Dear Partners,
Having
just returned from Australia after my 14 day ‘OzTour’ I
would like to thank all those very special Aussie dealers, collectors and
friends who made the visit so enjoyable, so interesting… and
so inspiring!
As I’ve said oft times
before it’s not just a case of me only talking about K&C but a great
opportunity for me to discuss all aspects of the hobby in general and King
& Country in particular… past, present and future.
Emails and the internet
are very useful tools with which to interact with our collectors and dealers
but the opportunity to actually sit down and meet up
face-to-face and often on a one-to-one basis is invaluable to myself and
K&C.
This last visit began in Brisbane and
then went on to Sydney followed
by Adelaide and
finally ended up in Melbourne.
In each city I spent whole
days and sometimes quite a few very late nights discussing new ideas and fresh
approaches to this great hobby of ours as well as analyzing and looking into a
raft of exciting new ideas and suggestions for both existing K&C series and
some new, very original future ranges.
While in Australia after
each long and enjoyable day I would go over my notes from all the
meetings. I would also look through some of the many books and magazines
that I had bought or been given by both dealers and collectors to see what
visual references might be useful in the future development.
After all that I would try
and get some ‘shut-eye’
while already looking forward to the next day and the next ‘meet
‘n’ greet’.
For many years Australia
has been one of my all-time favourite
destinations… The people are funny, friendly and full of good humour. The land itself is simply spectacular with
echoes of Texas and California but still uniquely Aussie.
Its great cities, Brisbane,
Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne are a dynamic
blend of the old and new mixing the best of traditional British mid 19th century
colonial architecture with the ultra modern 21st century international buildings that reach far into the
vast Australian sky.
As you can tell I’m a big
fan of this very big country and the people from all sorts of
backgrounds and ethnicities that live in it. I can’t wait to go back!
Meanwhile back at the ranch… here’s
a little ‘heads-up’
on our August releases…
DRACULA was
originally a novel by Irish author, Bram
Stoker, published in 1897. It tells the tale of a Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula who is
a vampire with
a fondness for the blood of young virgins.
The story
of Dracula has
been the basis for numerous films and plays with Bram Stoker himself
writing the first stage adaptation which was presented in London a few months
after his novel was published.
The first
film to feature Count
Dracula was a Hungarian silent film ‘The Death of Dracula’
released in 1921. More international fame came to the vampiric count with
the 1931 Hollywood version of ‘Dracula’ starring Bela Lugosi which
prompted several more sequels during the 1930s and ‘40s.
In 1958
the British movie company ‘Hammer
Films’ added to the Dracula Legacy with
their own interpretation starring Christopher
Lee which built upon the earlier Hollywood movies
and their visual style but with the bold addition of full colour
and gallons of fresh, fake and very red blood!
Lee’s portrayal
was overtly sexual and paid prominent attention to his vampire fangs, the
delicious necks of his female victims and their heaving bosoms atop their
low-cut nightgowns and dresses.
Christopher Lee continued throughout the 1960s
and ‘70s to occasionally portray the count and his appearance and costume has
been part of the inspiration for this new K&C Horror Stories figure alongwith a nod or two in the direction of the great Bela
Lugosi who brought the count to the silver screen decades
before.
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HS001 "Count Dracula" About
to do what Dracula does best and make an impression on a helpless but very
attractive female victim. On the
other hand he might just be leaving for a night at
the opera. If so however, he really should wipe the fresh blood off his
wickedly long fangs! |
AVAILABILITY: Early August
2. "Death
On The Nile"
While
researching more ideas for K&C’s mini ‘Ancient
Egyptian’ series that updates the range to the discovery
of the boy King Tutankhamun’s burial site in 1922 I
remembered the 1978 British murder mystery film “Death
On The Nile”.
Based on Agatha Christie’s 1937
novel of the same name the film features the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot played by Peter Ustinov plus
an all-star supporting cast of Maggie
Smith, Bette Davis and David
Niven among others.
Although the
original book and film takes place in 1937 it featured many famous Ancient
Egyptian sites with the actors and actresses wearing very similar styles and
fashions to those characters K&C has already presented in ‘The Discovery of Tutankhamun’
mini range.
Many
still photographs from the 1978 movie were used as style references for these
three new figures.
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AE104 "Mrs. Ariadne Oliver" Ariadne
Oliver is a fictional character who often assists Hercule
Poirot in his cases through her knowledge of the criminal mind. She
frequently claims to use ‘female intuition’ with decidedly mixed results… Although
Ariadne Oliver is usually referred to as ‘Mrs.’ nothing is known about any
husband. Agatha
Christie herself said that the character of Ariadne Oliver does bear a strong
resemblance to her own character and she wishes that she could also have had
some of Ariadne’s independent spirit and sense of adventure. |
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AE107 "Miss Bowers" In the
1978 film, Dame Maggie Smith played the tall, chain -smoking and rather
masculine figure of ‘Miss Bowers’. Here
she is wearing a rather heavy, for Egypt, tweed tartan skirt together with a
matching grey jacket and waistcoat and a pair of very sensible brown and
white walking shoes. |
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AE108 "Colonel Niven" Agatha
Christie’s Hercule Poirot’s best-known ‘sidekick’
was a retired British Army officer, Captain Hastings who was, more or less, a direct descendant of Sherlock Holmes’
Dr. Watson. For
Poirot, Hastings was a lifelong friend, confidant and chronicler and features
in at least 8 of the Poirot novels. In the
1978 film, for some reason, there was a name change and the ‘Hastings’
character was promoted to a full ‘Colonel’ and given the new name of ‘Race’. As such
he was portrayed by the legendary British actor, David Niven. David
Niven (1910-1983) was a British actor, soldier and author who joined the
British Army as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Highland Light Infantry in 1929 and
then resigned his commission in 1933 before ending up in Hollywood in 1935
after many adventures. By the
late 1930s he had costarred with Errol Flynn in such epics as ‘The Charge of
The Light-Brigade’ and ‘Dawn Patrol’. The day
after Britain declared on Germany in 1939 he
rejoined the British Army eventually rising to Lieutenant Colonel. During the
war in addition to his military duties he also took part in various liaison
roles with the American forces as well as starring in two wartime films ‘The
First of The Few’ (1942) about the development of the Spitfire and ‘The Way
Ahead’ (1944) the story of a young Army Lieutenant and his platoon from basic
training into battle. After
the war Niven returned to Hollywood starring in a wide variety of movies.
Among his best were... ‘Around The World In 80 Days’…
‘The Guns of Navarone’… ’55 Days At
Peking’… and ‘The Pink Panther’ series. In
addition to all of that he became a well-respected and best-selling writer
with his chronicles of his very eventful life and the golden age of
Hollywood. ‘The Moon’s A Balloon’ and ‘Bring On The
Empty Horses’. As a
tribute to this fine actor, brave soldier and a terrific writer K&C has
altered the character’s name in the 1978 film from ‘Colonel Rice’ to ‘Colonel
Niven’. Always debonair… frequently entertaining… and forever the true, blue
British officer and gentleman. |
AVAILABILITY: Early August
A short time ago K&C
introduced our latest ‘Battle
of The Bulge’ GIs to add on to the 2022
release.
As we did this we realized that the German side of this epic winter
battle required a few, much-needed reinforcements to provide some extra
firepower for the attacking Wehrmacht and Waffen SS units advancing
towards the American lines. And
here they are…
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BBG125 "MG34 Machine Gun Team Set" Led by a junior NCO
(non-commissioned officer) clutching his MP40 ‘Schmeisser’ machine pistol one
Waffen SS machine gunner shoulders his MG34 and carries an additional
ammunition box of belt-fed ammo for the gun. Backing him up is another SS
panzer grenadier armed with the Gewehr ’43 rifle. All three Waffen SS soldiers are
wearing a combination ‘mixed rig’
of field grey and camouflage jackets and trousers. Note also their warm,
woolen gloves, headscarves and snow-frosted appearance. |
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BBG126 "The Squad Leader" A solo figure walking along a
track almost nonchalantly smoking a cigarette while carrying his machine
pistol in one hand. Usually this role would make him a sergeant or the Waffen
SS equivalent. |
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BBG127 "MG42 Gun Team Set" This 2-man set of Panzer Grenadiers
provides additional fire support with the superb Machinegewehr
42 better known as the MG42. Entering production in 1942 it
was to supplement and eventually replace the earlier MG34. The gun itself was
noted for its very high rate of fire and battlefield reliability. It was also
considerably cheaper to produce than the older MG34 and easier to
manufacture. While our gunner carries the
weapon on its holding strap his ‘number two’ shoulders a ‘Panzerfaust’ rocket and extra ammo. This ‘number
two’ also has his rifle slung across his back as he
moves forward. |
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BBG128 "The Combat Photographer" All of the warring nations that fought
in WW2 had their own combat journalists and photographers. Germany was no
exception… Each individual branch of the fighting
services had their dedicated journalists who would follow and record the
exploits of the various units, divisions and armies. Many of these journalists were
also skilled photographers and captured many important images that
illustrated the war and also the victors and the
vanquished. Here, this kneeling reporter
from the Waffen SS weekly “Das Schwarze
Korps” (The Black Corps) captures a number of his
comrades making their way alongside a snow-camouflaged
‘Sturmgeschutz Ⅳ Lang’ towards the American
lines. |
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BBG-S02 "The Winter Warriors Value Added Set" Here is a great ‘Special Offer’… If you purchase
all-seven of these winter warriors together with this terrific looking ‘Sturmgeschutz Ⅳ
Lang’ Self Propelled Gun
you can save US$84 (Separate Total: US$683…
Combination Total: US$599) Just 60 of these Special
Combination Set are available. If you want one grab it now! |
AVAILABILITY: Mid August
We previewed this tasty
little 2-man set last month with our ‘Battle of The Bulge’
GIs and here it is available now…
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BBA104 "'Chow Time'" As any serving or veteran
soldier will tell you a good hot meal will warm you up as well as cheer you
up in the most difficult of circumstances. The ‘Battle
of The Bulge’ was a prime example…
Here a waiting-in-line GI leans forward to get a helping of hot beef stew and
vegetables. The kneeling ‘Chef’ makes
sure everyone gets a fair share of this hot chow before they once more return
to their foxholes and dugouts in the frozen fields and forests of the Belgian
Ardennes in December 1944. Note also the big metal pot and
the neat little field cooker. And if it may not be the finest ‘cordon-bleu’ cooking in the world… it sure as hell beats a handful of snow and a cold can of
‘C’ rations! |
AVAILABILITY: Mid-Late August
‘Duce’ is an Italian title,
derived from the Latin word “Dux”
or ‘Leader’. The Fascist Leader, Benito Mussolini was
identified by his followers as ‘IL Duce’
(The Leader of their movement) since
it was formed in 1919. By 1925 the name had become a reference to the
dictatorial position Mussolini held in Italy as the supreme leader of the
entire country.
One of the more curious
aspects of IL Duce’s rule
was his love of different uniforms.
This ‘2nd Generation’ depiction of the great leader shows him in a handsome pearl
grey version of his favourite uniform complete with
black shirt and tie and black gloss riding boots.
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IF045 "'Il Duce'" Standing firmly to attention the
Fascist Leader, raises his right arm in the classic ‘Roman
Salute’. |
AVAILABILITY: Mid-Late August
Every army depends on regular
supplies of weapons and ammunition and during the Vietnam War all kinds of
large and medium sized wooden boxes and crates were used to transport all types
of weapons and munitions between supply bases in the rear to firebases and
outposts at the front.
Here are a couple of very
useful battlefield accessories in two colour
variations.
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VN161 "Wooden Ammunition & Weapons Crates (Natural
Wood Colour)" The first release is in ‘Natural Wood Colour’ and will look great on any firebase or stacked on board
one of our new M35A2 Trucks. |
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VN185 "Wooden Ammunition & Weapons Crates (Olive
Drab Colour)" This second variation is in
Olive Drab finish and can also be used in a wide variety of military
situations, locations and all modes of transport. |
AVAILABILITY: Mid-Late August
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RTA094 "The Davy Crockett Set" Out
of ammunition, the famous Frontiersman swings the butt of his rifle and
knocks down two of the enemy infantry...their
discarded muskets are included. |
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RTA095 "The Duellists"
The Alamo’s commander, Colonel William C. Travis died
on the perimeter wall of the little mission...Some say he was shot others
that he fought with his sabre against a Mexican Officer before being
bayonetted himself. |
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RTA096 ""The Riflemen"" Two
of the defenders making every shot count in the doomed battle... |
On that cheerful
note best wishes to one and all and, as ever...
Andy C. Neilson
Co-founder & Creative
Director
King & Country