Hi Guys,
By the time most of you read this myself, Tammi
& Kristy from K&C Headquarters here in Hong Kong will be getting ready
to fly out to America to take part in our very first ROUND TOP ANTIQUES
FAIR which has been held at Round Top, Texas for
more than 50 years!
Three times a year in Spring, Fall and
Winter this huge event attracts over 100,000 visitors from all over
North America (and elsewhere) to see (and buy) all kinds of
antiques and collectibles of every shape, size and kind you can think of.
Well, we thought, why not introduce top quality
toy soldiers and military miniatures into the mix. After all, a customer
base at an event like this obviously contains a large number of folks who
love history, celebrate heritage and perhaps appreciate hand-made, hand-painted,
authentically researched military miniatures that tell some of the great
stories from our past and even major conflicts from more recent times. ROUND
TOP will give us a unique opportunity to introduce K&C to
a whole new audience while at the same time promoting our own retail stores in Hong
Kong and, of course, San Antonio, Texas.
All of us will be at Round Top from
the 14-19 October and at Booth #333 in The
BIG RED BARN from dawn to dusk each day! If you’re in the area
come and stop by and say hello.
Now, that’s the introduction over let’s get down
to business…
By now most of you guys will know
about our all-new ‘Modern War’ series based on the ‘Black
Hawk Down’ story that follows the chaotic battle in Mogadishu,
Somalia that infamously left 18 U.S. soldiers dead
and 73 more wounded and injured on 3/4 October 1993.
K&C’s recent releases of
fighting U.S. Army Rangers has been well and truly welcomed
not only by U.S. collectors but others from all over the world with all of
these guys eagerly looking forward to one of the very special ground vehicles
that was at the heart of the whole operation – the American M1025 Armored
Carrier, much better known as ‘The HUMVEE’.
These High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV)
were lightweight, highly mobile, diesel-powered, four-wheel drive tactical
vehicles that utilized a common chassis to carry a wide variety of military
hardware ranging from .50 cal. machine guns to tube - launched, optically
tracked, wire- guided TOW anti tank missiles.
HUMVEES could operate in a wide range of environments from deserts to
jungles for long sustained periods of time with minimal maintenance.
They were made to carry cargo and
occupants in a degree of safety while dodging deadly instruments of war
including bombs, bullets, mines and RPG’s (Rocket Propelled Grenades).
In addition, the HUMVEE had to be
air-transportable and droppable and also capable of being sling – loaded under
a helicopter.
Both of our K&C HUMVEES are based on the
troop-carrying versions seen in action in the great Ridley Scott –
directed ‘Black Hawk Down’ movie.
In real life, ‘Operation
Gothic Serpent’, the plan to capture key Somali militia leaders loyal
to local warlord Mohamed Farah Aidid involved
a convoy of ground vehicles, mostly HUMVEES and manned by Rangers, extracting
other Rangers who earlier had been inserted by helicopter and their prisoners
back to safety at the U.S. base after the capture of the targets.
With the downing of two Black Hawk helicopters by enemy action the original
plan began to unravel and it seemed the entire city erupted and engulfed the
original convoy with Somali militia firing down on the HUMVEES from every
rooftop and blocking routes and roads leading into and out of the city.
At this point it’s worth mentioning
that one of the HUMVEE’s major weak points at this time
was that although mounting a powerful .50 cal. machine gun there was no armour shield to protect either the gun or the gunner!
A second relief HUMVEE convoy, led
by Lt. Col. Danny McKnight, also struggled to navigate the hostile
streets of Mogadishu while suffering numerous ‘hits’ on their light-weight
aluminum doors, unarmored windshields and ranger personnel.
This was the perilous situation our
new U.S. Army Rangers and their Humvees found themselves in…
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BHD013 ‘HUMVEE’ (with
Gunner cocking the .50 cal machine gun) In
this vehicle the gunner is using his right hand to cock the heavy .50 Cal.
while keeping a lookout for any of the local Somali militia. |
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BHD014 M1025 M1025 HUMVEE (with
Gunner firing the .50 Cal. machine gun) |
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BHD017 ‘Ranger Fire Team’ A
three-man section including a Ranger NCO firing his Beretta M9 pistol.
This semi-automatic weapon replaced the venerable .45 M1911 pistol
in 1985 and was widely carried by officers and senior enlisted ranks in
addition to their M16A2 assault rifles. Our senior NCO
(non commissioned
officer) takes careful aim using the two-handed shooting style favoured by most police forces as well as many militaries
around the world.
A very useful addition to the previously released Rangers! |
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AVAILABLE: Early October
History has seen numerous outstanding aviators
and specifically ‘ACE’ fighter pilots. None however, comes close to the exceptionally gifted (and
deadly) Erich Hartmann (1922-1993) who
served and flew mainly on the Eastern Front during WW2.
Hartmann was the top-scoring
fighter pilot of all the many Allied and Axis aces of WW2. He flew a
staggering 825 combat missions recording a grand total of 352 victories!
During the winter months of 1944 and into 1945
Hartmann flew a number of different Messerschmitt Bf.109
‘Gustavs’ painted in the distinctive
winter-colour scheme of snow white with faint grey colour camouflage. On the nose of each aircraft was
Hartmann’s own ‘Black Tulip’ design which became the last
symbol many unfortunate Soviet aviators would ever see. In addition,
Hartmann’s winter ‘Gustav’ would also carry a red heart under the
cockpit on the port side bearing the name of his wife.
With Germany’s defeat, Erich Hartmann was handed
over to the Russians and served 10 years in various brutal Soviet prison / labour camps before being freed and returning to Germany
and his family.
Shortly afterwards he joined the new West
German Bundeswehr air force rising to the rank of ‘Colonel’
and commanding the famous ‘Richtofen’ squadron
which was then flying the deadly and dangerous U.S. made F104
‘Starfighter’. He passed away in 1993.
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LW091 Erich Hartmann’s Messerschmitt Bf. 109 This
particular winter ‘Gustav’ was
painted in these colours while flying with Jagdgeschwader 53. Each
model comes in its own sturdy, full-colour,
presentation box. |
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LW092 ‘Major Erich Hartmann’ |
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LW-S04 LW091 + LW092 Value Added set |
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AVAILABLE: Mid October
Four additional sets of very useful
Roman citizens to help collectors populate the streets of this Ancient city…
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RnB044 ‘The Hard-Working Servants’ This
pair of working men can be used in a number of
different scenes and areas performing their daily duties on the streets,
alleys and courtyards of wealthy merchants and or powerful and influential
noble families. |
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RnB054 ‘The
Noble Couple’ |
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RnB058 ‘Young
Roman Game Players’ |
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RnB063 ‘The
Roman Orator’ ‘Oratory’ is the art of public speaking and in
Ancient Rome society it was valued highly. Trained
to be eloquent and persuasive, orators used their skills and position in
society to inform and influence public opinion, sway judges and, sometime
denounce political figures. Oratory
in Rome, at that time, was very much a male arena. Some
elite men trained to be public orators throughout their lives. Our
public ‘orator’ is making a particular
point while standing on a marble plinth to address a crowd of
onlookers. This was a very early form of mass
communication. |
AVAILABLE: Early October
As ever with King & Country we
move around the world, crossing continents and oceans and travelling through
time to the ‘Wild West’ and the city limits of a small, but
bustling ‘Cow Town’ of the 1880s…
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CD041 ‘Welcome To Abilene’ In
1867, the Kansas Pacific Railway Company (Union Pacific today) pushed
westwards through Abilene where a local resident built a
hotel and stockyards capable of holding up to 2,000 head of cattle and
stables for cattle drive horses. At
the same time, the railroad constructed a ‘spur-line’ that
enabled cattle cars to be rapidly loaded and sent on to various destinations
in the Northern States. As business the town grew quickly and became the
first, great ‘Cow Town’ of the West. Here
you can see one of the cowboys who has just driven a large herd of cattle all
the way up from Texas to the railhead here in Abilene. It’s not surprising
that after many long weeks on the trail and in the saddle he rests against
one of the local sign posts marking the cowtown’s
city limits. |
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AVAILABLE: Mid-to-Late October
Banditos were Mexican Bandits and outlaws who took part in every kind of
criminality along the Texas / Mexico border during the Wild West era from the Mexican
/ American War in 1848 until the end of the Mexican Revolution in
the 1920’s. During that time the border was very dangerous due to the
political and economic turmoil in Mexico itself.
This caused thousands of peasants to become revolutionaries or bandits who
occasionally made forays into Texas itself and other U.S. border states to
steal cattle, rob banks and even attack small towns and lonely ranches and
farms.
On the American side of the border, the U.S. Army as well as local
law enforcement, such as the Texas Rangers and occasionally
vigilantes took their revenge and sometimes ventured into Mexico themselves to
exact punishment on the bandito gangs.
Many books and a plentiful supply of movies have featured these ‘banditos’
and so K&C wanted to add a few more of our own…
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TRW205 ‘CALVERA, the Bandito Chief’ The
classic 1960 ‘Western’, “The Magnificent seven” has
always been a favourite of mine! Starring Yul
Brynner, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson and three
others it will be featured in a special 7-figure upcoming K&C release.
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TRW206 ‘Mounted Bandito #1’ Another
of Calvera’s mounted henchman to back up the chief. |
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TRW207 ‘Winchester Bandito’ Looking
relatively relaxed this well-armed bandito rests his Winchester on his
shoulders. |
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TRW208 ‘Jesus Arriago ‘Chucho el Roto’ Arriago
was a Mexican bandito (1858-1885) who liked to rob the rich and
occasionally share a small portion of his newly-acquired wealth with a few of
the peasants.His legend also included his love of
fine and colourful clothes and a reputation as a
formidable gunfighter.He was seen by some as a kind
of bandito ‘Robin Hood’ figure. |
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TRW209 ‘Mounted Bandito #2’ l
liked this figure so much I wanted to produce an alternative colour version and here he is.As you can see he looks great alongside Calvera! |
AVAILABLE: Mid-to-Late
October
Two final additions to our recent collection of English
archers in various poses. Two more alternatives…
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MK237 ‘Ready To
Fire Archer’ (Red Helmet) |
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MK245 ‘Ready To
Fire Archer’ (Iron Helmet) |
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AVAILABLE: Early October
Just 6 items
being retired this October but among them are two exceptional WW2 vehicles, one
British the other American…
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CD006 2 x Texas Longhorns |
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CD008 2 x Texas Longhorns |
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CD009 2 x Texas Longhorns |
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DD318 The Diamond T Tank Transporter
Set It comprised a 12-ton, 6x4 M20 Diamond T model 980 truck /
tractor pulling a companion 12-wheel M9 trailer. Almost 6,000 of these massive combinations were produced between
1941 and 1945 and supplied to all Allied armies fighting in all main ‘Theatres
of War’. If you collect 1:30 scale Allied Armour
(or even captured Axis vehicles) this great looking model deserves to
be in your collection too! Please Note: The model comes in its own specially-designed box and contains a 4 page, full-colour leaflet complete with photos and background
information. |
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FOB152 Bren Gun Carrier These small, tracked carriers were a family of high armoured vehicles built by Vickers Armstrong and
other licensed companies. They entered service with the British Army in 1935 and were not
finally withdrawn until 1960. Although mostly armed with the ubiquitous .303 Bren Gun other
weapons could be added. In this particular case,
a heavy Vickers machine gun is mounted behind the driver. An excellent addition to any K&C British WW2 collection! |
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FOB153 Highland Sergeant An NCO (Non Commissioned
Officer) of the Arguli & Sutherland
Highlanders. |
And that is that, at least for another thirty
days or so. Here’s hoping there’s something you like.
All the best, great sales and… Adios
for now!
Andy C. Neilson
Co-founder & Creative Director
King & Country