Editorial
Welcome to the New Year! January’s new releases have been on sale for almost three weeks now, so I assume that you are already thoroughly familiar with them and many of you already have them in your posession. Nevertheless, I have to mention that, from my point of view, we are starting this year off with a bit of a bang. A first glance at the 48th scale Albatros D.III may not indicate this, but it too was once the top predator in a sky dominated by war clouds, and this kit offers a superb mix of stories and fates of its pilots and their opponents, as is our custom to uncover over the course of a kit’s development. We also had more than good reason to revive this topic, as you are about to find out.
Welcome to the New Year!
January’s new releases have been on sale
for almost three weeks now, so I assume that
you are already thoroughly familiar with them
and many of you already have them in your
posession. Nevertheless, I have to mention
that, from my point of view, we are starting
this year off with a bit of a bang. A first
glance at the 48th scale Albatros D.III may
not indicate this, but it too was once the top
predator in a sky dominated by war clouds,
and this kit offers a superb mix of stories
and fates of its pilots and their opponents, as
is our custom to uncover over the course of
a kit’s development. We also had more than
good reason to revive this topic, as you are
about to find out.
Two Messerschmitt Bf 109s, the 72nd scale
Bf 109 G-6 in the form of the Limited Edition
Gustav Pt.1 kit, together with the Bf 109 K-4
Weekend release, are already in a league of
their own. I dare say that the Bf 109 G-6 is
the pinnacle of our 1:72nd scale work so far,
and is at least worth a good look from the
point of view of its design. But regardless
of the quality of its rendering, I must first
emphasize that the plane itself, in any of
its many versions, is amazing. I noted this
fact years ago, back when I had no idea
that I would be involved in the design and
manufacture of kits of this aircraft, but at the
time it seemed almost like a cliche, the kind
of inflated superlative that we are constantly
surrounded by. Then, sometime around fifteen
years ago, when we started our first 109,
I didn't see the big whoop around it, and the
first results looked accordingly. However,
we worked on improving ourselves and our
performance and on elevating our 109s to
a decent level, which eventually ensured their
record sales. At the end of last summer we
were at 260,000 sold sprue sets of all versions
of the Bf 109 we released in all scales, from
which I would venture to assume that you
are still enjoying our Bf 109s. But most of
all, I confess to enjoying them too, and that
enjoyment is actually increasing the more
I know about them. So I'll admit that I've been
thinking about what to do about the situation
for a few weeks now, because I really don't
want to end it here and now in terms of this
aircraft. They say it’s best to go out on top, and
we're still not quite there, and with the 109s,
we can move even higher. However, we only
have a few sub types left and we'll be done in
both main scales. In all honesty, I don’t think
that the attempt to keep this family at a peak
by making the Buchon is not the way to go. So
now what? Looks like I might have to change
my mind about 1:32nd….
New Items, 2024
P-51B Mustang
Not that we don't have other things to
do. Our goal is to release at least four new
items this year. If we manage to do that, rest
assured that we, and you, are in for one hot
summer regardless of global warming. First
up is our 48th scale P-51B/C Mustang project.
I anticipate that we will have a complete set
of molds ready at the end of March or the
beginning of April. If so, we will introduce the
P-51B at the Easter show in Prostejov in the
form of a special introductory display tailor
made for the Prostějov Easter event, which
this year takes place on March 30, if I'm not
mistaken. The launch kit will be a limited
Edition Duo Combo boxing, dedicated to the
first Mustangs of the 8th Air Force, the name
of which we still have to come up with. This
will be in May and we will baptize it in Pilsen
at the airport in Line. This will follow in the
footsteps of the Spitfire Mk.I christening
we put together at the same location in
September, 2020. Our friends from Classic
Trainers Association have a new Mustang in
Line, so doing some version of a joint venture
seems a bit of a no-brainer, no?
One More Mustang
Given that the Mustang at Line is a P-51D,
you might think that the fit’s not quite right,
since we are releasing a P-51B. The secret in
this recipe is that we won't just have one new
Mustang this year, we'll have two….that’s two
Mustangs. With an ‘s’! We also have our P-51D
in 72nd up our sleeve. We should have it ready
so that it will hit the market in June, allowing
us to premiere both Mustangs, a big B and
little D simultaneously. Mark your calendars,
folks! It's going to be big and Pilsen's ‘Little
Rebel’ will have a great time!
EDITORIAL
P-51B 1/48 P-51B 1/48
The P-51B Mustang is in the tools making phase.
We have machined three of the six tools; the others
are in various stages of development, with most
already in an advanced tooling phase. Only one, the
last mold, is still being programmed. We expect to
be ready for machining by the end of January, and
the tools will be completely finished by Easter.
INFO Eduard4
January 2024