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May 2024
Hi Guys,
Welcome to the month of May and a unique collection of figures from a select group of King & Country series that highlights the diversity of K&C’s historical subject matter.
Let’s begin in a part of the world that’s very much in the news at the moment and has been for the last six months… Israel and the Middle East.
1. BEING RELEASED THIS MONTH…
A. ‘Another time… Another War’
Since Israel was founded in 1948 its military and people have faced multiple challenges and overcame them each time.
Playing a major part in many of the wars and conflicts has been the I.D.F. (Israel’s Defence Forces). Among the soldiers who have had to fight over the years are the men of the celebrated ‘GOLANI BRIGADE’.
This Infantry Brigade’s foundation goes back to the earliest days of the State of Israel in 1948 and is today one of the five infantry brigades of the regular Israeli Army.
Originally the Golani Brigade was just a normal infantry unit however after the ‘1956 Sinai War’, hundreds of paratroop officers and NCO’s were transferred into leadership roles within this brigade. This transformed it after training, into a fully operational infantry strike force with an elite ‘commando’ role capable of undertaking special missions deep inside enemy territory.
During the 1967 ‘Six Day War’ units of the Golani Brigade stormed a number of heavily fortified Syrian strongholds to seize the Golan Heights and help bring that conflict to a successful end… for the Israelis of course!
In between the end of the ’67 War and the outbreak of the 1973 ‘Yom Kippur War’ the ‘Golanis’ took part in many punitive and preemptive strikes against different Palestinian terrorist groups operating in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and even inside Israel itself.
During the 1973 war soldiers of the Golani Brigade also played a vital role in holding and then forcing back the huge Syrian armoured assault on the Golan Heights in northern Israel.
Although their outposts were cut off and surrounded by vastly superior Syrian forces not one of these fortified positions fell to the enemy!
After the hard fought victory in 1973 the Golani Brigade continued to play a leading role in many successful I.D.F. operations including ‘The Raid on Entebbe’ in 1976, where they helped rescue Israeli and Jewish hostages after an Air France aircraft was hijacked an route from Paris to Tel Aviv.
At the same time, between 1973 and 1981, the ‘Golanis’, alongwith other I.D.F. units, mounted hundreds of raids against Palestinian terrorists operating in southern Lebanon and elsewhere.
These latest I.D.F. figures are the first GOLANI BRIGADE soldiers K&C has produced and are dressed and equipped with the typical weapons, uniforms and equipment of that tumultuous period.
| IDF038 ‘Golani Brigade’ Officer & Radioman
This 2-man set includes a kneeling radio operator carrying the standard American AN/PRC-25 field radio and is armed with the Israeli designed and produced ‘GALIL’ automatic rifle in the short-barreled version.
He also wears the standard Olive fatigue shirt and trousers with black leather combat boots and a Kevlar flak vest as well as the new Orlite infantry basic helmet which replaced the American M-1 helmet and the British Para helmets of earlier years.
The standing ‘Golani’ officer talking on the headset and studying his map is also wearing the new IDF helmet.In addition to his uniform the officer is wearing a British-style ‘Wooly Pully’ over his shirt.
He too carries the short-barreled ‘Galil’ assault rifle.
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| IDF039 ‘Golani Brigade’ Sniper Team
As can be seen here, this Orthodox Jewish soldier wears both a beard and a Jewish ‘scullcap’ called a ‘kippah’ or a ‘yarmulke’ as a recognition of his faith.
He’s also holding his M-21 sniper rifle (actually an accurised M-14) and a pair of military-issue binoculars. The rest of his uniform and equipment is standard IDF issue. He carries his helmet hanging on the left side of his fighting order.
‘Riding Shotgun’ on this sniper is his ‘Spotter / Bodyguard’ who also has a set of binoculars and again, a short-barreled ‘GALIL’ assault rifle.
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Special Note: All four of these Israeli soldiers are wearing military-issue ‘knee pads’ which are doubly welcome in the hard and stoney landscape of the Golan Heights or southern Lebanon.
AVAILABLE: Mid-Late May
B. ‘L’ Empereur de Les Invalides’
Jump back almost two centuries now to the France of Napoleon Bonaparte and Paris to be exact.
‘Les Invalides’ is a complex of buildings in the heart of Paris containing a superb world-class museum all relating to the military history of France and its most famous soldier, Napoleon Bonaparte.
It is also the great man’s final resting place in a magnificent tomb.
In addition it’s one of my favourite destinations whenever I visit this great city.
Last December, during my visit to Paris, I met up once more, with the two delightful ladies, Sylvie and Marie Alix, who run Solda ‘Telis’, a great little gem of a toy soldier shop in the middle of Paris near the Arc de Triomphe.
Among the many suggestions the ladies put forward were a new figurine of the Emperor himself.
A few days later I was with some other great French K&C dealers, Phylip, Valerie and Pierre of ‘Figurines et Collections’ who also suggested, among several other excellent ideas, a new standing figure of Napoleon.
And so, a day later I visited Les Invalides and there, looking out above the great courtyard stood a larger than life statue of the man himself in a striking pose and wearing his famous bicorne hat and equally famous long greatcoat.
Naturally I took a raft of photos with my iPhone but was doubly lucky when I visited the excellent Museum store at Les Invalides and picked up the last 12” figurine of Napoleon that was an exact miniature replica of the statue outside.
I gave this replica to our top sculptor and asked him to produce an exact copy in 1:30 scale which he did and here it is…
| NA512 ‘Napoleon as Colonel of The Imperial Guard’
This is one of the two uniforms the Emperor most commonly wore while on campaign…That of a full colonel of his own Imperial Guard (sometimes known as ‘The Old Guard’). This blue and white combination can be seen in many paintings of the period and even some of the films of his life.
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NA513 ‘Napoleon as Colonel of his Chasseurs a Cheval’
This green tunic was seen as a tribute to his favourite mounted regiment which often formed his cavalry escort as he campaigned all over Europe and beyond. |
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AVAILABLE: Mid May
C. ‘On The Streets of Ancient Rome’
Following the successful introduction of this new series here’s a small crowd of Roman civilians and tradesmen to help populate what I suspect might soon be very busy streets, alleyways and public spaces in the heart of Ancient Rome.
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| RnB043 'A Pair of Friends’
Two workers take a break from their labours to watch the passing spectacle of Rome’s population moving around the city.
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| RnB045 ‘The Roman Carpenters’
Carpentry was and is a skilled profession. On the ‘Streets of Ancient Rome’ talented, hard-working carpenters were always in demand.
Here two of these professional tradesmen go about their business.
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| RnB049 ‘The Female Shopper’
Here, this Middle-Class Roman Lady basket in hand goes about the city to see what’s on offer and which merchant provides the best quality at the best price.
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| RnB056 ‘The Roman Carter Set’
A very useful addition to any Ancient Roman Street scene… Here, a farmer leads his Oxcart into the city with a load of produce for the market.
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RnB067 A Roman Pedestrian’
On his way somewhere this Roman citizen has a very determined look on his face as, wooden staff in hand, he looks at the world around him. |
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RnB068 ‘Walking From The Market’
Carrying a sack on his back this walking figure has bought something at the market and makes his way home. |
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RnB069 ‘A Celtic Slave Woman’
Ancient Rome was a city of Citizens & Slaves... Thousands of them from every corner of the Roman Empire.
How did this Celtic woman from faraway Britannia find herself walking down a street in Rome... who knows? But here she is with a tray of freshly-baked bread on her head and a jug of wine. Just one of the many stories of everyday life on the Streets of Ancient Rome. |
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RnB071 ‘A Bundle of Barrels’
A pile of barrels that can used as ‘set-dressing’ for a street scene with buildings or… as an alternative load to be carried inside the Roman Cart set RnB056. |
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AVAILABLE: Mid May
D‘… To THE SHORES OF TRIPOLI’
Two useful reinforcements for our latest batch of United States Marine Corps on the move after landing somewhere with full packs and folded tent covers and heading towards the frontlines…
USMC071 ‘Pointing Marine Gunny’
‘Gunny’ is the popular nickname for a USMC Gunnery Sergeant, the 7th Enlisted Rank in the Marines. As a rank it is above a Staff Sergeant and below Master Sergeant.
Gunnery Sergeants typically serve in infantry units in command of anywhere between 23-69 Marines and are selected from Sergeants with superior intelligence and proven reliability.
Our K&C ‘Gunny’ is carrying a Thompson sub machine gun in addition to his M1911, Colt Automatic Pistol. |
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USMC072 ‘Shouting Marine Officer’
In charge of a platoon of Marines or even a company this officer is issuing instructions, orders or maybe even a reprimand…
Only his troops know for sure meanwhile his weapons include an M1 Carbine and the standard M1911 Colt sidearm. |
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AVAILABLE: Mid May
2. "BEING RETIRED"
And that my friends is May…Not too many items but I hope there might be a few that are useful additions to your collection.Meanwhile… before I go…here’s the retirements.
| USMC024 'Marine Kneeling firing Carbine' |
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| USMC043 Hold on Buddy… We're Almost There! |
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| USMC055 “Pacific Hand-to-Hand Combat” Set ‘A’ |
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| USMC056 “Pacific Hand-to-Hand Combat” Set ‘B’ |
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