The Collectors Showcase: New Germans

Hi there. A very brief post to draw your attention to a few new German figure sets from TCS. More information and images can be found by clicking on the following link and viewing the company website

First up, two new vehicles, the first of which I have a funny feeling I've already featured recently but hey, it's rather lovely and certainly deserving of a second mention

The CS version of the Hetzer, not to be confused with the Thomas Gunn version of the same vehicle which has also been released within the past few weeks

The CS version also comes with the customary thrown track and removable Schurzen armour panels

Next up, a group of three German gunners designed to be used with the recently released Pak AT gun and celebrating a 'direct hit' against the enemy. What a cracking little diorama piece that would make

Last up, a ready made diorama facade to add to their expanding Berlin '38 range, together with several figures to be placed in front of it, and very nice they look, too!

LAH Wilhemstrasse

LAH SS Helferinen

LAH Bruckner

LAH Luftwaffe Helferinen

LAH Dr. Ley

LAH BDM Girl

All the above will eventually be available from Maison Militaire in the UK and further information is available on the CS website. Happy hunting!

Help For Heroes Fundraiser

 
On Saturday 14 July this year me and a group of work colleagues and friends will be travelling to Snowdonia in Wales to walk The Glyders. For those of you who don't know it I have included some information below, as well as a couple of pictures of the area

I thought I'd take the opportunity to try and raise a bit of cash for Help For Heroes so I will be asking everyone I know to sponsor me for the event. I've never done anything like this before so on a personal level it promises to be quite a challenge and I will feel a real sense of accomplishment if I complete it

That sense of accomplishment will be heightened considerably if at the same time I can manage to raise some funds for the Help For Heroes charity. If anyone reading this doesn't know what HFH is all about, just click on the picture link further down the page or click here and you will be taken to their website

If you think you could make a contribution to my fundraising efforts, please take a look at my personal charity page and kindly donate whatever you can afford. Every little helps and anything you give will be greatly appreciated

Here's some info about The Glyders

The ridge of The Glyders is one of the most majestic and inspiring in Snowdonia

The route to these airy heights is equally stimulating, commencing on the shore of Llyn Ogwen where its waters are lost over a series of foaming falls. High above is Llyn Idwal, nestling beneath the buttresses of Glyder Fawr; it is a National Nature Reserve with unusual sub-alpine, sub-arctic flora

A steep scramble up the renowned Bristly Ridge sees the walk emerge into a rocky wilderness, a faint path taking off for Glyder Fach and, a little further, Glyder Fawr and the remarkable shattered pinnacles of Castell y Gwynt

Needless to say there are marvelous views all round, none more so than to neighbouring Tryfan, a huge, frost-shattered buttress of volcanic rocks towering above Ogwen. Adventurous paths tumble past Llyn Idwal back to Idwal Cottage 

One of the most photographed features of The Glyders

The area at the end of this slope, just to the right of centre, is known as The Devil's Kitchen

  
Devil's Kitchen, Snowdonia, North Wales

The dark and brooding cliffs of Cloqwen y Geifr ( the Cliff of the Goat) form a dramatic backdrop to Llyn Idwal. The plume of steam that rises from a crack in the towering rocks above, once viewed as having sinister origins, bestows another name on the area; Devil's Kitchen

The steam, however, is actually the result of moist air coming into contact with the rock face, which forces it upwards, causing it to cool and condense, forming swirling clouds. Devil's Kitchen is known in Welsh as Twll Du, meaning black hole

Thank you for taking the time to look at this post and, should you feel like giving and supporting the HFH cause, your generosity will be very much appreciated, not only by me but most importantly by the men and women who your money will help to support, not to mention their families and loved ones. Thank you

JJD: Update

Welcome to the second post featuring figures from JJD. As ever, full details of the featured figure sets, and much more, are available from the UK dealer's website, just click the link! JJD UK

ACE-06P Knights Of The Skies - Captain Albert Ball

Albert Ball, VC, DSO & Two Bars, MC(14 August 1896 – 7 May 1917) was an English fighter pilot of the First World War and a recipient of the Victoria Cross

At the time of his death he was, with forty-four victories, the United Kingdom's leading flying ace, and remained its fourth-highest scorer behind Edward Mannock, James McCudden, and George McElroy.

He became the first British fighter ace to capture the public's imagination

Throughout his flying service he was primarily a "lone-wolf" pilot, carefully stalking his prey from below until he drew close enough to use his top-wing Lewis gun on its Foster mounting, angled to fire upwards into the enemy's fuselage. According to fellow ace and Victoria Cross recipient James McCudden, "it was quite a work of art to pull this gun down and shoot upwards, and at the same time manage one's machine accurately"

Ball crashed to his death in a field in France while pursuing the Red Baron's brother, Lothar von Richthofen. During the engagement he managed to force von Richthofen to the ground, but soon after emerged from a cloud bank upside down and crashed before he could recover. The Germans buried Albert Ball in Annœullin, with full honours

Ball's death was reported around the world. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, and also honoured by the government of France and the Aero Club of America

A memorial service in his home town of Nottingham was attended by large crowds. The year after his death he was commemorated in a biography that included tributes from Prime Minister David Lloyd George,  Field Marshal Douglas Haig and General Hugh Trenchard

Ball's father, a former mayor of Nottingham, memorialised his son in several ways, buying the field where he died, improving his grave site in Annœullin, and building homes in his honour. Ball is also commemorated by a statue and plaque in the grounds of Nottingham Castle, where his Victoria Cross and other medals and memorabilia are displayed

This figure is based on a photograph of Albert Ball in the garden at Sedgeley House, with the propeller and red spinner from his Nieuport 5173, believed to have been taken in October 1916. He flew this Nieuport with No.11 squadron, and on 29th May recorded his second victory. He went on to score a total of 4 more victories in this aircraft which made him officially an ace

ACE-06 Nieuport 17, A 213

A213 was originally built with the French serial number N1579. It was delivered to No. 60 Squadron on 16th September 1916. Albert Ball took over flying this machine on his return from leave in mid-September. He went on to score 11 kills in this plane by the end of September! With his overall score at 31, he returned to England for a rest

A213 was lost in combat on March 6th 1917, whilst being flown by the CO, Maj. E.P. Graves

Nieuports purchased from the French before November 1916 were finished in French Olive Drab upper surfaces and Clear Doped Linen under surfaces. The flight markings are speculative, and based on marking practices of No.60 Sqadron at the time

ACE-07P Knights Of The Skies - Oberleutnant Erich Lowenhardt

Erich Löwenhardt (April 7, 1897 - August 10, 1918) was the 3rd highest scoring German flying ace with 54 victories during the First World War, behind only Manfred von Richthofen and Ernst Udet.

Oberleutnant Löwenhardt was an aggressive, skilled fighter whose score grew steadily. At the end of May 1918 he received Prussia's highest honour, the Pour le Mérite (BlueMax) after 24 kills. Flying the new Fokker D.VII, he added eight more in June and no fewer than 16 in July. His tally climbed to 53 on 9August

The next day, August 10, 1918, Oblt. Löwenhardt shot down a British SE-5 fighter of No.56 Squadron RAF near Chaulnes (Somme area of France). However, he collided with another Fokker D.VII (of Jasta 11) flown by Leutnant Alfred Wenz, (who bailed out successfully) and though he jumped from his aircraft, his parachute failed to open, and Löwenhardt plummeted to his death from around 12,000 feet. His body was recovered 4 days later. He was just 21

REP-01B The Spanish Civil War - International Brigade Tank Riders

The above mentioned figures, riding on a tank!

Happy hunting!

Beau Geste Digest

Hi there. It's been quite a while since I posted an update from Beau Geste but here's a copy of the latest email which landed in my inbox a couple of weeks or so ago

Hi everyone,

It's been a while without new releases. I had eye surgery (which went perfectly) and we are moving our studio to a new place so I haven't had much time to sculpt lately. So I decided to release the bands of those sets which don't have the usual one, and that you have been asking for quite a while now. Here are the new five WWI military bands that you have suggested and have been waiting for

 

As usual, you can also see the new releases in our 'New Sets' section

Visit the whole World War I Catalog and the Military Bands page 

I'm back to sculpting and working on a few new sets, Durbar and WWI, and a new elephant. I'll be back with more news soon

Take care


Ana Donzino
www.beau-geste.com
www.honourbound.com
www.beau-geste.com/SouthLands/nten01.htm
www.beau-geste.com/newtoy/four_feathers/nten01.htm
www.lauracuello.com.ar

Glad to hear the eye surgery went well, and good to see you're back in business getting stuck into some new sets

Happy hunting!

King and Country Dispatches

Full details of everything being released by K&C this month are available on the company website which you can reach very easily by clicking on the following link: K&C Dispatches

I've included in this post a few pictures showing some of the highlights together with a list of all those figures sets being retired

First up, some WW1 German airmen and ground crew to complement the recently released fighter aircraft featured in a previous post a couple of months ago

One of the leading German aces and an influential tactician of the early years of air combat.
Boelcke is considered the father of the German fighter air force with 40 victories... He was killed in 1916. Here, he celebrates his latest "kill" with a bottle of champagne
 

Sticking with the air force theme K&C will be releasing some more Second World War Luftwaffe figures due to be available towards the end of June

LW051 "Feldwebel Willi Reschke"

  One of JG 301's "Dora" pilots shouts encouragement to his squadron mate... Reschke survived the war with a total of 27 "victories" and was awarded the "Knight's Cross"

LW052 "Oberfeldwebel Walter Loos"

Giving the " thumbs-up" this well-respected ace shot down 38 enemy aircraft including 22 four engine American "heavies" and 8 Soviet aircraft

LW053 "Luftwaffe Topolino"

By this late stage of the war the Germans would use any and every vehicle they could lay their hands on... This little civilian Fiat 500 A "Topolino" now has a Luftwaffe pilot behind the wheel

LW049 "Focke-Wulf FW190 "Dora"

"Yellow 15" was flown with Jagdeschwader (JG) 301 by several different pilots. It boasts the red and yellow "Defence of the Reich" fuselage bands and is in typical later war "mixed" German camouflage with a center-line drop tank.
Our model's sliding canopy allows you to fit in LW050, our "exiting" pilot figure

Also due for arrival around about the middle or end of June will be these two additions to their flagship Berlin '38 series of figures

LAH157 "General Gerd Von Runstedt"

A pre-war Von Runstedt on a tour-of-inspection

LAH155 "1938 Hitler Saluting"

Der Fuhrer in a more confident mood before he heard about the "Tommy" and his portrait!!!

Finally, but by no means least, another addition to their revamped and improved range of Normandy buildings will be available at around the same time

SP051 "The Normandy Garage"

Decorated with all kinds of enamel signs and posters this garage has also suffered some serious battle-damage.
Put it alongside our first two releases, or let it stand alone, and add a few accessories plus some soldiers and a fighting vehicle or two and... voila... instant diorama!

And now for the retirements

AK051 “Afrika Korps Guardbox ‘Special’”
AK073 “Afrika Korps Airfield Hut
DD076 “Combat Photographer”
DD079 “Gen. Omar Bradley”
DD126 “D Day Minus One”
DD127 “US Army Rangers, Standing Rifleman”
DD128 “US Army Rangers, Standing B.A.R. Gunner
DD129 “Standing Medic”
DD132 “US Beachmaster Set”
DD133 “Marching w/Rifle Slung”
DD134 “Marching Ranger Officer
DD136 “Dismounted British Tank Crewmen”
EA017 “Major David Stirling”
NE003 “Flagbearer”
WS153 “German Tankers”
WS154 “SS Hauptsturm Fuhrer Hans Weiss”
WS155 “Standing Tank Officer”
WS156 “Panzer Crewman on Parade”
WS157 “Panzer Guard at Attention”
WS158 “Panzer Guard Marching”
WS159 “Panzer Tank Ace”
WS160 “German Tank Ace”

That's all for this month folks. Until next time, happy hunting!

JJD: New Releases

I've decided to mix things up a little this month and make a few changes, starting with the introduction of this JJD post highlighting a few of the more interesting releases from the company over the past couple of months. I will almost certainly make this a regular feature as I intend to purchase one of their WW1 armoured cars in the not too distant future to add to my growing WW1 storm trooper collection

For full details of these, and other, recent releases, please visit the web site at: JJD UK

Kempf

Albatros DIII

German pilot and helper

Taken prisoner!

Republican T26 tank

Republican army tank commander

Take a closer look at the web site and marvel at the beauty of these figures, not to mention the sheer value for money that they represent. Happy hunting!

Total Wargamer

Many of you may already know about this place but if you don't, and you happen to live in and around Evesham, or not that far from there, you may want to check it out

It's a little shop that goes by the name of Total Wargamer. Visit their website by clicking on the link or have a read of the blog by following the link in my blog list

Up to 25% off Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000 and Lord of the Rings

Total Wargamer aims to provide the cheapest possible Wargames products to the games playing public

All Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, Lord of the Rings, Avatars of War, Mantic Games & Historical Wargames are available at at least 15% discount

UK postage and packing starts at just £1.99

Happy hunting!

Airsoft: Events

DATE : Saturday 26th May 2012

LOCATION : Orcop, Herefordshire

RV : Orcop Village Hall, Orcop, HR2 8ET

HOURS : Start 1000 hrs. End 1700 hrs approx. Check-in from 0900 hrs. Safety checks 0930hrs.

PRICE : £80 (£5 discount to Troopers who have completed any previous Training Wing course)

BOOKINGS/PAYMENT : Please make payment in one of the following ways and email contact@soldieri.com, or send us a message via facebook, to reserve your place.

Direct transfer to: -

A/c name: Rock 'n' Roll Embassy

Sort code: 30-92-06

Number: 02196350

Cheque payable: Rock 'n' Roll Embassy

Mailed to:

Rock 'n' Roll Embassy

PO Box 129

Boston

PE20 2ZD

Or payment via Paypal sent to email address faith@rocknrollembassy.com

NOTE: if paying via Paypal please add £3 surcharge to the prices stated above (ie £83 / £78) to cover Paypal fees.

ABOUT: Be prepared for an intensive day of training. Following a brief introduction it'll be straight into a full day of practical work, including: dry training - stance - accuracy training - turns - shooting on the move - confidence training - fast draw.

A great course in its own right but also the first step in CRW/Black Ops.

KIT REQUIREMENTS: Participants will need to have own airsoft pistol, hip or shoulder holster (or both), BBs and safety glasses/mask. [we can provide hire weapons if needed - price on request - please contact us ASP to book hire kit].

OTHER: Hot brews provided all day. Bring own lunch/provisions.

Camping overnight we suggest : www.burhopefarmcampsite.co.uk

 
Terms:

In the event of a cancellation on your part: 
 
The course fee is non-refundable (and not transferable to another course). Your booking is transferable to another person if you wish to make arrangements for someone else to take your place (full fee payable), as long as we are informed in advance.
(Note: We would help as much as we can to fill any cancelled places and look to issue refunds where possible).

In the event of a cancellation on our part: 
 
Due to the nature of our Instructors' line of work there may be unavoidable circumstances which mean we have to postpone a course at short notice. We reserve the right to cancel a course for any reason. If this happens you will have the option of either a full refund or you can carry booking forward to next available course date.

A safety briefing and FPS check will take place prior to the course commencing, usually at 0930hrs. You must attend said briefing and adhere to site rules at all times.

For all you WALTs and WANNABEES out there, have fun!