EDITORIAL

Dear Friends,

let’s turn our attention right to what

is waiting for us in June. On May 25th,

an amazing new European Union order

came into effect dubbed the GDPR that

will protect us all from the misuse of

our personal data by simply burying us

under a mountain of paperwork and

a bunch of lawyer inspired legalese

that no one will bother to read and

also inundate some with massive

amounts of mail. It carries with it a lot

of criticism, mostly concerned with

the fact that no one even can begin to

understand all that crap and that there

are various actions being taken in both

quantity and quality that is inversely

proportional to the understanding of

said document. I recently saw an interview with Euro-commissioner Mrs.

Jourova where she was attempting to

explain the necessity of the order because it fundamentally regulates unregulated use of personal data, protects

the general population against its misuse and related consequences; that

it is basically an order in the name of

the greater good which we should not

fear, that will not weigh us down and

bla bla bla. I don’t want to take from

her her optimism, but the module that

we purchased and integrated into our

e-shop, and which will be bugging you

for your agreement in the use of your

data, was certainly not free. And this

is the point of my GDPR rant – be prepared for our need for your agreement.

In the request there are some twelve

pages (best guess) of crap about how

we will be utterly responsible for and

protective of your data and that we

will be doing all this better and more

efficiently than ever before. But these

are just words. We will essentially be

doing everything as it was done before, because we have already always

done this with due diligence without

the need of any GDPR. In short, my

friends, when the dialogue box jumps

out at you asking for your agreement,

please...just click it so we can all get on

with our lives and turn our attention to

model kits and accessories for them.

So....on to something more useful...

Perhaps some will remember the introduction of the LööK Line at the Nuremberg Toy Fair. If not, and you are unfamiliar with this line, you will find your

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eduard

answer in today’s newsletter. Illustrations of the first two sets in the line can

be found in the following pages. The

fruition of this lines is the result of the

melding of some complex technologies

that have been in operation at Eduard

over the past few months and, indeed,

years. Each LööK product will be made

up of two main components: a resin instrument panel and steel photoetched

seatbelts. Both parts will be in colour

and besides having printed dial faces,

the instruments on the panel will be

covered by a lens. As mentioned, the

belts are made from steel, are in colour as well, and are weathered. Some

modellers have indicated that they felt

that the buckles were somewhat subdued, so these have been adjusted to

become more massive. Both components can, of course, be made of more

individual parts.The instrument panels

are designed to be glued into the model without any modifications to either

the kit or the resin. For now, items in

the LööK line will be released in 1/32nd

scale and the technology required to

drop that down to 1/48th is being readied. The test shots there are looking

quite good. And I am hopeful that by

the fall, we will see this in 1/48th, too.

That would be the scale that would

probably pull its own weight in this line.

Smaller scales at this point are not yet

achievable and I have doubts about it

becoming otherwise in the near future.

The first two sets being introduced today are designed for the Revell P-51D-5

Mustang and the Tamiya F4U-1A, both

in 1/32nd.

On an organizational level, the LööKs

fall under the Brassin category with

their own catalogue numbers and

will as such fall under their own sub-heading in the price listings. I hope

that’s clear. And while on the topic

of Brassins, I would like to point your

attention to a few items set for June in

this line. For example, the 1/72nd scale BigSin for the Spitfire Mk.VIII will be

useful to most on some level, for the

kit that was released in April. That kit

can still be considered a current new

item. Also in the Brassin line, you’ll

find RS-2US missiles and UB-16 rocket

launchers, both in 1/72nd scale and

both intended for the MiG-21. Both

of these sets will be released as two

separate versions where one set includes the launch rails and pylons while

the other is focused on the weapon

and the rail. It is in this style that missile sets, designed for the MiG-21, will

be designed. In 1/32nd scale, there

are four new sets for the Fw 190A-8

from Revell, including an expanded,

or perhaps better worded, a resin kit,

of the engine. In 1/48th scale, we are

continuing with the release of items

for the Tamiya Bf 109G-6, this time

a small bit in the way of the tropical filter and along with it the cockpit for the

G-6/U4, which were aircraft armed with

a 30mm cannon firing through the prop

hub. Set 648405, the Bf109G-6 Cockpit, 1/48th, is designed for the G-6s

that were armed with a 20mm cannon.

And incidentally, the cockpit for the

G-6/U4, the 30mm armed version,

is not included as an option in the Tamiya kit and this set thusly opens up

more possibilities of attractive markings for it. It’s worth knowing, I think.

There are also a few smaller items being released for the Typhoon Mk.Ib

in the shape of wheels and exhausts.

That brings us to models, among

which the star of the month will likely

be the Typhoon Mk.Ib. It is in 1/48th

scale and based around Hasegawa

plastic. This is complemented by castings, masks, photoetched brass and

decals from Eduard. The decals are

actually printed in Italy by Cartograf.

The resin castings include the dust tropical filter, the horizontal tail surfaces

that were of a larger surface area, and

it is said that these were the same as

used in the Tempest. The prop is four

blade, and this makes this depiction

that of the most potent Typhoon from

the last production block.This is consistent also with the marking options,

quite striking, actually, for a late war

INFO Eduard - June 2018