with diagonal openings for the prop blades.

This initially looked like a complicated division of the airscrew itself would be in order,

but in the end, our designer, Stan Archman,

was able to solve the issue and keep the

part as a single item, making the propeller

assembly a simple affair, as it should be. We

also made a seemingly simple adjustment

to the wing to allow the upper wing to mate

up with the lower wing better especially in

the area of the trailing edge. In this regard,

I would like to thank those that pointed this

out and even suggested that they would

accept a thicker training edge of the wing.

That I really am quite skeptical about, I think

they would bitch loud and clear, but all in

all, I take it as a positive experience.

I expect there to be some discussion

surrounding the markings of the Second

Series kit. This will centre around Clostermann’s Tempest. In researching this most

famous of all Tempests, we decided to

adhere to the findings and conclusions of

Chris Thomas, which differs slightly from

French interpretations. The article by Chris

Thomas regarding Clostermann’s Tempests,

explaining our approach to this matter, can

be found below in this newsletter. I would

also like to add that the other marking options for his aircraft will be found in the Royal

Class Tempest Mk.V boxing of the kit that

will be available in June of this year. But the

other markings that are in the current ProfiPACK kit are well worth a look and should

be considered. You don’t all have to model

exactly the same airplane!

The Tempest release will be accompanied

by two other items, the ProfiPACK Mirage

IIIC in 1:48th scale and a Weekend Edition F6F-5 Hellcat in 72nd. The Mirage IIIC

comes across as a straight rebox of the well

known kit, but this, the third re-release, is

not quite what it seems, since the marking

options are a compilation of previous offers

INFO Eduard - February 2019

from two older editions. This year, there will

also be a Limited Edition kit of the Mirage,

this time as a CJ version. I would also like to

direct your attention to the marking options

offered in the Hellcat kit.

Accessory items, weather photoetched

brass, resin or masks, sell best for the best

kits of any given type available. For that reason, we wasted little time in bringing forth

the first of the accessory kits for the new Tamiya Spitfire Mk.I in 1:48th scale in February. This includes both types of masks, both

a basic brass and a landing flap set, and steel seat belts. The Brassin line, for now, offers

exhausts and wheels, but this will expand in

coming months to include more complex

items such as the cockpit and the engine.

Incidentally, I will point out that we are still

working on our own Spitfire Mk.I, and our

competition won’t deter us from releasing

a full line of Spitfire day fighters. Our design

philosophy is different, and I believe that,

for modellers, it will prove to be both interesting and enjoyable. Compared to our

Mk.IXs, the Mk.Is and Mk.Vs will be easier to

build and I even dare say, better detailed, to

say nothing of the different marking options

and accessories that will become available

through the various editions of the kit. I basically have faith that the Spitfire will become

a better item than our recently released Bf

109G-6. We’ll have to wait for the final results about a year, though, so let’s return

to today’s items. An excellent piece of subject matter for new accessory items is our

Tempest kit. To the typical items released

for it, we add bronze landing gear struts,

RP-3 rockets, and two Brassin BigSin items.

To this, you can also add the BigEd, that is

a collection of already released PE and masks. In the photoetched line, we have sets

for the 48th scale Rafale C from Revell, the

He 111H-16 from ICM and AH-1Z from Kitty

Hawk. Seventy-second scale is represented

this month by a set for the FineMolds F-14A

Tomcat, which is a bit of an older kit, but

that doesn’t seem to matter. Masks for this

kit had a lot of pre-orders attached to it, and

that’s the reason we decided to go into the

PE brass as well. In 1:32nd scale, we have

accessories for the Revell Spitfire Mk.II and

the I-16 Type 29 from ICM. For 1:35th scale

armour, we’ve got sets for the Jagdpanther

G1 from Meng. For the ship guys, we have

three sets this time around, all pre-painted. The set of sailors for modern US Navy

ships in 1:350th replaces the recently cancelled self adhesive set, and the difference

is basically the absence of the adhesive and

a few technical tweaks. There are two sets

of German flags in 1/350th scale, historically accurate including the swastikas.

Brassins, besides the ones for the already

mentioned Tempest and Spitfire, offer an

interesting collection of weapons in various

sizes and uses, from two sets of 35th scale

iconic automatic weapons AK-47s and M-16s, to the also aforementioned RP-3 rockets to the AN/AVQ-26 PAVE Tack Pod for

the F-4 Phantom II in the same scale as the

RP-3s, to two versions of the B-43 atomic

weapon. Those are also in 48th scale, while

72nd scale versions are being prepared for

March. And while we’re on the subject of

strategic weapons, there are sets for the

B-52G and Victor K.2 in 1:72nd to be found

among the BigEds. There are also items for

the 1:24th scale Mosquito, and although

the Mosquito was not a strategic bomber,

the sets are large, too.

That’s all from me for now. I hope you enjoy today’s newsletter and that it has reason

to give that warm and fuzzy feeling inside!

And if you have plans to come to Nuremburg, make sure you stop by.

Happy Modelling!

Vladimir Sulc

eduard

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