DISPATCHES

April 2026

A.‘EASTER’

 ‘Easter’, as many of you know, is the time when Christians around the world commemorate the resurrection of Christ three days after his crucifixion.  It is considered the most important date in the Christian calendar, marking the fulfillment of divine prophesy and the cornerstone of faith.
     A few days before all of this had happened Jesus had made a triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem… on a donkey!

AVAILABLE: Early April

 

B.‘AT THE GATES OF THE ALAMO’

     San Antonio, Texas and The Alamo itself has played (and continues to play) a major part in the King & Country story.
     It’s where we have our fantastic ‘King & Country Texas’ store… it’s also where K&C’s cofounder Laura McAllister Johnson lives and works and, of course, it is the world-famous site of the historic Alamo and the inspiration behind our ‘Remember The Alamo’ range of fighting figures.
     Just a couple of month’s back we launched our newest and best Santa Anna’s Infantrymen to extend this series and now we’re introducing some very useful reinforcements…

AVAILABLE: Early April

 

C.‘ARMED RECONNAISSANCE’

     The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have always appreciated the value of fast-moving, lightly armed jeep-type vehicles for use as simple utility vehicles performing all kinds of patrol and command duties.
     Although in itself unarmoured the M151 ‘Mutt’, was often modified with extra weapons and equipment including radios, and ‘roll-bars’.
This particular American-made M151 “Mutt’ nicknamed by the Israelis the ‘Shmira’ is on forward patrol duties.

AVAILABLE: Mid to Late April
 

D. …TO THE BITTER END

     By the autumn of 1944 disaster loomed for Imperial Japan.  The war in the Pacific had taken a decidedly negative turn for the Japanese Empire with the US Navy steadily growing in strength and already poised to strike at the heart of the Home Islands.
     In October 1944, American forces had landed on the island of Leyte in The Philippines and Japan’s commanders there concluded that only a dramatic and radical force of action could stem the tide of the American advance… aerial suicide attacks against high-value enemy targets, particularly US Navy aircraft carriers!
     By this late stage of the war in the Pacific many Japanese pilots of both the Army Air Force and the Imperial Japanese Navy already knew that ‘their days were numbered’ both in the air and on the ground.  They were outnumbered and outflown by many more numerous enemy pilots and the superior quality of the aircraft they flew.
     “Why not”, many thousands of Japanese pilots thought, “die a meaningful death crashing your whole aircraft into or onto an enemy warship”.
     This unique form of Japanese self-sacrifice was known as ‘Kamikaze’ or ‘Divine Wind’, a reference to a great storm that destroyed an enemy Mongolian fleet off the coast of Japan in 1281.
     Now, K&C are introducing two unique all-new versions of the classic Mitsubishi A6M5 ‘ZERO’ fighter.
     These two ‘Zeroes’ are typical of the late-war versions of this classic WW2 Japanese fighter aircraft.



 

JN078  A6M5 ‘KAMIKAZE’      This well-worn A6M5 is painted in overall dark green on all upper surfaces and fuselage.      As the seated pilot gives his farewell salute to his flying comrades and the ground crew he prepares to taxi his ‘Zero’ onto the flight line and take off on his one-way mission towards the enemy fleet.      Slung underneath the fuselage, on the centre line of his Zero is a single 500-pound bomb which he will fly together with his aircraft directly into his chosen enemy target.
JN079 ‘Mitsubishi A6M5 ‘Zero’ Army / Navy’      Although many young pilots did take off on ‘One-Way Missions’ thanks to the ‘Kamikaze’ movement not all were willing to sacrifice themselves at this late stage of the war…  Some wanted to survive, difficult though that might be.      This second Mitsubishi A6M5 also reflects the dire reality of aircraft production in Japan in late 1944 going into the middle of 1945.      Aircraft factories and airfields throughout Japan were being constantly bombed and strafed by Allied aircraft on an almost daily basis.  All kinds of aircraft were being produced and repaired as well as being ‘cannibalized’ for spare parts.      This particular A6M5 has combined parts and elements from both Army Air Force and Imperia Navy Zeroes to provide one of the more unique aircraft colour schemes defending the skies over Japan at this late stage of the Pacific War.      In addition to its two 20mm cannons and 7.7mm machine guns this model also has two small bombs attached (one under each wing).      A standing Japanese fighter pilot figure is also included.
JN-S04 ‘A Pair of Zeroes’      If you buy both of these great models you get them at a VERY SPECIAL PRICE!
JN075 ‘Saluting Kamikaze Pilot’      Before flying off on their fatal last mission it was usual and expected to salute your comrades and fellow pilots.
JN076 ‘Standing Japanese Pilot’      This standing figure is modeled on a life-size statue of a young kamikaze pilot that stands at the entrance to the Yashukan Military Museum located within the Yasakuni Shrine in Chiyoda, Tokyo.      Visitors entering the museum will also see an actual Mitsubishi A6M Zero on display opposite the ticket booth.

AVAILABLE: Mid to Late April

 

E. THE BEIJING HOBBY EXPO CHINA FAIR

Between 17-19 April, 2026 King & Country will be taking part in this annual Hobby Fair which takes place at No. 135, Xizhimenwai Street, Xicheng District, Beijing.
      Tens of thousands of hobby enthusiasts from all over China travel to the show to see all kinds of models and miniatures of trains, boats, planes and vehicles (both civilian and military) of every kind and description and scale.
     And now… Toy soldiers.
     King & Country will have a formidable collection of many of our most popular historic ranges for collectors to see and purchase as well as ours sales team from K&C Hong Kong to meet and answer any questions from our existing China collectors and meet lots of new ones too!

2. Being Retired This Month …

As usual there are some K&C items that we are letting go and this month is no exception. Take a closer look at these very useful pieces and see what could fit into your collection.
Also see the Extra Special Retirements Video presentation at the end of this month’s Video Dispatches. Here you will see most of the items complete with K&C’s figures from many different historical ranges showing the versatility of these display accessories… Hope you like it!
 

LAH150  Double Banner Street Lamps
LAH261   Hitler Jugend Street Banner
SP112   Vietnam Firebase Sand Bag Emplacement​
SP114   European Walls & Gates
SP119   European Wall Additions
SP120   European Farm Gateway
SP122   The European Farmhouse
SP126  "A Trio of Royal Corgis" (Set of 3)
VN149   The Sampan Soldiers Set
VN154   The Viet Cong Sampan Set
VN-S03  The VC Sampan Combo
HK152   Curio Seller
HK279 The Flower Stall Set

All the very best and as usual, happy collecting.
 

Andy C. Neilson

Co-founder & Creative Director
King & Country Ltd.