KING & COUNTRY DISPATCHES
August 2024
Hi Guys,
Well Guys,
July is over but before I get to
August, I would like to thank all of our great
K&C Dealers & Collectors down under in
Australia who made my most recent trip to this wonderful land so much fun and informative in so many ways…
In each of the four cities,
Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and
Melbourne I met and talked with so many guys
(and a few ladies) who have had a direct and positive creative influence on what we have produced in the past as well as what K&C is making now and planning to produce in the next year or so.
These face-to-face gatherings in Australia as well as other meetings in the U.S., around Asia and in Europe really do make a difference to what King & Country releases every single month, come rain or shine, year after year.
At the same time, the personal friendships and business relationships that are forged and maintained strengthen my own intention to continue to build and develop K&C’s unique position in this amazing little hobby and business which brings so much pleasure and enjoyment to so many people all over the world.
And so without further ado…
Let’s see what’s coming this month…
1. BEING RELEASED THIS AUGUST…
… Enter The Afrika Kamel Korps!
Many years ago I came across a photo of two young Afrika Korps soldiers perched on top of a pair of camels somewhere in North Africa in the summer of 1941 not long after
Rommel and his
Deutsches AfrikaKorps expeditionary force arrived to shore up Mussolini’s forces which had just been routed by British and Empire troops there.
At the time, K&C was busy producing a lot of other AK figures and fighting vehicles so I put this little snapshot from history into the file marked
‘Interesting and Unusual Ideas’ and returned to the work at hand.
Jump forward some years later and K&C was once more exploring the hot, blistering sands of North Africa and producing a whole new range of Afrika Korps figures and planning for the future release of no less than two all-metal
‘Tigers’!
As a stark contrast to these mighty 54 ton metal monsters why not introduce a much older form of military transport in the shape of a trio of camel-mounted AK soldiers patrolling the perimeter of their camp or perhaps visiting a local village…
AK144 “AK Kamel Patrol Soldaten #1”
This trooper looks relaxed and confident as he sits atop the standing camel surveying the desert scene around him.
AK145 “AK Kamel Patrol Soldaten #2”
This second soldier is a little more wary of his camel or maybe it’s some of the local Arabs watching him with suspicion. Anyway, he’s taking no chances and has unslung his
K98 rifle just in case…
AK146 “AK Kamel Patrol Soldaten #3”
This third Afrika Korps soldier is also on the alert as he holds his rifle in one hand while keeping a firm grip on his camel’s reins.
Observing this trio of novice camel riders are a pair of native inhabitants who have more than a passing interest in the animals.
AK148 “The Camel Herder”
This standing figure is in charge of the welfare and feeding of the camels and has also instructed these German soldiers in some very basic rudimentary camel-riding skills.
As the Kamel Patrol pass by he watches them with a trained eye.
AK149 “The Camel Owner”
Also watching the patrol is the owner of the three animals the Germans are riding. In the past, before the war, he would only hire his camels out to rich foreign tourists who would pay well for the novel if uncomfortable experience of riding a
‘ship-of-the-desert’.
These new
‘tourists’ from the Third Reich do not pay so well and refused to bargain and carried rifles to emphasize their point of view.
No wonder that he has a worried expression.
AVAILABLE: Early August
