Cacti in Scotland

Cacti growing in Scotland? Not in the wild I wouldn't have thought, but if you care to take a trip over to Cowdenbeath and pay a visit to Airsoft World later this month you will see some of these beauties from Cactus Hobbies in the States, arguably the best manufacturers of quirky horror/sci-fi masks for airsofters

The Templar mask in blue.....

.....also available in green, orange and black. These masks are part of the new 'Premium' range just about to be released. "Premium masks feature new washable and removable pads with 'AirFree' Technology. After several painstaking months of research and testing, we have come up with a pad design which prevents heat and sweat buildup while providing for proper air circulation in between the contact areas of the pads and the face."

The Robbery Skull mask

The Salem mask in original flame.....

.....also available in green and blue flame, or plain black with no flame at all

They are currently available on pre-order from the AW website and are estimated to arrive around about the middle of the month. There are 20 masks currently available, so quite a range, all retailing at the same price of £69.99. If you buy one, or two, you will earn reward points, in the same way you do when popping in to your friendly, out of town supermarket. As far as I know, AW are the first, and perhaps the only as I write, airsoft retailer in the UK to offer such a system. I could be wrong, so feel free to put me right if you know any better. Incidentally AW, I'm loving the logo. Very nice indeed!

GD Recon in Print

Whilst browsing in a local newsagents the other day I happened to see the latest issue of the magazine pictured below, sporting on its front cover a truly atmospheric picture of some of the lads of GD Recon
 
Some of them live quite local to me and before I discovered the delights of WW2 airsofting I was seriously contemplating joining their living history group. In the end I didn't. I decided I couldn't give enough quality time to both interests and would have to choose one or the other. Choose, I did, and it was airsoft, not specifically WW2 airsoft, that won out. Incidentally, one of the WW2 loadouts I have is a GD Recon/GD Infantry one

Since I've been involved with airsoft, about three years or so now, there has been an increasing amount of 'cross-fertilisation' taking place within the once separate worlds of WW2 'filmsim' airsofting and WW2 reenacting or living history display, with enthusiasts from both sides of the divide discovering the delights that 'the other camp' has to offer. There is an article relating to this very subject in the same issue of the magazine, penned by one G. Harvey, a prominent member of  Comrades In Arms and up until fairly recently a staff writer with Airsoft International. He is also a founding member of PBI, one such 'cross-over' group who portray WW2 British infantry soldiers at both living history and WW2 airsoft events across the country

GD Recon portray, as accurately as possible, rifle men of an armoured reconnaissance unit within the elite ‘Grossdeutschland’ Division that mainly saw active service on the Russian front during World War 2

Members have many reasons for joining the group. Some have a keen historical interest in WWII, some have an interest in the weapons and tactics used, others join for the ‘Kameradschaft’, but the main aim is to share knowledge and research about the conflict and the soldiers that fought in it 

Last year, having been in existence for 5 years, the group became motorised and membership rose to over 25. This year the GDR will be participating in some of the most exciting and respected shows in the UK such as the Bovington ‘Tank Fest’, the English Heritage ‘Festival of History’ and the Victory Show

As you will see from the pictures on the site they attend a wide variety of events throughout the season, from tactical weekends to public displays, and have also taken part in TV & film work as extras

They are always on the lookout for motivated recruits with historical knowledge and a genuine interest in WWII, and especially ‘Grossdeutschland’, so if you have any questions, or are interested in joining a rapidly growing group with a rapidly growing and varied events calendar, go along to one of their shows and have a chat
Failing that, you can always get in touch with the group via the website

Some of the lads pictured at the Battle of Konigsberg event in 2010

Keep 'Em Coming, K and C

Well, February is here and so is the latest King and Country Dispatches, the regular monthly newsletter detailing future releases and newly retired pieces. For more details, click on the link in the news section of the blog, but here is a taster

Being released in February or March are more reinforcements for Monty's beleaguered forces in Africa, some First World War Germans, a handful of Crusaders, Saracens on camels, Ancient Egyptian civilians going about their work, a Spitfire, various Volksturm defending the crumbling Reich in 1945 and at the other extreme, yet more additions to the hugely popular, and expansive, Berlin '38 range. Oh, and one or two scenic items. Phew. I don't know how they do it. Time for some pictures. Here are the ones I'll be adding to my 'wants list'

In a desperate attempt to hold off the Allied Armies even this grandfather has been drafted into the "Volksturm".
Still wearing civilian clothes only his army 'ski cap', armband and weapons mark him down as a 'soldier'

Another 'old-timer' marches off... but at least he has a helmet, backpack and a uniform greatcoat!

This veteran infantryman carries a bundle of deadly "Panzerfausts" (the cheap but effective German Rocket Propelled Grenade). His job is to help instruct and lead the "odds 'n' sods" of the Volksturm

The young and the old... a teenager "Hitlerjugend" member takes aim while his much older comrade gingerly "follows suit"

Set to accompany these 'die hards' into battle is this little beauty, K and C's largest and heaviest armoured vehicle to date, the Jagdtiger tank destroyer which will be limited to a run of 750 pieces. One of them will be mine! Weighing over 70 tons this "behemoth" of a tank-killer was one of the last gasps of the once mighty German armaments industry. Mounting a massive 128mm gun less than 100 of these heavy metal monsters were actually produced. This battle-worn version comes in a realistic two-colour, late war camouflage and is one of the "Henschel Production" models. It comes with 3 partial crew figures

Four views of this stunning looking new model. Reinforced shelving not supplied!!

Even at this late, desperate stage of the war there were some Germans who still believed in the Fuhrer... another Volksturm "volunteer", still wearing his SA uniform, salutes with one hand while clutching his Panzerfaust in the other

Three individual HJ boys ranging from 13 to 17 years of age... the elder being the "youth leader" of the group

Two teenage girls from the "League of German Maidens"... the female equivalent of the "Hitlerjugend"

Four sections of sand bags, and a selection of oil drums. Three extremely versatile display items that will help bring any WW2 diorama to life

That just about brings this little round up to a close, save to say that I might just splash out on this over the next day or two, a late war Normandy set that I initially discounted and is now being retired, and I have since decided to reconsider, purely and simply because of its sheer quirkiness

New Russian Guns

OK, strictly speaking, the first gun referred to here isn't all that new, its imminent arrival having been announced back in December, nevertheless I thought it was well worth a second look



This is the 1944 model of the classic Mosin Nagant sniper rifle, reproduced here in real wood and steel by Zeta Lab. It is available from E-Hobby Asia, who made the above video, and comes with a leather and canvas sling, and a built in/on resin, side folding bayonet for that extra little touch of authenticity, not to mention menace, on the skirmish field or as part of a living history display

The Mosin Nagant in all its glory

Being a springer, you won't have any worries where gas and batteries are concerned, and the FPS comes in at a fairly reasonable 360-380, nothing out of the ordinary for a single shot bolt action sniper. It holds 10 rounds of 6mm ammunition, loaded via an opening in the underside of the gun, which might make reloading a little troublesome in the heat of a skirmish, but hey, small price to pay in my opinion for a gun that looks this good, and when you know something of the pedigree and history of the 'real steel'

Female Russian snipers, trusty weapons in hand, pictured at Konigsberg

Side views of the MG, showing sling points and bayonet folded to the right

The second gun to have caught my eye recently is a pistol. KWA are set to release the TKV 33, a version of the classic Tokarev TT-33 pistol, built around their NS2/System 7 full GBB mechanism

I've had a gander on the KWA website and can see no sign, nor mention, of it anywhere, not even in the news section. However, take a trip over to YouTube, or better still take a look at the following video right here, and you will see it proudly perched on a display stand at the 2010 Shot Show in the USA

Both guns would look equally fine as part and parcel of a WW2 Russian impression, or as captured, trophy pieces wielded by a member of the Wehrmacht or Waffen SS. They are certainly added to my 'can't wait to see those beauties' list and, well, I can't wait to see them. How about you?

A Timely Arrival

Good morning, good people

It is the morning of the Stoneleigh Militaria show and, much as I would love to be in attendance, I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to make it, on account of the little fella pictured in the photographs below

Matthew Charles Fell, Mummy and Daddy's Little Soldier

Due to arrive on Monday, 31st January, he clearly had other plans and came along at 2.23 am on Saturday. With any luck, he will grow up to be a toy soldier collector, wargamer and airsofter of the future, but only time will tell. He is beautiful, of course, just as he is

If anyone out there is going to Stoneleigh and is thinking of taking some photos, if you would be willing to share them and contribute a few well chosen words for the blog your contributions would be very warmly welcomed

For now, I wish you all 'good night' and sweet dreams

Dates For Your Diary

Hi there. The somewhat strangely titled element of the blog 'Points of Interest' has now changed, some of you may have noticed, and is now called 'Dates For Your Diary', a much more appropriate heading for what was essentially, and still is, a list of events you may be interested in attending or, at the very least, finding out about

There are no dates associated with the events named either this time round. I have made each of them a link to the website associated with the event/event organisers, so if you click on it that should take you to the relevant URL and you can find out the dates of forthcoming events as well as sundry additional titbits of information. I hope you find this useful

A major event on the militaria collector's calendar coming up this weekend, of course, is the militaria convention at Stoneleigh in Warwickshire on Sunday, January 30th. I will be in attendance, all being well, along with thousands of others, and hope to bring you news of the show, together with some pictures, shortly thereafter

Also added to the site is an image link to Arnies Airsoft and a news feed to same

Happy roaming

New Releases from First Legion

Well, here I am again, taking a very brief glimpse at a handful of new releases from Matt and the team at First Legion

They aren't currently available but will shortly be up on the site for pre-order. First up, four German tank riders well and truly wrapped up for the winter battles in Stalingrad. Designed to complement the already released winter version of the Panzer III, these tankers will come in two versions, one with bases as shown in the photo, and one without

Ready for winter

Next up, enemy for the Military Order Crusaders, a selection of Mamluk Turks, resplendent in their intricately detailed armour and beautifully emblazoned shields

 

The Fall of Acre range is proving to be one of the company's most popular. If you haven't already seen my previous posts on the Crusaders, then take a look, or pop over to the company website, and I'm sure you will understand why. I'm certainly not alone in looking forward to the release date!

Terrific Terrain

I was browsing the Treefrog Treasures Toy Soldier forum the other night and came across a post from a fellow First Legion collector, which included some photos of a diorama he had just had built by Dave over at TM Terrain

I was pretty impressed, not that Dave's work is in any way new to me, and so I thought I'd put some of the shots up here. Dave's work has featured in various wargame and toy soldier magazines over the years, as well as being used by a number of toy soldier dealers to display their figures and vehicles on at shows. He can turn his hand to anything and produces terrain and scenic items in a variety of scales for wargamers, toy soldier collectors, model makers, anybody in fact who needs some terrain to display something on!

 

Just in case you were wondering how good this might look with the addition of a few judiciously placed First Legion figures, here are three pictures taken by the man himself, Dave of TMT, at a recent toy soldier show in London where this diorama was on display

Germans prepare to overrun the town. Little do they know, the Russians are lying in wait!

There's plenty more eye candy over on the TMT site. Just click on any of the links here and prepare to spend a few hours drooling over the keyboard! Enjoy!

A 'Must Have' for 2011?

A small word of warning. You will need deep pockets, and somewhere pretty special to show this off to its full potential, but in my humble opinion the new German railway sets being produced by Figarti could well be one of the scenic highlights of 2011, although some of the pieces have been available since last year. I was able to see a few of them at the Birmingham Toy Soldier show in October and they are pretty special

Sold under the title of 'German Reichsbahn' there are 11 'new' pieces currently available and I have included pictures of all of them right here. There is also a Coaling Crane, and two sets of tank defenders, consisting of a couple of anti-aircraft machine gunners and two riflemen with a spotter, all of which could be used alongside these new railway pieces. Add to that the gargantuan 60cm Karl Morser artillery piece, together with its rail transporter, and you have a series, quite frankly, without parallel, but not inexpensive

Coaling Crane

Anti-aircraft Machine Gun Team

Riflemen and Spotter

The Karl Morser Artillery Piece and Rail Transporter

The BR-52 Locomotive

Flatbed Wagon

Gondola Wagon

Boxcar Wagon

Light Flatcar Wagon

Track Barrier

Water Pump

Low Goods Wagon

Passenger Wagon

Additional Track