Inspirations (3) - The story of 2 (or more) figures!

 Today's post is dedicated to two figures of our beloved King & Country, separated by many years regarding their release. The figures we are talking about are a tank sergeant from the EA016 set of the Eighth Army (Vickers Mk. VI Tank released in February 2007 and retired in August 2008) and the officer of the 3rd King's Hussars (EA111 released in March 2016). The figure depicting the sergeant was so successful that it was reused almost identical (and therefore with the same inspiration) in the EA112 "Tea and Grub" set, although as you can see from the photo our sergeant from the EA016 set he has now been reduced to the ranks. The source of inspiration is always the text by Andrew Mollo, and also here we say that we can see a small discrepancy between the figure EA111 and its inspiration: the officer of the text is a captain, apparently the one reproduced in figure is a major. Another post will be dedicated to the figure of the other officer with a coat present in the Vickers set, but we'll talk about him in another episode! Soon!!!

Inspirations (2)

Today I return to the theme "inspirations" always with a soldier of our beloved King & Country. In this case we are dealing with one of the first issues of the Fields of Battle series which dealt with the events of the 1940 French Campaign and the Retreat of the B.E.F. from Dunkirk. This operation, called "Dynamo" and successfully carried out by the British Forces thanks to the help of the "Little Ships" manned by civilians, managed to evacuate 300,000 soldiers from the beaches of the French town. Andy Neilson back in 2005 chose to portray this prodigious retreat through the production of a series of toy soldiers, including this one, a Navy officer who oversaw the landing operations with megaphone and gun. Andy Neilson's library is very well stocked, evidently, because he chooses a drawing (taken, judging by the style and other illustrations) from an original photo, which however, although it portrays a Royal Navy officer, refers to  another period, 1941, Indeed, the illustration reproduced in the book "The Armed Forces of WWII" by Andrew Mollo (easily available in the second-hand market) makes a name: Lieutenant Commander Kimmins, returning from a mission in Norway. Andy Neilson has added a megaphone and a Webley pistol to his toy soldier, useful for gaining respect from the probably unruly crowd of soldiers on the beach. It also included naval pilot's "wings", a very special element.

The book i own is the Italian version, here is the translation: 

“Lieutenant Commander Kimmins, returning from a combined operation in Norway, wears his naval service uniform under a leather vest and an army steel helmet. The model 37 equipment is made of cloth. The binoculars are marked with a large white arrow to indicate that they are owned by the military administration. The white cord carries a switchblade knife attached to it. Above the chevrons on the left wrist you can see the "wings" of a Naval Aviation pilot.”

Apparently this soldier has ever been retired, but it is very rare, although not impossible to find.

Inspirations (1)

 Nothing new is really created in any area, everything is inspired by something and is reworked in a certain way. It also happens in the world of Toy Soldiers. In this post, the first of a long series, I will show you the inspirations for the most beautiful toy soldiers in my collection. I want to start with a Great War British stretcher bearer from the great Andy Neilson's King & Country house. The code is FW161 and was produced in November 2014 and not yet withdrawn. Often the inspirations are taken from photos, but much more often it's an artistic source or an illustration. In this case we are looking at the best of the best when it comes to illustrating the British Army through the ages, the recently deceased Mike Chappell.

The volume that contains the inspiration for our toy soldier is "British Battle Insignia 1914-1918 (1)" published back in 1986. This book has another  companion volume, which deals with the British Army Insignia in World War II. Our soldier portrayed by Mike Chappell and reproduced by K&C is a stretcher bearer on the first day of the Battle of the Somme (1 July 1916), a battle that cost the British forces 60,000 losses on the first day alone with 20,000 deaths. Our soldier, who has less insignia than the illustration, is part of the 2nd Seaforth Highlanders Battalion of the 4th Division that attacked the Heidenkopf and the Redan ridge. The "C" identified the Seaforth battalion, while our soldier does not have, compared to the illustration, the badges for at least 20 years of Good Conduct and the ribbons of the Queen's and King's South Africa Medal and the Medal of Good Conduct. We are facing a veteran, even if Andy Neilson and King & Country have lightened his load of honors and medals! It must be said that in 2014, King & Country's First War series produced a whole series of "non-combatant" figures that mainly testify to the tragicity of that first day on the Somme, with many sets of wounded and auxiliary figures (nurses, military chaplains etc. ) which inspired the many photos of the time. We will soon analyze other figures from that and other series. See you next time for more "inspirations"!

A New Adventure!

Starting a blog is like starting a new adventure, is like opening a new door and let the air get in. In this new blog i want to talk about one of the passions of my life: Toy Soldiers. I'll try to open my heart to you about toy soldiers, an old and eternal pastime, or if you prefer a hobby. This hobby can take you everywhere, like books or movies do, it's expensive but rewarding because the people that practise it are some of the best of the human kind. It's also a door to history, to war, to comprehend it and avoid it, if possible. It's a hobby for people from 0 to 120. It never gets old, only someway changes and will be here in 100 or maybe 1000 years time like it was , without doubt at the time of the Egyptians and Romans. I'll try and present you toy soldiers, toy soldiers' brands, new and old, and draw comparison or contextualise every figure. So, please follow me , it will be worthwile.