Building a D-Day collection using pieces by King and Country can be quite fun. They have quite a huge selection of figures allowing collectors to recreate plenty of different scenes from the Battle of Normandy. However, when it comes to the landing itself, this can be tricky. Landing ships are not always available and when they get released, they usually sell fast. Luckily for us, not only one but two new landing ships were released this month: The DD335 - Royal Navy LCVP 1335 and the DD336 - Royal Navy LCVP 1324.

What is interesting with those ships is that they are British landing ships. In the past, only two other British landing ships were produced by King and Country and it was many years ago. Those were the DD107 and DD107-01. Of course, several other landing ships were produced by King and Country, but those were all americans.

The now retired DD107 and DD107-01.
Those LCA (Landing Craft Assault) ships were designed and produced in England.

In the case of the new DD335 and DD336, those are American ships, but painted in the colors of the Royal Navy. The LCVP (Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel) ship was designed in New Orlean by Higgins Industries and became widely used as their plywood design made them easy to build. They could transport up to 36 men or a jeep with a 12 men platoon. Finding 36 figures to fit in the model version might be a challenge, but they can house easily a small vehicles such as an Universal Carrier or a Dingo Scout car. In October 1940, Great Britain received the firsts Higgins Boats and started to use them for commando raids. They eventually became useful assets and served in various amphibious operations, including the D-Day landing.

For this release, King and Country produced two very similar items, but with slight variations to allow large size dioramas to be built. With two different serial numbers on their hull and different boat commanders, they will look realistic if put one beside the other.

The new DD336 above and DD335 below.

Releasing those ships was a clever choice from King and Country. They reuse the same molds as the recently retired DD329 and the older DD138 and DD137. Collectors really loved those models and were asking for more of them. Of course, they have the same mechanism that allows the door to be displayed raised or lowered. King and Country also adapted the figures from the DD329 and DD138 to the British Navy, changing the heads for ones with a more suitable helmet for their new function.

The retired DD329, DD138 and DD137.

This is also a good timing as King and Country recently released D-Day British troops and those are available in both grass covered or sand bases. Plus they have in stock plenty of useful products such as the WH030 - Beach Obstacles and the SP069 Barbed Wire. In other words; Now is THE time to build a British D-Day diorama.

Some of the latest British troops with sand bases, perfect for the D-Day landing.

To conclude, those products are safe bets. Each one of those editions of LCVP was greatly appreciated by the collectors. If you consider building a D-Day diorama with British troops landing on a beach, you should grab one of those landing ships while they are still available. If history repeats itself, they will surely become sought-after items in a very near future!