Tail end Charlie
So, What New Things Await Us In 2026? January is traditionally the month when Eduard reveals in detail the plans for the next twelve months. That is, mainly for the first half of the year.
January is traditionally the month when
Eduard reveals in detail the plans for the next
twelve months. That is, mainly for the first half
of the year. The second half is traditionally
sprinkled with too many variables dictated
by the amount of time between now and then.
That makes it hard to implement any plans with
certainty. We always have a general idea of
what we might be able to accomplish, but you
know how things are going in the world lately.
Today, you never know when some leader of
a great power will decide to start a war with
a foreign country and change the course of the
world, which, to no one’s surprise will carry
smothering consequences for a small country,
even one as capable as the Czech Republic.
Although you will already be familiar with the
main points from Vladimir Sulc's editorial for
this newsletter, I would still like to elaborate
in more depth on a few key ones that I have
something to say about, since I am part of the
team that works on these innovative projects.
Alien
Alien is clearly our most complex decal
project to date, barre none. You have certainly
heard a lot about it, and if you haven't heard
enough about it, I recommend you listen to
the Eduard podcast with Zdenek Nozicka. But
I would like to write about something else here
that is not talked about much with respect to
this project, and that is the riveted decals.
I think this will be the first time that someone
has done something like this. The idea is that the
individual decal segments in the Alien kit will be
riveted directly using the same technology as
we used to produce rivets as a separate product
for the Mi-24V. The set was very popular at the
time, it was very successful, and over the years
I have seen several built Hinds with these rivets
on the Internet and at model exhibitions. And
I have to admit that they really suit this helicopter.
They are a prominent feature of the real thing.
The procedure for producing such decals is
as follows. First, the decal itself is printed on
decal paper. This is then varnished with a full-
surface varnish. After the varnish dries, raised
rivets are printed onto the decal using our
UV printers and the topcoat underneath serves
as the carrier. So do not remove this varnish
from the model under any circumstances if you
want the rivets on the model to last. The test
prints look great and I am very much looking
forward to feedback from modelers. If such
a concept is accepted, as I expect it will (looking
at it strictly as a modeler), it opens up new
possibilities for us in the field of model design
and what can be practically offered to the
modeler.
Events
I would like to continue by touching on
exhibitions, where we have two new events
worth mentioning. This year, for the first
time, we are adding the Glue & Glory event to
our events calendar, which is taking place in
Deredingen, Switzerland. We will be presenting
new products on site, and we plan to organize
seminars there, so if you are traveling inn the
vicinity, definitely stop by. Regarding E-day,
I would like to add that in addition to the fact that
it will be a multi day affair and in the summer,
we will also expand our scope throughout
the area and occupy practically most of the
Zahrada Čech working area. This will mean two
additional halls, more space for people to move
around or room for refreshment stands, etc.
We are also planning other new events for
E-day, and we will keep you informed about all
of them. It’s seriously shaping up to be a good
one. Stay tuned….
3D Prints
Since we introduced 3D printing as a direct
and practical manufacturing aid in 2021, this
year we are celebrating the 5th anniversary
of its use. I think it has been a great five years,
full of dynamic development. Today, we only
have one of the machines on which we started
production. The others have been replaced with
much more modern machines, the production
capacity has also been increased and, given the
boom offered by the Hybrid concept used in kits
being developed here, it will be dramatically
increased this year. At the same time, we will
continue to modernize this year and keep up with
and implement the latest printer technology.
Phrozen, whose printers we use for printing our
new Hybrids, is already supplying distributors
with the latest 16K resolution printers and we
will definitely include them in our 3D printer
arsenal.
I will also talk about these and other bits of
news at the modeling get together in Prostějov,
which will take place this Saturday, January
10th, on the premises of the sports stadium
there. I cordially invite you all to this event.
I wish you all a happy and successful 2026!
SO, WHAT NEW THINGS AWAIT US IN 2026? Text: Jakub Nademlejnský
INFO Eduard
105
January 2026