KING & COUNTRY
MAY 2006
This
week, the last of April, has been pretty eventful…First of all I spent several
days up in China at a huge trade fair where factories and traders from all over
the People’s Republic came to show off their latest products and capabilities.
At the same time “buyers” from all over the world came to see what
The
K&C team, all three of us, made several very useful contacts that will
further expand the number of factories we’re working with to meet the
ever-growing demand for and expansion of K&C’s
ranges and products.
In
this business, as all of you know, you have to keep going forward and “pushing
the envelope”. To stand still only allows your competitors an opportunity
to catch up and we’re not about to do that anytime soon!
So,
without further ado here’s the latest “scuttlebult”…
1. COMING IN MAY
A) The British 8th Army
When we were planning our earlier Afrika Korps releases (the
March ’06 ones) we realized we had to bring out some new ‘enemy’ for
them to fight. It had been well over 2 years since our last British and Empire
forces fighting in the
And here they are…Seven brand-new
sets of 2, 3 and 4 figure groups plus a great little fighting vehicle – all of
them “kitted-out” in typical desert was uniform of Khaki drill shirts
and shorts.
EA009 “Advance
Under Fire”. A crouching British officer pistol in hand,
leads his men towards the enemy. Two additional desert
“Tommies” follow their officer with Lee Enfields and fixed bayonets. Backing them up is an
advancing Bren Gunner firing his weapon from the waist.
EA010 “DINGO
Scout Car Set”. The Daimler “Dingo” Light Armoured Car was mostly used as a scouting vehicle for armoured units. Our little “Dingo” is in the
markings of the 2nd New Zealand Cavalry Regiment and includes 2 “Kiwi”
troopers in the vehicle.
EA011 “Field
Marshall Harold Alexander”. Handsome, debonair
and always immaculate “Alex” rose to supreme Allied Commander in the
Mediterranean Theatre of Operations. Here, however he is Commander, Middle East
Forces in August 1942. Accompanying him is one of his Military Police
“bodyguards”. “Alex” was “Monty’s” Boss.
EA012 “The
Best of Enemies”. The Desert War was fought on almost chivalrous
terms for modern warfare. Both sides, for the most part, fought cleanly and
fairly and that included treatment of prisoners. Here, a British “Tommy”
provides a drink of water from his own water bottle for a captured Afrika Korps
soldiers. A charming little vignette.
EA013 “The
Mine Sweepers”. A Royal Engineer officer, map in one hand, “Tommy – gun” in the
other, looks on as two of his men recover enemy mines. Two wooden German “Minen” signs are included in the set.
EA014 “Indian
Army Machine Gun Set”. Several distinguished Indian Divisions served with the Eight Army.
Here 3 Sikh gunners man a Vickers heavy machine gun laying down covering fire
for the infantry assault.
EA015 “Returning
Fire”. Three more British infantry add their “firepower”
to the attack. All are armed with the standard .303 Lee Enfield bolt – action
rifles.
AVAILABLE : MID MAY
1B) (WS072) “
As mentioned in last
months “DISPATCHES” May sees the release of our latest PanzerⅤ model – a Panther Ausf. G of the 12th SS “Hitlerjugend”
Division as it would have appeared during the hard-fought battles in wartime
The new
model (our fifth) features
l
A fully elevating main gun
l
Battle-worn appearance
l
German summer camouflage scheme
l
Moveable main gun support bracket
l
Four crew figures (1× fully body, 2 × half-bodies and 1 × “head and
shoulders”)
l
Specially-designed “Panther” box and
A bag-full of camouflage material (only for the first 1,000 Panthers
released)
AVAILABLE : Early to Mid May
Collectors have requested more of the camouflage material we
supplied with WS47…a couple of years ago. Finally we ‘sourced’ some more
and its available NOW!
SP022 Camouflage Set
(Each set consists of 5 x
SP022A Autumn Camouflage
&
5 x SP022B Summer Camouflage)
2. COMING SOON…IN JUNE!
Immortalized
in the dramatic painting by Lady Butler “
Like some
other toy soldier makers we at K&C were also ‘inspired’ to recreate
in miniature this famous military action. We’ve produced eight different
releases – seven of them individually mounted figures plus one very special
3-man vignette. All of them dynamic, colourful and
very, very collectable!
NA083 “Standard
Bearer”. Charging forward this trooper carries one
of the Regimental Guidons.
NA084 “Bugler”. Wearing his distinctive reversed
chevrons on both sleeves this Scots Grey bugler sounds the “Charge!”.
NA085 “Charging”.
Another trooper at the full gallop.
NA086 “Slashing!”.
A Scot Grey trooper, minus his distinctive bearskin, prepares to deliver a
mighty blow.
NA087 “The
Sgt. Ewart Set”. One of
NA088 “Hard
Landings”. A Scots Grey trooper prepares for a “rough
landing” as his horse is shot from under him.
NA089 “Rearing
Horse”. A trooper struggles to bring under control his rearing
horse.
NA090 “Cutting
Down”. Another trooper leans forward, sword downwards to engage a
French infantryman.
AVAILABLE : MID JUNE
A whole batch of
American fighting men to add on to our acclaimed “
DD067 “M5
DD068 “Ambulance Jeep Set”. A really outstanding piece…our latest jeep
belongs to one of the forward medical aid units and has no less than 3 full
body figures included – a driver…a medic holding a ‘drip’ and…a seriously
wounded GI on a stretcher. Two other stretchers (1 × folded) complete the set.
DD069 “Brig. General Norman ‘Dutch’ Cota’. Played by Robert Mitchum
in “The Longest Day” movie our figure represents the real
“Dutch” Cota – not the Hollywood version. Brig. Gen.
Cota was Deputy Commander of the 29th Infantry
Division on
DD070 “Lt. Colonel Benjamin Vandevoort”. Another real life hero featured in “The Longest Day” and
played by John Wayne. Our figure is based on historical fact and real photos of
the real man. Lt. Col. Vandevoort was the Commander
of the 2nd Battalion 505 Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne
Division who landed in the small
DD071 “Horse Paratrooper”. During the first couple of days following
the invasion some US paratroopers used captured German cavalry horses to
conduct ‘patrols’. This para also
boasts a captured Schmeisser machine pistol as his
personal weapon.
DD072 “Paratrooper
with Walking Horse”. Another American para,
this time wounded, walks alongside his recently captured “four-legged prize”.
DD073 “The Souvenir Hunters”. All soldiers like “battle-trophies” and these three GI paratroopers are no exception! While one shows off
his captured German flag and officer’s cap his buddies enjoy a well-earned
bottle of good French wine.
DD074 “Reach for The Sky”.
Based on a famous photograph this young paratrooper has captured a
tough-looking crewman of a German Assault Gun. Even though his enemy is
disarmed and lightly wounded this GI, with rifle and fixed bayonet, is taking
no chances.
AVAILABLE : LATE JUNE
HK150 The “New” Mahjong Set.
An all-new, upgraded version of an old favourite – this latest set features amazingly detailed painting – you
can even see the different markings on the individual “mahjong” tiles! Set includes table and four different players.
AVAILABLE : LATE JUNE
3. POTENTIAL
Some of you may
have heard the rumours about K&C organizing a new
American Toy Soldier Show. Well it’s true…ourselves and our good friends “Toy Soldiers of
Our basic idea is for a 2-day “ballroom” event over a weekend (Saturday and Sunday) with at least a couple of
days of other events in and around
I really believe there is nothing for Toy Soldier collectors in that
part of the
Until next “DISPATCHES” great sales to one and all!
And very best wishes.
Andy C. Neilson