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Good day, Dear Friends
After a year, I am writing today's editorial
once again from Nuremberg. This year's
Spielenwarenmesse started on Tuesday, and today,
we are exactly at the halfway point, as the fair ends
on Saturday. With German tenacity, the organizers
are sticking with the five-day duration of the event,
which gets on the nerves of most participants.
It's better than the six days they tried on us before,
but it's still at least a day more than we want and
need to be here. From the point of view of the
participation of companies, the fair is certainly
better this year than last, but when it comes to
visitors, traders and journalists, the situation is
more or less still on the weak side. There is peace
here. Calm is usually nice, but at a trade fair, calm
is probably the last thing an exhibitor wants to
experience. Maybe it will change tomorrow or the
day after and the fair will come to life, but we have
no indication of that as yet. So we have begun
thinking about a backup plan. I will tell you how it
turned out in the next editorial.
As far as February new releases are concerned,
I have to tell you first and foremost about the
Sparviero and the Eduard Heavy Retro edition line.
I feel that this is necessary, because the reactions
to this kit show a certain misunderstanding on
the part of modelers of what this edition and
the kits released in it actually are and will be.
The Sparviero is a reminder of the old days, when
we still had a long way to go to today's quality of our
kits. It is also an answer to the wishes of modelers
who would like to see some kits from that time
back in the range. I'll admit I resisted it long and
hard, but last fall I capitulated and decided to give
it a go with these old pieces. I think that either it
will be a successful move and those who long for
the old kits will be satisfied, or it will be a flop and
everyone will be convinced that it is all nonsense.
Since I don't think it's really possible to release
these old pieces in our current lines, we've created
a new line to release them, called ‘Eduard Heavy
Retro’. There won't be any super modern perfectly
fitting kits in this line, but rather those older items
that lent themselves well to discussions and
criticisms pertaining to the execution of details
and even on how to go about it. Or you may need
to putty a hole with a diameter of 0.1 mm and drill
another one with the same diameter 1.2 mm to
the left….or right. Such horrors will be the price
you pay with the kits in the EHR line. Part of their
charm will be that there will be no shortage of
topics to discuss. You’ll need to get out the putty,
and some of you may have not seen a tube of the
stuff in a long time indeed. You will have neither
the time nor the mood to drill any holes. You can
then with confidence say that Eduard released this
to increase sales of GSI brand surface treatment
products. There won't be much detail on the
moldings. This deficiency will be compensated
for by the details on the PE frets and resin, which
are really a lot in this kit. Of course, there are
also masks, and I also guarantee you nice, high-
quality decals, a great selection of markings and
a beautiful boxart. We'll also add some good
reading for you here within the pages of our
newsletter. Today's article on the Sparviero
was written by the renowned expert on
Italian aircraft, Mauricio di Terlici, and in my
opinion, in addition to his admirable historical
knowledge, he projects the Italians' view of this
symbol of the Italian Regia Aeronautica into it.
To sum it up, these are kits for the tough guys, for
modelers who can do something with the canvas
they are given. But just because we've dusted
off and offered up old plastic doesn't mean we'll
slack off on the rest. What is being created with
these kits today is what we do today….the highest
standard possible with them. And for those with
the skill and interest level in the subject matter,
you will be considered among the elite.
So, by reading this far, you know what it's all
about. If you are thinking of buying, consider your
abilities first. If you embark on this adventure,
don't moan and whine. Show that you've got what
it takes or just stay away from these kits. They are
designed with a specific segment of the modeling
community in mind. As they say, if you can’t stand
the heat, get out of the kitchen. On the other
hand, if you have the urge to get into something
like this, or at least add it to your collection, don't
EDITORIAL
INFO Eduard4
February 2024