DISPATCHES
September
2019
WELCOME to
this month’s ‘DISPATCHES’ as we prepare to pack up all our displays,
figures, fighting vehicles and even a very large aircraft for the ‘CHICAGO
SHOW’.
September would
not be September without this very important toy soldier show and a very
special event. King & Country has now been taking part for more than 30
years!
This
month’s ‘DISPATCHES’ are also being issued on a very special date... 3 September
2019... The 80th Anniversary of 3 September
1939 when Great Britain declared war on Nazi Germany. It’s worth
remembering that Britain and her Empire, now the Commonwealth, were the only
countries that stood against Hitler from virtually the first day of the war
until the last. Perhaps that is just one of the many reasons that the Second
World War and all its participants have played such a vital and inspiring part
of the King & Country story and the many thousands of figures, vehicles,
aircraft and other models that we have designed and produced over the years.
So perhaps
it is only fitting that this month’s ‘DISPATCHES’ features a very strong
emphasis on the men and machines of WW2 in Europe and in the Pacific...
Now, read on...
BEING
RELEASED IN SEPTEMBER...
A.
‘Operation
Market Garden’
One of the longest-running and most
popular WW2 ranges produced by King & Country is”ARNHEM’44”...
It’s also the series that revolutionized the hobby and converted many toy
soldier collectors from traditional, high-gloss figures in 54mm scale to the
all-matt painted, larger 60mm soldier.
I can also truthfully declare that
it was the first K&C series that attracted a wealth of overseas collectors
and was a major turning point in the direction of the company and its fortunes.
That was back in 1995... Today,
we’re launching the first of our 75th Anniversary releases
that focus on the opening stages of this ill-fated but heroic military
operation.
MG076 “Planning Market Garden”
‘Operation Market Garden’
was the brainchild of Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery. Its
objective was to create a 64 mile (103km)
corridor through Nazi-occupied Holland and into northern Germany. This
would involve the capture of 9 key bridges over various canals and
rivers by 3 Allied airborne divisions (2xAmericans and 1xBritish). At
the same time, British land forces would move along this captured corridor and
into the Third Reich itself.
If successful, Montgomery believed,
the war might be over by Christmas 1944. Orders were issued, plans were
drawn up and the principal senior officers gathered to work out the precise
details and duties of everyone involved.
This unique 4-man set brings
together four of the senior officers tasked with the British objective... the
Dutch town of Arnhem located on the banks of the River Rhine.
Gathered around the large map board showing the objectives of all three
airborne divisions and the DZ’s and LZ’s around Arnhem itself.
Lieut. Gen. ‘Boy’ Browning, commander of the 1 Airborne
Corps and deputy commander of the 1st Allied Airborne Army
during Operation Market Garden. During the planning of the operation he
memorably said, “I think we might be going a bridge too far!”
A former Guards officer and a
little bit of a military ‘dandy’ Browning designed his own special uniform
and created the British paras famous red beret and winged Pegasus badge.
Lieut. Gen. Brian Horrocks,
commander of the British XXX Corps tasked with leading the ground assault of
the ‘Market Garden’ operation.
Maj.
Gen. Roy Urquhart,
General Officer Commanding the British 1st Airborne Division at
Arnhem. Urquhart’s division fought for nine days unsupported against the 2nd
SS Panzer Corps in the ill-fated attempt to capture the famous bridge over
the Rhine and lost three quarters of its strength (killed, wounded and
captured) during the battle.
Maj. Gen. Stanislaw Sosabowski,
commanded the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade during
the Arnhem battle... Even at the planning stage Sosabowski
expressed serious concerns about the poorly conceived glider landing zones and
parachute dropping areas believing, correctly, that they were too distant from
their objectives.
All four of these ‘Market
Garden’ senior officers with their map board come together in this
special 75th Anniversary Set to tell an important part of the
Arnhem ’44 story.
MG077 ‘On The
Road To Arnhem’
Three British paratroopers making
their way from the ‘Drop-Zone’ towards Arnhem. So far… so good… Little do they
know what lies ahead.
AVAILABLE: Mid-Late September
Special Preview: Here are just a few photos of
additional K&C sets that are being issued over the coming months to mark
the 75th Anniversary of this heroic but ill-fated battle.
More will follow.
B.
‘Operation
Wacht am Rhein (Operation Watch on the Rhine)
The Wehrmacht’s code name for the
last great German offensive in the West that erupted on the unsuspecting Allies
in mid December 1944... just a few months after their
Arnhem Victory.
It was launched through the densely
forested Ardennes region which includes parts of Belgium, northern
France and Luxembourg during the depths of a European winter.
The German intention was to split
the Allied Lines, encircle and destroy four Allied armies and capture the great
Belgian port of Antwerp.
Hitler hoped that this would force
the Western Allies to negotiate a separate peace treaty and allow him to
concentrate all his forces on the Eastern Front.
‘The Battle of The Bulge’
is also another of K&C’s most popular and widely collected WW2 ranges of
figures and fighting vehicles...
BBG121 ‘Advancing Thru’ The Snow’
Four great-coated Panzer
Grenadiers move cautiously forward towards the unsuspecting American front
lines... In a few minutes a mighty German artillery barrage will open up and then these men and their comrades will fall upon
the shaken and surprised ‘Amerikaners’!
BBG122 ‘The Panzerschreck Team’
A small 2-man set of Panzer
Grenadiers carrying the German equivalent of the ‘Bazooka’.
BBG123 ‘Winter Attack!’
Three Panzer Grenadiers rush
forward in the assault... Although the snow is deep
they have the advantage of surprise!
Special Note: To support these nine Panzer
Grenadiers in their attack a special winter edition of the Jagdpanzer IV* self
propelled assault gun is also in the works... For release shortly.
AVAILABLE: Mid
September for the figures... December for the Jagdpanzer IV
C.
The
War In The Pacific
From the freezing cold of a
European Winter to the hot and humid heat of the Pacific in 1944 and ’45 we
bring you a long-awaited and much-requested fighting vehicle to provide much
needed armoured support for K&C’s U.S. Marines
battling their way island by island all the way to Tokyo...
USMC053 “The U.S.M.C. Pacific
Sherman”
The M4 Sherman with its powerful 75mm main gun and
strong armour was more than a match for any Japanese
tanks of WW2 as well as their anti tank artillery.
Mid 1944 saw
the replacement of most of the Marine Corps tanks battalion’s earlier M3
Stuarts with the more powerful, heavier armoured M4
Shermans.
Although easily ‘out-gunning’ the
enemy armour a new threat erupted when Japanese
suicide teams, wrapping themselves with explosives, threw themselves onto
American tanks.
Marine Corps ‘tankers’
improvised a whole range of field modified methods to keep the enemy at bay.
One common practice in the Pacific
was to attach thick timber planks on each side of the tank to ward off the
enemy attaching adhesive or magnetic mines and explosives.
They also provided additional
protection against Japanese anti tank guns.
This great new K&C Sherman has
also been camouflaged in shades of olive drab... rust-coloured brown and desert sand – it’s typical of
U.S.M.C. combat operations of this late war period.
Our model also comes complete with
the rare sighting of a USMC tank commander
appearing just above the rim of his turret hatch to get a better look at the
enemy.
Together with a high quality full-colour presentation box this K&C Pacific Sherman
is a welcome reinforcement for all our fighting Marine riflemen battling their
way up from the beach... into the jungle... and all the way to Tokyo!
AVAILABLE: Mid
September
D.
“Attack
On Ouistreham”
Ouistreham is a small port town on the coast
of Normandy and, on June 6, 1944, the objective of 177 French commandos led by Capitaine
de Frigate Philippe Kieffer.
The commandos
task was to ‘knock-out’ a German strongpoint located in and on top of a pre war French casino.
This brave and bold story was
replicated in the 1962 War epic, “The Longest Day” which showed
the attack on the Casino.
Now K&C proudly introduce 10
all-action, fighting Free French commandos led by a special ‘solo’
figure of Kieffer himself.
Two individual commandos and Two 4-man
assault sets will be available... in two releases.
DD330 “Capitaine de Fregate Philippe Kieffer”
Philippe Kieffer (1899-1962) was a French naval officer, a political
personality and a true hero of the Free French Forces.
Following the Fall of France in
June 1940 he was one of the first regular French officers to leave for London
to join Gen. De Gaulle’s Free French.
In Britain he formed the first unit
of French commandos known as the 1er Bataillon de
Fusiliers Marins Commandos and took part in
several important ‘raids’ on occupied Europe before leading his men into
battle on D.Day.
Our K&C representation shows
him leading his men and carrying a Thompson submachine gun.
DD331 “Free French Commandos Set
#1”
Four ‘Fusilier Marins’ go into the assault ... Two firing their Sten guns while a third takes careful aim
with his Lee Enfield .303 rifle. A fourth, lying prone commando provides
covering fire with his Bren light machine gun.
DD333 “Free French Commandos
Grenadier”
Holding his Sten
gun in one hand, a running ‘Fusilier Marin’ rushes forward clutching a
grenade in the other.
SPECIAL NOTE: The remaining 4-man set of Free French
Commandos will be released in November.
AVAILABLE: Mid
September
E.
‘A
Descendant of The Sun Goddess...”
The Emperor Hirohito (1901-1989) reigned as emperor of Japan from
1926 until 1989. He was the head of state during Japan’s expansionist assault
on China and its entry into WW2 on 7 December 1941.
After Japan’s defeat in August 1945
he was not prosecuted for war crimes however his close involvement with wartime
decisions and actions remains to this day controversial.
During the post-war period, he became
the symbol of the new state now emerging and the peace and prosperity it
promoted and enjoyed
Here however we see him during
WW2...
JN058 “The Emperor Hirohito”
On December 8 (December 7 in
Pearl Harbor) 1941, Japanese forces struck
simultaneous attacks on Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore, The Philippines
and elsewhere in the Pacific.
In Tokyo, the Emperor took a keen
interest in military progress and was involved in helping to plan several
military operations. In order to boost both military and civilian morale he
also chose to wear the everyday uniform of a Japanese general complete, of
course, with the traditional ‘Samurai Sword’... And that’s how we have
portrayed him.
AVAILABLE: Mid
September
F.
‘...
And Finally to the Little Bighorn!”
Last but not
least we leave
WW2 alone for just a little while as we move onto another battlefield... at
another time.
The Battle of the Little Bighorn or, if you prefer, ‘Custer’s
Last Stand’ was the last major engagement between the combined forces
of the Lakota Sioux, the Northern Cheyenne and the Arapaho against
the United States Army.
For the
Indians it was also to be their last great victory against the ‘Long Knives’
for which they would suffer greatly!
However on June 25-26, 1876, along and
above the banks of the Little Bighorn River in Montana Territory
a last great victory was won.
Here are
three of the victorious American Indian warriors...
TRW155 “Black Cloud”
This
Northern Cheyenne
warrior, armed
with a lance and shield helped defend the tribal lodges east of the main
village on the Little Big Horn in the early stage of the battle.
TRW156 “Brave Bear”
A
Southern Cheyenne dog
soldier who has the distinction of being the warrior who actually
killed Custer!
TRW157 “Breech Cloth”
A
Lakota Sioux
killed fighting on ‘Reno Hill’. Here we see him being shot off his horse
on June 25, 1976.
AVAILABLE: Early September
G.
BEING
RETIRED THIS MONTH...
AL099
Standing Horse
#1
AL100
Standing Horse #2
FoB077
Standing Home
Guard Major
FoB082
The Captain
FoB083
The Sergeant
FoB084
The Scrounger
FoB085
The Mummy’s Boy
FoB088
The Old Soldier
FoB113
Walking Ready
Poilu
FoB123
Rear guard Trio
IC039
General &
Map
LoA009
Major Garland
LoA010
Arab Loading Rifle
MK116
The Veteran
NA375
The Emperor
& His Aide de Camps
Well, that’s the story so far for
one more month. Hope you find something to like in this little September
collection.
In the meantime...
Look out for upcoming display photos of what’s on show in Chicago from the 18th
of September onwards.
Plus as usual, best wishes and very
happy collecting!!!
Andy C. Neilson
Co-founder & Creative Director
King & Country Ltd.