Strana 5
the R version first as a Limited Edition, in this
case with a book by Martin Janoušek, dedicated
to the Czechoslovak service life of the MiG-21R.
We will continue with the 1:72nd scale
Spitfires. First in April or May we will release
the Spitfire Mk.Vc in the Profipack range, then
we will continue with Limited Edition kits based
on the Mk.Vb of various versions, and the Mk.Vc.
These will include Eagle's Call, dedicated to
American Spitfires, followed by Spitfire Story:
Southern Star dedicated to the tropical Mk.Vb
and Mk.Vc versions. We will follow them up with
the Spitfire Mk.I and Mk.II both in the Profipack
ange and as Limited Edition releases, which
will again follow from the 48th scale versions
released previously..
As for 48th scale news, we are working on
the P-40K. We will release it in both short and
long versions in the second half of the year in
both the Limited Edition and Profipack ranges.
Another upcoming new item this year involves
the MiG-15 family. We have the MiG-15 ready
in both the basic MiG-15 and the MiG-15bis
versions. The set of parts also includes parts
for the Czechoslovak specific ground attack
versions of the MiG-15SB and MiG-15bisSB.
The first kit of the 48th scale MiG-15 will be
released at the very end of the year, in November
or December. We also have the design drawn up
for a two-seat MiG-15UTI training version ready
for the future, but we will probably incorporate
this into the Hybrid series.
Reboxes
We have quite a few Limited Edition
releases planned that will make use of other
manufacturers’ plastic. Just a gnat’s hair from
being released is ‘Alien’, a Mi-35 in 1:48 scale.
We published a lot about that in December,
so I assume you know what it is. We sold 720
pieces through pre-orders, the rest of the total
circulation of 1000 pieces will go to selected
retailers, where those who do not trust pre-
orders or had other reasons for holding back
will still have an opportunity to get their hands
on this unique item. We will most likely ship
the kits at the beginning of February. I do not
know the exact date yet, because it is not yet
clear how quickly the printing of decals with
integrated positive riveting will go. We know
that this is a complex technology that is not fully
tested, and therefore it is not clear exactly how
long the production will take. It may happen that
we will ship these kits in January, but that is still
uncertain.
In February we should also ship ‘Strafers’,
the HKM Eduard B-25J Mitchell in 1:48th scale.
The plastic is on its way to us, they are now
going by train and should now be somewhere in
Turkey, maybe even somewhere in the Balkans.
And to top it all off, we also have plastic for the
48th scale F/A-18C from Kinetic on the way. This
will be included as part of April’s new releases.
Other upcoming projects include a 48th scale
A-20G Havoc and a B-25J Mitchell with a glass
nose. This kit will be an extension of the 72nd
scale Angel of Mercy release, with the same
markings.
Accessories
I expect our accessory production to
undergo a radical transformation this year.
It is in response to technological changes and
the associated changes in demand and sales.
To make a long story short, we are selling fewer
and fewer photoetched items and cast resin
Brassin sets. Demand has shifted to 3D prints
and Space sets. So, last year we retrained
most of our PE designers to 3D design, and
as you know, we are expanding our 3D printer
farm to increase our 3D printing capacity. It is
not an easy matter, it also involves building
modifications and changes in the organization
of work, but we are working hard on it and with
a clear goal in mind. This does not mean that
we will stop the production of photoetched sets
altogether. There are still types of etchings
that are in demand, for example, colored steel
seatbelts are still selling very well. We will also
leave the photoetched compnents in kits, in the
Profipack and in the Limited Edition releases.
They are also interesting for some new kits, and
flaps are also selling well. So PE is far from
being done, but overall we will purposefully
reduce them and we will carefully choose which
etched sets we will release for production.
E-day and Other Events
We have mentioned E-day quite a bit in the
recent past and all of that is quite clear. I'll just
recap that this year's E-day will take place from
June 26th to 28th at the Zahrada Čech exhibition
center in Litoměřice. And it will be two days,
or rather two and a half days, opening on Friday
afternoon.
Monthly Info Newsletter
and the EMD
Our regular monthly newsletter will continue
more or less unchanged, it will just take on
some of the columns intended for the EMD,
which is ending this month. If I had to briefly
explain why the EMD is ending, it is because
it is not profitable for us. It sells too little to
sustain itself in its present form. When we
started with EMD, we believed that, given the
readership figures of our regular monthly,
the EMD could be a commercially interesting
project. But that did not come true. The truth
is that readers do not want to pay for Internet
content, even at relatively small costs.
We were unable to break through this block,
so we decided to end the project and devote
the time spent on it to something more useful.
For example, the publications that come with
many of oour Limited Edition releases. There is
a lot of interest in those.
Model Exhibitions
On Saturday, January 10th, we will be in
Prostějov at an event organized by the on-line
retailer MN Modelář. We will be giving lectures
there about much of what you have just read,
a large part of which will be dedicated to 3D
printing and the Hybrid series. At the end of
January, from the 27th to the 31st, we will be in
Nuremberg at the Spielenwaren Messe, as we
do every year at this time. We still haven't given
up, even though we are one of the few who are
still at the fair. If you are going to Nuremberg,
stop by for a coffee and let’s chat.
And that will be it for me for now. I hope you
enjoy this month’s newsletter, and I wish you all
happy modeling!
Vladimir Sulc
EDITORIAL
INFO Eduard
5
January 2026