Strana 6
EDITORIAL
one containing the parts for the armament will be
there twice, for a grand total of nine. The MiG-21F
kit will be technically manufactured to the latest
Eduard standard. The surface will be completely
and realistically riveted, which means that there
will be several tens of thousands of rivets on it,
and overall I dare say that it will be one of the
best and most beautiful kits you will get your
hands on this year. The release schedule has not
yet been decided. We are also working on a book
that should be in the Limited Edition kit dedicated
to the Czechoslovak MiG-21F-13, but it is not yet
clear whether this edition will be released first,
or whether it will be, perhaps, the Royal Class
kit. In any case, we have budgeted the work on
this project so that the MiG-21F-13 will have its
premiere at this year's E-day.
PROJECTS FOR THE END OF 2025
We have four other projects in the production
process that are complete in terms of design,
but we do not yet have a release date for them.
We will specify this during the first half of this
year, and it is almost certain that at least one of
these projects will no longer fit into our program
this year. These are: the Albatros D.III 1:72,
the Messerschmitt Bf 109 K-4 1:72, the Spitire
Mk.I 1:72 and the P-51B Mustang 1:32. Then there
is a fifth project, the Avia S-199 in 1:48th.
At least two of them will still fit into this year's
program. They will most likely be the Albatros
D.III in 1:72 and the Bf 109 K-4, also 1:72. Both
are relatively simple, and the Albatros D.III is
being outsourced, we are not producing the mold
ourselves. The implementation of the Bf 109 K-4
involves completing a single mold, and that will
not be difficult at all. It will be more difficult for
the Spitfire Mk.I, not to mention that this project
also includes the Spitfire Mk.II and, above all,
several versions of the Spitfire Mk.V. The most
complex and demanding is, perhaps obviously,
the Mustang in 1:32nd scale. Prioritizing will be
a difficult decision, which will be influenced by
the progress of work on the projects described
in the previous paragraphs. But I promise that
we will let you know the result by the summer
at the latest.
RELEASES OF OTHER
MANUFACTURER’S KITS
We are preparing two projects for this year
that are based on HKM
–
Hong Kong Models
molds. In the first half of the year, it will be the
Lancaster Mk.I 1:48, and in the second half, the
B-25J Mitchell, also in 1:48 scale. We are still
working on the concept of both kits, and we will
present them in detail in the coming months.
E-day, 2025
This year, E
-
Day will move to the Zahrada
Čech exhibition center in Litoměřice. E
-
Day
at the Tankodrom in Milovice, where we have
been organizing it for the last three years, had
its charm. The area undoubtedly has charisma,
suitable for a model exhibition and the potential
to organize accompanying events, such as
flight demonstrations. Unfortunately, it also
has its limitations, especially spatial, due to it
being impossible to free up the entire area of
the exhibition hall. Another problem is the dut
and limited space on the catwalks where the
competition models were exhibited. That is why
we were looking for an alternative, and the area
of the exhibition center in Litoměřice meets
our requirements. Of course, we do not expect
everything to be ideal and, at least for the first
year, I expect some criticism to come under
the spotlight. For example, we will probably
have to give up the flight demonstrations.
The exhibition will be located in several halls,
maybe even as many as five, but I think that will
not be a problem. We will have separate rooms
for lectures and workshops, we will have enough
space for catering, a sufficiently large parking
lot and, last but not least, we will be close to
the center of Litoměřice, which offers enough
accommodation and catering capacities and
evening program options. Which is something
that modelers will certainly welcome. The date
for this year's E
-
Day is the first weekend in
October and it will again be in a one-and-a-half-
day format. This means that the main program
will take place on Saturday, October 4th, but
the acceptance of models will begin on Friday,
October 3rd in the afternoon, and we will have an
accompanying program prepared for late Friday
afternoon and early evening, similar to what
we had at Milovice and before that in Lysá nad
Labem. However, I must admit that I have been
thinking about returning to a two-day format for
a long time, about extending E-day to Sunday.
I understand that many modelers will be
resistant to this, but on the other hand, it would
free up time for other accompanying events, for
which we do not have enough time in the current
format, and the event is marked by a certain
hectic pace and time stress. If the restaurants
in Litoměřice prove accommodating, why not
spend a Saturday evening there and have a good
chat? We do it that way in Moson too, and we like
it, so why can't we have it that way at home?
Litoměřice is no worse than Moson, and Moson
is pretty darned good.
EMD
In December, we published the first
complimentary issue of the paid supplement
of our newsletter, the Eduard Modeler's Den.
In the second half of January, we expect the
launch of the first, paid issue. If you missed
the complimentary issue, you can check it
out
here. As noted, it is a free trial, so that you
can see what the EMD, as we call it for short,
is all about before you commit. At the same time,
in the complimentary issue you will also find the
conditions of purchase and other information for
making your decision an easy one. I do not hide
that our wish is that your decision will be ‘Yes,
I want it!’, and there are a number of benefits to
going that route.
In the paragraph about the Kamikaze Tokkôtai
kit, I mentioned the lectures. The first one will be
in a week, on Saturday, January 18th in Prostějov.
We are organizing it in cooperation with
Mr. Nevečeřala, the owner of the MN Modelář
on-line store. We will tell you as much as possible
about the Kamikaze Tokkôtai project, as well as
about the upcoming Lancaster and P-40N, and
also about the latest developments in 3D printing.
Participation in the event requires registration,
which you can create here.
This year marks 33 years since Eduard was
founded as a limited liability company. However,
the first photoetched products under the Eduard
brand appeared two years earlier, because for
the first two years we operated in a simpler legal
form, as a trade. We are not taking a holiday or
anything like that, but it doesn't hurt to recollect…
So in closing, I wish you all a happy, healthy
and prosperous New Year, my dear Friends!
Happy Modeling!
Vladimir Sulc
INFO Eduard6
January 2025