King & Country Dispatches -- October 2025 (1 Viewer)

[King & Country]

KING & COUNTRY DISPATCHES
October 2025​

Hi Guys,

Welcome to one and all as I prepare once more to head off to the U.S. of A which is still, I’m happy to say, ‘The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave’…

First stop will be Dallas and then on to San Antonio to spend some time with K&C’s cofounder Laura Johnson and The King & Country Texas store along with our great local store manager, Amber. If you ever have the opportunity to visit San Antonio be sure to drop by K&C Texas at 5945 Broadway, San Antonio… you won’t regret it!

From Texas I fly on to North Carolina to meet up with one of our top K&C collectors who commissioned us to produce a unique series of figures in the dress parade uniforms of one of America’s leading military colleges, The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina also known as The South Carolina Corps of Cadets.

On this trip I will be visiting The Citadel with my collector friend who actually attended the college back in the day. Charleston itself of course is a very historic city so I will also be looking to visit some of the famous sites in that fair city.
From Charleston my friend and myself will move on to Atlanta to meet up with another mutual toy soldier buddy and see his amazing collection.
Finally, after a couple of days in Atlanta I will fly back to Dallas to take my return flight to Hong Kong and that will be that… all in about two weeks or so.

However, before all of that there is all of this…

1. BEING RELEASED IN OCTOBER…
“Coming In On A Wing And A Prayer”

Back in 2024, ‘Masters of the Air’, an American war / drama series was released on Apple TV. It followed the actions of the 100th Bomb Group, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber unit of the Eight Air Force based in the U.K. during WW2.
Produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg who made ‘Band of Brothers’ and ‘The Pacific’ this aviation series was inspirational and I was truly inspired!
Among the figures we produced were the more recent USAF Ground Crew figures and now these two guys…

AF GROUP PHOTO

AF050 “Welcome Back!” (2x figure set)
On the left is Captain Clark Gable, who served in the Eight Air Force and actually flew a number of combat missions over enemy territory during the war. In this set, he’s obviously on ground duties and meeting a B-17 Pilot who has just landed his bullet-riddled plane after a deadly daylight bombing mission somewhere over Germany in 1943 or ’44.

AVAILABLE: Mid October

 

[King & Country]

B. Washington’s Guard Company Additions

Two more key members of George Washington’s bodyguard unit…

AR084 W.G.C. Company Officer w/Pike
Standing four-square watching the advance of the British Redcoats this officer is preparing his men to give them a ‘warm’ welcome.

AR087 W.G.C. Commandant Major Caleb Gibbs
Caleb Gibbs (1748-1818) was the first senior officer in charge of the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard.
Our new figure shows Major Gibbs mounted with his sword drawn.

AVAILABLE: Mid October

 

[King & Country]

C. ‘REDCOAT RESPONSE’

Well, as we’ve just added two more Revolutionary War Americans it’s only fair that we release a pair of their British opponents.

BR099 ‘British 4th Regiment of Foot Drummer’
A Regimental Drummer of the 4th Foot advances towards the enemy. As can be seen his uniform jacket is in ‘reverse colours’ of blue tunic with red facings.

BR100 ‘British 4th Regiment of Foot Officer’
Marching at the front of his soldiers this office shouts out an order to his men.

AVAILABLE: Mid October

 

[King & Country]

D. ‘THE SAILOR KING’

King GeorgeⅤ(1865-1936) was King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India from 1910-1936.
Born during the long reign of Queen Victoria he was the second son of the Prince of Wales (later to become King EdwardⅦ ).
From 1877-1892, George served in the Royal Navy and forever after had a great affection for and pride in Britain’s senior service.
Following Victoria’s death, George’s father became Edward Ⅶ however his reign lasted barely 10 years and in 1910, George became King George V, ruler of a mighty empire that spanned a quarter of the globe. During his reign George V was to see tumultuous changes with the rise of socialism, communism and all kinds of rebellions and independence movements around the world.
In the midst of all of this King George V was an ‘island of stability and service in an ocean of turbulence and turmoil’

CE121 HRH King George V
Throughout his reign, George V appeared in a great many ceremonial dress uniforms. His favourite however was that of a Royal Navy ‘Admiral of The Fleet’, reflecting his own service in the Navy and his great affection for it.

AVAILABLE: Mid October

 

[King & Country]

E. ‘ASSAULT & BATTERY’

In its simplest form, a ‘battering ram’ is just a large, heavy log carried or pushed by a number of men and propelled with great force against a fixed obstacle such as a wall or a gate with any ram being strong enough to damage or even break through that obstacle or obstruction.
First developed by the legions of Ancient Rome it really came into its own during the medieval period.

MK239 ‘The Battering Ram’
Our latest ‘Siege Machine’ features a large 6-wheel machine with a detachable wooden roof from which is suspended (from chains) a heavy wooden ram with a strong, sturdy, steel head.
Propelling this particular ‘siege machine’ is a team of 5 x Medieval Men-at-Arms. This entire set comes in its own full-colour presentation box.

AVAILABLE: Mid October

 

[King & Country]

F. “WHO WAS OLD COPPERNOSE?”

Although England’s Henry Ⅷ is perhaps best known for having six wives. its less well-known that he enjoyed a rather unique nickname… “Old Coppernose”.
That came about due to the King’s lavish lifestyle and penchant for making wars on some of his nearest neighbours, Scotland and France in particular.
In order to pay for his extravagant lifestyle and costly wars Henry would deplete his country’s treasury and force them to reduce the amount of silver in the nation’s coinage.
This was done by using more copper in coins and thinning out the silver covering particularly on the sovereign’s head.
Constant use of these coins wore away the silver coating particularly on the monarch’s head revealing the cheaper copper underneath hence the nickname… “Old Coppernose”.
And now back to the man himself…

TR020 ‘King Henry Ⅷ’
Henry Ⅷ (1491-1547) was King of England from 1509 until his death in 1547. To the general public he is best-known for having six wives which in turn led to his dispute with the Pope in Rome and the beginning of the English Reformation which separated the Church of England from papal authority.
Throughout his life, Henry was also a serial womanizer which alas, proved fatal for some of his spouses. In addition he could be egotistical, frequently paranoid and occasionally… tyrannical.
This figure is based on several portraits of the King painted in the prime of his life by the painter Hans Holbein, a contemporary of the monarch.

TR021 ‘A PAIR OF QUEENS’ (2 X Figure Set)
These two ladies were just two of Henry’s six wives and, sadly, did not have long lives, they are however his two most famous spouses…
Jane Seymour was the third wife of Henry and the mother of his long-desired son, Edward Ⅵ. She married the King following the execution of Anne Boleyn in 1536 and gave birth to his heir in 1537. Tragically she died of complications from the birth just 12 days later.
Known for her quiet and demure nature, Jane was a particular favourite of Henry and as a sign of this great affection the king made it known that he was to be buried next to her at Windsor. Ten years later he got his wish.
Anne Boleyn was Henry’s second wife after he divorced Catherine of Aragon and became Queen for just 3 years from 1533-1536. It was Anne who was to give her husband a daughter who would later became one of England’s greatest monarchs, ElizabethⅠ.
In a cruel twist of fate, after just three years of marriage Anne was investigated for high treason and adultery on charges which most historians now agree were mostly false.
Alas for Anne, there was to be no reprieve and she was executed at The Tower of London on May 19, 1536.

Both of these ladies are finely dressed in the fashion of those times and as they would have appeared in happier days.

AVAILABLE: Mid October

 

[King & Country]

G. AND NOW FOR SOMETHING CMPLETELY DIFFERENT…
CLASSIC WEHRMACHT INFANTRY 1939-1942

Since King & Country began making World War Two German figures back in the 1990s we have produced many hundreds, perhaps thousands, of original figures representing the different combat forces of the Third Reich fighting in almost every ‘Theatre of War’ they take part in.
From the opening battles in Poland in 1939 to the ‘blitzkrieg’ campaigns to conquer France and the Low Countries in 1940 K&C figures have helped tell these dramatic stories in miniature.
We’ve also raced across the hot desert sands of the Middle East with our Afrika Korps releases and then gone into the frozen steppes of Russia.
From the hell of the Eastern Front K&C’s German figures have turned West and fought in Normandy and then gone all the way to Arnhem in Holland before taking part in the last great Ardennes Offensive and finally fighting their last desperate battles in the ruins of Berlin in May 1945.
I think it’s fair to say that no other toy soldier company has designed and produced as many or as diverse a selection of WW2 German soldiers as K&C and… we’re not finished yet!
This latest collection of releases is focusing once more on the early victorious years of the war when the German Army enjoyed its greatest military successes… 1939-1942.
All of these new figures are wearing the uniforms, helmets, fighting equipment and weapons that were modernized and introduced in the years from 1935 onwards with some modifications between then and 1942/43.

WH117 Classic Wehrmacht Infantry
Non Commissioned Officer Indicating
This NCO, carrying an MP40 machine pistol issues orders to his men as he indicates their target.

WH118 C.W.I. Advancing Pioneer w/Flammenwerfer 41
This Pioneer is stealthily moving forward with his flamethrower to clear out an enemy bunker or maybe just a trench.

WH119 C.W.I. Sergeant Cocking his MP40
About to go into action this NCO checks his weapon.

WH120 C.W.I. Standing MG34 Gunner
About to move, this Machine Gunner awaits orders.

WH121 C.W.I. Grenadiers in Action
These two Grenadiers are about to pull the cord inside the handle of their ‘Stielhandgranate’ (Stick hand grenade) which in turn would light the fuse. The Grenadier would then have about 4 1/2 seconds to throw the grenade at the enemy before it would explode.

AVAILABLE: Mid October

 

[King & Country]

2. BEING RETIRED

NA470 Charging Vistula Lancer
NA471 Vistula Lancer Trumpeter
NA472 Vistula Lancer About to Charge
NA473 Galloping Vistula Lancer
NA474 Charging Vistula Lancer Officer

TRW179 Stands Tall firing Carbine
TRW181 Dead Sergeant, Dead Horse
TRW182 The Plains Warrior
TRW183 Eagle's Wing



And that, as I like to say, is that for another month. All the best and I hope there is something for you among this varied little batch of releases…

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

 

[tryfon]

Brilliant few items will be ordering, well done mate Trevor

 

[villagehorse]

Nice selection once again. Robin.

 

[Lo1863]

Andy,
I'm excited about your upcoming trip to the States! I'm originally from North Carolina and lived just north of Charlotte. I'm now in South Carolina. You picked two great states to visit! Some suggested historical sites to see in Charleston are: Fort Sumter & Fort Moultrie, USS Yorktown, and the CSS Hunley. Maybe those will also give you some good inspiration (especially for the American Civil War). Safe travels!

 

[paxtoysoldier]

Andy,
I'm excited about your upcoming trip to the States! I'm originally from North Carolina and lived just north of Charlotte. I'm now in South Carolina. You picked two great states to visit! Some suggested historical sites to see in Charleston are: Fort Sumter & Fort Moultrie, USS Yorktown, and the CSS Hunley. Maybe those will also give you some good inspiration (especially for the American Civil War). Safe travels!

Agreed all around.
You can visit one of my uncles in Charlotte. He likes it there and loved his good job there (retired now).
You can visit another in Charlestown. He loves the Historic sites there. Dad's old associate quit being a lawyer to be a tour guide there.
So you have a Racinite (Racine, WI), a Milwaukeean and a Chicagoan enjoying themselves in the Carolinas. For me, unlike Globetrotting Andy, I was born in Chicago and I will die in Illinois happily.
But Andy's in for a fun trip. Happy trails!
Paddy

 

[paxtoysoldier]

I may be in a minority but I think the Tudor releases are the most fun this month. Great releases all!
Paddy

 

[Barkmann]

The new Germans are a must for me, like the Flamethrower, have the quite early K & C SS 2 figure flamethrower set, but will add these, good to find out there will be more.

 

[damian]

I believe Clark gable was shot through the foot on one of his missions.

The Fuhrer had a sort of bounty out on him.

He wanted to capture the great American film star and parade him in Berlin.

Clark survived all that.

He did not survive filming the Misfits with the great Marilyn Monroe though.

 

[Barkmann]

I believe Clark gable was shot through the foot on one of his missions.

The Fuhrer had a sort of bounty out on him.

He wanted to capture the great American film star and parade him in Berlin.

Clark survived all that.

He did not survive filming the Misfits with the great Marilyn Monroe though.

Yeah, but as we know, Marilyn Monroe did have Weapons of Mans Destruction.

 

[Panzer ace]

Andy-

Safe travels, hope to see you in San Antonio next week.

Best,
Jason

 

[jason foote]

Love the battering ram

 

[Horus]

Love the battering ram

Roman version with half a dozen Legionaries would be good, but kind of expensive, unfortunately.

 

[OzDigger]

Some interesting releases, but nothing for me.

I would like to see Catherine Parr (nee Green) added to the wives of Henry VIII.

Catherine was the last of his wives, the First Queen of both England and Ireland and her funeral, held on September 7, 1548, was the first Protestant funeral in England to be conducted in English, marking a significant shift in religious practice following the English Reformation. Unlike most of the Females in Court, Catherine and her Mother Maud Green were both very intelligent women and were well educated. Catherine was the first woman in England to publish in print an original work under her own name in the English language.

Regarding Andy's comments in the video concerning the new flame-thrower figure, I note that a German flame-thrower figure was included in set WS124.