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Tuesday, 31 March 2015

Latest Additions 2

And so to the second of three LA installments and for this one I've chosen to return to some recently released figures from Britains which I featured in a couple of posts last year

I bought them a while ago but again it's taken me some time to get around to snapping them in situ, on the shelf they occupy with some First Legion enemies, on terrain modules produced by David Marshall

The figures in question are those depicting the Brunswick Leib Battalion which fought on the side of the British at Waterloo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Brunswickers





Although not depicted here fighting the French they nevertheless make for quite an attractive group of figures and don't look too out of place sharing the same diorama with their FL fellows

Talking of FL, the company make a handful of 'Brunswickers' of their own, depicting the regiments you can just about catch a glimpse of on the left hand side in the illustration below



I'll end this post with a couple more photos of the Britains figures. Ideally I'd like three more and would love WB to make three more variants. Failing that, I'll double up on three already purchased




Happy Hunting!

Monday, 30 March 2015

Latest Additions 1

It's been quite a while since I last posted about new additions to my own collection and so it is, that like buses, you wait for an age and all of a sudden three come along all at once!

I don't know how that translates for those of you who might be reading this outside of the UK, or who have no experience of the English public transport system, but never mind

The first of the three installments concerns a single solitary figure added to my Berlin 38 Nuremberg party rally display. I can't recall how long ago this figure was retired but it was quite a few months ago now, and I bought her straight away. Since then she's been waiting quietly in the wings waiting to take her place along side the other notable 'glitterati'


The K&C figure of Traudl Junge, Hitler's last private secretary





On the right side of the display you can just about make out the left hand side of Hess, who is flanked to his left by Martin Bormann, personal secretary to Hess from 1933 to 1941, and personal secretary to the Fuhrer from 1943

'Out front' is currently bare, but for the rubberized flag stone matting supplied by John Gittins, but the plan is to have a march past of SA and early SS figures, and a few figures standing on guard duty around the base of the podium

http://www.world-war-2-diaries.com/traudl-junge.html



         

New Information Website


Leafing through the pages of the latest issue of TSC the other day I came across a little notification tucked away on page 4. It refers to a very informative website by the name of German War Machine.


Part of Windmill Books, it features a wealth of free content on the German Armed Forces of WW2. With authoritative text supported by AV and photographic source material it provides useful information on the forces provided by all three arms and is most definitely worth a visit

Here's a little taster, and if this leaves you wanting more all you have to do is follow the various embedded links provided in this post, or via the image at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!




    
 https://germanwarmachine.com/


        

John Jenkins Designs: April Releases


All the latest releases from JJD. As usual, please follow the links below for further details




Happy Hunting! 

Thomas Gunn Miniatures: New Germans

All the latest WW1 and WW2 Germans from TGM

The Great War
GW028C Winter Germans as promised to fight our winter British troops made
late last year! Two firing Germans in the standing and kneeling firing
position, take aim at our Winter Tommy's!

Limited to 75 sets in number and priced at $79/£59 per set of two figures.
 

GW040C Winter German running across battlefield, goes great with GW028C.
Limited to 75 sets in number and priced at $40/$29.50 per set.


GW050A/B Maxim Machine Gunner: A German soldier in greatcoat armed with a
Maxim MG provides covering fire to his advancing comrades. The A version
figure is dressed in normal German army uniform whilst the B version wears a
Stormtrooper helmet and gas mask.




Priced at $43.50/£32.00 inc VAT and limited to 100 in number.
 
GW051A Wilhelm Frankl was the highest scoring WW1 German ace of Jewish
origin. 

He learned to fly prior to WW1 being tutored by Melli Beese,
Germany's first female pilot in 1913. When war was declared Frankl joined
the Luftsreitkrafte and by 1917 he was a 20 kill ace and recipient of The
Blue Max. 

By this time he had converted to Christianity and married the
daughter of an Austrian Naval Captain. On Easter Sunday April 8th 1917
during aerial combat, Frankl's Albatross lost its lower wing  and he along
with his aircraft plunged 800 metres to the ground. 

He was buried with full
military honours in Berlin. During the late 1930's Frankl's name was deleted
from the official list of Blue Max recipients due to his Jewish heritage.
His name was restored after WW2 and in 1973 the Luftwaffe named one of their
barracks after him.

Frankl comes complete with wicker chair and baby baboon, one of the many
mascots utilized by 4 Jasta during their formation.

Limited to 100 in number and priced at $43.50/£32.00 per set.


World War 2
FJ016A: An FJ sentry in greatcoat rubs his hands against the cold. This
winter version will look great in any number of settings including the
Battle of the bulge or on an airfield. A Normandy version is set to follow
soon.

Limited to 100 in number and priced at $40/£29.50 per figure.



FJ017A: A late war running FJ complete with rifle and vehicle mine advances
into combat, more FJ's in this vein are due to follow shortly. I
particularly like the look on this figures face and the camouflage pattern
on his jacket!



Priced at $40/£29.50 and limited to 100 in number.
 
SS045: Ernst Barkmann Knights Cross recipient, was a legendary SS tank
commander with numerous tank kills to his name on both the Eastern and
Western fronts. He fought in just about every major engagement including
Kursk, Normandy and in the Ardennes. Barkmann survived the war and was taken
into captivity by the British, he settled in Kisdorf after his release and
became the fire chief as well as the town Mayor! He died aged 89 in 2009.

Barkmann is posed in a more relaxed stance in leather jacket with hands in
pocket, possibly discussing the liquid lunch Karl Korner has on offer which
is incidentally our Club 19 figure!

We have 2 versions on offer, a 'Summer' A version and a 'Winter' B version.

Priced at $40/£29.50 and limited to 100 in number.



SOV009A: Another figure to add to our Russian series, this time a standing
rifleman. Suitable for Early WW2 or Russian Civil War. Limited to 100 in
number and priced at $40/£29.50.

A winter version will follow as well as some more British Winter Tommy's
shortly.



Luft 017A/B: Luftwaffe mechanic with oil can and ammo box looks up at the
sky, is he observing American or German planes in the sky above though?!
Comes in an A 'Normandy' version or B Desert version. Limited to 100 in
number for the A version and 50 of the B version and priced at $40/£29.50
per figure.






Club 019 Karl Korner and his liquid lunch! Karl Korner was an SS tank ace
with his kill score running into the hundreds of vehicles. Korner fought
mainly on the Russian front and in one engagement destroyed 39 Russian tanks
with 39 rounds, he then withdrew from the battle with all his ammunition
expended.  

On 29th April Korner was awarded the Knights Cross in the Fuhrer
bunker, the day before Hitler committed suicide. Korner survived the war and
died in 1997 aged 77 years old.

Our model shows Korner is relaxed mode discussing the contents of a
champagne bottle with his fellow comrades.

A big thank to Chris Hunt in HK who asked for more relaxed tankers and so
here they are with more to follow!

This figure comes free if you spend $300 or more in our shop, if you do not
want to spend $300 then you can buy him at normal retail price of
$40/£29.50!


Happy Hunting!

Sunday, 15 March 2015

John Gittins Miniatures: Website News

This is an unusual notification but one I thought it might be helpful to share anyway

For anyone thinking of visiting John Gittins's website and/or purchasing anything from John via the website, and who hasn't already received this in their email inbox, please take note of the following message sent by John to many of his customers

Dear Valued Customer
 
Just to let you know that my website is currently difficult to access  and page loads are very slow. 
The site is however still functional,its seems quicker to access the home page from a favourite  or bookmark in your browser than from a Google search.
 
My web hosts are looking into the problem and i have been advised that  this is due to a structural problem and not any security issue.
 
The site is old and this problem  may take some time to resolve as the site may have to be re-designed using up to date code.
 
In the meantime I am losing business as my online shop is virtually closed , if you do wish to place an order, and you know what you want , you may telephone your order by calling 0114 4535237, or place an order through one of my dealers.
 
I apologise for the inconvenience
 
John Gittins
 
Here's hoping, primarily for John's sake, the issue will be resolved speedily and that his livelihood isn't too badly affected

New Kid on the Block


News now of a new [relatively speaking] manufacturer of scenic features for the 54-60mm toy soldier collectors market. Trading under the name of Eleven Tree Designs, and no that isn't a typo, the man behind the brand has worked closely with David Marshall, he of TM Terrain fame, and has been making items for wargamers for quite a while

He has recently announced the release of a number of WW2 aircraft control towers and a couple of building facades that will look very nice displayed on the sort of bookshelf spaces that many of us toy soldier collectors tend to favour. There is every intention presently of expanding both of these ranges


Take a look at the following images and follow the link to the website for more information








Happy Hunting!