KING & COUNTRY
“DISPATCHES”
MAY 2007
So, May is here… Spring is just around the corner and a
young man’s fancy turns to… toy soldiers!
Well that’s the general idea if you catch my drift…
Here at K&C it’s time to let you know all the latest
releases and give you a sneak peek at what’s coming up in the next couple of
months.
Anyway, without further ado let’s go…
1. “COMING THIS MONTH”
As
anticipated last Month this May sees the actual release of our revised,
upgraded venture back into the American Civil War.
This first release focuses on the soldiers of the Confederacy.
Mainly because their uniforms were anything but uniform and they sell
better than Federal/Union troops. I can’t think of two better reasons to give
them priority!
These twelve first releases are sold individually except
for CW012 which is a two-figure set.
Inspect these troops for yourself…
CW001 “General
Nathan Bedford Forrest”
A mounted
portrait in miniature of one of the Confederacy’s ablest and most daring
Cavalry leaders.
Clad in blue and g
CW003 “General
Thomas “Stonewall”
Probably Lee’s most valuable
lieutenant and a superb tactician in his own right.
CW004 “Confederate
Flagbearer” (Mtd)
A troop sergeant of the 1st
Virginia Cavalry proudly carries the great battle flag of the Confederacy.
CW005 “Confederate
Bugler”
Standing at ease, rifle
shouldered, this bugler observes the passing parade.
CW006 “Rebel Leaning
on Rifle”
Another southern veteran
watches the passing scene.
Alert and awake this soldier
stands ready to do his duty.
CW008 “Confederate
Drummer boy”
Boys as young as ten years of age
ran away from home to follow the colours. This young teenager has been lucky to
find his place in a fine regiment…as his smart uniform testifies to.
CW009 “Confederate
This officer is, perhaps,
attached to Gen. Lee’s staff headquarters or maybe about to march off
with his company.
CW010 “J.E.B Stuart”
Lee’s most famous and most
impetuous Cavalry commander. Known for his bravery and dash he was also known
for his recklessness and, occasionally, unreliability.
An outstanding
officer and general and the South’s preeminent soldier. Lee often
was outnumbered…outgunned…but seldom outmaneuvered. His leadership and concern
for his men was legendary. Here, he “tips” his hat in salute as he sits
on his favourite mount “Traveller”
CW012 “After The
A wounded officer is gently led
away from the battle by one of his men who salutes a
passing general.
AVAILABILITY: CW001 – 003 MID MAY
CW004
– 012 NOW
B) “ACHTUNG
PANZER!”
From the
battlefields of Civil War
After the invasion of
The Germans quickly decided to
use them and, in some cases, made improvements on the Russian design. Our
model, WS098, boasts German-style sideskirt
protection as well as a Panzer III/IV topturret
hatch, three-colour camouflage and a Nazi recognition flag. Three
German tank crew accompany the vehicle.
WS099 “German Tank
Crew”
By special
request of many K&C collectors… a set of 5 individual Panzer tankers in a
variety of useful poses—great to add onto any armour
scene or diorama or even… just on their own.
WS102 “
Another much requested item… a
late-war version (camouflaged) of our very popular “Fields of
AVAILABILITY: MID MAY
They say you can buy anything or
have it mended on the “Streets of Old
Even today people performing the ancient
exercise of “Tai Chi” are a familiar sight on the early morning “Streets
of Old
AVAILABILITY: LATE MAY
2. “COMING NEXT MONTH…”
June sees a raft of more great
World War Two releases plus a whole new British Napoleonic infantry
regiment!
Let’s start with the Germans…
A) “The
Fuhrer’s WONDER WEAPONS”
WS100 “The Fuhrer’s
Last Fighter”
As
This little
jet fighter was designed to be flown by semi-skilled Hitlerjugend
pilots with only the most rudimentary flying skills. They were to ram their
small flying bomb into the midst of the massed Allied aerial armadas then
bombing the Reich by night and day. It was rumoured
that an ejection seat was provided for the young pilots to get out before their
aircraft’s final explosion.
Our model, WS100,
comes with a special “trolley” to transport the little jet to its launch
pad plus two standing Luftwaffe figures—a pilot/instructor and a saluting
guard. Inside the “see through” cockpit you can also see a seated Hitlerjugend pilot.
To pull and position the trolley
with its “Rammjager” jet we have a neat little
Sd.KfZ252 Halftrack vehicle. These were normally used as battlefield
transports to haul ammunition and other supplies to forward troops. Our model
is in camouflaged Luftwaffe markings and has a “commander” half-body
figure in the open top hatch.
AVAILABILITY: MID JUNE
B) “Somewhere
in
Meanwhile back in war-torn
A great looking set… three GI’s
of the famous 1st. Infantry Division “The Big Red One” and
their ubiquitous 1/4 ton transport. In the front an officer sits next to
his driver. Providing the “top cover” a standing GI rests on his .30 calibre machine gun.
A special “tribute” piece
to Joe Rosenthal (the AP photographer who took the famous
The “companion piece” to DD076
is our seated at his typewriter “Ernie Pyle” War Correspondent. This
terrific little figure is full of character another “tribute” to the war
correspondent Ernie Pyle who wrote the classic “The Story of G.I. Joe”
which was later made into a great WW2 movie starring Robert Mitchum
and Burgess Meredith as Pyle himself. Sadly, Ernie was killed later in the war.
This is the first of King
& Country’s KINGSIZE collection… a big, big artillery piece with no
less than 5 full-bodied artillery men to man the gun.
Mounted on
a
Our gun comes with many fine
detailed features and K&C’s very own battle-worn
appearance. It will provide collectors with lots of extra fire support!
DD079
“General Omar Bradley”
The GI’s
General and one of Eisenhower’s most steady and reliable field commanders.
Bradley commanded the US 1st Army Group during and
after the
.
DD080 “General James
Gavin 82nd Airborne”
The youngest
divisional commander in the U.S. Army during WW2. Gavin was only
37 at the time of the
A proud 82nd Airborne trooper in parade dress. Looks great in multiples…
And now here’s a whole bunch
of GI’s… a mixture 82nd and 101st. Glider troops… all in
action… and available as individual figures…
Leading the attack is this
crouching officer checking out enemy positions 82nd. Airborne.
Another
kneeling figure… this one putting in some well-aimed shots. 82nd. Airborne.
An NCO adding a
little extra fire-power to the “fire fight”. 82nd.
Airborne.
Even more fire to keep the
enemy’s head down! 101st. Airborne.
Moving to a new
location… 101st. Airborne.
This “dismounted Glider Pilot”
is sending out a pretty clear message to his buddies… “Wait!”
AVAILABILITY: MID TO LATE JUNE
NOTE:
PRICES FOR ALL NEW DD SETS
WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN MID MAY.
IMAGES FOR DD080 - DD087 WILL
BE AVAILABLE IN MID MAY.
C) “Napoleonic
COLDSTREAMERS!”
And now for something completely
different… as Monty Python would say!
“Coldstream
Guards in Action”.
As many of you know with me being
Scottish I always have a “soft-spot” for Regiments from my homeland.
However I don’t want to neglect
other parts of the Army and especially my many English friends so, without
further ado, here is K&C’s first English
Napoleonic Regiment—the world famous 2nd. Regiment of Foot Guards… The Coldstream Guards.
One of the most famous Regiments
of the British Army up to this present day, the “Coldstreamers”
fought throughout the Wars of Napoleon and at
Here, we have twelve (12)
outstanding individual figures that singly, together or in “multiples” will
take “pride-of-place” in any Napoleonic collection.
K&C has specifically designed
these pieces so that they can form up a traditional “
Here’s what’s coming in early
June…
A Major on
horseback directs his men.
NA126 “CG
NA127 “CG
NA129 “Standing to
Repel”
NA130 “Kneeling to
Repel”
NA131 “Sergeant
w/Pike”
NA132 “Drummer Boy”
NA133 “Kneeling
Firing Rifle”
NA134 “Standing
Ready Corporal”
NA135 “Dead
Guardsman”
NA136 “Wounded
Guardsman”
AVAILABILITY: EARLY JUNE
As usual, we also have additional
figures to add to one of our Chinese series, in this case… The
Imperial Collection.
IC030 “Spear Practise”
Here, a soldier of the Emperor’s
own bodyguard regiment perfects his fighting skills on a straw target.
Two Imperial bodyguards
sword fight.
AVAILABILITY: EARLY JUNE
3) A LITTLE REMINDER…
Existing WS053 and WS054,
both 3-figure seated figures, look great when sitting on the benches at the
back of our new Normandy-style Opel Blitz (WS090).
For the
record, we’re already working on a similar adaptation for the Afrika Korps Opel Blitz.
4) “BEING RETIRED THIS
MONTH…”
Four items are being discontinued
so grab’em while stocks last…
This little beauty works great in
either “Fields of
DD057 “Commando
Attack”
Four of
DD058 “Taking
Prisoners”
Two captured SS men being
escorted to the rear by a Commando while a British MP on motorcycle looks on and
finally…
WS052 “Prime
Mover”
Originally designed to pull our
’88 gun this is still a great piece and very popular with WW2 German
collectors.
And that,
my friends is that! Until next time best personal wishes and… great sales!
Andy C. Neilson
Co-founder &
Creative Director