DISPATCHES
APRIL 2009
March is over,
April is upon us and it’s time to get down to business after our long (and
very enjoyable) American trip.
Special greetings
to all of our friends (Collectors & Dealers) we met at the WestCoaster… A very big thankyou
to Louis, Hans & Larry and even more friends at the recent New
York Symposium and, finally, some old friends and a few new ones at our
“Merlot & Miniatures” Evening at Kings X in San Antonio.
1. AVAILABLE THIS MONTH…
A. “Remember The
RTA043 “Lying Wounded Texian”
RTA044 “Dead Mexican Soldier”
RTA045 “Kneeling Firing Defender”
RTA046 “Loading Mexican Soldier”
RTA047 “Fighting Duo III”
A wounded defender
takes his last shot at an advancing Mexican infantryman.
AVAILABILITY:
Mid to Late April
The British have
evacuated their army at
FoB054 “Generalfeldmarschall
Erich von Manstein”
Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein takes the salute mounted on his favourite steed “Tambour”.
FoB055 “German Mounted Adjutant”
Captain Helmut Eckhardt,
Manstein’s Adjutant, accompanies his General.
This infantry
colonel proudly leads his men past the reviewing officers.
A marching officer
returns the General’s salute… army style!
FoB058 “Wehrmacht
Rifleman”
Still wearing the
full battle-order this “soldaten” is weary but
happy his battle is over… for a time.
A superb little
2-man vignette… As the young infantry officer stands stiffly to attention a
General fastens the ribbon of the Knight’s Cross around his neck.
As the Battle of
France was coming to a close another battle was about to begin… “The
When the Luftwaffe
began to attack the
Here, a young,
arrogant Luftwaffe airman has had his aircraft shot down… over
In this little
scene he is closely guarded by an old Army Veteran now in the uniform of the “Home
Guard”… Dad’s Army… Standing, notebook in hand, a typical unarmed British “Bobby”
is taking down details of the captured pilot… A great little 3-man set… Sorry,
though, you need to find your own crashed German aircraft.
Available
Now!
In August 1942,
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill paid a surprise visit to see
the men of the Eighth Army fighting in
During his trip
Churchill inspected many different units of
Churchill liked
what he saw… there was a renewed fighting spirit in the men and in
These new figures
commemorate that historic visit and honour the men of
the Desert Army.
K&C’s
first all-new pipe band in 12 years! This twelve-piece group comprises 1x Drum Major, 1x Pipe Major, 3x
pipers, 1x big drummer, 2x bass drums and 4 side drummers of the Black Watch,
the senior Highland Regiment.
All our band are in “shirt-sleeve” parade order and are
wearing the “Royal Stewart” kilts for the pipers and the “Government
Black Watch” tartan for the remainder.
Additional pipers
and drummers are available as “singles” to increase your band or as
individual figures.
EA026(A) “Drum
Major”
EA026(B) “Pipe
Major”
EA026(C) “Piper”
EA026(D) “Big
Drum”
EA026(E) “Bass
Drum”
EA026(F) “Side
Drum”
Here, the great man
himself is perched on the rear of an 8th. Army Humber Staff Car giving
his famous 2 finger “V for Victory” salute.
Alongside him are Chief of the Imperial General Staff… Field Marshal
Alan Brooke, Churchill’s loyal ally and military supremo.
In front of them is
the 8th.Army’s General Montgomery… Driving the vehicle is a Corps of
Military Police sergeant.
Just 999 of this great Churchill set are
being produced and it is sure to be popular not only with toy soldier
collectors but also “Churchilliana” enthusiasts!
On parade for the Prime Ministers’
inspection are the following…
EA032 “Saluting Scottish
An officer of the Gordon
Highlanders, swagger stick under one arm, salutes Churchill.
EA033 “Gordon Highlander Presenting Arms”
EA034 “Saluting Gurkha
EA035 “Gurkha Rifleman
Standing at Attention”
EA036 “Sikh Regiment Marching
EA037 “Sikh Rifleman Marching”
EA038 “Coldstream Guards Sergeant”
Special
Divisional Note:
Our new Pipes
& Drums and Gordon Highlanders are from the famous 51st. Highland Division.
K&C’s Gurkhas and Sikhs are from the 4th. Indian
Division.
And our
Guardsmen are from the Guards Brigade of the 78th. Division.
AVAILABILITY:
Mid April!
2. SO, WHAT’S COMING IN MAY
In 1933, Adolf
Hitler purchased a simple Alpine cottage in the Obersalzberg
in
During that time
the Berghof evolved to become the Fuhrer’s
Southern headquarters of the Third Reich, second only to
Here, for the first
time, is an important addition to the “
Although
often ill-at-ease with people Hitler, a life-long vegetarian, genuinely loved
animals… especially dogs.
Here, he wears his simple field g
By his side is his
faithful German Shepherd… “Blondi”…
Together they would die in his
The majority of the
Fuhrer’s staff at the Berghof were
drawn from his own personal SS bodyguard regiment “Leibstandarte Adolf
Hitler”.
This little set
comprises three of his SS waiters… one carrying the Fuhrer’s favourite chocolate cake… another pouring coffee… and the
third overseeing the other two.
All three are
dressed in white mess jackets with black trousers.
Utilizing actual
photos of the Berghof in its heyday K&C has
replicated in miniature the tables and chairs seen on the patio of the Berghof in countless photos.
This set comprises
one table and four chairs.
Again using
photographic evidence of the real building taken before its destruction after
the Second World War K&C has reconstructed this two-piece miniature to port
The front of the Berghof was dominated by a massive picture window
facing onto some of the most beautiful vistas of the nearby mountains.
Built in a typical
Alpine chalet style our model sits on a spacious patio area that can easily
accommodate tables, chairs and any number of standing and sitting figures.
Each two-piece
polystone, hand-painted set comes in its own very distinctive box.
Dimensions are as
follows:
The
The Berghof Patio:
AVAILABILITY: Early May
Last month we
introduced our new “
Just
as British troops had adapted their uniforms… their equipment… and their
tactics since 1914 so had their Imperial German Army opponents.
By 1917 the typical
German “Soldaten” was wearing the by now
famous “coal-scuttle” steel helmet and a much simpler, more practical
uniform. Many had even adopted the cloth leggings called “puttees” from
the British troops in preference to their own traditional jackboots.
Their fighting
skills however were just as deadly and efficient as before perhaps even
improved by three hard years of battlefield experience.
These new K&C
First World War Germans are determined to put up a fierce fight even as their
British opponents approach their front-line trenches…
Mauser Pistol in hand this officer is frantically
calling for reinforcements!
Two
man-set complete with plenty of “potato-mashers”.
As the gunner aims
his Maxim ’08 Machine Gun his “number-two” brings up extra ammo.
FW053 “Kneeling Firing Rifleman”
FW055 “Standing with Rifle & Bayonet”
FW056 “Sniper”
FW057 “
Three “coal-scuttle”
German artillerymen prepare to fire their field gun at the advancing enemy.
Note the splinter camouflage paint scheme.
FW058 “
An
alternative 1914 version of the 77 field gun with an early-war 3-man crew to
match.
FW059 “Artillery
A great add-on
figure to command the early-war field gun set.
AVAILABILITY: Mid May
As usual, no
“DISPATCHES” is complete without the latest “Streets of Old
HK174 “Sampan Set #
HK175 “Sampan Set #
Always useful in
any scene!
3. BEING RETIRED THIS MONTH…
Quite a large batch
of goodies on this month’s retired list… and maybe a couple of surprises… Check
them out…
AK027 “
AK038 “Stug III Assault
Gun (Afrika Korps Version)”
FJ001-07 “FJ MG34 Machine Gun Team”
FJ002-07 “FJ Mortar Team”
FJ003-07 “Weapons Container”
FJ005-07 “Returning Fire”
FJ006-07 “Prisoner & Escort”
FJ007-07 “Anti-tank Gun Set”
FJ008-07 “FJ Motorcycle Combo”
FJ009-07 “FJ Dispatch Rider”
FoB022 “Walking Rifleman w/ Helmet”
FoB023 “Pointing Sergeant Major”
FoB031 “The French 75 Gun Set”
“
LAH042 “LAH Headquarter”
LAH043 “LAH Annex”
LAH055 “Motorcycle Escort”
MG014 “Kneeling w/ Umbrella”
MK003 “Foot Knight w/Sword & Crucifix”
MK006 “Foot Soldier w/Spear & Shield”
MK013 “Crossbowman Firing”
MK014 “Knight Fighting w/Axe & Shield”
MK016 “Fighting Bishop”
MK040 “Saracen Casualty”
NA064 “Guard Artillery Set”
NA065 “Artillery
NA066 “Artillery
And that, as I
usually say, is that… I hope you find something you were looking for and
something else to look forward to…
Many thanks again for your continued
support…and loyalty!
Andy C. Neilson
Co-founder & Creative Director
King & Country