DISPATCHES
March 2016
AND NOW WE’RE
INTO MARCH… with another unique mix of figures, fighting vehicles and a little
piece of artillery too!
We’ll journey back in time of the Crusades… with a little detour along
the way to Sherwood Forest before moving up to the Napoleonic battlefield
and then onto World War Two.
Even here we’ll travel between the ‘miracle’ that was the Dunkirk evacuation…
to a little town on the south coast of England in the summer and autumn of
1940.
From the lush green fields of the British countryside we’ll move east… To the Middle
East in fact and the desert sands of North
Africa where General Montgomery and his British and Empire troops are
facing off against Rommel and his Afrika Korps. Moving up again to the far north (and east)
you will find K&C on the Russian Front once more in the depths of
winter… But first we will pay a short visit to the Ardennes!
So, without further ado… let the travels begin…
1.
AVAILABLE
IN MARCH
a)
BBA084
“The Winter Jeep”
A three-man reconnaissance Jeep patrol make
their way down a lonely, snow-covered forest track somewhere in the Ardennes
just before first light on the morning of December 16, 1944.
Suddenly, they halt the
vehicle and listen… Is that tanks they hear in the distance…?
K&C’s latest jeep
mounts a .30cal. machine gun on the front of the vehicle and contains 3 x
winter-clad GI’s (an additional M1 carbine is also included) about to
discover the source of the sound they can hear…
AVAILABLE : Early March
b)
“Fields of Battle”…
Dunkirk and the Home Front… 1940.
FoB120
“Sling Arms”
A typical British “Tommy”
making his way towards the beach.
FoB121
“Rifle at Trail”
Another British “Tommy”
moving back towards the beaches of Dunkirk and, hopefully, ‘Blighty’.
FoB122
“Marching Officer”
Swagger stick in hand the officer leads his
men back to the beach.
FoB126
“Corporal w/ Rifle & Bayonet”
Non-commissioned officers (NCO’s) are
the ‘backbone’ of any army and this British corporal is no exception…
Rifle shouldered (with fixed bayonet) this corporal sets an example to
his men.
AVAILABLE : Early March
FoB130
“Private Frazer”
Walmington-on-Sea’s favourite pessimist, “We’re All
Doomed!” is the war cry of this defiant but gloomy Scottish member of the
local Home Guard.
FoB133
“Private Godfrey”
The Home Guard platoon’s resident medical
orderly and the unit’s oldest veteran… A gentle soul who frequently needs to be
‘excused’…
AVAILABLE : Mid March
c)
“The
Age of Napoleon”
NA342
“Royal Artillery Drummer”
This colourful
figure wears the ‘red coat’ of a ‘Royal’ regiment where drummers
wore the facing colours of their regiment, in this
case, the Royal Regiment of Artillery.
NA344
“Sergeant w/ Pike”
Issuing orders and pointing his men in the
right direction.
NA346
“Ready, aye ready!”
A kneeling to repel
artilleryman together with a standing loading gunner ready to defend their
guns.
NA347
“Advance to the Front”
With musket shouldered and marching to the
front.
AVAILABLE : Mid March
d)
“Incident
in The Forest”
Since launching our “Robin Hood” series late last
year we’ve wanted to produce two of the most famous (and infamous) characters
from the tale..
RH004
“Little John”
John Little was a legendary fellow outlaw of Robin Hood.
Indeed it was Robin who changed his name to “Little John” on
account of his great height and skill with both a bow and a quarterstaff.
In film he was portrayed
no less than three times by actor Alan Hale Sr. The famous
British character actor James Robertson Justice also portrayed
him in the 1952 Walt Disney version of the Robin Hood tale starring Richard
Todd as Robin.
Our figure is a blend of
both and stands four-square, arms folded, his hunting horn hanging from his
belt.
RH006
“Sir Guy of Gisbourne”
Guy of Gisbourne is one of the great villains from the
Robin Hood legends of English folklore. A Norman Knight, he is a loyal
henchman of the evil Prince John and the dastardly Sheriff of
Nottingham.
As such he is a sworn and dangerous enemy of Robin
Hood. In movies and television he has been portrayed by many talented actors
but perhaps the best was Basil Rathbone in the 1938 Errol Flynn “The
Adventures of Robin Hood.”
Our
model is a small tribute to this great actor and a great movie.
Special Note: Look
out for more great “Robin Hood” figures (including the Sheriff’s
Men-At-Arms) in the coming months. PLUS “Maid
Marion” and “Alan-a-Dale” as well.
AVAILABLE : Mid March
e)
“COLD
WARRIORS”
Although the vast majority of Axis Forces fighting the Russians on the
Eastern Front were German there were some notable exceptions…
BBG100 “Winter
Fallschirmjager”
Clad in padded field jacket and trousers
this German paratrooper has discarded his distinctive “FJ” helmet for
the more common “coal scuttle” version.
BBG101 “Winter Alpini w/ Skis”
Italy’s Alpine regiments were among
the best trained and led in Mussolini’s army. This “Alpini”
wears the Italian snow-camouflage “Winter
suit” and carries a rifle and his pair of skis.
BBG102 “Winter
Alpini Skiing” (A)
BBG103 “Winter
Alpini w/ Rifle”
BBG104 “Winter
Alpini Skiing” (B)
Similar to the above figure
but wearing a German-style fur cap.
BBG098 “The
AS42 Sahariana”
This long-range, reconnaissance vehicle
proved its value in North Africa between 1941-‘43. A small number were also
sent to Russia and saw service with the 2nd Fallschirmjager Division…
Our model is fitted with
a 20mm. Breda 35 cannon and a German MG42 machine gun… and
painted in the typical 3-color German camouflage of mid war.
FIGURES AVAILABLE :
Mid March
VEHICLE AVAILABLE :
Late March
f)
“DESERT
WARRIORS”
From the frozen Russian steppes to the burning sands of North Africa in
just one jump!
EA108
“Tank Commander w/ Map”
A British tank sergeant studies his map.
EA109
“General Bernard L. Montgomery”
The casually-dressed “Monty”
enjoys a “cuppa” while he ponders his next
move.
EA110
“G’day Mate!”
Two Aussie soldiers enjoy a “brew-up” and
a “spot of tucker” during a lull in the fighting.
EA111
“At Ease”
A British tank officer also enjoys “a
spot of tea” in between battles.
EA112
“Tea & Grub”
Two more British “Tankies”
take a quick break to replenish themselves.
AVAILABLE : Mid March
EA107(AU)
“2-Pounder Anti Tank Gun”
The Ordnance QF 2-Pounder was a 40mm British anti
tank gun employed by British and Empire Forces in the first half of
the Second World War.
It was also actively used
in the Battle of France and during the Desert Campaign from 1940-42.
This Australian version
comes with a 2-man crew… Note the Aussie “brown boots”
EA107(BR)
“2-Pounder Anti Tank Gun”
As above… but with
a British crew hence the “black boots”!
AVAILABLE : Late March
g)
“Alternate
Versions”
Occasionally K&C likes to produce another version of an older
subject or figure…
Here’s 2 colourful examples…
MK161
“The Blue Knight w/ Axe”
MK162
“Chevalier de Bleu w/ Sword”
AVAILABLE : Early March
2.
BEING
RETIRED THIS MONTH…
AE051 Hunting the Hippo
DD176 The Humber Mk.II Armoured
Car
HK126 Chinese Doctor Set
HK127 Street Doctor Helper Set
DD202 Morris C8 Field Artillery Tractor &
Limber
DD204 British 25 Pounder Field Gun
DD205 Gun Commander
DD206 Kneeling Bombardier
DD207 Shell and Charge Loaders
MG035(P) The Airborne Cyclist
WH018-B Dismounted Armoured Vehicle
Crewmen (Black)
WH018-G Dismounted Armoured Vehicle
Crewmen (Grey)
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
MARCH 2016
“SUPPLEMENTARY DISPATCHES”
Hi Guys,
Whenever we get the
opportunity or requests from collectors and dealers to reintroduce an item or
to add something to the original release we try to oblige.
Here are 4 particular items that came
into direct production because of collectors’ and dealers’ suggestions and requests ...
WS308 “SS-Oberscharfuhrer Karl Otto” When we released the original “Karl
Otto’s Tiger” WS311 back in March 2015 we knew it would be a
popular “add-on” to our “Gang of Heroes” set...
And highly popular it proved to be as it quickly sold out
! More than a few collectors however requested that “Karl Otto”
should also be released as an individual figure so that he could
be used with other K&C German tanks... Well, here he is... minus his
Tiger!
WS322
“Tiger 113”
As well as suggesting a solo “Karl Otto” other
movie buff collectors wanted the other 2 x “Tigers” that appeared
in the movie “Kelly’s Heroes”... Here is #”113” complete
with “Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler” tank
commander leaning out of the top turret hatch.
WS323 “Tiger
114”
“Tiger 114” completes the trio of “Movie Tigers”
that appeared in the film and again comes with a vehicle commander in the open
top turret hatch.
Moving on from somewhere in
France in the summer of 1944 to the ruins of the Reich Chancellery in May 1945
is a second version of Hitler’s last retreat...
WS320 “Hitler’s
Bunker” (2nd version)
After the first release sold out we decided
to bring out another version but with a different Nazi slogan “Mit dem Fuhrer zum Sieg!” (With the Fuhrer to Victory!) AVAILABILITY:
All 4 items will be available in late March.
Once again, many thanks for your continued
support ... and ideas, requests and suggestions... They are always welcome !
Andy C. Neilson
Co-founder & Creative Director
King & Country