King & Country Dispatches -- February 2026 (6 Viewers)

[King & Country]

Hi Guys,

Welcome as usual to this month’s rather modest collection of releases for three of K&C’s most popular series…

1. BEING RELEASED THIS MONTH

A. ‘Armor In The Ardennes’
As every collector of our ‘Battle of The Bulge’ series knows the Nazi offensive into Belgium and Luxemburg in December 1944 was Hitler’s last-ditch gamble to take the Allies by surprise.
Only the willingness of some American units to stand and die prevented a major German breakthrough that would have prolonged the war.
Because of this the ‘Battle of The Bulge’ ranks as the single, largest battle ever fought by the United States Army. More men, vehicles, supplies and equipment went into this mighty effort than any other battle in American history.
It was bigger than ‘Gettysburg’… greater than the ‘Normandy’ Landings and even larger than the more recent ‘Gulf War’!
No less than 31 American divisions – fully a third of the entire U.S. Army in WW2 saw action in this battle over 39 days from December 16, 1944 until January 25, 1945.
The human cost for the American forces were over 19,000 killed in action with many more wounded and thousands taken prisoner. It’s a momentous battle that deserves to be remembered and immortalized in miniature which King & Country has been proud and honoured to do for many years.

Over these same years K&C has released a wealth of great fighting vehicles… artillery… and soldiers (both German and American) fighting across the blood-stained snow of the Ardennes in that cruel winter of 1944/45 here are our two latest ‘recruits’ in the shape of a pair of war-weary M4 Shermans doing their darndest to help hold back the advancing Germans.

BBA109 (SE) SHERMAN M4 ‘Kraut Killer’ #47
During the opening days of the Battle of The Bulge there were only limited elements of the U.S. 9th Armoured Division (Combat Command B Reserve) ready to oppose the advancing German panzers. A few days later more tanks from the U.S. 10th Armoured Division moved into and around Bastogne to defend that city from the attacking enemy.
‘Kraut Killer’ is one of K&C’s 1:30 scale, all-metal SHERMANS complete with flexible, moving tracks and full suspension together with open and closing hull and turret hatches plus three partial crew figures to help ‘man’ the tank.

BBA110 (SE) SHERMAN M4 ‘Battlin’ Betty’ #55
This second ‘Winter M4’ nicknamed ‘Battlin’ Betty’ is another snow-camouflaged all-metal Sherman complete with the same ‘Special Edition’ features as the previous model plus its own 3 crew figures. IN ADDITION… Both ‘Special Edition’ Shermans come in a handsome, sturdy, full-colour presentation box together with a numbered certificate that limits each model to just 250 pieces. To avoid disappointment order yours now!

AVAILABLE: Early February

 

[King & Country]

B. ‘THE WARRIOR PRIESTS’

All through Medieval history members of the Clergy took up arms to support various causes and their beliefs following leaders of their communities as well as some holy orders into battle and onto Crusades in foreign lands.
One of the major reasons for this was the fact that many churchmen themselves had been soldiers before becoming priests and believed their previous military experience would provide a distinct advantage for any military expedition.
During the course of the Crusades many hundreds of these ‘Warrier Priests’ journeyed to The Holy Land, sometimes on their own or as members of a larger organized group and even as part of the ‘entourage’ of a more senior ‘Fighting Bishop’, one of several who accompanied the Kings from different parts of Western Europe who fought in these crusades to recapture and defend Christendom and The Holy Land.

MK250 “Fighting Crusader Priest w/Sword & Shield”
As well as being ‘warrior priests’ these men often held junior leadership positions among the Men-at-Arms in the Crusader armies which rewarded them with superior weaponry and occasionally uniforms and armour.

MK251 “Fighting Crusader Priest w/Warhammer & Shield”
Advancing forward with a particularly cruel and vicious instrument of war this Flemish Priest goes into battle.

MK252 “Attacking Saracen w/Fallen Crusader”
As the stricken Crusader Priest attempts to defend himself the attacking Saracen warrior moves in for the kill.

MK256 “Fighting Crusader /Mace & Shield”
This Crusader Priest, armed with a powerful mace and a mighty shield is more than capable of defending himself and the men under his command.

AVAILABLE: Early February

SPECIAL NOTE: Look out for a mounted ‘Fighting Bishop’ and four more ‘Warrior Priests’ in the next few months.

 

[King & Country]

C. ‘CHINESE GAMES’

Playing board and table games for fun and profit has long been a popular past time for Chinese friends and families over the centuries. Here are two fine examples from very different times…

HK309(G/M) “The Old Chinese Chess Game Xiangqi”
Commonly known as ‘Chinese Chess’ this is a strategy board game for two players.
The game represents a battle between two armies and is the most popular board game in China. One source says that its invention goes back over two thousand years to the winter of 204-203 B.C. Other sources date the games introduction to the much later Tang dynasty that ruled China from 618-907 A.D.
Whatever the date of its beginning the game is still highly popular today and played all over China, Hong Kong and anywhere there is a Chinese community.
Here, an onlooker enjoys the game as two of his friends partake of it, perhaps in a private garden or a public park somewhere in the ‘Streets of Old Hong Kong’.

HKY025 “The Mahjong Players”
Another game, this time with four players in a very different era in the colourful history of Hong Kong in the 1960s.
Four friends gather round a small folding table with four folding chairs.
Young and old alike as well as male and female players take part in a unique game of skill, strategy and luck called ‘Mahjong’.
First developed in China in the 19th Century this tile-based game has since spread throughout the world since the early 20th century as Chinese communities themselves have blossomed across the globe.
Primarily played by four people of either sex the game can be enjoyed at home, on the street or even in special ‘Mahjong Parlors’.
Since its earliest days Mahjong has even appealed to Western audiences and both Mahjong schools and clubs have also existed all over the West right up to the present day.

This little 4 x piece set however looks back to the busy, bustling and always exciting days of Hong Kong in the 1960s.
Here a group of four settle down to enjoy a game of Mahjong after their daily work is complete. All four figures, all chairs and the special table itself are included with the set.

HKY010 “The Young Hong Kong Lady in the Cheongsam”
On the way out for an evening this pretty young lady is dressed in a colourful close-fitting ‘Cheongsam’ hand-made by a local tailor. From just after WW2 until up to the late 1960s the modern ‘Cheongsam’ was the most popular dress for the vast majority of Hong Kong’s young women.

AVAILABLE: Mid February for all three of these ‘Streets of Old Hong Kong’ and ‘Hong Kong… All Our Yesterdays’ figure sets.

 

[King & Country]

THIS WINTER’S ‘COLLECTOR’

Just to let you know that a brand-new Winter 2025/26 Issue of King & Country’s own ‘COLLECTOR’ Magazine will be available late this month.

36 full-colour, fun and informative pages are packed with all kinds of information and photos about our most recent releases as well as other details about a few upcoming items from K&C.

Make sure you get a copy from your favouite local K&C Authorised Dealer or from the King & Country Texas store or even direct from K&C ourselves if you buy anything from our own shop or head office in Hong Kong.

Here’s a little sneak preview…

FINALLY, IT’S ALMOST CHINESE NEW YEAR!

On the 17th of February Chinese families and communities all over China and the rest of the world will be celebrating the Lunar New Year which this year belongs to ‘The Year of The Horse’.
May all of us at King & Country wish all of our many friends and collectors here in Hong Kong and around China and the rest of the World a happy, healthy and peaceful, New Year in this ‘The Year of The Horse’.
“Kung Hei Fat Choi!”

Andy C. Neilson
Co-founder & Creative Director
King & Country Ltd.​

 

[villagehorse]

Thanks Andy. Hope your family and staff have peaceful and enjoyable break. All the best.
Robin.