vely passionate frequent request last year, so

I hope that a lot of you will be rather pleased

by this tidbit. This will not signal the end

of the 1:48th scale Bf 109 line for our firm.

Within the realm of design tasks, we have

completed the G-14/AS covering production

block 46xxxx from Erla, and at the moment,

we are working on the Bf 109G-12 in three

production versions, based on rebuilds of the

G-4, G-6 and G-10. We are also working on

the Bf 109K-4 in parallel, which in this subject

matter is the most involved and labor intensive project. The entire family of these kits

will culminate at the end of winter with the

design of the S-199 and CS-199. These won’t

go into production, though, until next year

and the following one, with the last three

seeing their own unique development of all

components, including detail parts.

The first of the Bf 109G-6/G-14 with the

DB 605AS engine, the Bf 109G-14/AS, is

a part of January’s ‘Bodenplatte’ release

which includes marking options for aircraft

of the 78xxxx production block produced by

Messerschmitt at Regensburg. It is true that

externally, this production block is virtually

identical to the G-10 13xxxx production block

from the same production facility, meaning

that our components will also be identical to

the previously released Bf 109G-10 Mtt. Regensburg (production block 13xxxx) kit. The

basic difference comes down to one puttied

cover and another modified. Other possible

differences, such as a smaller supercharger

intake, and the location of the above noted oil tank filler cap panel on the nose, remain unconfirmed in available photographs.

As a result, given the time period of service

of both types, we are considering the later

look of the aircraft to be the same as that

of the G-10.

This approach, however, is the exception

and not the rule. For both of the remaining

AS kits, we have designed new fuselages, and

this will go far in making the kits as accurate

as possible. These will not be half-assed modifications that one might even expect from

something like the Bf 109-G6/AS. I am hopeful that this will be a very successful family

of kits, and our effort to achieve a high level

of precision of these admittedly peripheral

versions will be appreciated. This, even despite the feeling I have that the detail attributes

of individual versions and sub-variants are

not generally well understood by modelers.

That’s not a criticism, and I fully understand.

Not long ago, I was in the same boat, and

I had to make an effort at completing my

education on this matter. We are trying to aid

you in doing the same for yourself through

our Facebook page, as well as on our newly

prepared Eduard Online information page,

where you’ll find a table illustrating the differences within these versions that identify

each one. The question remains regarding

the actual attractiveness of the individual

variants , and I have to admit to having hit

a bit of a wall in the form of a lack of attractive marking options for the G-10 WNF/

Diana, slated for a March release. I have concerns that this will be even more apparent

with the G-12, and we have to decide how

INFO Eduard - January 2019

to approach this issue. The other side of that

coin is that, at the very least, the G-6/AS is

developing into something with no shortage

of excellent marking options that can very

much help to prop up the summer months.

The K-4 version has similar possibilities as

long as current research efforts don’t drag

this into an uneventful grey realm. There are

some indications that this may be so. But, the

question is, how much will this affect us.

Now that we’ve touched on January’s releases, this would be a good time to finish

them off. In the Weekend line, we are returning to the Spitfire Mk.IXc Late Version

in 1:48th, an item that has been sold out

now for some time, and thanks to the types

impact on the history of world aviation, has

been sorely missed. The ProfiPACK kit is

also in 1:48th and its relevance to the Spitfire phenomenon is not lost either. The F6F3 Hellcat has been missing from our catalog

for far too long. Although the original boxart

for this kit was pretty amazing, we decided

in favor of a complete revamping of the marking options, and, as commented on by one

rather boisterous reviewer, it is surprising at

just how striking the result of this decision is.

Some thanks has to go out to Mr. Sredl for his

very interesting recommendations which we

were pleased to incorporate into our decision making process. There will a further two

Hellcats coming out through the first half of

the year, one in February in the form of the

F6F-5 as a 1:72nd scale Weekend Edition kit

and in July in the form of the F6F-3 ProfiPACK

kit, also in 72nd. You may expect a very similar collection of marking options as with the

just released 48th scale kit. While on the topic of re-releases, production will resume of

the 1:48th scale Mirage IIIC and CJ, the first in

February and the second in May. Also going

back into production by popular demand will

be the 48th scale SPAD XIII Early Version with

the rounded wingtips. The final re-release of

the year will come in its second half, and will

be the Airacobra, but, as yet, of an undeter-

mined version. And that lists all of our upcoming ProfiPACK releases, both as straight

re-releases or as older kits with new marking

options. The final one will be the Spitfire

HF.Mk.VIII in 1:72nd scale, which, through its

marking options , will more or less be a copy

of last year’s 48th scale release of the same

type.

There will be some significant new releases that will see their premieres this year.

In 1:72nd scale, these would include MiG-21s

in their PF and PFM versions. These are being

planned as ProfiPACK kits through the second

half of the year. These kits, in comparison to

their MF predecessors, will feature some

relatively significant design adjustments.

These kits will share some of the detail and

weapons sprues with their earlier cousins,

but will not be clones of the earlier releases,

having version specific details of their own.

I hope that thus far, the information has

been interesting, but I am sure that we can

agree on the fact that the most significant

news will come with a discussion regarding

the 48th scale Mustang. This project is progressing quickly forwards and I expect the

first test shots to be available in the spring.

This project holds one interesting secret, and

that is that the development of this kit makes

use of every technological innovation we

have been able to integrate into what we do.

This is sure to have a very positive impact on

the model and I am very hopeful that it will

become one of our favorite pieces. True, experience suggests that the first wave of such

a release is met with some trepidation, and

I expect that much of this will focus on the

surface texture of the wings. This is a point

of discussion even today, and among the favorite topics of discussion related to the Mustang concerns riveting. Our response to this is

that the kit will have no rivets on the puttied

surfaces of the wings, while the remainder

of the airframe will be riveted. The panel lines,

however, will be represented, because repre-

eduard

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