DISPATCHES
September 2018
For King & Country (and myself) September means ‘CHICAGO’
and ‘The Old Toy Soldier Show’... Back in 1985, just 2 years
after K&C was founded, yours truly and my cofounder, Laura McAllister
Johnson attended our very first ‘CHICAGO SHOW’. Never before had
we seen so many collectors, dealers and toy soldier makers all gathered in one
place to buy, sell and talk toy soldiers all day long and often well into the
night... It was a revelation and, even more importantly, great fun!
We met
all kinds of people and saw all kinds of amazing toy soldiers... There really
was something for everyone at prices to suit all sizes of pockets. Laura
and myself loved it then and we still love it today,
more than 30 years later.
This
year’s upcoming Show at the HYATT Schaumburg, just outside of Chicago,
will see K&C on display once more display and present some of our latest
releases as well as preview a few soon-to-be-released future ones.
Here is
just a little taste of some of what is being launched this month, September...
Enjoy!
1.
Coming This
Month...
A.
‘Colonial
Hong Kong On Parade!’
For 156
years Hong Kong was a British Crown Colony until 30 June,
1997 when it was ceremonially handed back to the People’s Republic
of China.
Two
years previously, in 1995, a unique military unit held its final parade before
being disbanded and ending 143 years of loyal service to the British Crown and
the people of, what was originally, a small port city on the southern coast of
China – Hong Kong.
THE
ROYAL HONG KONG REGIMENT (The Volunteers) was a militia formation founded
in 1854 and tasked with the defense of the small Colony alongside the regular
British Army garrison stationed there.
For many
years it would join with other British Forces in taking part in the Queen’s
Birthday Parade held annually in the city.
Taking
the official salute on behalf of the Queen would be her representative, His
Excellency, The Governor, resplendent in his ‘Tropical Whites’
and saluting as the different units marched past.
Here are
some great new additions to our fond memories of a Colonial Hong Kong now long
gone...
CE021
‘British Guard Box’
A once
familiar sight outside many Army barracks in Hong Kong and around the world
wherever the sun never set on the British Empire... Usually painted either
black or green, our K&C model comes in a very fetching ‘British Racing
Green’ colour. Can also
be utilized with our ‘Ceremonial’ Coldstream Guards figures.
CHK006
‘RHKR Staff Sergeant Present Arms’
This
smartly-turned out NCO (Non Commissioned Officer) presents arms
with his SLR (Self Loading Rifle) and fixed bayonet.
CHK007
‘RHKR Corporal Present Arms’
Similar
to the previous ‘Volunteer’ but a junior NCO this time... with just 2
x stripes.
CHK008
‘His Excellency, The Hong Kong Governor’
Always a
trusted and experienced Civil Servant, appointed by the British Prime Minister,
the Governor would put on his white tropical uniform only for special
occasions, such as the Queen’s Birthday Parade.
CHK009
‘The Governor’s RHKP Aide de Camp’
Every
regular and volunteer military unit in Hong Kong Provided H.E. The Governor with
an ADC, however to avoid any inter service rivalry between the Army,
Royal Navy and Royal Air Force the senior ADC was always provided by
the Royal Hong Kong Police.
Here we
show the Governor’s RHKP Aide de Camp in all his ceremonial
finery including the white ‘Solar Topee’ sun
helmet adorned with black feathers.
CHK010
‘Ceremonial Flag Base & British Crown Colony of Hong Kong Flag.’
The
Colonial Hong Kong flag comprised the British Blue Ensign with the
Colony’s ‘Coat of Arms’ in a white circle in
the fly of the flag. The shield shows two junks upon blue and white
stripes representing the sea topped by a lion holding a pearl, a reference to
Hong Kong’s nickname as ‘The Pearl of the Orient.’
The
shield as a whole is supported by a British Lion and a Chinese Dragon.
The Flag
and its staff fit neatly into a sturdy grey stone base.
CHK011
‘RHKR Trooper Present Arms’
Same parade position as CHK006
and 007
AVAILABLE: Mid
September
B.
‘ON THE
STREETS OF OLD HONG KONG’
Still wandering around Hong Kong
in ‘The Good Old Days’ we come across a pair of street vendors... In
those faroff days before supermarkets virtually
anything and everything was sold on the street... and for cash, no credit
allowed!
HK281 “The Hakka Flower Seller”
The Hakka people are Han Chinese who
originated from the lands bordering the Yellow River who migrated to
China’s southern provinces as well as overseas.
During the late Ming and
Qing dynasties a substantial proportion moved to what became Hong Kong and
took up farming in the less accessible and more hilly
areas of the territory. Most of this agricultural work was done by women as
their menfolk often took laboring jobs in the nearby urban areas of Kowloon and
Hong Kong.
After cultivating and tending
their crops it was the women who would journey into the city areas to sell
their produce.
This seated Hakka enjoys a
snack of sweet corn as she awaits customers for her flowers.
HK282 “The Hakka Vegetable
Seller”
Sitting
nearby is another Hakka woman selling basket loads of fresh fruit and
vegetables.
AVAILABLE:
Mid September
C.
ARMOUR IN
WINTER
From the humidity and heat of
tropical Hong Kong and Southern China to the freezing cold of Northern
Europe and the frozen steppes of Russia during WW2...
WH091 “The JagdPanzer
Pz. Kpfw. IV L/70 – (Winter
Version)”
Whenever K&C produce a ‘summer’
version of an armoured vehicle (especially German
ones) it does not take long before collectors contact us to request the
same vehicle in ‘winter garb’ suitable for either ‘Battle of the
Bulge’ or the ‘Eastern Front’.
Well, here is the snow-camouflaged
self-propelled gun as requested and there are just 150 of them. So,
grab them while you can.
As noted in our original version
the metal mesh side-screens are removable so collectors can choose how they
wish to portray the vehicle.
AVAILABLE:
Early September
D.
THE SPOILS OF
WAR’
From ancient times onward
victorious soldiers have always collected ‘souvenirs’ from their less
fortunate, defeated opponents. During the First World War ordinary soldiers
had access to a first-class postal service that allowed them to collect and
ship off home all kinds of battlefield mementoes and ‘trophies’ that
they had come across (by whatever ways and means) after the fighting was
over.
British and Australian soldiers
were no exception and here is one of the most famous of the ‘amateur’
collectors...
FW230 “Private John ‘Barney’
Hines”
John ‘Barney’ Hines (1878-1958) was a British-born Australian
soldier of The Great War, well-known for his skills and prowess at collecting ‘souvenirs’
from captured German Soldiers.
A photo
of ‘Barney’ depicting him surrounded by his German acquisitions
after the Battle of Polygon Wood in 1917 is among the best-known
Australian images of the First World War.
This was the inspiration for our
K&C figure which shows ‘Barney’ complete with ‘pickelhaub’
helmet (a much-prized souvenir for WW1 soldiers and collectors) and
other bits ‘n’ bobs of German equipment. Our figure also shows ‘Barney’
taking a closer look at some saucy French postcards that he has ‘liberated’
from a German prisoner!
AVAILABLE:
Mid September
E.
‘BANZAI!’
With the
popular success of K&C’s WW2 U.S. Marines it’s only natural that collectors
of this dynamic-action range want more opposition to fight the ‘Leathernecks’.
Well, here are the latest additions...
JN041 “Type 95 ‘Ha-Go Light
Tank” (2nd
Version)
Our
first version had the tank commander perched in the open hatch of the vehicle
leading the charge... This time around we’ve closed up the hatch and
allowed the commander to take cover inside the turret as the tank moves into
action.
This
second-version ‘Ha-Go’ is numbered #22 allowing our Japanese
opponents to put another armoured vehicle into battle
alongside the earlier and now-retired #21.
JN045 “The Japanese Light
Howitzer & Crew”
Compared
to Allied artillerymen the Japanese Army had only a limited number of Light
Field pieces. This particular Light Howitzer was ‘crewed’ by just
3x soldiers and could be ‘broken down’ and man-carried in jungle terrain
and then hastily reassembled.
JN047
“Dead Japanese Set #1”
(2 x figs)
No one
could deny the bravery of the ordinary Japanese soldier in WW2. Instilled
with the spirit of ‘Bushido’ and willing to die for his emperor his Allied
opponents could take no chances when encountering this fierce and often
fanatical foe... Few Japanese soldiers even considered surrendering even
when faced with imminent death or defeat...
Better
to die for the emperor than live as a coward!
JN048
“Dead Japanese Set #2”
(2 x figs)
Another
pair of dead Japanese soldiers... remnants of a failed ‘Banzai’
charge or just in the wrong place at the wrong time...?
JN049X
“A Rare Surrender”
Towards
the end of WW2 a few Japanese soldiers decided it was better to live with the
shame of surrender especially when they could see they were fighting for a lost
cause and Japan’s defeat was inevitable.
Allied
troops capturing them would usually make them strip down to their loin cloths to
ensure they were not hiding any weapons, knives or grenades on their bodies.
AVAILABLE:
Mid-Late September
Please
note: This
particular set is exclusively sold by K&C.
AVAILABLE:
Early September
F.
‘THE ENEMIES
OF ROME’
In
warfare ‘ferocity’ is nothing new... Back in the 1st. Century
AD the Romans had their hands full dealing with rebellious tribes all over
their empire.
Some of
their fiercest enemies could be found in the warlike tribes that inhabited
Britannia and Gaul...
RnB013
“No Mercy”
A Roman
Legionary pleads for his life to be spared as a tattooed Briton stands over him
dagger in hand...
RnB014
“Mounted Chieftain w/The Draco Standard”
The ‘Draco
Standard’ was originally developed by the mounted nomads of the Steppes. It
may have originally been used to determine the wind-direction for
horse-archers.
Roman
cavalry units adopted the ‘Draco’ for their own use and here we see one
that has fallen into enemy hands and is proudly displayed as a battle trophy by
this mounted chief.
RnB015
“Carnyx Horn Player”
The ‘Carnyx’ was an ancient Celtic war trumpet used between
300 BC and 200 AD. The instrument and its player accompanied warriors
into battle.
The
mournful sound of this ancient horn was said to both inspire its followers as
well as strike fear into its enemies. It was considered a great honour among the warriors to be chosen to both play and
carry the richly decorated tribal Carnyx into battle.
AVAILABLE:
Mid September
G.
‘MORE JOHN FORD CAVALRY!’
As promised when we first previewed
these mounted U.S. cavalrymen here are the next three releases...
TRW135
“The Stars ’n’ Stripes Forever”
A
cavalry sergeant carries the National Flag proudly... This is
another in this new range of mounted figures that has the ‘moveable’
head feature.
TRW139
“Captain Sam Collingwood”
Another
of the featured characters from John Ford’s ‘FORT APACHE’ (1948),
a brother officer of Capt. Kirby York (John Wayne). Here Captain Collingwood
scans the horizon for any sign of hostile Indians.
He also
has the ‘moveable’ head.
TRW146
“5th Cavalry Regimental Flagbearer”
A
companion piece to TRW135... This sergeant has the colourful Regimental Standard of the 5th
U.S. Cavalry... with ‘moveable’ head of course.
AVAILABLE:
Mid September
H.
‘GOOD MORNING
VIETNAM’
From
ancient battlefields in Western Europe to more modern battlefields in South
East Asia...
Vietnam to be precise!
VN002
“USMC Sniper”
During
the Vietnam conflict the U.S. Marine Corps used 2 x
main ‘Sniper’ rifles... the M40 bolt-action rifle and the Winchester
Model 70, also a bolt-action weapon based on the sporting rifle made by
Winchester.
Our
K&C Marine sniper has adopted the seated firing position as he takes aim at
a distant enemy figure.
VN009
“Corpsman & Wounded Marine”
This
Kneeling Navy Corpsman has done his best to bandage up a
seriously wounded ‘Grunt’... Now, they’re waiting for the transport to
get the injured Marine back to the nearest Aid Station to have his wounds
properly seen to.
VN012
“Marine Lying Prone Firing”
While
one Marine awaits evacuation from the battlefield another ‘gets down on the
deck’ to shoot up some of the opposition!
And here
comes the first of the opposition...
VN019
“Lying Prone Viet Cong Sniper”
The
National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, commonly known as the Viet Cong were
locally recruited South Vietnamese peasants and workers that fought against its
own government and the United States during the conflict.
The Viet
Cong or ‘VC’ was made up of both part-time militia and regular
full-time army units. Many of those militia were
farmers by day... guerrillas by night... They often had the advantage of
knowing the local countryside and area well compared to both the U.S. and ARVN
units sent against them. Although the US and ARVIN forces had the
firepower and the wealth of military equipment the V.C., or ‘Victor Charlie’
had the element of surprise and the long-term commitment that ultimately led to
the collapse of South Vietnam and the victory of the North.
In the
Viet Cong there was a very strong female element who
played an active role in all aspects of the fighting. This lying prone
female sniper is ample proof of that as she draws a bead on some distant enemy
target with her Czech-made, Soviet supplied SKS rifle.
VN021
“VC Kneeling firing AK47”
A
male comrade of this little VC ‘sniper’prepares to
fire off a burst from his AK47. The Soviet-designed AK47 has
long been a favorite weapon (and symbol) of guerrilla groups
worldwide... Easy to use, difficult to jam and able to withstand all kinds of
weathers and conditions it is, quite simply, described by friends and foes
alike, to be a superlative Assault Rifle!
VN024
“Crouching Uncle Ho”
Look
closely at this older member of the Viet Cong group and you will see that he
bears more than a passing resemblance to Ho Chi Minh, the
legendary revolutionary leader of North Vietnam.
Looks
aside however, it would seem unlikely that the ‘great leader’ would be
operating down south with a small guerrilla band. Our
‘doppelganger’ carriers the ubiquitous SKS rifle.
VN026
“Dead Viet Cong”
Taking
the fight to the enemy also comes with a cost... 2 x dead V.C., one male, one female lie sprawled on the ground, their weapons
by their side.
VN028
“Moving Supplies”
A female
V.C. shoulders a box of supplies while still keeping her rifle close at hand.
AVAILABLE: Mid-Late September
And that
my friends is the story so far this month, except, of
course to let you know about the latest ‘retirees’, here they are...
2.
BEING RETIRED
THIS MONTH...
AK110 The AK Medical Officer
AK111 Soldier Lifting Jerricans
AL080 Turkish Officer w/Pistol & Binos
DD183 D-Day Machine Gun Team
DD220 Officer w/Carbine
DD221 Walking B.A.R. Man
DD222 Para Radioman
DD242 Sitting Wounded
FW207
Kneeling
being Blessed!
JN018 Lieut
J.G. Tetsuzo Iwamoto
JN025 Japanese Officer
NA284 Standing Firing (leaning forward)
NA290 Helping Tommy Atkins
NA348 The Maid
PnM039 The Cardinal
SP061 Desert Village/Compound Set
SP066 European Walls Set
WH057 Where Vultures Fly!
WH058 Fresh Milk Today!
WH061 Sd.Kfz. 11 Special Tracked Transport
WH062 10.5cm Light Field Howitzer
On that
cheerful note, I’ll get ready for ‘CHICAGO’ and look forward to meeting some of
you in person at the SHOW...
Until then, all the best, happy collecting
and... GREAT SALES!
Andy C. Neilson
Co-founder & Creative
Director
King & Country Ltd.