Dear Partners,
Welcome
to September’s ‘DISPATCHES’.
As I write this I’m already preparing for my next
overseas trip… This time to the U.S. of A. and a return to the ‘Windly City’ in the shape of the
all-new ‘CHICAGOLAND’
Toy Soldier Show. Organized by my good friend (and K&C Dealer) Matt Murphy of Hobby Bunker fame.
After
the sad demise of the much-loved and frequently-attended
‘CHICAGO TOY SOLDIER SHOW’
at the Hyatt Hotel in Schaumburg, Matt has picked up the gauntlet and has set
up his own Show at the Schaumburg
Marriott on Sunday
24, 2023. Prior to that Show date all kinds of dealers and
collectors will arrive at the venue and, I’m sure, take part in some serious ‘room-trading’ similar to what always went on at the previous ‘CHICAGO SHOW’.
I
am personally attending this new ‘CHICAGOLAND’
Show as an observer this year and not taking any of our displays or setting up
as K&C always did in past years.
Among
my reasons are the huge increase in costs of air-shipping a
large number of dioramas plus the figures, fighting vehicles and all
kinds of accessories that go along with them.
And
as stated, I want to get the ‘feel’
of the hotel and the Show itself. So, this time around I get to have no
responsibilities, no headaches but still get to meet up with lots of old
friends and enjoy the show as a very interested ‘spectator’!
For
the record, I will arrive in Chicago from Hong Kong via Tokyo and San Francisco on the
afternoon of Thursday
21, September and will stay through till late afternoon
of Sunday 24th.
After
that I will be heading down to San
Antonio and our ‘King
& Country Texas’ store for a little ‘Special Event’ there a
few days later.
However, before all of that there is all of this…
The M48 ‘Patton’ was an
American first-generation main battle tank which first appeared in 1952 and was
designed to replace the WW2 and Korean War era M26, M4 Sherman and
post war M47 and M41s.
Armed with
a powerful 90mm main gun it was produced to meet the battlefield requirements
of both the U.S. Army and the U.S.
Marines.
Eventually
almost 12,000 M48s were
built and a series of continual improvements were made to ensure better
performance and reliability.
Beginning
in 1959 most of the original M48 A1s and A2s were
upgraded and modified to the M48A3 model,
which is what King & Country has
produced.
IN COMBAT
Numerous
examples of the M48 saw
active service in various Arab / Israeli conflicts
as well as the war in South East Asia throughout
the 1960s and into the 1970s. The M48A3 was
to go on to see widespread service with both the United States and many of its
NATO partners in Europe until it was superseded by the newer M60
Main Battle Tank.
Even
today though the M48 remains
in service in large quantities with Turkey (750), Taiwan (500) and Greece
(390).
However,
King & Country is focusing on the M48A3 in
combat in Vietnam with two great examples…
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VN159-1 "“The M48A3 ‘Patton’ Main Battle Tank” 'Witch Bitch'" At the beginning of the 1968 Tet
Offensive Communist forces overran the ancient imperial capitol of Hue in
South Vietnam. U.S. Marines stationed at Phu Bai
airbase south of Hue were ordered to lead the assault to retake the city. Backed up by M48A3s, crewed by
fellow Marines, the ‘Grunts’
fought their way back into the city and street-by-street, house-by-house
slowly but steadily gained the upper hand. During much of the battle foul
weather hampered the use of close air support and thus the firepower of the
M48A3s 90mm gun was essential. The sheer bulk of an M48 also
allowed the Marines to advance behind the armour of
the tank as together they eliminated the enemy. This particular
USMC 48A3, ‘Charlie Four-One’
is nicknamed ‘Witch Bitch’
and comes complete with a full body Marine Tank Commander armed with CAR15
carbine and a “head ‘n’ shoulders” Tank Driver figure. Each model comes in its own
sturdy, full colour, presentation box. |
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VN159-2 "“The M48A3 ‘Patton’ Main Battle Tank” 'Mad Dogs'" Our second M48A3 is nicknamed ‘Mad Dogs’ and has the hull tag ‘Charlie Four-Four’. Like the
previous model it comes complete with its two crew figures and same high
quality, first-class packaging. |
Special
Note: Just 200 of
each of these USMC M48A3s are
being produced. And so if you’re serious about
your ‘Vietnam’ collection one or
both of these great tank models will provide your ‘Grunts’ with
some very valuable fire support!
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VN160 "Sitting VC Female Soldier" From a pair of mighty American
tanks to a slim, slip of a young Vietnamese woman sitting holding her
captured U.S. made M2 Carbine. Many of these weapons were given
to the South Vietnamese forces because they were lighter to carry and easier
to use than the heavier, more cumbersome M1 ‘Garand’ rifles that the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam)
had originally been issued with prior to the introduction of the M16. A number of these carbines
inevitably fell into Viet Cong hands and were often distributed to female
members who found them simpler to operate and lighter to carry. This young VC woman is holding a
Korean War era carbine complete with a 30 x round curved magazine. |
AVAILABILITY: Mid September
By July 1943
there was a massive build-up of huge armies on either side of the Eastern Front
around Kursk in preparation
for a German assault to destroy the Soviet salient that had formed in the area.
Among the
German forces preparing to assault the Russian positions were no less that three of Hitler’s most elite Waffen SS Panzergrenadier
Divisions. The 1st SS ‘Leibstandarte’. The 2nd SS ‘Das Reich’… and The 3rd SS ‘Totenkopf’ plus one
more SS
division kept in reserve, The 5th SS ‘Viking’.
Each of
these Panazergrenadier divisions
was on paper, organized and equipped in the same manner as a regular German
Army armoured division however the SS Divisions had a
substantially larger number of tanks and other armoured
vehicles.
In addition each of these Waffen SS formations had two entire
regiments of Panzergrenadier Infantry supported by
the division’s own artillery regiment and separate battalions of anti aircraft troops, reconnaissance units and pioneers.
These 2nd Generation Waffen SS soldaten are dressed in the representative uniforms
of the mid war period complete with their distinctive camouflage smocks and
helmet covers which the Waffen SS pioneered.
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These two troopers stand waiting
for the signal to advance. Note how one is carrying a captured PPSh-41
submachine gun while his comrade has the standard K98 rifle. |
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WS390 "Riflemen in Action (2 Figs)" Standing and kneeling with K98s
ready. |
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WS391 ""Over There’ (2
Figs)" One trooper indicates something
in the distance to his comrade. |
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WS392 "Open Fire! (3 Figs)" This 3x figure set armed with an
assortment of personal weapons open fire on the enemy. |
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WS393 "MG34 Gun Team (3x figs)" Under the command of on SS-Rottenfuhrer (SS-Squad leader) this 2man gun team goes into action. |
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WS394 "Waffen SS Officer" Even in the
midst of battle this officer moves among his men…
calm and determined. |
AVAILABILITY: Mid September
Three
small but useful additions to our recent ‘Battle
of The Bulge’ Germans.
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BBG129 "The Scout" Moving stealthily ahead of his
comrades this soldier moves through the winter snow seeking out the enemy
frontline. |
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BBG130 "Winter Tank Crew" Two dismounted SS Panzer crewmen
enjoy a smoke and share a hot cup of captured American coffee…? |
AVAILABILITY: Mid-Late September
HONG KONG is not
only the ‘home’
of King & Country it’s
also one of the most vibrant and dynamic cities in the world and now a Special Administrative Region of
the PRC (People’s
Republic of China) with a population of almost 7.5million residents
of various nationalities all packed into a relatively small territory.
Originally
established as a colony of the British Empire it
has weathered and overcome many a storm, violent upheavals, all kind of
typhoons and other natural and man-made disasters, wars and crisis.
Through
it all this small, densely-packed city with its
hard-working inhabitants have created one of the wonders of the world and a
major financial and trading hub on the southern coast of China.
During
its existence Hong Kong has grown dramatically from a small, sparsely populated
area of farming and fishing villages into the city and region I know today.
Perhaps
its greatest time of growth was following the end of World War Two and the
victory of Mao Tse Tung and
his Communist Party in China in 1949.
Many
skilled emigrants and refugees crossed over the border into what was then the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong and
even in the often most difficult of circumstances sought a better life for
themselves and their families.
That
resulted in Hong Kong becoming the first of the Four
Asian Tiger economies during the 1950s.
Nevertheless life could still be hard for the
majority of its inhabitants even as many improvements were made and
opportunities were seized in this busy, bustling and very crowded metropolis.
ABOUT ‘ALL OUR YESTERDAYS’
One of K&C’s most popular and colourful
series has been and still is ‘Streets
of Old Hong Kong’. Our look back at Colonial
Hong Kong circa 1897, a period when traditional Chinese dress
and costumes were still worn by most citizens on the streets of this thriving
port city.
Several
months ago I went to an exhibition of miniature Hong
Kong buildings that were created by a team of very skilled and knowledgeable
diorama builders.
Most of
the exhibits on display were approximately 1:24 in scale and were depictions of
typical three and four storey Chinese-style Shop
Houses and sections of streets that were once familiar sights all over Hong
Kong but are now few and far between. Victims of the growth, development and
prosperity of this amazing city and its hard-working people.
Looking
at these exquisite reminders of a time not long past it struck me that the only
thing missing was a lack of miniature figures to help populate the scenes as
well as provide a truer, more authentic picture of this day before yesterday in
the life and times of Hong Kong.
And so,
here are our first offerings that give perhaps, a little portrait of some of
the people who helped build and shape this amazing city during the tumultuous
1960s and the sensational 70s.
THE ‘VIETNAM’ CONNECTION
As I worked on this project I was also reminded
that many of the Asian countries around Hong Kong also have large communities
of ethnic Chinese families living and working in them… especially in their
towns and cities.
Vietnam
is one such example where there was a sizeable section of the population that
was of Chinese origin particularly in what was then called Saigon. Whole
sections of major South Vietnamese urban centres such
as Hue and Da
Nang also had ‘Chinatowns’ in
their midst.
For many ‘VIETNAM’ street displays and dioramas this
new range of additional figures is both are useful and additional touch of
authenticity
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HKY001 "The Coolie" The
dictionary defines ‘COOLIE’
as an unskilled native labourer usually found in
Asian countries particularly India, China and South East Asia. In Hong Kong
these hard-working individuals were often seen pushing trolleys full of all
types of merchandise or using a long wooden pole from which were suspended
large rattan baskets full of fruit, vegetables or other items of every
description. |
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HKY002 "The Newspaper Reader" Hong
Kong has always published a large number of Chinese
language newspapers and, back in the 1960s, there were even more! Here one
elderly gentleman stands reading his favourite
newspaper… A sight rarely seen today as everyone
appears to get their news from their mobile phone… |
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HKY003 "The Spectator" Everywhere
around the globe, Hong Kong included, has people who just seem to… Not do or say anything… just
observe. |
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HKY004 "Morning Relaxation" Another Hong
Kong resident just sitting and reading about yesterday’s
events. |
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HKY006 "The Girl in The Blue & White Dress" Back in
the 1960s Hong Kong many young women still wore the modern, form-fitting
version of the traditional Chinese ‘Cheong Saam’. It was both flattering to
the wearer and brought a splash of colour onto the
city streets. |
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HKY011 "The Smoker" Back in
those days smoking was not seen as the ‘unhealthy vice’ it is today. Going by photographs of the time a majority
of Hong Kong’s adult male population were addicted to
the deadly habit. |
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HKY012 "Everything's For Sale" Along
many streets throughout Hong Kong in those days could be found ‘Street Hawkers’ selling everything
to everyone at virtually all hours of the day and night. Some
would be selling brand-new items, others second-hand goods of all shapes,
sizes and descriptions and a few that fell off the back of a truck! To ‘set up shop’ hawkers simply put
down a mat, llaid-out their goods and hopefully
wait for the customers to arrive. |
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HKY013 "Another Newspaper Reader" A second
avid devourer of the news. This time he’s much
younger, dressed differently and reading a different Chinese newspaper. |
AVAILABILITY: Mid-Late September
Special Note: Other ‘All Our Yesterdays’ figures
are already in development with a few of them on display in the upcoming bumper 40 page Issue No.
60 of K&C’s own ‘COLLECTOR’ magazine.
BEING RETIRED...
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BBG119 |
Winter Jagdpanzer
IV |
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JN028 |
Advancing Japanese Soldier |
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JN029 |
Advancing Firing Rifle |
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JN045 |
The Japanese Light Howitzer &
Crew |
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NA426 |
The Duke of Wellington |
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RAF077 |
Squadron Leader 'Skipper' |
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TRW092 |
Reloading, The Apaches |
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TRW093 |
Taking Aim, The Apaches |
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TRW103 |
He’s Dead!,
The Apaches |
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TRW131 |
Kneeling Plains Indian w/Carbine |
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TRW156 |
Brave Bear |
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USMC018 |
Marine Reloading |
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USMC042 |
Marine w/ Tommy Gun ** |
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VN013 |
Covering Firing |
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VN045 |
Kneeling LAW Gunner |
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VN098 |
The ARVN Military Policeman ** |
And so that’s our story for this
month, here’s hoping you find something that pleases you here.
In the meantime all the best and… happy
collecting!
Great Sales!
Andy C. Neilson Co-founder & Creative Director King & Country