tion kits are a continuation of basic concepts

of models that we continuously developed

over the past few years and which we are still

developing. Even though it may come as a bit

of a surprise, both VLR and Spitfire Story are

conceptual developments of Wilde Sau and Du

doch nicht!!. I have gotten the question posed

to me, where exactly, in the kits, are the stories? The fact is, they are hidden. If your approach to these kits is, let’s say ‘traditional’, in

that you look over the markings options, you

read their captions, you pick one, you build

it, and that’s the end of it for you, then you

will not discover the behind the scenes story.

If you study the introductory text, read all of

the captions to all of the marking options supplied, then you will discover that these kits have

an intertwined, almost compartmentalized

write up to them. VLR is based on a concept

that requires the marking options to represent

all of the Fighter Groups and all of the Fighter

Squadrons within them. The intro explains the

basics of the history behind the concept of the

boxing, while the individual profile captions

then describe the stories behind the specific pilots of the aircraft. The combination and

hierarchy of the information presented allows

you to formulate a certain picture of what the

whole thing is about. If it grabs your attention

sufficiently, and hopefully it will, then you can

seek out the relevant literature on the subject,

and educate yourself further.

With Spitfire Story, it even goes a step further, since the technical development of the

Mk.I lineage is simultaneously being mapped

out. In the markings options, different phases of technical upgrading is pointed out for

the individual aircraft, against the backdrop

of historical events. There is also a connection through the fact that differently equipped

aircraft operated during different time periods.

Then, the historical backdrop governs the described experiences of each pilot, which are,

in this case, famous pilots and aces. And even

that’s not the end of it. Spitfire Story is a part of

a wider endeavor, dedicated to the 80th

Anniversary of the Battle of Britain. As of last

week, our Facebook page has been the forum

for items related to the Battle of Britain, it’s

component phases, and parts of this will also

make up future posts dedicated to our kits, released for this anniversary. In this edition of the

newsletter, you will find a historical account,

taken from the introductory text of the kit

‘Spitfire Story, The Few’, but expanded as dictated by the inclusion of a more detailed history.

And that has a bearing on the aforementioned

series on Facebook. Our kits, to be released

to commemorate the anniversary of the BoB,

will be all be introduced in this way. Through

August, the attention will shift from the Spitfire

Mk.I to the Bf 109E, which is the focal point of

the Limited Edition release ‘Adlerangriff’, being

prepared for September, when two kits will be

released in unison, one as a Dual Combo boxing

in 1:48th scale, and the other as a classic single

kit in 1:32nd. Each kit will have a compatible

markings option, all covering the various and

relevant subvariants of the Bf 109E, to include

the E-1, E-3, and E-4, and, in a similar manner,

the individual Jagdgeschwader will be covered

that participated in the battle on the German

side. The options were selected so as to avoid

recycling previously offered schemes and markings, and we purposefully avoided the biggest

aces of the Luftwaffe with the exception of

Adolf Galland, who will be a featured option in

INFO Eduard - August 2020

both kits as the counterpart to Douglas Bader.

So, with these kits, we will have the biggest

combatants of the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire,

the Bf 109E, and two foes who were fated to

become great friends after the war. But do not

be concerned that this would relegate our options to boring items. Far from it! It is a collection of some interesting aircraft flown by some

interesting pilots with colourful stories to tell.

Same as in Spitfire Story. Those that want to

model the aircraft of those famous aces, your

opportunity will come in September and in October, because we will be releasing separate

decal sheets to cover these, too.

In October, we will come back to the Spitfire

in ProfiPACK form, covering the Spitfire Mk.Ia,

with a classic selection of decal options dedicated to pilots not offered in the Limited Edition

kit. In November, we will be coming out with

an underrated and, one could argue, much maligned opponent of the RAF, the Bf 110C and

D. Again, this will be a Limited Edition kit, and

again, will be a dual boxing, this time in both

1:72nd and 1:48th scale. Within that Facebook

series on the BoB, we will also show that the

Bf 110 was not a bad fighter at all. On the contrary, it could be quite deadly indeed. Among

other things, over the course of the Battles

of France and Britain, it had a better kill ratio

than the Bf 109E! In December, we will be back

with the Spitfire again, with the second volume of Spitfire Story, dedicated to the Spitfire

Mk.II. Many modelers think that the Mk.II was

basically the same thing as the Mk.I, so many

of you are probably thinking ‘ho hum’ right

about now. But it’s a little more complicated

than that. The Mk.II didn’t differ from the Mk.I

with just that little bump on the right side of

the nose. It was quite a bit more different than

the Mk.I than that, and was also a considerably

better airplane than the Mk.I. The kit will be

a Dual Combo type boxing, and will offer both

the machine gun armed Mk.IIa and the cannon

armed Mk.IIb. it will be a pretty neat item,

not only because the Mk.II began to take on

a more offensive role as the RAF began operations against German targets in Western Europe. The story won’t end there, either. After the

New Year, there will be other kits coming along,

but we’ll get more into that in December. So…

advice to all: keep an eye on all of our information avenues, newsletters and Facebook, as

they will compliment each other in terms of

information as it becomes available.

Today, I won’t get into a big spiel about accessory items, just recommend a look at them

in the newsletter further on down. There are

things that are suitable for all of the newly released kits, including a cockpit and gun bays for

the Spitfire Mk.I. But I do need to say a word

about the decal sheets. After an extended period of contemplating weather or not to release

sheets covering specific types, we decided to

go into it. We will be releasing them in three lines. The first will be intended for our Weekend

Edition kits, and these will expand on what is

available with the kit. The second will be for

our Limited Edition kits, and the third will be

designed for interesting subjects from other

manufacturers. All will, of course, expand on

what is already offered.

That’s it for now, and I hope that you enjoy

today’s newsletter, with it’s good dose of new

things and information. Tally ho!

Vladimir Sulc

eduard

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