DISPATCHES
February 2022
Hi Guys
and Welcome to February!
By the time
most of you read this I hope I will be in San Antonio for the official opening
of ‘KING & COUNTRY TEXAS’, our great new toy soldier store that can
be found in the beautiful Alamo Heights neighborhood just 5 minutes from
downtown S.A.
So, because
I’ll be in Texas it’s perhaps appropriate that I begin this modest little
collection of February releases with additions that have kind of a ‘Texas’
flavour...
1.
BEING RELEASED THIS MONTH...
A.
‘Before The
Cowboy... There Was The Vaquero’
The
Spanish word ‘Vaquero’ or the Portuguese ‘Vaqueiro’
is literally translated as a ‘horse-mounted livestock herder’ whose
roots go all the way back to the Iberian Peninsula and then some time later to the one-time Spanish colony of Mexico.
The
Vaquero with his skills and practical knowledge of handling and herding
cattle was to become the foundation for the North American cowboy.
His
origins began with the ‘hacienda system’ of ranching in medieval Spain
where several regions possessed a dry climate with sparse grass which meant
large herds of cattle required huge areas of land for grazing.
Because
of the need to cover these great distances it was essential that the ‘herders’ would need to move around on horseback and
able to work with others to gather and protect herds as well as move them from
one location to another.
When
the Spanish came to the Americas and found similar conditions in Mexico and
later Texas it was only natural that they imported their cattle and brought
over many vaqueros to look after them.
Many
of these vaqueros intermarried with the local natives and developed unique
additional skills and knowledge that was passed down from father to son,
generation to generation.
As
the vaqueros moved northward other English-speaking immigrants moved westward,
mixing Anglo and Spanish traditions and teaching each other new ways and more
efficient methods of handling cattle and living and working in the saddle.
By
the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the great Cattle Drives many
experienced ‘vaqueros’ found their services in high demand with the top
trail bosses putting together teams of cowboys to drive the huge herds of Texas
‘Longhorns’ all the way up to the railheads in Kansas and beyond.
CD015 ‘Mounted
Mexican Vaquero’
Turning
in the saddle to survey the herd this proud vaquero is dressed in typical ‘Mexican’
style with the short, embroidered jacket and the close-fitting and studded
trousers (copied from Napoleonic Cavalry overalls).
On
his head he wears a large sombrero and around his neck a colourful
red bandanna.
Behind
him, on his black & white ‘Pinto’, rests a folded native blanket and
around his waist a gunbelt and a holstered a .44
Navy Colt pistol.
CD016
‘Mexican Vaquero w/Winchester’
This
standing Vaquero holds a rope in one hand and a ‘Winchester’ repeating
rifle in the other. This particular vaquero may even
be a ‘Tejano’... A Texas – born cowboy / vaquero of Mexican
parentage. He’s wearing a store-bought work shirt and locally-made leather ‘chaps’,
with of course the large ‘bandanna’ and the very practical sombrero.
CD017
‘Standing Vaquero’
This
dismounted vaquero again has the short ‘Mexican’ – style jacket topped
by a long ‘poncho’ and the ever present sombrero.
AVAILABLE:
Mid February
B.
‘Valley of Tears’
For
some time now collectors of K&C’s ‘Israeli Defence
Force’ range of figures and vehicles have been asking for some serious armoured opposition to go up against our IDF ‘Centurions’
and ‘Super Shermans’.
Well,
here they are... in a pair of Syrian Army T55s that attempted to
recapture the Golan Heights in the desperate, dark days of
October 1973.
As
most collectors know the October Arab-Israeli War of 1973 erupted
on the 6 October 1973 when Egyptian and Syrian forces launched a surprise
two-front assault on Israel in the occupied Sinai Peninsula in
the south and the Israeli-held Golan Heights in the north.
For
the sake of this release we are focusing on the battles that took place on the Golan
Heights where 5 Syrian Armoured
divisions with more than 1500 tanks, mostly the modern
Soviet-built T55As, assaulted two Israeli understrength armoured brigades with just 180 tanks and a
few thousand infantry and artillery as support.
Let
battle commence...
IDF036-1
‘Syrian Army T-55A ‘Main Battle Tank
The
T-55 was a relatively simple and robust tank that did not require a high level
of training or education in its tank crews.
Many
thousands of these vehicles were exported by the Soviets and found their way
into the armour inventories of many ‘third-world
countries’ including Syria.
Once in
Syrian hands, the original Soviet-applied olive drab paint scheme was
over-sprayed with patches of sand and grey camouflage paint before, in some
cases, having Arabic slogans and tank numbers painted on the turret.
IDF036-1 is numbered ‘435’ in
Arab numerals along with the hand-painted exhortation, “Death To Israel”.
The model
itself also includes a Syrian Army tank commander figure.
IDF036-2
‘Syrian Army T-55A’ Main Battle Tank
The second
version of this model, this time with the hull number ‘482’ and
the classic Arabic cry ‘Allahu akbar’ meaning “God Is Great!”.
IDF037 “Syrian Tank Casualties”
This set of
two dead Syrian tankers echoes the unfortunate fate of many of the crews of the
T-55s that raced across the Golan Heights in their hundreds but ground to a
halt as the beleaguered handful of Israeli tanks fought ferociously to hold
onto the Heights themselves and protect all of Northern Israel from a Syrian
onslaught.
AVAILABLE:
Early February
C.
‘Same Area... Different Time’
Almost
two thousand years before in the same biblical land other stories were being
told...
LOJ051 ‘Jesus
& The Blindman’
Wherever
Jesus went during his travels people followed him who were damaged in both mind
and body often they would beg him to heal or help them and many times he did.
Among
those he healed was a blind man to whom he asked, “Do you believe I can make
you see again?” The man answered simply, “Yes Lord”.
Then
Jesus reached out his hands and touched the man’s eyes saying, “What you
believe can happen if you will just keep on believing”
Suddenly,
the man began to see light and colour... then blurs
became real objects and finally he saw Jesus’ face smiling down at him.
“Where
there was darkness, now there was light!”
LOJ052 ‘The
Sceptical Onlooker’
Although
Jesus performed many miracles in his life there were still some among the
community who would doubt his power and message.
Here
is one such ‘doubting Thomas’... probably a local Pharisee.
LOJ053 ‘The
Return of The Prodigal Son’
One
of Jesus’ most memorable stories is that of the ‘Prodigal Son’ who took
his inheritance, left his family, travelled far away, squandered all his money
and then fell into poverty and dire straits.
Eventually,
the son struggled home and begged his father’s forgiveness which the father
gracefully gave before ordering a feast to be prepared to welcome his son’s
return.
When
the father’s eldest son heard of his younger brother’s return and warm welcome he became angry however his parent responded by
saying, “But you are also my son and everything I have belongs to you. Do
you not see? This brother of yours was dead and is now alive. He was lost but
now has been rescued!” The great power of forgiveness.
AVAILABLE:
Mid February
D.
“The Fight For
The Holy Land”
Just
over a thousand years after the birth of Christ, during the second half of the
11th Century, three very different cultures began to move directly
towards a violent confrontation whose echoes still resound in the world today.
Then,
as in modern times, Jerusalem, the city of prophets and the birthplace of these
three major religions was the centre of a mighty
struggle that was to continue for more than two centuries... ‘The
Crusades’
Back
in 2006, King & Country began to introduce some of its most colourful and dramatic figures yet depicting the epic
battles between the Crusading armies of Western Christendom and their rapidly
expanding foes in the Muslim World.
In
the years since 2006 K&C has released a broad range of fighting figures,
both mounted and on foot, that illustrate the different styles of warfare
conducted during ‘The Crusades’ and the various types of soldiers
utilized to fight those battles. Among the most important and valued were the
archers of both armies.
This
latest release adds five more Saracen Archers to the two
already released in distinctive action poses... as well as two of
their victims!
MK223
‘Standing Saracen Archer’
Utilizing
the short, Arab bow, this archer has just ‘Let fly’ his arrow at the
enemy.
MK224
‘Advancing Saracen Archer’
Slightly
crouching as he moves forward this figure has already ‘strung’ his arrow
and is ready to fire.
MK225
‘Saracen Archer About To Fire’
Standing
and observing the enemy as he picks out his target.
MK226
‘Kneeling Saracen Archer’
This
archer has already ‘let loose’ at the enemy.
MK227
‘Wounded Man-At-Arms’
One
of the victims of a Saracen arrow pleads for help.
MK228
‘Dead Crusader Knight’
Struck
by two arrows that have pierced his chain mail protection this particular knight will never rise again!
MK230
‘Saracen Archer Reaching For Another Arrow’
As
he reached back into his quiver for another arrow this position suggests he has
been taking part in high angle, ‘plunging fire’ on the enemy Crusaders.
AVAILABLE:
Early February
E.
“Finally, Onto Vietnam!”
Now,
what would a monthly DISPATCHES be without a little detour to the war-torn
country of South Vietnam in the late 1960’s...
VN135
‘M60 Fire Team’
The
M60 Machine Gun is one of the iconic small arms of the Vietnam War. Known
affectionately or otherwise as “The Pig”, America’s 7.62mm
machine gun provided infantry squads with a powerful ‘base-of-fire’
weapon at a time when every foot soldier in the U.S. Armed Forces was being
re-equipped with the controversial 5.56mm caliber M16 Automatic
Rifle.
Developed
in the late 1940s and into the 1950s the M60 was America’s first real General Purpose Machine Gun. Its design owes a
substantial debt to Nazi Germany’s WW2 belt-fed MG42
machine gun and the revolutionary FG42 Assault Rifle.
Adopted
in 1957, the M60 has been in constant use in a variety of different combat
roles for more than 50 years... and is still in production.
Here
is our US Marine 2-man ‘fire team’, both in the prone position and
laying down fire on an enemy position.
VN146
‘Lying Prone Rifleman’
One additional
‘Grunt’ to help support the ‘Fire Team’ above
AVAILABLE:
Early February
And
that my friends is February for you... Not too many
figures but more than a few interesting ones that I hope find their way into
your favourite collection.
But, before we go... Here is what is being retired this
month...
2.
BEING RETIRED IN FEBRUARY...
AE039
Cleopatra and Her
Handmaidens
AE040
Court Official
DD236
Tank Back-Pack Set
DD287-2
US Paratroopers
Blast Injury (101st)
HK175G
Sampan Set II
(Gloss)
HK175M
Sampan Set II
(Matt)
HK227
Chinese New
Year Blossoms
LW065
Major Hermann Graf
RH021
The Duel
RnB016
Throwing Spear
RnB023
The Sitting
Centurion
RnB029
The Fighting
Boadicea
ROM013
The Marching
Legionary w/ Marius Mule
ROM014
Fighting w/ Sword
(Running Forward)
ROM015
Fighting w/ Sword
(Advancing)
TRW160 “Fallen Buffalo”
Finally,
before I finish... It’s Chinese New Year here in Hong Kong and this year 2022
is the ‘Year of the Tiger’. May all of us at K&C wish all of
you peace, health and happiness in the coming year!
Great Sales!
Andy C. Neilson
Co-founder & Creative Director
King & Country Ltd.