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DISPATCHES April
2019 Hi Guys, They do
say as you get older time passes faster so it must be true... Can’t really
believe it’s April already! So without further ado
let’s see what K&C has in store for your this particular month... 1.
BEING
RELEASED THIS MONTH... A. MEDIEVAL MAYHEM REIGNS! We are
beginning this month’s ‘DISPATCHES’ with some long-awaited and much-requested
foot soldiers that fought all across Europe and into
the Middle East at the time of the Crusades... Knight Hospitaller Men-At-Arms. Unlike
their occasional rivals The Templars, the Order of St. John of
the Hospital of Jerusalem (or simply the Hospitallers) was not created as a result of the First
Crusade in 1099. Instead it was previously established by a consortium
of Italian merchants and noblemen from Amalfi in the mid 11th Century. Thanks to the
financial support of this group volunteers and mercenaries came from all over
Italy and beyond to join the order, which had already received the Papal
blessing and set up its headquarters and training facility near Amalfi before
leaving for The Holy Land. As
a consequence of
the crusading movement ‘Hospitallers’ became
recognized as one of the best disciplined and best-led of all the Crusader
armies. On the
battlefield their principal colours were ‘black’
and ‘blood red’. This new release shows a range of Hospitaller Men-At-Arms in action wearing a
variety of blood-red tunics and even some partially-red steel helmets. MK179 ‘Hospitaller
Sergeant-At-Arms’ Moving into the attack, sword and
shield in hand, this soldier fears no man! MK181 ‘Hospitaller
Casualty’ MK182 ‘Wounded Hospitaller’ Clutching
his ‘sword arm’ this Man-At-Arms is still prepared to fight. MK185 ‘Hospitaller
Crossbowman Ready’ Virtually
all of the ‘Hospitaller
Crossbowmen’ were either French or Italian in origin. Both
countries specialized in this weapon and favoured
it over the more traditional long-bow. MK186 ‘Hospitaller
Crossbowman Firing’ Aim...
Fire... Reload!
A skilled Crossbowman could load and fire as many as six bolts a minute if
required.
MK187 ‘Hospitaller
Crossbowman Shouting’ As his
crossbow comrades maintain a steady fire on the enemy this senior crossbowman
shouts an order over the din of battle. MK-S02 ‘The Value
Added Package’ When a
collector (or K&C dealer) buys ALL SIX of these great
figures we like to ‘reward’ them with a special price... Grab ‘em while you can! MK184 ‘Sir William Wallace’ Most
medieval collectors are more than familiar with the Mel Gibson movie “Braveheart”, the semi fictional
exploits of one of Scotland’s greatest heroes. The
real Sir William Wallace was a far cry from the cinematic
version... He never painted half his face blue and he never wore
a kilt either! Wallace
was a lowlander from a small town called Elderslie,
near Glasgow not far from where yours truly was born. In
battle Wallace was garbed in much the same contemporary military fashion as his
enemies led by Edward I of England. He was a Scottish knight of
Norman background who became one of the main leaders during the First
Scottish War of Independence (1296-1328). His
‘finest hour’ came in September 1297 when he led his vastly outnumbered
Scottish Army and defeated a much-larger English force of 3,000 mounted
knights and about 10,000 foot soldiers at the Battle
of Stirling Bridge. Our
K&C ‘Wallace’ is dressed in chainmail with a surcoat
bearing the saltire St. Andrew’s Cross of Scotland. On his
shield and horse’s coat is a white lion rampant on a red
background... part of his family’s coat-of-arms. In his raised right hand he wields a one-handed ‘Ball & Chain Flail’...
a wooden shaft connected by a chain to a spiked, metal ball... deadly and
dangerous! MK195 ‘Sir Archibald Douglas’ Sir
Archibald (1298-1333) was another Scottish nobleman
and military leader during the struggle for Scotland’s independence. A
son of the Douglas family and a friend of Robert The Bruce (1274-1329)
this brave knight wears the colours and symbols
granted to the Douglas clan after they took the dead king’s heart (as he
had wished) on a crusade to The Holy Land. Our sword-wielding
knight charges into battle ready to strike down the enemy be they English
or Saracen! AVAILABLE:
Mid April B.
AND
NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT... WoD061
‘Professor James Moriarty’ Professor
Moriarty is a
fictional character in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories
written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Moriarty is a criminal
mastermind of the first order, described by Holmes himself as the ‘Napoleon
of crime’. Based on the nefarious activities of an actual,
late-Victorian criminal Conan Doyle introduced ‘Moriarty’ initially to
‘kill-off’ his most famous creation. However,
much as he wanted to eliminate Holmes he also
discovered that his readership very much appreciated the appearance of this
dastardly evil opponent to the world’s most brilliant detective. Over the
years as Sherlock Holmes popularity grew so too did Professor
James Moriarty’s appearances multiply in other books, films
and television series. Wherever
you find Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson... Professor Moriarty is sure to
follow. Here
then is K&C’s interpretation... We see a tall, elegant, saturnine figure,
black cane in one hand while his other hand is behind his back... In that
hand he holds a deadly revolver. Well,
we told you he was dangerous... and devious! AVAILABLE:
Mid April C. SPQR From
late-Victorian London to Imperial Rome in one mighty leap... RnB027
“Shouting Centurion” This
Legion officer is certainly mad at someone... whether it’s an unfortunate Legionnaire
or some Barbarian enemy we will leave that decision up to you. AVAILABLE:
Mid April D. THE AGE OF WELLINGTON Four ‘Napoleonic’
mounted figures... and none of them French! NA426
“The Duke of Wellington” Arthur
Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and
Tory statesman who was one of the leading military
and political figures of the first half of the 19th Century. His
victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815
puts him in the first rank of British military heroes. After serving in India
he rose to prominence during the Peninsular Campaign of the Napoleonic
Wars. Following Bonaparte’s exile to Elba in 1814 he became Britain’s
ambassador to France and was granted a ‘Dukedom’. During
the Hundred Days Campaign of 1815 he commanded the Allied Armies which
finally defeated the French emperor at Waterloo. Wellington’s
battle record is second-to-none... he took part in and often successfully won
some 60 military battles during the course of his
long military career. After
leaving the army he entered politics and was elected twice as Britain’s Prime
Minister. Our
K&C figure portrays him wearing just one of his many ceremonial uniforms
from the period 1812-1815. NA428
“KGL Light Dragoon Charging” The
first of three additional King’s German Legion Light Dragoons to join
the first four which we brought out last month. This particular Light Dragoon is galloping into battle with his
sabre held downwards in his right hand. NA432
“KGL Light Dragoon w/Carbine” The
second Light Dragoon brings his cavalry carbine to the fore as he charges the
enemy. All dragoons carried a carbine in addition to their sabre and a brace
of pistols. NA433
“KGL Trumpeter” An
essential member of any troop of cavalry... and always mounted on a white
horse so he could be easily visible to his commanding officer in any charge,
skirmish or patrol. AVAILABLE:
Mid-Late April E. “GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!” Once
more K&C returns to the city of HUE during the TET Offensive of February
1968... VN047
“Sitting & Waiting” As any
combat veteran will tell you battle often means sitting and waiting for
something to happen 90% of the time... And then being terrified out of
your mind the remaining 10%! This
Marine is taking a break while he can. VN048
“Don McCullin, Combat Photojournalist” Briton Don
McCullin is widely regarded as one of the
greatest photographers of his generation. During the Vietnam War he made
multiple visits to that country and took some of the most dramatic and
memorable images ever shot of that terrible war. In
February 1968, he found himself embedded with the U.S. Marines in Hue during
TET when they were attempting to retake the city from the Viet Cong and North
Vietnamese forces. Many of his photos of that time have inspired more
than a few of the figures in our K&C’s ‘Vietnam’ series. This
figure of Don McCullin is based on an actual
photo of him taken by fellow photojournalist Nik Wheeler in Hue during
the battle. VN054
“Mother & Child” In most
conflicts it’s the poor bloody civilians who get caught in the middle! Here,
a Vietnamese mother carries her child to safety as the bullets and bombs fly
all around them. VN055
“Hearts & Minds” #1 Even in the midst of battle a Marine kneels down to bandage the
leg of a young Vietnamese girl after she has been injured by a piece of
shrapnel. AVAILABLE:
Mid-Late April F. A DIFFERENT WAR... A
DIFFERENCE PLACE After
K&C released the ‘Mussolini Rescue’ set a few months back quite a
few collectors suggested adding some extra ‘Fallschirmjagers’...
Here’s two more. LW067
“Standing Fallschirmjager” Wearing the
tropical FJ uniform and carrying the revolutionary FG42 assault rifle
this German paratrooper waits for further orders. LW068
“Giving The Signal” A
standing Fallschirmjager NCO (non commissioned officer) blows his whistle
to bring together all his men now that their mission is complete. AVAILABLE:
Mid-Late April G. KING & COUNTRY
KINGSIZE #1 Welcome
to the first of what I hope will be a small, select series of some very large
and exciting releases of important military vehicles. DD318
“The Diamond T Tank Transporter Set” In
August 1940, just a short time after the Fall of France and the evacuation of
the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk, a small group of men, the British
Purchasing Commission, arrived in America to seek out all kinds of military
hardware and transport for the much depleted British
forces. Among
their most urgent requirements was the need for ‘Tank Transporters’,
those special vehicles urgently needed to move tanks to and from the
battlefield and help recover damaged fighting vehicles and return them to
their repair depots behind the front lines. One of
the BPC’s first visits was to the Diamond T & Company of Chicago
who had been developing a heavy truck / tractor and trailer for the U.S.
Army. The British immediately recognized that this could fulfill their tank
transporter needs. An order for 200 of these very special combinations
was placed immediately and so began... The Diamond T at war! The
M19 Tank Transporter was
a heavy tank transporter system used during WW2 and for many years
afterwards. It comprised a 12-ton, 6x4 M20 Diamond T Model 980
truck / tractor and a companion 12-wheel M9 trailer. Almost 6,000
of these combinations were produced between 1941 and 1945 and
supplied to all Allied armies fighting in all the main theatres of war. The
British Army alone received over 1,000 of these vehicles and they remained in
front-line service until the late 1950’s with the last of the breed being
retired to an army museum in 1971! This
King & Country model is the largest, mixed-media (polystone, white metal and resin)
model K&C has ever produced. It measures almost 24”
(61cm) in length and is in the markings of a typical U.S. Army
vehicle from the time of Normandy (June ’44) until May 1945. A
driver is included. The
model comes in its own specially-designed box and contains a 4 page, full colour leaflet
complete with photographs and background information. If you
collect Allied armour then the Diamond T Tank
Transporter is destined to become one of the centerpieces of your
collection. Please
Note: A
‘Desert’ Diamond T version is already in development. SPECIAL
NOTE: In
addition to DD318 set itself K&C are also providing several ‘Value
Added Package’ options... DD318-S01
This great set
brings together DD318 Diamond T with DD104 (SL) M26 Recovery
Vehicle. DD318-S02
This set
combines DD318 with DD189 The Valentine MKⅢ tank. DD318-S03
A combination of
DD318 and KnC01 The Normandy Sherman. DD318-S04
A final combo of
DD318 plus WS197 Sd. Kfz. 234/1 Schwerer Panzerspahwagen AVAILABLE:
Late April 2.
BEING
RETIRED... AG028
Hoplite Officer w/ Sword DD249
Drinking B.A.R. Gunner FoB112
Standing Armoured Car Crewman LAH183
SA Chief Ernst Rohm LAH218
Der Fuhrer on inspection LAH228X “Sturmabteilung Minder” (Liaison Officer) RTA033A
James Butler Bonham, SC (w/1824 Republic Flag) WS327
The Apple Thief WS331
The Threat! And that, my friends, is that for
just one more month. Best wishes and happy collecting! Andy C. Neilson Co-founder & Creative
Director King & Country Ltd. |