Review of Louis and Kevin's King & Country Book (1 Viewer)

[jazzeum]

Louis sent me a pdf of the review that appeared in Old Toy Soldier. Pdfs are impossible to post so I have copied it as a Word file and without further ado, here it is

*****

TOY SOLDIER PICTURE BOOK
VOLUME-1
KING & COUNTRY GLOSSY WW2 TO ARNHEM MATT

By Kevin Elliott and Louis Badolato

Review By Russ Bednarek


King & Country has established itself as one of the most dominant companies in the toy soldier world.

The high quality painting and sculpting of their figures with ranges from Biblical times to Desert Storm have placed it among the elite of the industry. Collectors may always depend on King & Country’s consistent, flawless quality of figures, vehicles and aircraft.

Like many businesses, King & Country went through a number of product changes over the years. Originally producing traditional gloss painted Victorian figures, a decision was made in 1989 that would change the status quo of the toy soldier.

Andy Neilson, owner of King & Country, chose to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain by producing a glossy four piece set of RAF pilots. The first King & Country wooden aircraft, a Spitfire MK1, was created to compliment the pilot set. Responding to collector’s demands, a set of Luftwaffe pilots followed. Soon, infantry sets were produced, complimented with several different vehicles and aircraft. The possibilities of creating World War II items seemed endless, and King & Country appeared determined to create it all.

A small group of dedicated King & Country collectors felt that a book should be compiled to document King & Country’s offerings. Taking into account the vast amount of product, the group decided to focus on World War II items. The project moved forward in the Summer of 2007 led by Louis Badolato and Kevin Elliott. Drawing extensively from Mr.Badolato’s exemplary King & Country collection, and that of fellow collector Larry Lo, Kevin Elliott’s photographic skills created a documented record of King & Country’s World War II production.

“Toy Soldier Picture Book Volume 1-King & Country Glossy WW2 to Arnhem Matt”, is the result of Louis Badolato and Kevin Elliott’s efforts and dedication. The large (11”x13”), landscape format book is 149 pagesand over 230 color photographs of sheer delight for World War II King & Country enthusiasts. The authors have chosen to depict the King & Country pieces in “dioramic” settings, a welcomed change from most traditional toy soldier books. Kevin Elliott’s photography allows the reader to closely examine the figures, vehicles and aircraft. This is more than just an outstanding picture book of toy soldiers. With a minimal amount of text, the authors manage to convey to the reader a large amount of important information. This is most obvious when examining vehicle production.

Collectors are provided with production numbers, and in some instances, how the vehicle evolved from wood to metal/resin to polystone. This data is invaluable for the hard core King & Country collector. Readers are also treated to photos of the rare wooden para jeep and the ultra rare (only 2 were produced), 1/32 mahogany Horsa glider.

“Toy Soldier Picture Book Volume-1 King & Country Glossy WW2 to Arnhem Matt” is a visual history of King & Country’s metamorphosis from glossy 1/32 to the current 1/30 matt figures, vehicles and aircraft. Kevin Elliott and Louis Badolato are to be commended on this self published book; an important work on the history of King & Country production. Collectors will be pleased to read that future volumes are planned. No King & Country World War II collector can afford to be without this book. Collectors may obtain a copy from blurb. com for $124.95.

Thank you to the authors who generously supplied a copy for this review.

 

[arnhem44mad]

Nice!

 

[wadepat]

Hi Brad,

Thanks for posting the review! My compliments to all who had a hand in developing the book and publishing it. Everyone did a truly outstanding job!

Warmest personal regards,

Pat

 

[Cyber Field Marshall]

Congratulations to all especially Louis and Kevin on this labour of love. I'm sure there is very little profit in this venture for you both so this book is especially nice because it was done so selflessly. Not too many people would dedicate so much time and effort just to show their collection to other enthusiasts. All of us who truly are enamoured by this hobby should have a copy to more fully appreciate the history of the hobby.

 

[Louis Badolato]

Congratulations to all especially Louis and Kevin on this labour of love. I'm sure there is very little profit in this venture for you both so this book is especially nice because it was done so selflessly. Not too many people would dedicate so much time and effort just to show their collection to other enthusiasts. All of us who truly are enamoured by this hobby should have a copy to more fully appreciate the history of the hobby.

Thanks guys! Special Thanks to Brad for posting the review (of which I am ridiculously proud). As to the question of profit, we need to sell another 50 copies before Kevin recoups the money he spent on plane tickets to do the photography . . .

 

[Blowtorch]

Did I miss something? Is the book for sale already?

 

[Louis Badolato]

Did I miss something? Is the book for sale already?

Yes. Check the K&C Book thread, and there are links to the website where it can be purchased. Order it in British pounds (you can chose pounds, dollars or euros), because it is less than $100 in Pounds due to the exchange rate.

 

[amhuff1]

Louis
What is the timetable for the release of the next volumes?
Thanks
Andy

 

[Louis Badolato]

Andy,

That question has to be addressed to poor Kevin, who is swamped by work and recovering from oral surgery.

When he was here in May, we had a Volume on Vietnam and Modern Wars done to the point where it only needed to be proof read (for spelling mistakes, like "Louis Badalato", "Hans Heidrich" and "Andy Nielsen"), but since then we have been considering combining this volume with a volume on desert wars (presumably to be entitled "Desert & Modern Wars"), so the release date for this volume is in limbo.

Additionally, the Glossy Volume was very close to being completed (about 20 more photographs, which were already taken, had to be added to the text, and the volume then had to be proof read and editted).

We had also done extensive work on the Warbirds volume, but needed photos of Harvey Hammer's, Hans Hedrich's and Brad Lewin's warbirds (I hope to get the photos of Harvey's and Brad's warbirds done in July - Hans has yet to get me photos of his birds).

I hope that at least one of these volumes is readt before the end of the summer, but considering Kevin's circumstances, that might be wishful thinking.

 

[OzDigger]

Thanks guys! Special Thanks to Brad for posting the review (of which I am ridiculously proud). As to the question of profit, we need to sell another 50 copies before Kevin recoups the money he spent on plane tickets to do the photography . . .

Hi Louis & Kevin, I'm sure we wouldn't like to see you guys lose out on the book deal, and to help I have smashed my kids piggy bank and ordered a copy - only 49 copies to go to recoup those airfares.

As you guys can't sign it maybe I could get Andy to sign it for me on his trip downunder, he wouldn't write anything rude in it would he

 

[Louis Badolato]

Hi Louis & Kevin, I'm sure we wouldn't like to see you guys lose out on the book deal, and to help I have smashed my kids piggy bank and ordered a copy - only 49 copies to go to recoup those airfares.

As you guys can't sign it maybe I could get Andy to sign it for me on his trip downunder, he wouldn't write anything rude in it would he

Oz,

PM me your address, and I will mail you a personal dedication you can paste into the front cover of your copy of the book. Believe me, if I could afford it I would fly to Oz for the summer's festivities and sign the book in person after buying us a round of drinks, but this is the best I can do.

 

[OzDigger]

Oz,

PM me your address, and I will mail you a personal dedication you can paste into the front cover of your copy of the book. Believe me, if I could afford it I would fly to Oz for the summer's festivities and sign the book in person after buying us a round of drinks, but this is the best I can do.

Louis, thanks for your kind offer, I have sent you a pm with my address details.

Yes, it would have been great if you could have come down for the planned festivities. Although we are in Winter downunder now, it's Summer all year here on the Sunshine Coast. I can't say the same for our national capital Canberrra which can be frosty by Aussie standards - I hope Andy and crew remember to pack some Winter woollies for the Canberra War Museum visit

Cheers
Matt

 

[Rob]

Many congratulations to Kevin and Louis on this labour of love.Nice one chaps.

Rob

 

[Wraith]

Well done guys. It's a fantastic book and I'm looking forward to the next installment. (Once it's been proof read )

Simon

 

[Louis Badolato]

Louis, thanks for your kind offer, I have sent you a pm with my address details.

Yes, it would have been great if you could have come down for the planned festivities. Although we are in Winter downunder now, it's Summer all year here on the Sunshine Coast. I can't say the same for our national capital Canberrra which can be frosty by Aussie standards - I hope Andy and crew remember to pack some Winter woollies for the Canberra War Museum visit

Cheers
Matt

I posted your dedication earlier today (also sent you a PM to this effect). At least my signature will make it to Oz in time for the show . . .

 

[panda1gen]

Guys thanks for the kind comments. This was done just for fun, it will never break even

I too am thrilled by the feedback, including directly from Andy. He might say something else when Wraith puts me up to spelling his name wrong (again)...

As for the other volumes, the glossy volume just needed 126 pages editing out, which I have now done, but I need some time to try to get the right thing next to the right prose.........I think we have some gaps as well, mainly on SOHK, so this may delay it a bit.

The warbirds have also been edited down to fit the format, we have little space left - but I hope you love the results, these birds are fantastic! I am waiting to see if I need to squeeze some more in and have quite a lot of text to write and some of Larry;s to put in.

The modern wars, Vietnam and Afghanistan/Iraq, plus some modern birds will be in a fourth volume and desert wars, ww2 and crusades will be a fifth.

Eventually I will get round to DDay, Bulge/winter and early ww2 and FOB...............phew

They will all be the same format as the first, hard back, good paper 11x13 inches and a lot of pictures!

I hope if we can just get the last couple or so of photos I could spell one wrong by the end of August but can't promise anything, I have a lot of work on at present.

I will bring a book to the London Show tomorrow in case anyone is interested to look.

 

[panda1gen]

Well done guys. It's a fantastic book and I'm looking forward to the next installment. (Once it's been proof read )

Simon

Simon, I am going to spell yurs rong anyway, would you know the duferince

 

[Wraith]

Simon, I am going to spell yurs rong anyway, would you know the duferince

I dout it.

 

[Roustam]

Hello,

I am Russ Bednarek who wrote the review of the King & Country book for Old Toy Soldier magazine. It was a delight to receive a copy and write my review as I felt the book was very well done and applauded the format chosen to convey the subject matter. Perhaps the most important feature of the book is that it will serve as an invaluable resource for future research into the production of King & Country items.

As I research various toy soldiers/makers, it is frustrating to discover that information is sorely lacking. All too often, no one took the time to document production numbers, what figures were produced, who did the sculpting, etc.

I look forward to receiving and reviewing the next volume.

Russ Bednarek

 

[jazzeum]

Hello Russ and welcome. Hope you become a regular here.