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NEW RELEASES FROM
KING & COUNTRY!
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DISPATCHES – OCTOBER
2025
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Dear
Partners,
Welcome
to one and all as I prepare once more to head off to the U.S. of
A which is still, I’m happy to say, ‘The Land of the Free and the
Home of the Brave’…
First
stop will be Dallas and then on to San Antonio to spend
some time with K&C’s cofounder Laura Johnson and The
King & Country Texas store along with our great
local store manager, Amber. If you ever have the
opportunity to visit San Antonio be sure to drop by K&C
Texas at 5945 Broadway, San Antonio… you won’t regret it!
From
Texas I fly on to North Carolina to meet up with one
of our top K&C collectors who commissioned us to produce a
unique series of figures in the dress parade uniforms of one of
America’s leading military colleges, The Citadel in
Charleston, South Carolina also known as The South Carolina Corps
of Cadets.
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On
this trip I will be visiting The Citadel with my
collector friend who actually attended the college back in the
day. Charleston itself of course is a very historic city so
I will also be looking to visit some of the famous sites in that
fair city.
From
Charleston my friend and myself will move on to Atlanta to
meet up with another mutual toy soldier buddy and see his amazing
collection.
Finally,
after a couple of days in Atlanta I will fly back to Dallas to
take my return flight to Hong Kong and that will be that… all in
about two weeks or so.
However,
before all of that there is all of this…
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1.
BEING RELEASED IN OCTOBER…
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A.
“Coming In On A Wing And A Prayer”
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Back
in 2024, ‘Masters of the Air’, an American war /
drama series was released on Apple TV. It followed the
actions of the 100th Bomb Group, a
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber unit of the Eight Air
Force based in the U.K. during WW2.
Produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg who made ‘Band of
Brothers’ and ‘The Pacific’ this aviation series was
inspirational and I was truly inspired!
Among
the figures we produced were the more recent USAF Ground Crew
figures and now these two guys…
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AF050 “Welcome Back!” (2x figure set)
On the left is Captain Clark Gable, who served in the
Eight Air Force and actually flew a number of combat missions
over enemy territory during the war. In this set, he’s
obviously on ground duties and meeting a B-17 Pilot who
has just landed his bullet-riddled plane after a deadly daylight
bombing mission somewhere over Germany in 1943 or ’44.
AVAILABLE: Mid October
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B.
Washington’s Guard Company Additions
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Two more key members of George Washington’s
bodyguard unit…
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AR084 W.G.C. Company
Officer w/Pike
Standing four-square watching the advance of the British Redcoats
this officer is preparing his men to give them a ‘warm’ welcome.
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AR087 W.G.C. Commandant
Major Caleb Gibbs
(1748-1818) was the first senior officer in charge of the Commander-in-Chief’s
Guard.
Our
new figure shows Major Gibbs mounted with his sword drawn.
AVAILABLE: Mid October
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Well, as we’ve just added two more
Revolutionary War Americans it’s only fair that we release a pair
of their British opponents.
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BR099 ‘British 4th Regiment
of Foot Drummer’
A Regimental Drummer of the 4th Foot advances
towards the enemy. As can be seen his uniform jacket is in
‘reverse colours’ of blue tunic with red facings.
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BR100 ‘British 4th Regiment
of Foot Officer’
Marching at the front of his soldiers this office
shouts out an order to his men.
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King
George V (1865-1936)
was King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India from
1910-1936.
Born
during the long reign of Queen Victoria he was the second son of
the Prince of Wales (later to become King Edward Ⅶ).
From 1877-1892, George served in the Royal Navy and forever after
had a great affection for and pride in Britain’s senior service.
Following Victoria’s death, George’s father became Edward
Ⅶ however his reign lasted barely 10 years and in
1910, George became King George V, ruler of a mighty
empire that spanned a quarter of the globe. During his
reign George V was to see tumultuous changes with the rise of
socialism, communism and all kinds of rebellions and independence
movements around the world.
In the midst of all of this King George V was an
‘island of stability and service in an ocean of turbulence and
turmoil’
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CE121 HRH King George V
Throughout his reign, George V appeared in a great
many ceremonial dress uniforms. His favourite however was
that of a Royal Navy ‘Admiral of The Fleet’, reflecting
his own service in the Navy and his great affection for it.
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E.
‘ASSAULT & BATTERY’
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In its simplest form, a ‘battering ram’ is
just a large, heavy log carried or pushed by a number of men and
propelled with great force against a fixed obstacle such as a
wall or a gate strong enough to damage or even break through that
obstacle or obstruction.
First developed by the legions of Ancient Rome it really came
into its own during the medieval period.
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MK239 ‘The Battering Ram’
Our latest ‘Siege Machine’ features a large 6-wheel machine
with a detachable wooden roof from which is suspended (from
chains) a heavy wooden ram with a strong, sturdy, steel head.
Propelling this particular ‘siege machine’ is a team of 5 x
Medieval Men-at-Arms. This entire set comes in its own
full-colour presentation box.
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F.
“WHO WAS OLD COPPERNOSE?”
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Although
England’s Henry Ⅷ is perhaps best known for
having six wives. its less well-known that he enjoyed a
rather unique nickname… “Old Coppernose”
That
came about due to the King’s lavish lifestyle and penchant for
making wars on some of his nearest neighbours, Scotland and
France in particular.
In order to pay for his extravagant lifestyle and costly wars
Henry would deplete country’s treasury and force them to reduce
the amount of silver in the nation’s coinage.
This was done by using more copper in coins and thinning out the
silver covering particularly on the sovereign’s head.
Constant use of these coins wore away the silver coating
particularly on the monarch’s head revealing the cheaper copper
underneath hence the nickname… “Old Coppernose”.
And now back to the man himself…
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TR020 ‘King Henry
Ⅷ’
Henry
Ⅷ (1491-1547)
was King of England from 1509 until his death in 1547. To
the general public he is best-known for having six wives which in
turn led to his dispute with the Pope in Rome and the beginning
of the English Reformation which separated the Church of England
from papal authority.
Throughout
his life, Henry was also a serial womanizer which alas, proved
fatal for some of his spouses. In addition he could be
egotistical, frequently paranoid and occasionally… tyrannical.
This
figure is based on several portraits of the King painted in the
prime of his life by the painter Hans Holbein, a
contemporary of the monarch.
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TR021 ‘A PAIR OF QUEENS’ (2 X Figure Set)
These two ladies were just two of Henry’s six wives and, sadly,
did not have long lives, they are however …
Jane
Seymour was
the third wife of Henry and the mother of his long-desired son,
Edward Ⅵ. She married the King following the
execution of Anne Boleyn in 1536 and gave birth to his heir in
1537. Tragically she died of complications from the birth
just 12 days later.
Known
for her quiet and demure nature, Jane was a particular favourite
of Henry and as a sign of this great affection the king made it
known that he was to be buried next to her at Windsor.Ten years
later he got his wish.
Anne
Boleyn was
Henry’s second wife after he divorced Catherine of Aragon and
became Queen for just 3 years from 1533-1536. It was Anne
who was to give her husband a daughter who would later became one
of England’s greatest monarchs, ElizabethⅠ.
In
a cruel twist of fate, after just three years of marriage Anne
was investigated for high treason and adultery on charges which
most historians now agree were false.
Alas
for Anne, there was to be no reprieve and she was executed at The
Tower of London on May 19, 1536.
Both
of these ladies are finely dressed in the fashion of those times
and as they would have appeared in happier days.
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G.
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING CMPLETELY DIFFERENT… CLASSIC WEHRMACHT
INFANTRY 1939-1942
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Since King & Country began making World
War Two German figures back in the 1990s we have produced many
hundreds, perhaps thousands, of original figures representing the
different combat forces of fighting in almost every ‘Theatre of
War’ they take part in.
From the opening battles in Poland to the ‘blitzkrieg’ campaigns
to conquer France and the Low Countries K&C figures have
helped tell these stories in miniature.
We’ve also raced across the hot desert sands of the Middle East
with our Afrika Korps releases and then gone into the frozen
steppes of Russia.
From the hell of the Eastern Front K&C’s German figures have
turned West and fought in Normandy and then gone all the way to
Arnhem in Holland before taking part in the last great Ardennes
Offensive and finally fighting their last battles in the ruins of
Berlin .
I think it’s fair to say that no other toy soldier company has
designed and produced as many or as diverse a selection of WW2
German soldiers as K&C and… we’re not finished yet!
This latest collection of releases is focusing on the early years
of the war when the German Army enjoyed its greatest military … 1939-1942.
All of these new figures are wearing the uniforms, helmets,
fighting equipment and weapons that were modernized and
introduced in the years from 1935 onwards with some modifications
between then and 1942/43.
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WH117 Classic Wehrmacht
Infantry Non Commissioned Officer Indicating
This NCO, carrying an MP40 machine pistol issues orders to his
men as he indicates their target.
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WH118 C.W.I. Advancing
Pioneer w/Flammenwerfer 41
This Pioneer is stealthily moving forward with his flamethrower
to clear out an enemy bunker or maybe just a trench.
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WH119 C.W.I. Sergeant
Cocking his MP40
About to go into action this NCO checks his weapon.
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WH120 C.W.I. Standing
MG34 Gunner
About to move, this Machine Gunner awaits orders.
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WH121 C.W.I. Grenadiers
in Action
These two Grenadiers are about to pull the cord inside the handle
of their ‘Stielhandgranate’ (Stick hand grenade)
which in turn would light the fuse.The Grenadier would then have
about 4 1/2 seconds to throw the grenade at the enemy before it
would explode.
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AVAILABLE: Mid October
Special Note: A second batch ‘Classic
Wehrmacht Infantry’ are already in production for
release in a few months time.
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2.
BEING RETIRED
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NA470 Charging Vistula
Lancer
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NA471 Vistula Lancer
Trumpeter
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NA472 Vistula Lancer
About to Charge
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NA473 Galloping Vistula
Lancer
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NA474 Charging Vistula
Lancer Officer
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TRW179 Stands Tall firing
Carbine
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TRW181 Dead Sergeant, Dead
Horse
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TRW182 The Plains
Warrior
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And that,
as I like to say, is that for another month. All the best and I
hope there is something for you among this varied little batch of
releases…
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Andy C. Neilson
Co-founder & Creative
Director
King & Country Ltd.
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