DISPATCHES
June 2018
WELCOME TO
THIS MONTH’S ‘DISPATCHES’ and an apology for appearing a few days later than
usual due to yours truly just getting back to HK from San Antonio and The Texas
Toy Soldier Show.
At the show
itself we previewed in person our latest ‘VIETNAM WAR’ range of U.S. Marines in
combat during the Battle of Hue which took place in the TET Offensive of 1968.
So, perhaps
it’s appropriate that we begin this June’s ‘DISPATCHES’ with two important
little ‘add-ons’ to this new series of dynamic action figures...
1. BEING RELEASED THIS MONTH...
A. “The Battle of Hue continues”
Among the
fighting vehicles the Marines brought with them to support their counter attack
one of the most useful and important was the small, sturdy M274 “Mule”...
VN017 “The U.S.M.C.
M274 “MULE”
The U.S.
Military M274 1/2 Ton, 4x4 Utility Platform Truck was a 4-wheel drive gasoline
– powered truck / tractor type of vehicle that could carry up to half a ton of
weapons, ammunition or supplies with an off –road capability.
First introduced in 1956 it saw plenty of action during the Vietnam
conflict and remained in service until the 1980’s.
As a
completely open and exposed vehicle the M274, better known as “The Mule”,
offered zero protection to the driver and was mainly operated in an infantry
support role as previously stated.
“Mules”
could also be adapted to carry many types of conventional weapon including the
M40 106mm Recoilless Rifle... TOW Anti Tank Missiles
and even both the M60 and .50 Cal. Machine Guns.
Our K&C
model can carry a wounded Marine and a Navy Corpsman or a load of supplies...
The “Mule” itself comes with its driver together with his M16.
VN018
“COMBAT CASUALTY SET”
A seriously
wounded Marine lies unconscious as a Navy Corpsman does his best to keep him
alive and shelter his body from enemy fire... an M16 lies by their side.
AVAILABLE: Mid June
B. “Australian Mascot”
One small
but cute addition to our Light Horse series...
AL101
“Australian Light Horseman & Koala”
Two iconic
and historic symbols of the ‘Land Down Under’ come together to make this little
set something unique and special...
As reported
at the time the Australian troops who left for the Middle East at the beginning
of the First World War took with them all kinds of animal mascots to become favoured regimental pets, among them was the cuddly
Koala... Here our Light Horse trooper
gently cradles a small Koala. Several
Koalas were brought over to Egypt with the Australian forces and although the
animal’s favourite diet of Eucalyptus leaves were in
short supply the Koalas were fed the same rations as the men’s horses... and
appeared to thrive on it as well!
AVAILABLE:
Early June
C. “MORE GALLANT POLES”
Following
the release earlier this year of the Polish Cavalry from 1939 we decided to add
a small selection of Polish Infantrymen to complement them...
FOB165
“Polish Infantry Officer”
Wearing the
traditional peaked, four-pointed Polish military cap this officer takes careful
aim with his automatic pistol at the advancing enemy.
FOB166
“Fighting The Invaders”
A 3-man
rifle section opens fire on their German opponents... Their rifle is the 7.92mm Mauser 1898, itself
of German origin but built under license in Poland. Each infantryman carries at least 90 rounds
of ammunition in his six pouches as well as a full backpack with rolled and
folded blanket.
FOB167 “MG08
Machine Gun Team”
This 2-man
set operates the MG08 or Maschinegewehr 1908 which
was originally the German Army’s standard machine gun of WW1.
After the
end of The Great War the fledgling Polish Army inherited much surplus German
weaponry including the MG 08 and during the 1920’s and ‘30’s purchased even
more. Although heavy and not easily
moved around the battlefield these guns were strong, accurate and relatively
simple to operate.
AVAILABLE:
Early June
D. “MORE MERRY MEN”
Robin Hood
and his Merrie Men are always welcoming to new recruits... Here are four such
men who have fled to Sherwood Forest to escape the clutches of the dastardly
Sheriff of Nottingham and his cruel Men-At-Arms...
RH041 “Jack
Godwin”
A noted archer and an avid poacher of the King’s deer until almost
caught-in-the-act by some of the Sheriff’s men.
Fortunately
for Jack he fled into the forest and met up with one of the Merrie Men. Here
Jack moves stealthily forward ready to ‘poach’ one of the Sheriff’s men!
RH042 “Fouke
Fitzwilliam”
Another good
bowman and a fine addition to the ‘Sherwood Forest Archery Club’... Fouke lets loose an arrow at one more of the
Sheriff’s scoundrels.
RH043 “Owen
of Oxley”
Once a
respectable and respected forester Owen has been forced to flee to the woods to
avoid the Sheriff’s punitive taxes and to help feed his family... A handy man
with an axe and that is his weapon of choice.
RH044
“Arthur Bow-Bender”
Arthur was
about to be hung for the theft of a horse and stealing a bushel and a half of
oats when he ran faster than the Sheriff’s men and into the depths of nearby
Sherwood Forest.
AVAILABLE:
Early June
E. “THE ENEMIES OF ROME”
At long
last, here are the first of a great new range of Celts, Briton & Gauls proud and defiant in their undying hatred of and
opposition to Imperial Rome...
RnB001
“Those Who Are About To Die...”
A kneeling
captured Gallic Warrior awaits his fate as a Roman Legionary stands over him
with sword drawn and looks down on him pitilessly... Depending on the whim of
the nearest Centurion this rebellious Gaul maybe sentenced to a life as a
Galley slave ... Or death in the
arena... Or even a swift exit right here and now!
RnB002
“Battle Trophies”
Cruelty on
the battlefield was not only practiced by the Romans... This Celtic Warrior
carries two decapitated heads on his spear both as a warning to his enemies as
well as a blood-thirsty trophy to his fighting skills.
RnB005 “The
Mounted Scout”
This
particular Barbarian warrior shields his eyes as he looks toward a distant
Roman patrol marching through his tribal lands.
RnB006
“Vercingetorix, Chief of the Gauls”
Vercingetorix
(82BC-46BC) was the chieftain of the Arverni tribe,
who united all of the Gallic tribes in a revolt against the Roman armies of
Julius Caesar.
A born leader
and a brave warrior he and his combined forces defeated the mighty Caesar at
the Battle of Gergovia in 52BC and forced the Roman
general to withdraw... at least for a short time.
Soon
however, Caesar and his Legions returned and, at the Siege of Alesia,
Vercingetorix and his Gallic tribes were defeated and the Chieftain himself
captured.
Vercingetorix
was later taken to Rome and held captive for 5 years before being paraded in
Caesar’s ‘Triumph’ and then, as was the custom of the time, publicly executed.
The K&C
figure is directly based on a magnificent seven-metre-tall
statue of the Gallic Chief erected on the orders of Napoleon Ⅲ
in 1865 on the supposed site of the Siege of Alesia.
RnB007
“Caradoc, Chief of the Britons”
Caradoc , called “Caractacus” by
the Romans was a 1st Century AD British Chieftain of Catuvellauni
tribe, who led the British resistance to the Roman conquest. For almost 10
years, he combined ‘guerrilla’ warfare with set-piece battles to fight the
might of Rome.
After his
final defeat he was handed over to the Romans and, like Vercingetorix before
him was sentenced to death.
Although a
captive in Rome he was allowed to address the Roman senate. His speech made such an impression on the
Senators that the Emperor Claudius himself pardoned him and granted him the
privilege of living in peace in Rome... a rare honour
indeed for a once rebellious leader!
RnB009X
“Roman Legioness”
Something a
little different from large, hairy barbarian chieftains!!!
This foxy little
‘Legioness’ probably would never have marched with
the Legionnaries themselves but would have been a
welcome distraction in any Roman fort or campsite!
Available
ONLY DIRECT from K&C in Early June
ALL OTHER
FIGURES AVAILABLE: Mid June
F. “JOHN FORD’S MOUNTED U.S. CAVALRY”
When we made
the decision to ‘open up’ the availability of the original ‘John Ford’s
Cavalry’ figure to ALL K&C Authorised Dealers
around the world little did we know just how popular that would be ... Well,
following on from that K&C also received a fair number of requests for more
mounted U.S. Cavalrymen to be produced to continue telling the story.
So, here are
the first TWO pieces that will soon be joined in the coming months by SIX more.
All of these
new figures were inspired by the work of one of Britain’s finest post war comic
book illustrators of the 1950’s and 1960’s Denis McLonghlin.
I discovered
Denis work in the mid 1950’s when I first saw his illustrations in the ‘Buffalo
Bill Wild West Annual’... His attention to detail and knowledge of the Old West
and all its myths and legends was second-to-none.
Later, I
realized that Denis also obviously loved Western Movies especially John Ford
ones! His U.S. Cavalry illustrations were often directly taken from some of
Ford’s finest films, “She Wore A Yellow Ribbon”... “Fort Apache”... and “Rio Grande”.
The
illustration at the start of this section of “DISPATCHES” shows a cavalry
column similar to what K&C is going to be releasing now and over the coming
months.
An important
feature of these new mounted figures is that the heads of the figures are
mounted on a short metal pin that allows them to be swiveled from side-to-side
or even exchanged with other similar figures to allow maximum variety and
difference. This will enable some
fortunate collects to build as big or as long a column as they wish.
Here are the
first two figures...
TRW133 “Halt!”
This mounted
officer raises his right arm to bring the column to a ‘halt’... Has he seen
something in the distance or has his Indian Scout noticed something out of the
ordinary...?
TRW136 “The
Guidon Bearer”
Every good
U.S. Cavalry movie must have at least one of these corporals with the troop or
company pennant... In this particular case it belongs to “A” Company, 5th U.S.
Cavalry.
SPECIAL
NOTE:
Among the
SIX future U.S. Cavalry mounted figures are... One more officer... A Bugler...
A “Stars’n’ Stripes” Standard Bearer sergeant... A
Regimental Flag Bearer sergeant... Plus, Two different
mounted Troopers.
TRW133 &
136 AVAILABLE: Mid-Late June
G. “PACIFIC MARINE SPECIAL EDITION SETS”
In addition
to our regular U.S.M.C. in the Pacific during WW2 K&C are offering a
Limited number of ‘SPECIAL EDITION SETS’ showing our ‘Leathernecks’ wearing a
mix of Marine Corps ‘Frogskin’ camouflage jackets and
pants with the normal USMC HBT Fatigue Combat Uniforms.
During the
Pacific Campaign Marines would often ‘mix’n’ match’
with whatever was clean and available at any given time.
These THREE
‘SPECIAL EDITION’ SETS add an extra degree of authenticity and realism to any
USMC collection... Grab’em while you can.
USMC048(SE) “Burn ‘em up!”
As one
‘Leatherneck’ blasts away with his Combat Shotgun, An NCO orders his Flame
Thrower Marine to let loose at an enemy pillbox.
USMC049(SE) “We’ll cover you!”
A kneeling
‘Tommy-Gunner’ and a standing rifleman provide covering fire as the Marine with
the BAR runs forward.
USMC050(SE) “Eat this you sons of Nippon!”
A kneeling
BAR gunner fires off a burst as his buddy pitches a grenade at the
opposition... the third Marine hits the deck!
AVAILABLE:
Mid-Late June
H. WINTER HALF TRACK
From the hot
and humid tropical battlefield of the Pacific to the cold and freezing winter
of the Western Front or the even more cold and freezing of the war in the East.
WH092 “Sd.Kfz 250/11 Panzerbuchse 41”
We have only
100 of these great looking little German halftracks... perfect for any snow
covered landscape... or collection.
AVAILABLE: Mid June
2. BEING RETIRED...
Just a mere
THREE items this month but I am sure they will prove useful to some dealers and
collectors out there...
DD284
“General Eisenhower”
The Supreme
Allied Commander wearing the short, waist-length jacket that was named after
him ‘IKE’.
DD294 “TEXAS
TOY SOLDIERS SHOW ‘IKE’”
We produced
a small number of these variations of the General Eisenhower figure for the
show...
JN040 “Type
95 ‘Ha-Go’ Light Tank”
The Japanese
tank that spear-headed the invasion of Malaya, the Philippines and the Dutch
East Indies... An important and vital part of the Japanese
‘blitzkrieg’. Our vehicle
includes the tank commander.
And that my friends is the story so far... at least for this month! Hope
there are more than a few things you like here... If not there is always next
month!
All the best and happy collecting.
Andy C.
Neilson
Co-founder
& Creative Director
King & Country Ltd.