Dispatches 25 03

DISPATCHES
March 2025

Hi Guys,

     A warm welcome to the month of March and the release of no less than 23 brand-new figures and… one little dog!
     Now, before I get down to business a great big thankyou to all those K&C Dealers and Collectors who have so warmly welcomed our Afrika Korps Tigers. The response and appreciation has been terrific and by the time you read this latest ‘DISPATCHES’ many will have been delivered.
     So, without further ado let’s see what MARCH has in store for you.

1. BEING RELEASED THIS MONTH…

A. “Down But Not Out!”

In 1993, elite units of the U.S. Military were supporting the United Nations humanitarian effort to help feed the starving population of war-torn Somalia, under ‘Operation Gothic Serpent’.
In the middle of this, a disastrous raid against one of the Somali warlords shattered the confidence of the world’s only superpower.
What began as a straight forward ‘snatch-and-grab’ operation in the middle of Mogadishu turned into a desperate firefight for survival when RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) armed Somali militiamen shot down two of the U.S. Black Hawk helicopters.
Taking up positions near and around both of the downed aircraft, U.S. Army Rangers and Special Forces fought day and night to keep Somali gunmen at bay until a relief force could break through.
This is the true story of that battle first made famous by author Mark Bowden’s memorable book ‘BLACK HAWK DOWN’ and then by director Ridley Scott’s block-busting movie of the same name.
More recently, late last year, K&C launched our own 1:30 scale rendition of this operation as part of our Modern War range of conflicts that have erupted in the decades since the end of WW2.
Here are our latest dramatic ‘BLACK HAWK DOWN’ releases…

BHD015  ‘The Super Six Four Rescue Set’
In the mid afternoon of October 3, 1993 a mixed force of U.S. Army Rangers and Delta Force operatives descended on a location in downtown Mogadishu to capture key leaders belonging to Mohamed Farrah Aideed’s militia.
Almost immediately things began to go wrong both on the ground and in the air when the first Black Hawk helicopter, callsign ‘Super Six One’ was hit by an RPG and crash landed near the outskirts of the target area.
Just over twenty minutes later a second Black Hawk, ‘Super Six Four’, was also brought down by an RPG.After falling heavily onto the ground other American helicopters flying over the area saw signs of life and some movement in the badly damaged chopper.
Amazingly, the four-man crew survived the initial hard landing and although badly injured were trying to get out of the wreckage.
At the same time the area’s angry local residents together with many of Aideed’s militia began to surge towards the remains of ‘Super Six Four’.
As the situation went from bad to worse two very brave Delta Force snipers, Master Sergeant Gary Gordon and Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart flying in ‘Super Six Two’ insisted on landing to support the survivors of ‘Super Six Four’ despite knowing they might be on their own for a long time before any kind of a rescue.
Once on the ground, Gordon and Shughart helped the injured crewmembers as best they could and then attempted to secure the area around all of them even as the hostile mobs of Somalis attempted to get closer.
Despite intense enemy small arms fire and a constant barrage of rocks and stones the two Delta snipers kept the mob at bay with accurate and disciplined shooting for a limited time.
    Mike Durant, one of the downed pilots even had his MP5K submachine gun and did his best to protect his fellow wounded crew members and the Delta guys rear. Tragically it was not enough.
    Durant only had two magazines of ammunition for his MP5K and soon ran out.Then Gordon followed by Shughart died from gunshots along with the three other Black Hawk crew members, only Mike Durant was left.
As the Somali civilians and militiamen swarmed over the lone survivor the American pilot prepared to die.This looked like the end.
Incredibly, Mike Durant did survive this onslaught and was eventually, after 11 days, released to International the Red Cross but that’s another story…
Here is K&C’s simple tribute to him and the amazing bravery and fortitude of Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart, both of whom were posthumously awarded America’s highest decoration, the Medal of Honour.

BHD018  “Stay Down!” or “No Man Left Behind”
The battle of Mogadishu, better known as ‘BLACK HAWK DOWN’ lasted just 14 hours but, by the end of it, 18 Americans were dead with 84 more wounded.
    On the opposite side, the estimates for the Somali casualties was somewhere between 300-500 killed with another 700-1,000 wounded.
    The death toll on the American side could have been considerably higher had it not been for this unique ‘U.S. Army Ranger Creed’ which states…
    “Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong and morally straight and I will shoulder more than my share of the task whatever it may be. One-hundred-precent and then some. Gallantly will I show the world that I am a specially selected and well-trained soldier.
    This small 2-man set exemplifies that special ‘Ranger’ creed and spirit.
    Here, a seriously injured Ranger is down and suffering from multiple shrapnel wounds. Kneeling next to him is another Ranger taking aim at the enemy with his 9mm Automatic before he picks up his wounded comrade and carries him to safety.

… And now for some of the ‘opposition’…

SPECIAL NOTE: Aideed’s Armed Militia
Mohamed Farrah Aideed was one of the most important ‘Clan’ leaders in Somalia during the 1980s and well into the 1990s making large sums of money through arms smuggling, drug trafficking and stealing United Nations supplied food relief and medical supplies.
To protect him, his family and their fiefdom Aideed had built up a well-armed militia of men, women and children who were both fanatically loyal to him personally and liberally supplied with all kinds of lethal weaponry usually from Moscow.These included the inevitable AK-47s… shoulder launched SA-7 surface-to-air missiles plus a whole range of heavy weapons including tanks, armoured personnel carriers and, of course, hundreds of RPGs.
In mid 1993 Mogadishu, anyone could purchase or obtain any weapon or indeed any complete weapon system that was currently on the market.For example, the latest Russian made RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) cost as little as US$10:00 each … What a bargain!!!

MILITIA DRESS CODE

As you can see a Uniform Code of Dress never existed in Aideed’s Militia.His band of thugs was indeed a sight to behold with no two members being dressed the same way.Here is K&C’s first selection:

BHD021 “Mogadishu Militiaman Shouting HALT!” Here, this sunglass-wearing militiaman extends one hand to say “Halt!” while his other holds the ubiquitous AK-47. His colourful outfit includes a green and white checkered ‘Keffiyeh’ the arab-style headdress scarf popularized by Islamic terrorists the world over, together with some kind of a camouflage shirt, casual denim jeans and… sports shoes!
BHD022 “Mog. Militiaman Standing Firing AK-47” Another of Aideed’s warriors opening up with his AK-47. His casual and haphazard appearance belies the fact that these individuals are still deadly and very dangerous!
BHD023 “Mog. Militiaman Looking For Trouble” As the old song says… “If you’re looking for trouble… You’ve come to the right place.” A nasty piece of work to meet anywhere, especially in Somalia!
BHD024 “Mog. Militiaman Celebrating” Holding his AK-47 aloft this character seems to think he has something to celebrate.
BHD025 “Mog. Militiaman Lying firing his RPK Light Machine Gun” This weapon was introduced in the early 1960s and could be fitted with either a 75-round drum magazine (as shown in the K&C figure) or a longer curved 45-round magazine with a forward bipod and used as a light squad automatic weapon. Rugged and reliable it is still in service today with some former Soviet bloc countries and several armies in Africa and Asia.
BHD026 “Mog. Militiaman Kneeling Firing His AK-47” Adopting the kneeling firing position and aiming at the enemy with his AK-47.
BHD027 “Mog. Militiaman Advancing w/a FN/FAL Rifle” This is proof that not all of the Militia’s weaponry came from the old Eastern Bloc. How this original Belgian-made assault rifle came to be in Mogadishu is anyone’s guess.
BHD028 “Mog. Militiaman Captured!” With both hands securely tied behind his back this character is one of Aideed’s men captured by the Rangers during the raid.

AVAILABLE: Early March

B. ROME ON THE MARCH

Among the Roman Legions military standards stood for the prestige and glory of Rome itself and were proudly paraded and guarded at all times.All of these symbols were carried on tall poles ahead of the army going into battle or on the march and were often used as rallying points in the frequently confusing mayhem of battle itself.
These unique symbols of Rome were valued so highly that battles and campaigns were sometimes fought to recover any that were seized by enemy forces.
After victories had been won and enemies crushed these same symbols would be paraded through the streets of Ancient Rome itself as the victorious Legions and their commanders enjoyed a ceremonial parade called, appropriately enough… ‘A Triumph’.

ROM076 “The Marching Roman Vexillum” Positioned ahead of a marching Legion was a decorated, veteran soldier carrying a ‘Vexillum’.This small, finely embroidered cloth banner showed the Legion’s emblem with its name and number. The emblem was sometimes a sign of the zodiac or even a type of animal.This Vexillum Bearer himself was easily recognized by a full wolfskin and head atop his helmet and body armour.
ROM077 “The Marching Roman Aquilifer” Each Legion carried two main standards, one showed a carved or cast portrait of the current emperor to remind the Legionnaires of their loyalty to him. The other standard emblem was an *‘Eagle’* made from either silver or gold with thunderbolts held between its claws.This ‘Eagle’ standard carried by the ‘Aquilifer’ was the symbol of the entire army. The soldier carrying the ‘Eagle’ usually wore a brown bearskin over his armour.
ROM078 “The Marching Roman Imaginifer” As mentioned earlier the precious metal representation of the emperor’s head was borne by the ‘Imaginifer’ also wearing a wolfskin.
ROM079 “The Marching Roman Signifer” Each ‘Century’ within a Legion also had its own standard called a *‘Signum’* which was a long pole decorated with metal medals and the unit’s own emblems. On the battlefield soldiers would be able to see their ‘Signum’ and use it as a rallying point. Our new ‘Signifier’ also wears a magnificent lionskin and head.

AVAILABLE: Early March

C. ‘Somewhere In The Southwest’

As I often say it’s a long way from Ancient Rome to the vast deserts and rugged mountain ranges of America’s Southwest but we’ll make the jump anyway and here is the first of a number of mounted Apache warriors scanning the horizon for any sign of the hated ‘Bluecoats’…

TRW191 “The Apache Scout”

A mounted warrior, ever watchful, makes his way through the desert landscape observing and listening for anything out of the ordinary…

AVAILABLE: Early March

D. ‘The Battle of Britain 1940’

After the Fall of France and the British Expeditionary Force’s evacuation from Dunkirk a very short pause followed before Hitler’s aerial assault began on Britain which, had it been successful, would have been swiftly followed by a full-scale invasion of the British Isles.

Fortunately for Britain and the rest of the free world the Royal Air Force stood in the way of a Luftwaffe victory and, for the first time in WW2, defeated the Nazis and gave them a bloody nose!
The pilots, groundcrew and many others in RAF Fighter Command bore the brunt of this German aerial assault day after day and eventually into the night when the enemy changed his tactics.

Here are 5 new additions (and one dog) that help tell the amazing story that became known as The Battle of Britain.

RAF095 “Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Pilot”

As Britain’s fate in the summer of 1940 lay in the hands and skills of fewer than 3,000 pilots mostly Royal Air Force but also foreign volunteers such as Czechs, Poles, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans and some Americans together with another small group of British aviators also took part.
These particular pilots came from the Royal Navy’s own Fleet Air Arm.In all 57 naval pilots (The Few of The Few) would fly with the RAF during the Battle of Britain with four of them becoming ‘aces’.
London-born Sub Lieutenant Francis Dawson -Paul led the way with seven and a half ‘kills’ in just 25 days – fighters, twin -engined fighter / bombers and medium bombers all fell victim to his Spitfire.Alas he did not survive the battle and was shot down over the English Channel just six weeks after becoming a fighter pilot!
This is our small tribute to all Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm pilots who fought in that summer of 1940.

RAF100 “Battle of Britain Scramble!”

In military aviation a “Scramble” is the act of quickly mobilizing men and military aircraft to get airborne to meet an immediate thread, usually to intercept rapidly approaching hostile aeroplanes.
During the Battle of Britain many RAF pilots would relax near their aircraft at the Squadron Dispersal Hut or Caravan ready, at a moment’s notice, to run to their own aircraft if and when the ‘Scramble Bell’ was sounded.
Among the most memorable images of that long hot summer of 1940 was the sight of young British fighter pilots lounging and relaxing around their dispersal areas awaiting the vital telephone call.When the ringing of the warning bell sounded this would be quickly followed by groups of pilots leaping to their feet and running to their fully-armed and refueled Spitfires and Hurricanes sitting nearby.
This is the iconic image of a scene that was repeated thousands of times throughout that historic summer of 1940 and inspired this 4-figure set.
Also adding to both scene and set is the sight of the ‘Squadron Mascot’, a Border Collie called ‘DAISY’, running excitedly alongside the four young pilots.

AVAILABLE: Early March

2. BEING RETIRED THIS MONTH…

And that, my friends is that for another month or so.Hope you find something that interests you and might be added to your collection.
All the very best and happy collecting!

HK129G Chinese Festival Sign Writer Set (Gloss / Matt)
HK144G Tailor Shop Set (Gloss / Matt)
IC047 Chinese Banner Type 1
IC048 Chinese Banner Type 2
IDF004 Officer w/ UZI
IDF012 Sitting Sniper
IDF024 Egyptian/Syrian Soldier Advancing
IDF026 Looking For Trouble
IDF027 Standing Israeli Officer w/Binos
RAF062 Watching & Waiting
SP115 The VIETNAM Guard Post
SP129 Military Sandbags