DISPATCHES
January 2021
Dear
Partners,
Well goodbye
and good riddance to 2020 and welcome to 2021... Surely this New Year has to be better than this past one!
On the plus side
of things this last twelve months has seen a major growth in online sales from
many of our K&C Authorized Dealers and from private collectors all over the
world.
So, although
I’ve not been overseas since last February and precious few visitors have come
into Hong Kong we’re still alive and kicking and, at
the end of the day, it sure as hell beats the alternative...
Anyway, let’s
get down to business... Here’s what’s coming this month.
1. APPEARING
IN JANUARY
A. ‘Rebels
On Horseback’
Fighting a
battle is difficult enough but to fight it from a ‘moving platform’ in
the shape of a horse is double the difficulty.
When the
American Civil War began the Confederacy was fortunate in being a collection of
largely rural and agricultural states.
Many of the
men who flocked to join the new cavalry regiments being raised were natural
horsemen who often brought their own mounts with them.
In addition,
the vast majority enjoyed ‘hunting and shooting’ as pastimes and were
expert shots.
The 29th
Texas Cavalry were typical of the kind of regiment these men joined.
Here we see five of them, including an officer, in ‘skirmishing order’...
CW108 ‘The
Confederate Cavalry Officer’
Wearing a ‘Canary
Yellow’ kepi and brandishing his ‘Navy Colt’ revolver this officer is
wearing a privately-purchased uniform set of ‘Confederate
Grey’ shell jacket and yellow-striped riding breeches and long,
over-the-knee black leather boots.
Many of the
officers of the South’s cavalry regiments came from the local farming gentry
and plantation owning community.
CW109 ‘Confederate
Cavalry Sergeant Firing Carbine’
The
Confederacy employed a wide range of Cavalry Carbines. Among the most readily
available were the Burnside M1855 carbine... the Sharps carbine
and... the P56 Enfield carbine.
Our sergeant is
firing his Sharps model.
CW110 ‘Confederate
Cavalry Corporal Holding Carbine’
Mounted on a
coal-black mare this Corporal moves himself and his horse into a better firing
position.
CW111 ‘Confederate
Cavalry Trooper Loading Carbine’
After firing a round this trooper reaches back into his pouch for
additional ammunition.
CW112 ‘Confederate
Cavalry Trooper Aiming Carbine’
This particular trooper is resting his carbine on his left arm to
‘steady his aim’.
AVAILABLE:
Early January
B. ‘AT
THE AIRFIELD’
As two young
fighter pilots enjoy for a few rare moments of relaxation during the Battle
of Britain another RAF figure prepares to go on duty protecting the
airfield itself.
RAF084 ‘Playing
Drafts / Checkers’
Two RAF
fighter pilots, during the ‘Battle of Britain’, sit down to enjoy the
classic board game as their aircraft are rearmed and refueled before going back
into the air to help defeat the might of Goering’s Luftwaffe.
RAF086 ‘RAF
Police Dog Handler Set’
It was during
WW2 that Dogs and their Handlers were first introduced into the security
details guarding all Royal Air Force airfields and other secure installations.
Ever since RAF
Police Dog Handlers and their animals have provided high levels of security
in the UK and across the world for all RAF airfields.
AVAILABLE:
Early January
C. ‘TIME
FOR TEA’
Tea and China
seem to go well together and this colourful little
set proves it...
HK295 ‘The
Chinese Ladies ‘Tea Set’
Three
well-dressed, upper-crust Hong Kong ladies enjoy a cup of ‘Yam Cha’
(tea) as they pass the time of day gossiping about their friends,
husbands and... the local stock market!
AVAILABLE:
Early January
D. ‘THE
RETURN OF THE EMPIRE’
During the
time when ‘the sun never set’ on the British Empire few of the world’s
armies could have equalled the sight and splendor of
Queen Victoria’s ‘Indian Army’.
And in that
army the Cavalry were the most splendid and colourful
of all... especially in their dress uniforms.
Possible the most colourful
and certainly one of the most famous mounted regiments was ‘Skinner’s
Horse’ (The 1st Duke of York’s Own Cavalry).
The regiment
was founded by James Skinner, the son of a Scotsman and the daughter of
a Rajput landowner who after many adventures formed a new regiment called ‘Capt.
Skinner’s Corps of Irregular Horse’ which eventually was abbreviated to
simply ‘Skinner’s Horse’.
Today ‘Skinner’s
Horse’ is the premier cavalry regiment in the modern Indian Army and
follows the proud traditions of the same regiment that served the British
before independence.
Even its
modern full dress uniforms are an accurate
representation of the original ‘parade’ uniform worn during the time of
British rule.
The ‘yellow’ colour of the long ‘kurta’ – style jacket was and is
worn with the striped turban and dark blue cummerbund by all ranks.
When K&C
first introduced our ‘Sons of the Empire’ series in 2009 it was
always our intention to add some more dismounted figure to the ‘Skinner’s
Horse’ collection and here they finally are...
SOE032 ‘Skinner’s
Horse Havildar’
In the
British Indian Army a ‘Havildar’ was and
still is the equivalent of a senior non commissioned
officer, usually a sergeant of many years experience.
SOE033 ‘Skinner’s
Horse Sowar(Lancer)’
This rank
came into use with the British Indian Army during the early 19th
Century and refers to a ‘horse-soldier’ belonging to the cavalry in this
particular case a ‘Lancer’.
SOE034 ‘Skinner’s
Horse British Officer’
British
officers serving in ‘Skinner’s Horse’ had a choice of TWO dress
uniforms. They could wear the Indian-style, complete with turban and
other Indian dress accoutrements or they could opt for the more traditional
European-style ‘Lancer’ dress uniform in the regimental colours.
This officer
has decided on the ‘European’ option. Some wealthy officers however had
both.
AVAILABLE:
Mid January
E. ‘THE
BEST 4 BY 4 BY FAR!’
At long last,
here is the first of our two Australian Army, Series II, Land Rovers
in service in South Vietnam during the war... The Military Police version.
Alongside and
accompanying this great looking military vehicle model are a selection of really useful Australian, American and South
Vietnamese soldiers that work well with the Land Rover and any roadside
scenario...
VN092 ‘Australian
Military Police’
Today’s Royal
Australian Corps of Military Police is a corps within the regular
Australian Army.
Originally
known as the Australian Army Provost Corps it began in WW1 and was then
(and today) responsible for traffic control, security duties, prisoner
handling, investigation of service offences, maintenance of discipline and
running military prisons.
It was
granted the ‘Royal’ prefix in 1948 and adopted its current name in 1974.
During the
Vietnam War it was an integral part of the Australian deployment with the first
Aussie MP’s arriving in Saigon in mid 1965.
Eventually
they operated in and around three separate ares, Vung Tau... Nui Dat... and Saigon of
course.
Among their
many duties were:
Armed
Convoy Escort
Collection
and Guarding Enemy Prisoners
Mobile
Patrols and Road Surveillance
VIP Escorts
TAOR
(Tactical Area of Responsibility) patrols checking base perimeter defences and strong points
and
Manning
and Operating Road Check Points
Our two ‘Digger
MP’s’ are doing just that... As the senior NCO stops traffic, his #2 covers
him and the approaches to the check point with his M16.
The little ‘Check
Point’ sign is also included.
VN097 ‘The
Australian Military Police Land Rover’
This
outstanding short wheel base, series II Land Rover
is typical of the many Land Rovers that saw service in Vietnam.
Designed in
the aftermath of World War Two the British-designed, four-wheel drive, 1/4 ton Land Rover incorporates many of the Australian-made
improvements to their vehicles including an additional fuel tank and the
reinforced front metal guard.
This K&C
model also comes with a seated Military Police driver and a fully-fitted, canvas cover.
VN098 ‘The
ARVN Military Policeman’
The ‘Quan
Canh’ (military police) guarded army
headquarters, government buildings and prisoner-of-war camps, escorted convoys
and performed other typical military police duties... similar
to their Autralian and U.S. counterparts.
He is shown
with his steel helmet painted gloss black with red and white stripes and ‘QC’
on the front.
A black
armband with the same letters and a white braided whistle-cord round his right
shoulder can also be seen.
His pistol
belt supports a black holster containing the ‘M1911’ .45 cal. pistol
and a pair of handcuffs.
He wears
standard US Army, but locally-made OD fatigues and
black-shined boots.
QC’s would
often accompany U.S. and Australian Military Police to act as interpreters with
the local people.
VN100 ‘US
Marine ‘Road-Sweeper’ Set’
During the
Vietnam War not all transport between different bases was provided by helicopters,
it was essential to use roads and tracks between locations and keep them
securely open for all kinds of vehicles (military and civilian) and
people.
That meant
keeping hundreds of teams of soldiers out on the roads checking them regularly
for mines and booby-traps set by both the local Viet Cong and their North
Vietnamese comrades.
Here two U.S.
Marines are carefully checking a suspicious patch of ground which the U.S.
Army P-158 Mine Detector has alerted them to.
As the
kneeling ‘Grunt’ gently prods the ground with his M16 bayonet his buddy
carrying both of their M16’s looks on.
VN101 ‘Aussie
Mine Clearing Set’
It wasn’t
only the Americans who were on the lookout for mines, unexploded ordnance or
I.E.D’s (Improvised Explosive Devices)...
The Australians were also conducting Mine-Sweeping operations.
As one
Australian operates his U.S. made P-158 Mine Detector his ‘body-guard’
follows on carrying an M16.
AVAILABLE:
Mid January
F. ‘MARCHING
INTO TROUBLE’
The
Sturmabteilung (SA
for short) was
the Nazi Party’s original ‘stormtroopers’ and played a significant part
in Hitler’s rise to power in the 1920’s and early 1930’s.
Among their
many purposes were providing protection for Nazi leaders and their party
rallies and assemblies.
In addition they also disrupted the meetings of their political
opponents and this often led to violent confrontations on the street and other
public places.
Another of
their main functions was to intimidate and influence the German public at large
by holding mass marches and parades in virtually every city, town and village
throughout Germany. Wherever you lived or visited during those tumultuous years
of the Nazis dramatic growth and development it was impossible to ignore alongwith the constant SA presence and threat.
In the
forefront of any parade or demonstration were the Sturmabteilung’s own
corps of musicians... Sometimes a full military-style band, more often a
smaller self-contained group of drummers, trumpeters and usually led by a drum
major who would announce the presence of the SA detachment.
LAH-S04 ‘The
SA Drum & Trumpet Section’
This compact
7 x figure set contains three side drummers and three trumpeters led
by a bellowing SA Drum Major. All together in their specially – designed
box.
AVAILABLE:
Early January
G. RETURN
OF THE MOUNTED MAJOR
NA475 ‘Gordon
Highlanders Mounted Major’
This is an
alternative version of our first mounted Gordon Highlanders Officer.
Although the officer’s uniform is the same we’ve
provided him with a different coloured horse.
AVAILABLE:
Early January
Finally, we
had hoped to have more releases this month but alas with the problems of covid and being unable to personally go into China
everything takes longer to develop and check... except by internet... which is
useful but still cannot replace the speed and advantages gained by personal
visits and inspections.
Thank you for
your patience and understanding and let’s hope for better times in 2021.
In the meantime here are this month’s ‘Retirals’ and
‘End of the Run Remainders’. Among them are some exceptional
figures and vehicles… at some exceptionally good price points. Grab
‘em while you can.
2. BEING
RETIRED
AK077 Morris CS8 British 15 Cwt. Truck
AK103 Desert Rommel
AK108 Rommel on Inspection
AK109 Rommel’ Aide de Camp
AK118 General Ramcke
AK119 “Attack!” (3x figure Set)
AK120 The Fire Support Team (2-man set)
AK121 Signals Officer
AK122 Kneeling Firing
AK123 Standing Firing
AK126 Standing Ready
AK127 Desert Trench Fighters
AK128 Battlefield Communications
AK129 MG42 Gun Support
AK130 Attacking AK Combat Team
EA081 Lying Prone Bren Gunner
EA104 Tommy Gun Sergeant
EA106 M3 Stuart “Honey” Desert Tank
EA109 General Bernard L.Montgomery
JN013 Aircraft Armourers
JN043 Japanese Soldier Carrying His Bicycle
JN044 Japanese Riding Their Bicycles
LAH166 SA Drum Major
LAH167 S.A. Trumpeter
LAH168 S.A. Drummer
PnM048 Bread and Beer Seller
All the best
and many thanks... Happy Collecting and here’s wishing us all a happy,
healthier 2021.
Andy C. Neilson
Co-founder & Creative Director
King & Country Ltd.