|
Dear Partners,
A warm welcome to the month of March and the release of no
less than 23 brand-new figures and… one
little dog!
Now, before I get down to business a great big thankyou to all
those K&C Dealers and Collectors who have so warmly welcomed our Afrika
Korps Tigers. The response and appreciation has been terrific and by the time you read this latest ‘DISPATCHES’
many will have been delivered.
So, without further ado let’s see what MARCH has
in store for you.
In 1993, elite units of the U.S. Military were supporting the
United Nations humanitarian effort to help feed the starving population of
war-torn Somalia, under ‘Operation Gothic Serpent’.
In the middle of this, a disastrous raid against one of the Somali warlords
shattered the confidence of the world’s only superpower.
What began as a straight forward ‘snatch-and-grab’ operation in
the middle of Mogadishu turned into a desperate firefight for
survival when RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) armed Somali militiamen
shot down two of the U.S. Black Hawk helicopters.
Taking up positions near and around both of the downed aircraft, U.S. Army
Rangers and Special Forces fought day and night to keep Somali gunmen
at bay until a relief force could break through.
This is the true story of that battle first made famous by author Mark
Bowden’s memorable book ‘BLACK HAWK DOWN’ and
then by director Ridley Scott’s block-busting movie of the same
name.
More recently, late last year, K&C launched our own 1:30
scale rendition of this operation as part of our Modern War range
of conflicts that have erupted in the decades since the end of WW2.
Here are our latest dramatic ‘BLACK HAWK DOWN’ releases…
BHD015 ‘The Super Six Four
Rescue Set’
In the mid afternoon of October 3, 1993 a mixed
force of U.S. Army Rangers and Delta Force operatives
descended on a location in downtown Mogadishu to capture key
leaders belonging to Mohamed Farrah Aideed’s
militia.
Almost immediately things began to go wrong both on the ground and in the
air when the first Black Hawk helicopter, callsign ‘Super Six
One’ was hit by an RPG and crash landed near the outskirts of the
target area.
Just over twenty minutes later a second Black Hawk, ‘Super Six Four’,
was also brought down by an RPG.After falling
heavily onto the ground other American helicopters flying over the area saw
signs of life and some movement in the badly damaged chopper.
Amazingly, the four-man crew survived the initial hard landing and although
badly injured were trying to get out of the wreckage.
At the same time the area’s angry local residents together with many of Aideed’s militia began to surge towards
the remains of ‘Super Six Four’.
As the situation went from bad to worse two very brave Delta Force snipers, Master
Sergeant Gary Gordon and Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart flying in ‘Super Six Two’ insisted
on landing to support the survivors of ‘Super Six Four’ despite
knowing they might be on their own for a long time before any kind of a
rescue.
Once on the ground, Gordon and Shughart helped
the injured crewmembers as best they could and then attempted to secure the
area around all of them even as the hostile mobs of Somalis attempted to
get closer.
Despite intense enemy small arms fire and a constant barrage of rocks and
stones the two Delta snipers kept the mob at bay with accurate and
disciplined shooting for a limited time.
Mike Durant, one of the downed pilots even had his MP5K submachine
gun and did his best to protect his fellow wounded crew members and the
Delta guys rear. Tragically it was not enough.
Durant only had two magazines of ammunition for his MP5K and
soon ran out.Then Gordon
followed by Shughart died from gunshots along
with the three other Black Hawk crew members, only Mike Durant was left.
As the Somali civilians and militiamen swarmed over the lone survivor the
American pilot prepared to die.This
looked like the end.
Incredibly, Mike Durant did survive this onslaught and was eventually,
after 11 days, released to International the Red Cross but that’s another
story…
Here is K&C’s simple tribute to him and the amazing bravery and
fortitude of Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart, both of whom were posthumously
awarded America’s highest decoration, the Medal of Honour.
BHD018 “Stay Down!” or “No Man
Left Behind”
The battle of Mogadishu, better known as ‘BLACK HAWK DOWN’ lasted
just 14 hours but, by the end of it, 18 Americans were dead
with 84 more wounded.
On the opposite side, the estimates for the
Somali casualties was somewhere between 300-500 killed
with another 700-1,000 wounded.
The death toll on the American side could
have been considerably higher had it not been for this unique ‘U.S.
Army Ranger Creed’ which states…
“Never shall I fail my comrades. I
will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong and morally
straight and I will shoulder more than my share of the task whatever it may
be. One-hundred-precent and then
some. Gallantly will I show the world that I am a specially selected
and well-trained soldier.
This small 2-man set exemplifies that
special ‘Ranger’ creed and spirit.
Here, a seriously injured Ranger is down
and suffering from multiple shrapnel wounds. Kneeling next to him is
another Ranger taking aim at the enemy with his 9mm Automatic before
he picks up his wounded comrade and carries him to safety.
… And now for some of the ‘opposition’…
SPECIAL NOTE: Aideed’s
Armed Militia
Mohamed Farrah Aideed was one
of the most important ‘Clan’ leaders in Somalia during the 1980s and
well into the 1990s making large sums of money through arms smuggling, drug
trafficking and stealing United Nations supplied food relief
and medical supplies.
To protect him, his family and their fiefdom Aideed had
built up a well-armed militia of men, women and children who were both
fanatically loyal to him personally and liberally supplied with all kinds
of lethal weaponry usually from Moscow.These included the inevitable AK-47s…
shoulder launched SA-7 surface-to-air missiles plus a whole
range of heavy weapons including tanks, armoured
personnel carriers and, of course, hundreds of RPGs.
In mid 1993 Mogadishu, anyone could purchase or
obtain any weapon or indeed any complete weapon system that was currently
on the market.For
example, the latest Russian made RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) cost
as little as US$10:00 each … What a bargain!!!
MILITIA DRESS CODE
As you can see a Uniform Code of
Dress never existed in Aideed’s Militia.His band of thugs was indeed a sight to behold
with no two members being dressed the same way.Here is K&C’s first selection:
BHD021 “Mogadishu Militiaman Shouting HALT!”
Here, this sunglass-wearing militiaman extends one hand to say “Halt!”
while his other holds the ubiquitous AK-47.
His colourful outfit includes a green and white
checkered ‘Keffiyeh’ the arab-style
headdress scarf popularized by Islamic terrorists the world over, together
with some kind of a camouflage shirt, casual denim jeans and… sports
shoes!
BHD022 “Mog. Militiaman Standing
Firing AK-47”
Another of Aideed’s warriors
opening up with his AK-47. His casual and haphazard appearance
belies the fact that these individuals are still deadly and very dangerous!
BHD023 “Mog. Militiaman Looking For Trouble”
As the old song says… “If you’re looking for trouble… You’ve
come to the right place.”
A nasty piece of work to meet anywhere, especially in Somalia!
BHD024 “Mog. Militiaman
Celebrating”
Holding his AK-47 aloft this character seems to think he has
something to celebrate.
BHD025 “Mog. Militiaman Lying
firing his RPK Light Machine Gun”
This weapon was introduced in the early 1960s and could be fitted with
either a 75-round drum magazine (as shown in the K&C figure) or
a longer curved 45-round magazine with a forward bipod and used as a light
squad automatic weapon.
Rugged and reliable it is still in service today with some former Soviet
bloc countries and several armies in Africa and Asia.
BHD026 “Mog. Militiaman Kneeling
Firing His AK-47”
Adopting the kneeling firing position and aiming at the enemy with his AK-47.
BHD027 “Mog. Militiaman Advancing
w/a FN/FAL Rifle”
This is proof that not all
of the Militia’s weaponry came from the old Eastern Bloc.
How this original Belgian-made assault rifle came to be in Mogadishu is
anyone’s guess.
BHD028 “Mog. Militiaman Captured!”
With both hands securely tied behind his
back this character is one of Aideed’s men
captured by the Rangers during the raid.
AVAILABLE: Early March
B.
ROME ON THE MARCH
Among the Roman Legions military
standards stood for the prestige and glory of Rome itself and were proudly
paraded and guarded at all times.All of these
symbols were carried on tall poles ahead of the army going into battle or
on the march and were often used as rallying points in the frequently
confusing mayhem of battle itself.
These unique symbols of Rome were valued so
highly that battles and campaigns were sometimes fought to recover any that
were seized by enemy forces.
After victories had been won and enemies
crushed these same symbols would be paraded through the streets of Ancient
Rome itself as the victorious Legions and their commanders enjoyed
a ceremonial parade called, appropriately enough… ‘A Triumph’.
ROM076 “The Marching Roman
Vexillum”
Positioned ahead of a marching Legion was a
decorated, veteran soldier carrying a ‘Vexillum’.This
small, finely embroidered cloth banner showed the Legion’s emblem with its
name and number.
The emblem was sometimes a sign of the zodiac or even a type of animal.This Vexillum
Bearer himself was easily recognized by a full wolfskin and
head atop his helmet and body armour.
ROM077 “The Marching
Roman Aquilifer”
Each Legion carried two main standards, one
showed a carved or cast portrait of the current emperor to remind the
Legionnaires of their loyalty to him.
The other standard emblem was an ‘Eagle’ made from
either silver or gold with thunderbolts held between its claws.This ‘Eagle’ standard
carried by the ‘Aquilifer’ was the
symbol of the entire army.
The soldier carrying the ‘Eagle’ usually wore a brown bearskin over
his armour.
ROM078 “The Marching
Roman Imaginifer”
As mentioned earlier the precious metal
representation of the emperor’s head was borne by the ‘Imaginifer’ also wearing a wolfskin.
ROM079 “The Marching
Roman Signifer”
Each ‘Century’ within a
Legion also had its own standard called a ‘Signum’ which
was a long pole decorated with metal medals and the unit’s own emblems.
On the battlefield soldiers would be able to see their ‘Signum’ and
use it as a rallying point.
Our new ‘Signifier’ also wears a magnificent lionskin and
head.
AVAILABLE: Early March
C.
‘Somewhere In The Southwest’
As I often say it’s a long way from Ancient
Rome to the vast deserts and rugged mountain ranges of America’s Southwest but
we’ll make the jump anyway and here is the first of a number of mounted
Apache warriors scanning the horizon for any sign of the hated ‘Bluecoats’…
TRW191 “The Apache
Scout”
A mounted warrior, ever watchful, makes his
way through the desert landscape observing and listening for anything out
of the ordinary…
AVAILABLE: Early March
D.
‘The Battle of Britain 1940’
After the Fall of France and
the British Expeditionary Force’s evacuation from Dunkirk a
very short pause followed before Hitler’s aerial assault began on Britain
which, had it been successful, would have been swiftly followed by a
full-scale invasion of the British Isles.
Fortunately for Britain and the rest of the
free world the Royal Air Force stood in the way of a Luftwaffe victory
and, for the first time in WW2, defeated the Nazis and gave them a bloody
nose!
The pilots, groundcrew and many others in RAF Fighter Command bore
the brunt of this German aerial assault day after day and eventually into
the night when the enemy changed his tactics.
Here are 5 new additions (and
one dog) that help tell the amazing story that became known as The
Battle of Britain.
RAF095 “Royal Navy
Fleet Air Arm Pilot”
As Britain’s fate in the summer of 1940 lay in the hands and
skills of fewer than 3,000 pilots mostly Royal Air Force but
also foreign volunteers such as Czechs, Poles, Canadians, Australians,
New Zealanders, South Africans and some Americans together
with another small group of British aviators also took part.
These particular pilots came from the Royal Navy’s own Fleet Air
Arm.In
all 57 naval pilots (The Few of The Few) would fly
with the RAF during the Battle of Britain with four of them becoming ‘aces’.
London-born Sub Lieutenant Francis Dawson -Paul led the
way with seven and a half ‘kills’ in just 25 days – fighters,
twin -engined fighter / bombers and medium
bombers all fell victim to his Spitfire.Alas he
did not survive the battle and was shot down over the English Channel just
six weeks after becoming a fighter pilot!
This is our small tribute to all Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm pilots
who fought in that summer of 1940.
RAF100 “Battle of
Britain Scramble!”
In military aviation a “Scramble” is
the act of quickly mobilizing men and military aircraft to get airborne to meet
an immediate thread, usually to intercept rapidly approaching hostile aeroplanes.
During the Battle of Britain many RAF pilots would relax near their
aircraft at the Squadron Dispersal Hut or Caravan ready,
at a moment’s notice, to run to their own aircraft if and
when the ‘Scramble Bell’ was sounded.
Among the most memorable images of that long hot summer of 1940 was the
sight of young British fighter pilots lounging and relaxing around their
dispersal areas awaiting the vital telephone call.When
the ringing of the warning bell sounded this would be quickly followed by
groups of pilots leaping to their feet and running to their fully-armed and
refueled Spitfires and Hurricanes sitting nearby.
This is the iconic image of a scene that was repeated thousands of times
throughout that historic summer of 1940 and inspired this 4-figure set.
Also adding to both scene and set is the sight of the ‘Squadron
Mascot’, a Border Collie called ‘DAISY’, running excitedly
alongside the four young pilots.
AVAILABLE: Early March
And that, my friends is
that for another month or so. Hope you find something that interests you
and might be added to your collection.
Retirements
HK129G/M Chinese Festival Sign Writer Set (Gloss / Matt)
HK144G/M Tailor Shop Set (Gloss / Matt)
IC047 Chinese Banner Type 1
IC048 Chinese Banner Type 2
IDF004 Officer w/ UZI
IDF012 Sitting Sniper
IDF024 Egyptian/Syrian Soldier Advancing
IDF026 Looking For Trouble
IDF027 Standing Israeli Officer w/Binos
RAF062 Watching & Waiting
SP115 The VIETNAM Guard Post
SP129 Military Sandbags
|