The Long View--Commemorating the Great War Centennial (1 Viewer)

[Buzz]

I think it might be the time to start suggesting pieces for the Great War centennial. June 2014 will be huge. King and Country should be thinking creatively about how it will mark the event. I already consider K&Cs WWI ranges the most dynamic and attractive of what's available (I have the entire 1917 Cambrai range). I'll admit that I'm considering cost with the list below. Now that individual pieces have gone up in price to $42+, I'm on the lookout for smaller sets without filler pieces.
Here are some creative pieces/sets I would love to see:
1. Belgian MG team with dog transportation.
2. Belgian franc-tireur
3. Archduke and Sophie in Car. Princip as separate piece? perhaps lurking around a corner...
4. Big Bertha at Liege (maybe not... probably pretty pricey)
5. German officer accepting surrender of Belgians at Liege.
5. nighttime trench raiders with clubs, greasepaint, etc.
6. Otto Dix sketching a scene near his MG.
7. Siegfried Sassoon (Mad Jack--attacking a German position with Mills Bombs to earn the VC)
8. Colonial African troops in French kit (action poses)
9. French 75 in 1914
10. Oops... forgot to mention Tannenberg... some Russian cavalry, perhaps?
11. French Cuirassiers would be great.

I could go on, but I'll let it go at that.

 

[Rob]

It will indeed be a huge anniversary year and I hope K&C will have some surprises for us, I do like your Mad Jack idea!

Rob

 

[lancer]

I like the list. I've been asking for the French 75mm and the cavalry for at least a year. I would certainly add the colonials to my must have list, along with the Archduke's car and the Belgian MG dog teams. I would also like to see early war French light infantry and alpine troops added to the list. -- Al

 

[Guy]

I hope you mean the surrender of the last fort defending the city of Liège. The Belgian army never surrendered in WWI it fought in the trenches under the command of King Albert I alongside the British and the French troops until the end of the war !!!!!
guy

 

[Rob]

We've had Tommies, Australians, Jerries, Frenchies and so some Belgians would be very appropriate{bravo}}

Rob

 

[Isandlwana]

So long as the Canadians are left for JJD. :wink2:

 

[waynepoo]

It will surprise none of you if I add the A.I.F on the Western Front and more, much more vehicles and artillery...please....:wink2:
Wayne.

 

[Rob]

It will surprise none of you if I add the A.I.F on the Western Front and more, much more vehicles and artillery...please....:wink2:
Wayne.

Hey mate, I understand how some folk say that the Russian and Gallipoli fronts get overlooked sometimes , but there is just something about the Western Front that gets you every time. The horror, futility , endurance of it all somehow represents the war as a whole. Any Western front releases in 2014 would be very welcome indeed, as a Brit i'd like to see these of course but any of the myriad of nations who sent their young men to fight would be splendid additions. There is a well known pic of four or five PBI's ( not sure what country they are from) all stood there in wet weather gear up to their necks in mud which kind of sums up the conditions at Passchendaele which would make a fine set.

I can imagine several companies will either dip their toes or make more WW1 for 2014.

Rob

 

[Jack]

Hey mate, I understand how some folk say that the Russian and Gallipoli fronts get overlooked sometimes , but there is just something about the Western Front that gets you every time. The horror, futility , endurance of it all somehow represents the war as a whole.

The place of Gallipoli in the Australian narrative is, at times, unfortunate. It tends to overwhelm everything else and the great battles on the Western Front that we were involved in are, I fear, at risk of fading into obscurity. It is a very emotive topic - has anyone ever had a discussion with an Australian about Gallipoli that didn't use the words 'birthplace' or 'baptism of fire'? - and it sometimes becomes more myth than real event. Then we have the added 'bonus' of every book about Gallipoli being pitched as the 'real' story that 'strips away the myth'. I would love to have a discussion with some of the lads from Texas about the Alamo, some of the Brits about Bomber Command and the Aussies about Gallipoli but can you imagine it?{sm4}{sm4} Our foundation stories are vital to us, but I suppose a country like England has the defeat of the Armada or Waterloo which are less recent and therefore less political. Ours are still relatively fresh and as a smaller country we might be more sensitive to slights (perecieved or real). I often wonder how the Central Powers and the Axis Powers cope - whether they reach further back into their history to a different time for their stories.

Its a thread jacking but an interesting point!

 

[Jack]

Hey mate, I understand how some folk say that the Russian and Gallipoli fronts get overlooked sometimes , but there is just something about the Western Front that gets you every time. The horror, futility , endurance of it all somehow represents the war as a whole.

The place of Gallipoli in the Australian narrative is, at times, unfortunate. It tends to overwhelm everything else and the great battles on the Western Front that we were involved in are, I fear, at risk of fading into obscurity. It is a very emotive topic - has anyone ever had a discussion with an Australian about Gallipoli that didn't use the words 'birthplace' or 'baptism of fire'? - and it sometimes becomes more myth than real event. Then we have the added 'bonus' of every book about Gallipoli being pitched as the 'real' story that 'strips away the myth'. I would love to have a discussion with some of the lads from Texas about the Alamo, some of the Brits about Bomber Command and the Aussies about Gallipoli but can you imagine it?{sm4}{sm4} Our foundation stories are vital to us, but I suppose a country like England has the defeat of the Armada or Waterloo which are less recent and therefore less political. Ours are still relatively fresh and as a smaller country we might be more sensitive to slights (perecieved or real). I often wonder how the Central Powers and the Axis Powers cope - whether they reach further back into their history to a different time for their stories.

Its a thread jacking but an interesting point!

Hard to take a man seriously who spells 'perceived' so poorly. It was, however, a typo.

 

[Isandlwana]

I don't see that Gallipoli swamps the wider part played by Australia in WW1. This may be the case in Australia itself but I don't think that this is the view here. If there is little balance then this is probably down to the individual rather than a more widely held belief.

What does seem to be overwhelming is the focus on Australia's part in the Allied campaign in the Dardanelles, with comparatively little ever being mentioned about the New Zealanders, Gurkha's, Indians and particularly the French.

What I don't understand is the view that the campaigns in the East did not represent the futility of WW1 and were any less horrific than those on the Western Front. It could even be argued, convincingly I may add, that Gallipoli was infinitely more dangerous given that troops on the Western Front actually spent very small periods of time in the frontline before being relieved, yet in comparison there was far less respite for the soldier stationed at Gallipoli such were the unenviable positions and terrain they hopelessly clung onto. Not only this, they were also trying to dislodge a determined foe that had far more to lose than their German counterparts and this should never be forgotten.

 

[Jack]

I don't see that Gallipoli swamps the wider part played by Australia in WW1. This may be the case in Australia itself but I don't think that this is the view here. If there is little balance then this is probably down to the individual rather than a more widely held belief.

I agree with much - if not all - of what you say, but I can assue you that Gallipoli does indeed swamp us here in Australia! There has been a bit of a push to look at the war against Japan in WW2 but nothing can compete with the big G!

 

[Isandlwana]

I don't see that Gallipoli swamps the wider part played by Australia in WW1. This may be the case in Australia itself but I don't think that this is the view here. If there is little balance then this is probably down to the individual rather than a more widely held belief.

I agree with much - if not all - of what you say, but I can assue you that Gallipoli does indeed swamp us here in Australia! There has been a bit of a push to look at the war against Japan in WW2 but nothing can compete with the big G!

As long as they don't remake the film! Leave that be.

For me, Gallipoli will always represent the pointlessness of the whole war. Not the mud of France and Flanders. Regardless of views on whether the plan was brilliant or bunkum, it didn't succeed and ultimately every single life lost on that peninsula was a wasted one in terms of bringing the war to a swifter conclusion.

I will keep clamouring for a range and who knows, someone may even choose to focus on something unexpected like the NZer's.

 

[Buzz]

I hope you mean the surrender of the last fort defending the city of Liège. The Belgian army never surrendered in WWI it fought in the trenches under the command of King Albert I alongside the British and the French troops until the end of the war !!!!!
guy

Hi Guy,
I'm with you on this! I thought a scene depicting the surrender of the last fort was warranted because it (for me) symbolizes the incredible bravery of the Belgians in the face of a huge German war machine.

 

[Guy]

Hi Guy,
I'm with you on this! I thought a scene depicting the surrender of the last fort was warranted because it (for me) symbolizes the incredible bravery of the Belgians in the face of a huge German war machine.

Buzz, the battle for the forts started on the 5th of aug and lasted until the 16th . Those 11 days enabled the British to land more troops to bring the German war machine to a halt .
thanks for your reply
guy:smile2:

 

[Isandlwana]

In the cold light of day K&C will need to decide what range(s) will sell best. I'm certainly not a brand intransigent. My buying is conflict/campaign based but I won't just buy anything they decide to make that encompasses WW1.

I wonder if we will be canvassed as to what it is we want or whether we just have to accept what we are given. I hope it's not the latter and that we get to go with a consensus. I'd be very disappointed if the will of the few were to sink the wishes of the many.

 

[graycap]

At the London Toy Soldier Show last month and had a chance to talk to Andy Nielsen. The matter of the 100th anniversary of WWI came up in conversation and he mentionned the possibility of producing some 1914 "Mons" period British County Line Infantry.

 

[Rob]

At the London Toy Soldier Show last month and had a chance to talk to Andy Nielsen. The matter of the 100th anniversary of WWI came up in conversation and he mentionned the possibility of producing some 1914 "Mons" period British County Line Infantry.

Well if he does.....I'm in!! {sm4}:wink2: That would be a splendid release for 2014 and how cool it would be to have some of the WW1 British Tommies . Those guys were so drilled in musketry that they could fire sixteen rounds a minute , leading the Germans to think they were facing more machine guns than they actually were at Mons.:salute::

Rob

 

[arnhem44mad]

I think we may see a limited edition set of Franz Duke Ferdinand being assassinated!{eek3}