Eduard in Moson On the tables, not on the shelves

Text and photo: Richard Plos

It was after four years break, I returned to Moson to visit the Modelshow. I travelled privately, not as a part of the Eduard team with their “travelling big top”, as Jakub Nademlejnský jokingly named Eduard’s stand in this column recently. If I were to highlight the two biggest positives perceived by me, it would be the reconstructed thermal pool with the hottest water of the local spa and then the frequency with which I was spotting models made from our kits while observing the exhibition tables. I tried to keep it at least fleetingly in my memory (which, admittedly, isn’t what it used to be) and by the end of my “tour” around the tables dedicated to the aircraft models I was clear: No other manufacturer had so many models on their tables. Not a chance ... Except of course of the 1/32 or 1/24 scales, which are not our domain. On the other hand, when counting the accessories used, Eduard’s representation here was significant as well. I was happy about that and immediately thought of the catchphrase that Eduard kits are here to be built, not stored ... I understand that I’m touching a raw nerve, as most of us have our own wardrobe that can easily take us to the Narnia for plastic modelers, but I still think our models are popular with seventy-second, fourty-eighth, and to a large extent also to the 144th scale lovers not just as collector’s items, but also as an object of our hobby in the best meaning of it, i.e., building, painting and weathering rather than finding the best layout of the boxes on the shelves to create a loophole in which to insert the next addition to the unbuilt collection. In addition, Eduard has recently made further progress in the quality of its kits in terms of the design as well as surface detailing. I understand it sounds like self-applause, but on the other hand I would like to believe that you feel the same way and like our kits because of the progress made as well.

By the way, the prices of almost everything have been going up in the last two years (and not only here in Czech Republic) and so did the prices of kits and accessories. It’s only logical, as all the inputs were also going up, inevitably affecting the selling prices. Still, everything has its limitations. For example, I don’t think that almost 27 Euro for a kit of a 1/72nd WWII single-engine fighter is the right price. I mean the kit containing one set, to be clear. Occasionally, someone does create a sort of “wow” effect with his new release, which I personally understand, but I also think that such a hype doesn’t last forever, and no huge spendings on such kits actually happen. In fact, the “wow” phase will finally give way to the typical “side hobby” of our hobby, which is the looking for any faults of the kit and while we’re at it, no one can tell me that the exorbitant price isn’t a fault. I myself have resisted the initial “wow” phase with some of the kits of my heart, sold at prices I was feeling were not right and so I just waited for a suitable secondhand opportunity ... You could rightly argue that Eduard also raised the prices this year. Well, you are true. But we still try to balance the prices to keep them at a friendly level. An example of this can be the new Weekend Edition Zero Model 21 in 1/48th scale, which costs just around 23 Euro. And it is the same price we were selling Weekend Edition kits of similar size last year. The “Wunderschöne neue Maschinen” can be had for just under 30 Euro, which is of course the price for two complete kits. So, when counted for one, it comes out to a nice 15 Euro. That doesn’t seem that much for a 1/72nd Bf 109 F kit with die-cut masks, pre-painted photo-etched details, and decals for seven marking options (for each one, as there are 14 markings offered in the kit). I think the good price is also somewhat related to the number of the kits finished, and the number of the models built from Eduard kits on the tables at Moson Model Show suggests to me that we are not off, when it comes to pricing. I am attaching some photos from the show, just to show some of the models. Excuse the quality (of the photos, not of the models), they were taken only by my aging mobile phone ...