Sven De Braekeleir, now the man leading the operation since Peter’s recent
retirement.
Among the many toy soldier
subjects we talked about was the popularity and possibilities of extending the ‘Ancient
Rome’ series K&C is already producing into
developing an all-new extension that would explore a very different side
to the story of Rome.
A number
of other companies, K&C included, have designed and produced
literally legions of Roman soldiers (and their enemies) fighting
to build the Empire and expand its borders but few, if any, had thought about
the city itself and its population.
That, of course, reminded me of
the success of K&C’s own ‘Streets of Old Hong Kong’ –
our look at life in colonial Hong Kong at the turn of the 19th and
20th Centuries. This particular series
has covered the everyday life and living of the citizens of this amazing port
city on the southern coast of China.
If it worked for Hong Kong might
it also work for ‘Rome’..?
Like the ‘Hong Kong’ series
this new one would include all kinds of people, rich and poor… wealthy
patricians as well as ordinary working class folks
going about their various trades and professions on the ‘Streets of
Ancient Rome’.
Another vital ingredient in this
new concept was… buildings and backdrops to provide the natural
settings to place our figures in. And that’s where Sven comes
into the picture.
In addition to running ‘Peter
Nathan Toy Soldiers’, Sven has partnered with Frank
Sultana to create ‘Last Post Miniatures’ an Australia-based
outfit that specializes in hand-painted, 1:30 scale diorama accessories and
buildings that work perfectly with all kinds of toy soldiers and historical
periods to provide exciting and dynamic displays.
Although K&C also produces
its own display items and buildings in this particular case
it made sense for ‘Last Post’ to produce the structures and ‘free-us-up’
to concentrate on the figures and our own accessories.
And so here we are with our very
first release of a small group of Roman citizens that will look right-at-home
on the ‘Streets of Ancient Rome’.
RnB047 ‘The Farmer’
A humble farmer has come into the city to sell some of his crops
or perhaps a few livestock. As he walks along the streets of Rome he comes upon one of the many wine taverns called in
Latin ‘Popina’ that can be found on
virtually every street. Time to relax and enjoy a cup of refreshing wine…
perhaps…?
RnB048 ‘The Wine Merchant’s Wife’
Most Popinas were
family-run businesses where most of the family worked or served. This
owner’s wife brings another jug of wine to the table.
RnB051 ‘The Game Players’
In addition to providing food and drink the ‘Popina’ also offered space and seating for all
types of board games. These two Roman citizens are enjoying their game
and some wine too.
RnB052
‘The Wine Drinker’
A trio of Romans laugh and joke
with the Popina’s owner as he brings an amphora of
new wine for his customers to sample. On the sturdy, wooden table is some bread
and a few typical Roman snacks to enjoy with the wine. This 4-man set will go
perfectly with Last Post’s ‘Popina’ building.
AVAILABILITY: Early March
SPECIAL NOTE:
The three buildings shown in our photo are prototype samples
only and will have some detail changes in production. For more details and
information about the availability of these ‘LAST POST MINIATURES’ Roman
Buildings see the site.
And that my friends is the story so far for March…
Meanwhile before I go let’s
take a look at what is being retired this month…
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LAH104 "Reichsarbeitsführer Konstantin Hierl (Reich labour leader)" Hierl led
the RAD almost from its foundation in the early 1930’s and during WW2. This particular
figure is a re-issue from a previously released one and is perfect to
review these new pieces. |
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LAH230 "RAD
on Parade" Standing ‘at-ease’ with his
ceremonial, highly-polished shovel in front you can
see the distinctive RAD headgear as well as their brown-shaded uniform. |
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LAH231 "RAD
Marchpast" Same uniform and accessories as
LAH230 but marching past the saluting platform. |
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LAH232 "RAD
Banner Bearer" A junior RAD leader carrying
one of the RAD’s own colourful flags. |
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LAH233 "Saluting
RAD Leader" One hand holding his RAD
ceremonial dagger his other raised in the Nazi salute the senior leader also
marches past. |
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NA292 "Mounted
Highland Officer" Wearing tartan trews and pointing this officer helps rally his men and
prepares to move them to another position. |
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SP110 "Bamboo
Pack" 9 x lengths of Bamboo in three
approx. different sizes(16.5cm, 13cm, 12cm or 6.5”,
5.25”,4.5”). And at a great value price! |
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Great Sales! Andy C.
Neilson |