OCTOBER
2009
DISPATCHES
I’m actually
writing this month’s “DISPATCHES” on Thursday 17th.of September…
Tomorrow afternoon we fly out (Helen, Patrick and me) to
So the next 3 1/2
weeks will be a bit of a whirlwind and I thought I better sit down and write
“DISPATCHES” here in HK before, as they say, “going on the road”.
So, here goes…
1. COMING IN OCTOBER…
The response to the
announcement of this new series in last month’s “DISPATCHES” was simply
awesome! We sold out of our first 400 Hawker Hurricanes in less than 24
hours!!!
And, it seems, most
collectors who want a Hurricane also want the add-on “personality”
pilots and ground crew as well. That’s wonderful news for K&C and just goes
to show the potential popularity of Air Force themed subjects… And, before you
ask there’s a lot more already in the pipeline… British (Spitfire and
Typhoon), American (P51B and P47 Thunderbolt) and, of course, German
(Me109, FW190 and JU87 “Stuka”) to name but a
few plus assorted diorama accessories, vehicles and figures! And a few
surprises…
For the moment
though there are these great “start-up” sets and figures…
The
head of Fighter Command and the leading architect of the RAF’s victory over the
Luftwaffe. K&C’s figure shows him in a typical pose paying a visit
to one of his front line squadrons during the
RAF002 “Squadron Leader Douglas Bader”
A
flying legend in the RAF.
Bader lost both legs in a pre war flying accident but fought to return
to operational flying at the outbreak of the war.
During the
One of the leading
characters in author
RAF004 “Sgt. Pilot Ginger Lacey”
James “Ginger” Lacey
was one of the NCO pilots who made up a quarter of Fighter Command’s strength
during the
Originally a
civilian navigation instructor and part-time pilot with 602 (City of
Two RAF pilots on
readiness await that jangling phone call that will send them running for their
aircraft. A very typical “
One
of the two most famous British aircraft that won the Battle of Britain. Less famous than the more graceful
Spitfire, the Hurricane carried eight .303 machine guns and could absorb
an amazing amount of punishment.
Twice as many
Hurricanes fought in the
K&C’s model is in the markings of 501 (
Special Note: Only 400 models of this particular Hurricane are planned for
production.
Without the
invaluable help, effort and support of the RAF’s ground crew the
Here, 3
Aircraftsmen make ready to get another Hurricane or Spitfire back into the air.
Set includes a Corporal Armourer and 2 x Leading Aircraftsmen.
“Keith Sutton”, a New Zealander, with a “souvenir”
tail piece from a Me. 110 he shot down.
Fighter pilots and
fast sports cars seem to go well together. Here, a young, rakish Flight
Lieutenant sits in his nifty little British racing-green MG Sports Car
enjoying a well-earned break from shooting down all those “nasty huns!”
From the
defensive tactics of Fighter Command in the summer of 1940 we move forward to
1943 and the offensive operations of the RAF’s mighty “Bomber Command”.
Here we
present three of Bomber command’s best known pilots… All of whom flew with 617
Squadron and took part in the famous “DAMBUSTERS” raid on the great dams of
RAF011 “Wing Commander Guy Gibson V.C.”
Accompanied by his
faithful Black Labrador “Nigger”, Gibson led the raid and was one of Bomber
Command’s most experienced pilots at just 24 years old! He was awarded the
Victoria Cross for the exploit. Sadly, he was killed on operations over
One of Gibson’s
best Flight Leaders and a New Zealander who volunteered to fly with the RAF. He
is one of a handful of survivors still living who took part in the epic raid.
A
great Australian bomber pilot and another of Gibson’s key flight leaders. He survived the war and went on to a long
and very successful career in the peactime RAF
eventually becoming an Air Vice Marshal.
SPECIAL NOTE: These are just a few of the great RAF
figures, aircraft and diorama accessories K&C has planned… look out for
more in the coming months!
AVAILABILITY: RAF001-006, 008-013 NOW!
RAF007 -- Mid October
ACHTUNG!ACHTUNG!ACHTUNG!
B. From the
skies of wartorn
BBG022 “Sd.Kfz 251/22 “Pakwagen” Ausf. D” (Winter)
Boy what a
mouthful!!!
After we made the
first summer version we thought “this could look equally good as a
Available
Now!
The Jagdpanzer IV was the final development of the tank
destroyer on the chassis of a standard tank. Development of this vehicle was
championed by General Heinz Guderian when he
was Inspector General of Panzer Forces in 1942/43. It was intended to
replace STUG III’s and IV’s
and first appeared in late 1944. It was used extensively during “The
BBG023 “Steyr 1500 FunkKraftwagen”
Another
mouthful… but a great
little vehicle… and useful too! Radio communications were and are vital to any
modern army and in 1944 the German Army was no exception.
This great looking
little truck was built on the well-proved Steyr 1500
chassis. Here in its original Wehrmacht/factory
finish g
And
doing just that are these 3 “Volksgrenadiers”
making an attack on an American position. All are in heavy winter greatcoats with, in two cases, camouflage
smocks on top.
An advancing “Volksgrenadier” shouts a warning as his mate fires a
well-aimed round at some retreating GI’s.
BBG026 “Winter Rifleman”
A great little
single figure character study of a “Volksgrenadier”…
Rifle on one shoulder and Panzerfaust on the other…
this soldier has seen his fill of war…
War has to go on
however and this other single rifleman is moving stealthily forward on an enemy
location…
Lying on the frozen
hard ground of the
AVAILABILITY: Mid October
Well, we weren’t actually but who cares…
With last year’s Christmas set of GI’s feeding two little Belgian orphans we
neglected to add… a Santa Claus.
And now
here he is… or at least a GI who’s made an effort to dress up as Santa using an
old, discarded and beat up greatcoat and… a pot of red paint.
XM009
All the toys
are made… the presents
are packed… the elves have gone to bed and Santa’s sled is loaded. He’s
about to head off on Christmas Eve and, to celebrate, Mr. & Mrs. Claus
enjoy a little jig around the workshop floor.
There’s a long
night ahead but for a brief moment Santa and his Missus can enjoy each other’s
happiness. The two-figure set also includes the tall candle stand.
AVAILABILITY: Late October
Monty Python were maybe onto something because after
visiting Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus up at the North
Pole we’ve landed in Ancient
Here two members of
the Emperor’s Bodyguard Regiment are out hunting in the Palace’s own
Royal Hunting Grounds.
As one guardsman
holds aloft his rabbit victim the mounted guardsman is after bigger game… a
local deer.
All these pieces
make a colourful addition to this popular collection.
AVAILABILITY: Mid October
2. COMING IN NOVEMBER
This NOVEMBER
promises to be one of the most diverse month’s in K&C’s
history… read on…
The motto of The
Coldstream Guards and one of K&C’s most popular
Napoleonic series… 12 brand-new Coldstreamers
provide reinforcements for our earlier British Guards Regiments… These new
soldiers (all except one small 2-figures set) are sold individually and,
for the most part, illustrate troops either a) moving into the line or b)
back at barracks on parade or even c) on the march. The choice is yours!
NA184 “Mounted
NA185 “Walking Flagbearer”
NA186 “Marching
NA187 “Marching Sergeant”
NA188 “Marching Pioneer”
NA189 “Marching Guardsman”
NA190 “Guardsman At
Attention”
Here, a veteran
Guardsman steps out of the battle to carry his young wounded ensign back to the
Surgeon’s tent…
NA192 “Camp Follower”
NA193 “Advancing Guardsman”
NA194 “Marching Flagbearer”
From outside
K&C’s first all-new U.S. Half-Track for a few
years and one of the most often requested... and here it is!
This classic armoured troop transport served U.S. Forces and their
Allies loyally throughout the War and even into the late
Our GI version
comes complete with a driver and a standing .50 calibre
machine gunner and his crew-served weapon. This winter-version also has a
detachable canvass cover for the troop compartment.
A towing hook at
the rear of his vehicle is also suitable for pulling…
A
superb model of the most famous field piece of the U.S. Army in WW2. Our “
2 additional
Artillerymen are also
available to crew-serve this great field piece. In addition we also supply
extra ammo boxes and a pile of shell tubes (used for carrying the rounds).
A lone “Gunner”,
rifle slung “humps” three more tubes of rounds forward to the guns.
BBA034 “Kneeling with Field Telephone”
A kneeling corporal
listens for a “fire order” and grid coordinates for his buddies
about to shell an enemy location.
A
long overdue addition to our U.S. Forces and our first new MP on a motorcycle
for many years.
This MP is on the
road, somewhere in
A really great
little 3-man grouping… Two sitting GI’s and their Nazi Prisoner. These
guys can be seated in a variety of ways inside our new Half-Track or posed
outside in a display or diorama… very useful!
A very versatile (like
all the other DV structures) that can be utilized in a wide variety of
settings and historical periods.
A key feature of
any small village or town in the Middle and
For a long time the
cofounders of K&C, Laura McAllister Johnson and myself
have wanted to design and produce a series of figures and diorama accessories
that tell the story of the most unique man that ever walked this earth.
This story has been
told in many different ways and in many different media… books… plays…
movies… television series and, of course, in nativity scenes,
for hundreds of years.
Our intention is
to tell it in all-metal, hand-painted
We begin the story
with “the Nativity” but that is only the beginning… We will continue the
story of Jesus through his childhood into his manhood and the journey from
We will introduce
many of the characters in Jesus’ life… his parents… his followers…
his persecutors and even some of the bystanders who saw him pass on his
journey.
K&C will also
provide some of the principal settings where many of the most dramatic events
in the life of Jesus took place… And we will try to port
In K&C’s history we’ve never attempted a project as
special or unique as “THE LIFE OF JESUS” we look forward to some of you
joining us on this epic journey back to The Holy Land and we begin with “The
Nativity”…
A standing Joseph
holds a lantern as his wife Mary nurses her new-born son.
In the field around
LoJ003 “The Three Wise Man”
In the Gospel of
Mathew he says these men came from the East to worship the Christ, born
King of the Jews. With them they bring gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh
for the infant Jesus.
Because there was
no room at the
It was here, that Mary gave birth surrounded by simple farm
animals… the oxen… the ass they brought with them… and some sheep.
One of the
dromedaries which accompanied the “Magi”
These figures along with our typical Middle
Eastern buildings and (soon to be released) palm trees form a realistic and
historically accurate scene that, to my knowledge, has never been reproduced in
AVAILABILITY: Early November
SPECIAL NOTE: A substantial part of the income from
“The LIFE OF JESUS” will be donated to a range of charities both in the
3. BEING RETIRED
BBA011 “M10 Tank Destroyer”
BBG008 “Sd. kfz.184 "Elefant"”
RTA017 “Robert Allen, VA – Loading”
RTA018 “William Johnson, PA - Kneeling Firing”
RTA020 “Dolphin Ward Floyd, NC – Ready”
RTA025 “John W.
RTA026 “Issac Ryan, LA -
Sitting Wounded”
And that my friends is that… We hope, as usual, you find something that
you and your customers find exciting, different and, who knows, maybe even
inspiring… Best personal wishes to one and all!
Andy C. Neilson
Co-founder & Creative Director
King & Country