Walsingham,
I know very little about informs and equipment. I thought your comparison of a 95th rifleman with a Bren gun hilarious as a serious comparison in relation to minor details about WW2 figures.
You spend much of your comments lamenting errors or omissions in the figures for the sandy base version but seem happy with the ground version which will obviously be non beach fighting. At least Andy has given you the option. Since you are an expert on D Day I guess you don't see the problem for Andy in not doing the Regiments of particular interest to you. How many British Regiments involved in D Day and how many options should Andy do ? What is the distinguishing difference, their arm patch and perhaps head gear ? You don't want much. If there was a difference in the equipment carried by infantry when landing on the beach and a few weeks later then Andy could not possibly have got both right. For example were British infantry all carrying shovels as they advanced through France or did they no longer need them after landing ? This is the point rivet counters such as yourself love as by offering two versions one must be wrong and you get to display your obvious significant knowledge.
I guess you don't see the irony in this comment you made :
"I have been called a rivet counter, but i come from a plastic modeller background and those guys are whacko when it comes to detail".
You mentioned the BBG Elephant not being at Battle of the Bulge. This is a common complaint I have seen over the years with collectors who take it as gospel that if it's a BBG it absolutely must have been at the Bulge. A little flexibility in your thinking and you might be able to view BBG as a Winter series. What figures the collector wants to display with them is up to them. If a collector wants to display a Whittman and Piper crew lined up beside an KC Elephant or a TG Winter Brummbar then they can do so.
What is next, checking the landing craft serial numbers to see if they match with carrying KC's Regiment. The possibilities are endless. Would the landing craft Andy has coming be OK with any of the previous D Day figures Andy has done ? If yes, then they are not wrong.
Cheers, friendly banner what I like the forum for, always nice to discuss things with people from the Colonies, joking, lighten up.
I know you are dealer and I am sure that has not affected your view on this, but see my rely below, cheers again.
Comment on landing craft serial numbers - I see your point, but the craft are being advertised and looks like they will be released around the same time as [and for] the British assault troops, so they were made to go with them, one of the figures is on the ramp. The point I am making is it is the wrong landing craft. As for the numbers, I have had a look through the material I have and those numbers, as far as I can find out, did not exist.
Checking the landing craft serial numbers to see if they match with carrying KC's Regiment. The possibilities are endless. No, they are not endless, it is a simple check if you know where to look, it is possible to check right down to which rifle section was on which ship and loaded on to which LC, I have researched for people and found out individuals transit route info from leaving their base in England to landing on the beach and beyond, many sadly to their final resting place. The plans for Neptune are UK public record and you can research it, everyone and everything had their place. It was not like one of the budget airlines where the soldiers just turned up and sat where ever there was a seat. Plus, with K & C regiments it is easier, there are very few regiments for D Day.
We know the beach, we know the beach sector they landed, we know the ships and we even know who stood where in each landing craft, not the individuals but the assigned layout of the men in the LCs.
Have the 4 K & C LCAs, will use them.
BBG Elephant not being at Battle of the Bulge. This is a common complaint I have seen over the years with collectors who take it as gospel that if it's a BBG it absolutely must have been at the Bulge. A little flexibility in your thinking and you might be able to view BBG as a Winter series.
We do take it as gospel as K & C meant it to be in the Battle of the Bulge, the clue is in their coding -
BBG. It is a common error to claim there were Elefants there, even A Beevor makes the error on pg 172 in his book published in 2015, ARDENNES 1944 Hitler's Last Gamble. I am obsessive about the Battle of the Bulge. I do not view it as a winter series because K & C market it as a Battle of the Bulge series, it is in the name. I do use some in my winter series, such as the wounded trooper in the sledge, so I am flexible. Plus, the Elefant is in what looks like high summer camo so I use mine in a dio with TG tropical paras on the rear desk for Italy.
If a collector wants to display a Whittman and Piper crew lined up beside an KC Elephant or a TG Winter Brummbar then they can do so. Correct of course, but as a real geek I have to point out not possible with the Elefant, collectors could put Wellington and Napoleon in front of the Elefant, which as you said they can do, but it would not be right. The K & C Elefant is one of the 48 Elefants from Kursk that survived [know there were 50 but only 48 of them received upgrades of a Hull MG] and were recovered, the others were left, too heavy to recover, it took 5 recovery vehicles to tow them, as the terrain was terrible, no roads, whereas it was only 3 to recover a Tiger 1. First 11 refitted went to 1st company the 653rd to Italy, the other surviving 37 went to Ukraine with the 2nd and 3rd companies 653rd [I think we can say the 1st company got the best deal there]. In the Ukraine they fought around the Ternopil. Peiper was close, stationed around Zhytomyr, but Wittman was back in Germany. They did meet, there are pictures, I have the K & C Set and the Tiger 1, both outstanding sets.
You spend much of your comments lamenting errors or omissions in the figures for the sandy base version but seem happy with the ground version which will obviously be non-beach fighting. If there was a difference in the equipment carried by infantry when landing on the beach and a few weeks later then Andy could not possibly have got both right.
We have not seen the other version yet, can only comment on what I have seen, have you seen the other version and know this to be true? There will not have to be shovels with the others, that was just an example by the way, but many shoves were issued to the assault wave, as planners thought they would be needed, not to build sandcastles, but for use they if needed they were better than entrenching tools in/on/moving sand and trying to put an entrenching tool together under fire on a beach might be a bit stressful. After which in Normandy and beyond they did carry entrenching shovels, which can be seen on their lower back of the K & C figures. Look at the Sword Beach pictures, the packs and equipment they are carrying is not represented in the new beach assault figures, that is all I am saying, but they do look correct for those fighting in the Hedgerows.
There was not a lot of difference between the uniforms of British troops on D Day and Normandy and they are accurate. my comments on the different regiments were to highlight what could be done, as Andy is reusing a lot of moulds and repainting them, some in WW2 but a lot in their Napoleonic ranges. With the slight changes in the insignia and badges etc it is a great way to increase the use and profit of the moulds. On other regiments, it is an opinion, on the forum there are 10s if not 100s of examples of TS companies releasing things and people's asking well why don't you do this regiment instead of that vehicle for this battle or in this camo.
Andy could not possibly have got both right. Oh, here is a concept for you, he could have both right by doing them differently, ever so slightly.
Did get the irony, as was making a little self-deprecating joke about myself and the situation and in a subtle, maybe too subtle, way calling myself a whacko.
"I have been called a rivet counter, but I come from a plastic modeller background and those guys are whacko when it comes to detail".
There is a dichotomy. I will buy them, but for Normandy fighting as I think the figures, if they stay the same, are excellent representations of the troops, except the one carrying the ammo box, still cannot figure out what he was carrying, but I will probably get as I tend to be a completist when it comes to my collection.
By the way it is Wittman not Whittman [if you take one 't' out we can discuss Captain My Captain] and Peiper not Piper - when making comments and using people as an example it adds more if you spell their names right.
Stay safe and remember it is only toy soldiers and a forum is for opinions.
Think the weather is better where you are than here, after all it is the world’s biggest open-air prison. Is it true that all food in Australian is prison food.
Only pulling your leg, trying to lighten the mood.
Hope you and your family and friends stay safe in these times, as with all the TFrog members.
Andy. if you read this, take care, collectors need you, I criticise, but think we all know without you and your brother the hobby we love would not be where it is today. In quality and amount to collect, this is a golden era for us in choice and quality. Through K & C decades of quality releases the hobby has been kept going through K & C and both attracted new entrances into the market and meaning that others had to up their game to compete.
If I can get to the Chicago show and you are there, I will bring you some Iron Bru, Tunnocks Cakes, no Haggis, think it is banned in the US and they are hard to catch.
