First Legion: June Update

The following figures are all available for pre-order. Further images and details can be found on the company website or, no doubt, from your local First Legion dealer. Feast your eyes on these. Images courtesy of First Legion and Toy Soldiers Club

First Legion is very pleased to present our sub range of personality figures for the Seven Years War.  The first two are King Frederick "The Great" of Prussia and his trusted Cavalry General, Zieten.   Others will of course follow!  Enjoy!

The Waffen-SS was initially created as the armed wing of the Nazi Party, but gradually over the course of the war was expanded to some 38 divisions. They fought on both the Eastern and Western fronts alongside the Heer Divisions of the German Army

They were typically given priority for equipment and were, at least initially, made up of the most loyal and die hard soldiers. As such they proved extremely capable in battle with the tank divisions in particular being most feared by their opposition

Created for our Battle of Normandy range, these extremely flexible toy soldiers can be used as Panzer Grenadiers from just about any Waffen-SS division. Our inspiration was to have them as members of the 17th SS opposing the US Paratroopers at the Battle of Bloody Gulch, famously depicted in the mini-series ‘Band of Brothers’. With this latest expansion of our Battle of Normandy figure range the US now have some opposition as the Waffen-SS take the field!

Happy hunting!

Airgun Action: Pellet Traps

Last week I went down to my local gun club at Solihull to shoot a few targets with my recently acquired HW100T. As I stood at station four, loading my magazines and waiting to shoot, I noticed that all the pellet traps, a bit old and battered after years of use, had been replaced by brand spanking new ones

The new ones in question are bright yellow, made by Bisley, and manufactured with a perfectly flat, double thickness back plate. Here is a picture of one

Made to accommodate the larger size NSRA and Air Gun card targets they look fantastic and are very easily fixed to an upright post or target gantry by means of the hole at the top. Not so good, however, was what happened to the targets I shot at

I was shooting with .177 Daystate heavy weight pellets [made by the same company that make Exacts] at around 25 yards and you can see what happened. As soon as they struck the plate they fragmented and were spat right back at the target, peppering the back of it like buckshot and in some cases ripping ruddy great holes in it

Only the day before I had taken a trip out to The Countrystore [where I bought the gun from] to purchase a couple of pellet traps for the garden. They had these bright yellow monsters hanging up on one of the racks, priced up at £18.99, and I very nearly bought one.  Suffice to say, I'm glad I didn't

I walked out of the shop with two 14cm square Stoeger pellet traps, made with a more commonly found slanted back plate, and painted a much more sensible blue colour. Brand new they look a bit like this.....

.....and once they've been shot at a couple of times they look like this

Along with the pellet traps I also bought a pack of Bisley paper targets to slot inside them. I didn't get a chance to try them out before going to the club on the Sunday but as soon as I got back I went straight out into the garden to see if the same thing was going to happen. Well, here's a picture or two of the targets I shot, with exactly the same pellets, at a distance of just over 25 yards

The pellet traps, just like the ones at the club, were brand new, 'never before been shot at', target holders but as you can see from the pictures above the targets came out much, much cleaner and the pellet traps cost £12.95 rather than over £6 more

Earlier today I went to the club again, and shot at exactly the same bright yellow pellet traps. Here are four of the targets I shot

As you can see, there's still a fair amount of 'rebound damage' being done to the targets but they look better than the ones from last week, so maybe the traps just needed 'wearing in'? Maybe it's got more to do with the thickness of the steel, or the fact that the back plate is flat as opposed to slanted? Who knows?

Another thing I was keen to find out this week was just how many pellets I could get out of the gun before my cylinder needed a refill. The answer? Eight complete magazines, or 112 heavy weight pellets, and the last one flew just as true as the first, which I was absolutely delighted with. Fun and games!

JJD: June Releases

Here's a sneak peak of the new releases for June from John Jenkins Designs, courtesy of Toy Soldiers Club who sent me the email just a few days ago. These aren't even up on the JJDUK website yet! Enjoy

Happy hunting!

The Collectors Showcase: New WW2 Germans

A while ago I posted a couple of images of new, soon to be released Normandy and Eastern Front Germans from the team at TSC by way of a taster of things to come. Well, feast your eyes on these little beauties. Further details are available from the company website and/or your local dealer

Michael Wittmann's Tiger at the Battle of Kursk, priced at $179.90

Wittmann's Tiger with recently released tank riders clambering on board

New Normandy Hanomag, priced at $159.90

These new 'jumpers' are priced at $67.90 per set, with two figures in each set

Panzer III M, priced at $159

These new tank riders come with removable bases so you can display them as 'foot sloggers' should you so desire. They are priced at $105.90

This ruined building, somewhere in Germany, comes with two sidewalk sections and a number of bricks to scatter around and is priced at $179

Happy hunting!

Figarti: New Releases for June

Hi there, fans of Figarti. Just in case you didn't already know, here are four new releases set for June, all available in the UK from Clive at Grey Goose Collectibles. Enjoy

Desert Stuka, priced at £250

Desert Bomb Trolley, priced at £110

Regular Luftwaffe Bomb Trolley

Winter ISU-152, priced at £210

Happy hunting!

King and Country: Dispatches

Back to normal this month with a brief glimpse of all the 'new stuff' due to be released in June as well as images and a list of all those figure sets 'heading for the hills'. Without further ado, here are the figures you can look forward to getting your hands on this month. Images courtesy of K&C and The Toy Soldiers Club

Last month we launched our first batch of “Pathfinder” British Paratroopers to join our ARNHEM’44/Market Garden series. This month it’s the addition of seven more men of the British 1st. Airborne Division including another Victoria Cross winner

 
Over the years K&C has released several defense works showing different parts of Hitler’s famed “Atlantic Wall” which he hoped would halt any possible Allied invasion from Norway in the North to the Pyrenees in the South.  Here is the latest

WS193 “Normandy Pillbox”

This is one of the smaller German bunkers that could be found in Normandy and elsewhere in occupied Europe. Usually manned by 4-6 soldiers this one had 3 gunports including a large one where a machine gun could be sited. It also features a blast wall opposite the rear door and a detachable roof allowing collectors to place figures where they like. As seen in our photos this little pillbox has already received some Allied attention

 

Last month we journeyed back to the “Land of the Nile” with our little selection of Ancient Egyptian water craft. This month it’s a couple of millennia later with Napoleon’s Legion’s descending onto the desert sands of Egypt

 

From desert sands to clear blue skies over Normandy in June 1944. A brand new Mustang and a couple of pilots to crew it

Here are the latest “Classic Wehrmacht” figures along with a great looking half-track to carry them into battle. The half-track comes with a fixed driver as well as a removable MG34 and radio antenna

It’s always exciting when a new series is launched because here at Head Office in Hong Kong even we don’t know which ones will really take off like an express train. I’m delighted to say that our revitalized and refocused “Real West” series has done exactly that since we moved forward to the “Battle of  the Little Bighorn” and “Custer’s Last Stand”. Here are 7 more native American warriors including two mounted figures to pitch against the 'blue coats'

That about wraps it up for the new stuff, so what about the retirements? Well, it's another formidable list this month with lots of figures being sent to pasture, including five sets that I definitely want to add to my own collection, so another expensive month for me! Here's the list.....

BR075 Royal Welch Fusilier Officer w/ Gloves

BR076 Royal Welch Fusilier Officer Saluting

BR077 Royal Welch Fusilier Presenting Arms

BR078 Royal Welch Fusilier Making Ready

BR079 Royal Welch Fusilier Standing Firing

BR080 Royal Welch Fusilier Kneeling Firing

BR081 Fusilier Kneeling Ready

BR082 RWF Officer with King's Colour

BR082A RWF Officer with Regimental Flag

EA040 Major Paddy" Mayne S.A.S"

EA046 General Charles De Gaulle

FW004 Hindenburg

FW040 Advancing Officer

FW041 Kneeling Firing

FW042 Standing Firing

FW048 Lewis Gunner

FW058 77mm Artillery Set (1914)

FW059 Artillery Officer with Binos (1914)

IF001 Mounted Mussolini

IF004 Italian Forces, Marching Flagbearer

IF005 Italian Forces, Marching Rifleman

IF006 Italian Forces, At Attention Bugler

IF007 Italian Forces, At Ease Soldier

IF008 Italian Forces, Officer with Map

LW050 Exiting Pilot

RTA044 Dead Mexican Soldier

SOE001 Skinner's Horse Indian Subahdar

SOE002 Skinner's Horse Lancer

SOE003 Skinner's Horse British Officer

TRW004 Mounted Wolf's Head w/ Shield & Lance

TRW005 Warrior Defending

TRW006 Warrior Attacking

TRW007 Warrior w/ Knife

TRW008 Warrior w/ Musket

WS165 Pak 97/38 Anti-Tank Gun

WS166 Laying the MG42 Gun Set

WS167 Hitlerjugend, MP40 Set

WS168 Hitlerjugend, Kneeling Grenadier

WS169 Hitlerjugend, Ready...Aim...Fire

.....and here are the piccies so you can see clearly which ones you still need. The first five sets are the ones I'll be buying this month

Happy hunting!