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NEW
RELEASES FROM KING & COUNTRY! June 2024
Dear
Partners,
Welcome
to a very special month with an exceptionally strong ‘D.Day’ flavour
to it… This particular month and the 6th of June marks
the 80th Anniversary of ‘Operation
Overlord’, the Allied invasion of France. This began with the
simultaneous landings on 5 beaches in Normandy by British,
American and Canadian forces.
During
the weeks and months that followed the Western Allies fought their way up
from the beaches, through the dense Normandy ‘bocage’ and across
France itself liberating villages, towns and cities along the way.
To
celebrate and commemorate this great victory K&C are releasing a colourful
collection of very happy French civilians gratefully welcoming their ‘liberators’
as well as a number of dismounted U.S. Army ‘Tankers’ enjoying
the celebrations.
At
the heart of this ‘Summer of ‘44’ release are two of King &
Country’s brand-new, all-metal M4 Sherman tanks that might well
be the very best Shermans K&C has ever produced.
Then,
moving from Normandy for a brief moment we remain in France but relocate to
Paris a couple of centuries earlier with a unique figure of probably France’s
greatest monarch… Louis ⅩⅣ.
And
so, as l like to say, let’s get down to the details and all the relevant
information about these new releases…
BEING
RELEASED IN JUNE…
A. “Liberation!”
The liberation
of France was brought about by the combined military efforts of the Western
Allied Powers, Free French forces and the French Resistance.
As
the Allies advanced and the Germans retreated the populations of village
after village and town after town poured into the streets to greet their ‘liberators’
happy to see the end of four years of brutal Nazi occupation
and Vichy French collaboration!
DD372
‘The Floor-Sweeping Waiter’
A
familiar figure in any French café or bar. Here, he pauses for a moment
as he goes about this everyday task before hearing the metallic rumble of
tank tracks on cobble-stoned streets and the happy cheers of the local
populace as they welcome their Allied ‘liberators’.
DD373
‘Vive les Allies’ (‘Long Live The Allies!’)
This
happy F renchman raises both arms in salute as the first Americans arrive.
DD374
‘Buvons!' (‘Let’s
Drink!’)
Another
nattily-attired French gentleman raises a glass of beer to greet the arriving
GIs.
DD375 ‘Liberation!
Mother & Child’
A
delighted young mother encourages her toddler son to wave to these soldiers
from across the Atlantic.
DD376
‘Liberation! Female Flagbearer’
Proudly
carrying her French tricoleur complete with the Free French ‘Cross
of Lorraine’ in the centre this woman also carries a bouquet of
flowers to present to the GIs.
DD377 ‘Liberation!
Vive les Americains’
Waving
a small ‘Stars ‘n’ Stripes’ this attractive young girl
enthusiastically welcomes the American ‘tankers’.
DD378
‘Liberation! La famille Francais’
Mama,
Papa and their young son come into the street to celebrate their Allied
heroes.
DD379
‘Vive la Victoire!’ (Long Live The Victory!)
A
First World War veteran celebrates the liberation with a double ‘V for
Victory’ sign.
DD380
‘Liberation! A saluting French scout’
A
French boy scout proudly wears his uniform as he salutes his new G.I.
friends.
DD391 ‘Liberation!
Vive la France’
Another
pretty young lady fully of ‘Joie de Vivre’ and waving her little
French flag.
AVAILABILITY:
Early June
B.
‘HEAVY METAL SHERMANS’
After
a year in development, here is K&C’s newest all-metal fighting vehicle
available with two options.
As
many collectors know King & Country has been producing 1:30 scale
fighting vehicles since the early 1990s. A major part of the reason for
this was that back then we had started several different WW2 series of
figures and realized that as this war had been very much a mechanized
conflict it was essential that our toy soldiers needed to have all kinds of
different military vehicles to accompany them and help tell the authentic
history of the war in miniature.
It’s
no coincidence that the first model we chose to make was the M4 Sherman,
the iconic American-made tank that was supplied to virtually all the Allied
forces and served in every ‘Theatre of War’ that erupted
between 1939 and 1945.
EARLY EFFORTS
Between
1991 and 1999 K&C produced a number of hand-carved, hand-painted wooden
M4 Shermans that at first were made in China and then in the Philippines.
These first wooden tanks looked pretty good for the period but were also very
fragile and quite expensive.
Looking
for a more durable and less expensive alternative we discovered a
very useful, flexible and moldable material called ‘Polystone’
(a combination of marble dust and resin) in China. We also found a
gift company in the PRC that was willing to produce a relatively
small number (200) of these M4 Shermans in our 1:30 scale and
built to our specifications.
Over
the next two decades we worked with a number of different factories in China who
helped us improve and develop hundreds of different military model fighting
and transport vehicles to work with all of the many WW2 series
K&C were and still producing.
Now,
jump forward to mid 2021, in the middle of COVID, when K&C
decided to take a giant leap forward and produce our first all-metal, diecast
models complete with moveable metal tracks and running wheels with full
suspension. We also increased and improved crew hatches on the vehicle
that could fully open and close. Not only that but we also included
essential crew figures to add to the realism.
The
successful release of our all-metal ‘Winter’ and ‘Kursk’ Tigers
in 2023 ensured that our third release would definitely be an Allied vehicle
and had to be the classic ‘M4 Sherman’.
DD381(SE) M4 Sherman (#17)
This
all-metal M4 includes all the unique features that made our last two ‘Tigers’
so popular and collectible…
This
model belongs to the U.S. Army’s 6th Armored Division which
landed in Normandy at Utah Beach on 18 July 1944 and immediately
went into action in the Cotentin Peninsula, driving through Avranches and
helping to liberate the great channel port of Brest and the
clearing of the Brittany Peninsula.
Later
in December 1944 the 6th and its Shermans were heavily
involved in ‘The Battle of The Bulge’ and the defence of Bastogne alongside
the men of the 101st Airborne.
On
the 25th of March 1945 the 6th crossed
the Rhine and drove towards Frankfurt after which it
helped free Allied prisoners of war and assisted in the liberation of Buchenwald concentration
camp.
By
the end of the war the division had reached Leipzig and halted pending the
arrival of the Red Army.
Our
K&C all-metal Sherman is painted in the standard U.S. Army ‘Olive
Drab’ and could be utilized in any of the battles and events between
D. Day in June 1944 and the defeat of The Third Reich in May 1945.
This
model also includes 3 x Crew Figures and 6 x individual sandbags.
Just 200 pieces of this model are available.
DD382(SE) M4 Sherman (‘TONTO’)
This
particular M4 was one of several Shermans utilized by Capt. Bill Dwight,
the assistant S3 and liaison officer of the 37th Tank
Battalion of the 4th Armoured Division.
Like
almost all of the tanks in this battalion it had a painted image on both
sides of the hull depicting The Lone Ranger’s sidekick ‘TONTO’ from
the popular radio show of that time.
After
D.Day the 4th also landed on Utah
Beach but earlier on 11 July 1944 and went into action on the 17th of
the same month capturing the French city of Nantes on 12th August.
Later
in the year, during The Battle of The Bulge, the 4th Armored
Division, as part of General Patton’s Third Army attacked
the Germans at Bastogne and relieved the besieged city.
Among
the most famous members of the 4th Armored Division during
WW2 was Creighton Abrams who commanded the 37th Tank
Btn. and would later command all U.S. Forces in South Vietnam from
1968-1972.
Returning
to this M4 Sherman ‘TONTO’ each model comes with 3 x Crew
figures, a backpack of supplies and is a ‘Special Edition’ of
300 pieces plus a numbered certificate and a full colour,
presentation box.
AVAILABLE: Late June / July
To avoid disappointment place your order now!
C.
DISMOUNTED ‘TANKERS’ & ‘TANK RIDERS’
As
mentioned before here are the 8 individual U.S. Armored
Division ‘Tankers’ in a variety of poses on top of their
vehicles or standing next to them… PLUS 4 ‘Tank Riders’… always
useful!
DD383 ‘Standing Tank Sergeant w/Binos’
Wearing
the winter ‘Tanker’s Jacket’ with the knit collar, cuffs and
waistband on top of his 2nd pattern combat trousers this tank
sergeant holds a pair of military issue binoculars. Next to his right
leg is a U.S. Army ‘jerrican’.
DD384 ‘Walking Corporal w/M3 Submachine Gun and
Jerrican’
This
junior ‘noncom’ is carrying his M3 ‘Grease Gun’.
This cheaply-made submachine gun was manufactured out of stamped and welded
steel parts and looked remarkably like a mechanic’s grease gun, hence the
nickname.
It
fired only in automatic mode and came with a 30-round straight
magazine. Because of its small size it could be fitted easily inside
the confined space of an M4 Sherman.
Like
the previous Tank Sergeant our Corporal is outfitted with the same Tanker’s
uniform plus helmet and goggles.
DD385 ‘Standing Tank Sergeant w/Tommy Gun’
One
more sergeant, but this time cradling his M1A1 Thompson Submachine Gun a
simplified version of the classic Thompson SMG adopted in 1942
and a favourite of armoured vehicle crews.
Next
to his left foot is a pressed steel ammunition box for a 250 round belt of
.30 cal machine gun ammunition.
DD386 ‘Kneeling Tech 5 Corporal w/Map’
A
great little figure, dressed like the other guys, and armed with the M-1911
Colt. 45 Automatic Pistol in the leather holster. This guy
can kneel on different parts of the Sherman including the turret or down on
the ground.
DD387 ‘Smoke Break’
Back
in WW2 almost everyone smoked cigarettes and they were cheap, plentiful and
supplied free of tax for the armed forces.
This
smoking ‘tanker’ is probably enjoying his favourite brand of ‘smokes’,
Lucky Strike, in the distinctive red and white pack.
Another
of those very useful ammo cans helps balance the figure.
DD388 ‘Tanker Replacement’ Corporal
This Tech
5 Corporal has just arrived from the Replacement Depot carrying a bedroll
and wearing matching olive drab shirt and trousers and a brand-new shoulder
holster rig and pistol which was originally supplied only to Airforce pilots
but somehow got to be issued to tank crews and other U.S. Army units.
How a lowly noncom got hold of this is anyone’s guess.
DD389 ‘Happy Liberation’
Another
lucky ‘tanker’ gets a very warm and passionate welcome from
a newly-liberated pretty French maiden happy to see the last of the Germans… and
the first of the Americans!
DD390 ‘The Tanker & The Kid’
During
WW2 every kid in Europe loved the GIs… The ‘Yanks’ were
fun, friendly and very generous with their chocolate, candy and… chewing
gum. All of which had been scarce at best or simply unavailable at
worst during the years of occupation.
For
children of all ages, especially those living in German-occupied countries, ‘liberation’ was
not just about freedom but about the opportunity to taste and enjoy some of
these long-lost delights that had been hidden for four long years.
For
many of the GIs themselves these European kids were a reminder of the
families they had left back home and their own children or young relatives.
This
little two figure set is a reminder of that time and the happiness and joy
liberation brought to one and all.
DD392 ‘U.S. Armored Division Tank Riders’
During
World War Two the composition of a typical U.S. Army Armoured Division was,
of course, centred around its chief component – its three tank
battalions.
In
support of the tanks were another three battalions of armoured infantry who
could be moved forward using M3 Half-Tracks as well as the
usual complement of jeeps and trucks.
On
occasion these armored infantrymen would and could ‘hitch a ride’ on
any passing Sherman or other armoured vehicle heading towards the front.
To
that end we’re ‘reintroducing’ an old favourite 4 x
man set with upgraded painting and appropriate Armored
Division shoulder patches.
Perfect
to work with any of our two new all-metal Shermans!
AVAILABLE: Mid June
D.
“Vive le Roi!” (Long Live The King)
From
France in 1944 we travel back in time to France in the middle of the 17th Century
and the reign of King Louis ⅩⅣ also known as ‘The Sun King’.
This
monarch was King of France from 1643 until his death in
1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days was the
longest of any European ruler in history. During his rule France became
the leading European power and regularly asserted its military strength
fighting three major continental wars as well as numerous other smaller
conflicts inside and outside of France’s borders.
As
well as providing his military leadership Louis ⅩⅣ had many other significant
achievements which would go on to have a wide influence on the early modern
period in the arts, science and architecture of not only France but
throughout the rest of Europe.
Among
his greatest achievements was the design and construction of The Palace
of Versailles, his Royal residence outside Paris.
TR018 ‘Louis ⅩⅣ’ The Sun King
This
K&C figure of the great French King portrays him in the military uniform
of a Marshal of France leading his army in battle against all
enemies… foreign and domestic.
AVAILABLE: Mid June
5.
"Being Retired This Month..."
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IC054 Wooden Fence
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JN035 Standing w/ Rifle & Bayonet
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JN036 Moving Cautiously Forward
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SP036 The Desert Village Wall
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And that’s the story so far… Best wishes to one and all…
happy collecting and to our dealers… GREAT SALES!
Andy C. Neilson
Co-founder & Creative Director
King & Country
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