Editorial

Dear Friends, So I have to say that this April was a good ride. Over the more than thirty-five years of our company's existence, we have experienced various historical events, starting with the revolution and the overthrow of the communist regime in 1989 (yes, Eduard was already a functioning entity back then and we thoroughly enjoyed the revolution), through the terrorist attacks on New York on September 11th, 2001, to the collapse of Lehman Brothers bank and the economic crisis of the late 1990s.

Dear Friends,

So I have to say that this April was a good

ride. Over the more than thirty-five years of

our company's existence, we have experienced

various historical events, starting with the

revolution and the overthrow of the communist

regime in 1989 (yes, Eduard was already

a functioning entity back then and we

thoroughly enjoyed the revolution), through the

terrorist attacks on New York on September

11th, 2001, to the collapse of Lehman Brothers

bank and the economic crisis of the late 1990s.

All of these events were social and economic

upheavals, changing the economic situation and

significantly affecting the way business was

conducted. To be honest, changing established

patterns out of necessity is always difficult and

the need to change your behavior and do things

differently is not a comforting affair, and when

such changes take place, they mainly cause

stress and anxiety. Positive feelings only come

with time. You may be wondering what the hell

was going on here and what actually changed.

Well, change it did. The crisis in 2008 was a strong

impetus for innovation for us. We introduced

the technology that we use to produce our kits

today just after 2008. We bought new machines,

introduced the production of technically new

molds, establishing the path to the current

standard in Eduard model kits. The same is true

of the Brassin line, they are also a child of the

crisis of 2008. Preparations for the production

of the cast sets began in the spring of 2009 and

the first Brassins were released in January 2010.

We had 3D printers in the process from the very

beginning of the line, since the masters were

always designed using 3D design programs, and

then they were printed and refined to be then

turned into molds for resin casting.

The situation today is similar. After the covid

episode, which was probably the golden age of

the modeling industry, all the companies that had

survived until then recovered and experienced

two years of unprecedented prosperity. There

were shocks in the form of inflation, supply

disruptions, the Russian attack on Ukraine, and

right now we have another incarnation of the

post-covid crisis in the form of US President

Trump's tariffs. The start to April was tense.

We had to deal with the shock brought on by the

introduction of US tariffs, forcing us to a new

modus operandi with our American partners

and implement it in practice. Maintaining the

US market is absolutely crucial for us due to

our commitment to it, we export 20% of our

production to the US, and we certainly do not

feel that we are robbing America

in any way. In the end, we found

a solution that should maintain

the current level of our American

prices. But how it all turns out is

of course up in the air, the model

market will be hit not only in

America. Chinese companies are

most likely out of the game in

America for at least some time,

which is certainly not something

we are happy about. We do not

need the liquidation of competing

companies and their elimination

from the market, we need

them for our life and prosperity,

as I have explained several times in the past.

So we hope that the whole situation will settle

down again. But it will never be the same as

before the tariffs. The world has started moving

and it will not just stop. We’ll see where this

road takes us.

We’re not stopping, either. April's positives

include two significant events, Easter Prostejov

and the Moson show. We were in Prostejov

at Easter and in Moson in Hungary a week

later, both events were great, well-organized

and, from our point of view, very successful.

Both seemed to be better attended than last

year, at least from the point of view of our

tables, which were full of activity from morning

to evening. We had our May releases at both

events, and the 72nd scale MiG-21bis proved

to be a great success at both. At Moson we

had the MiGs sold out by noon, and the P-40E

in the Pacific Star kit joined a few hours later.

We also had the first sprues for the MiG-21F-13 in

1:48th for display purposes, in Prostejov just the

canopy, which is of course an interesting piece

of plastic in and of itself, and in Moson we added

two more sprues, the fuselage and the wing, and

the reactions were extremely positive. We don’t

think that this comes as much of a surprise;

the kit will probably be the best we have ever

produced both in terms of the execution of

surface and internal details, and in terms

of buildability. The release schedule is also

already taking shape. The F version will have

its premiere at E-day in the form of a Limited

Edition series kit, dedicated to the service of

the MiG-21F-13 in various world air forces. This

issue will be derived from the Czechoslovak

Limited Edition kit, dedicated to the production

of the MiG-21F-13 at Aero Vodochody and its

service in the Czechoslovak Air Force. The form

of this kit will be decided next week, but in any

case it is certain that this kit will include a book

about the Czechoslovak MiG-21F-13 by Martin

Janousek, and that it will be sold by pre-order in

general and from retailers. We will only produce

as many kits as we have orders, and the ordered

kits will then be shipped a week before E-day

with the option of pick up at that show.

We still have a long way to go until E-day and

a lot will happen before October 4th. However,

as long as we are on the topic of all these shows,

why not say something about this year's E-day,

no? We took the opportunity to visit the venue in

Litomerice a week before Easter. The Gardens of

Bohemia exhibition was taking place there and

we wanted to see the area in action. Jirka Fiala,

who is significantly involved in the activities of

the judges, wanted to see the main exhibition

hall, where the competition models will be. And

of course, the other halls too, because we will

be occupying a total of five halls at the venue.

You don't have to worry about that, the halls are

not far from each other, and they are mainly

concentrated around the central area where the

food court will be located, which will be inside

military tents. There will also be direct access

from the catering area to the hall, where there

will be workshops and a space for tables, where

visitors will be able to enjoy refreshments from

the catering tent in case of inclement weather,

which is a bit of a threat in October. Regardless

of the weather, it will also be one of the areas for

sitting and chatting. There are several of these

in the area, and they will certainly be put to good

use, because one of the reasons why modelers

go to these shows is for the opportunity to meet

friends and have a good chat with them. That is

why, in addition to the classic Pot Q and A, and

other lectures, which will also be in a separate

hall, we are preparing a chat session in the ‘Cafe

by the Lake’, which is between the Q and A hall

EDITORIAL

INFO Eduard4

May 2025