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Info Eduard - October 2011
EDITORIAL
So, where do we begin? How ‘bout the new
website? In the spirit of Eduard tradition, it has
taken a long time. You be the judge of the nal
result. Its not without some bugs, but that is just
a question of some tweaks here and there. Give
us a few Eduard month...umm..weeks, and it will
run like a nely tuned machine. In addition to
nal, denitive tuning, we will also incorporate
some changes that will make it more functional.
This should be done sometime after the new
year, by which time we will be certain that there
are no hidden problems yet to be discovered.
Besides the new site, we also have another
annual E-day behind us. The Butovicka Garage,
once again, did not disappoint, if only because
we are all used to it by now, or perhaps, the
critics buggered off. The overall Galerie Butovice
shopping centre has been greatly improved
and gained much in dynamics. This is certainly
a positive step, and will help us in a determination
for next year. The push to October 1st appears
to have been a good idea. The thing we’re not
sure of is the reduction to a one-day format.
The length of the 2012 show will the topic for
much discussion in the near future, and I am sure
most of you will put in your two cents’ worth.
Discussions on this theme were started a while
back, as on the theme of the ‘admission kits’, and
their potential.
This year’s admission kit to the show was a
bull’s-eye. The MiG-21MF in 1/144 received
a lot of positive feedback. It also evoked a lot
of speculation over the admissions kit next year,
and what other 1/144 kits we might release.
Next year’s kit is something we’ll, naturally keep
under wraps until the last moment. All I can say
is that next year’s will be along the same lines
as this year’s. What type it will be is something
I don’t know myself yet, but at least this will
certainly help the secrecy thing work pretty well.
Otherwise, I know I’d blab it out somewhere.
In any case, it will be in 1/144, derived from
a larger model.
In the meantime, the small MiG-21 will live as
the inauguration of a new Eduard line, or, maybe
more accurately, a new incarnation. We decided
to use this opportunity to resurrect the dormant
1/144 line, and to initiate a modication of it,
ultimately increasing in the line’s dynamic. In time,
we will be releasing older kits as well as new kits
in this scale. The older ones will be brushed off,
xed up, we’ll address some of the shortcomings
in the forms, add some small details, all in the
name of releasing these kits at a standard
where they will not need any photoetched. The
desire to release them without the brass is rst
and foremost to make them simpler, and more
friendly to younger modelers. Most will be
released as Dual Combo kits to take advantage
of offered decal options, where the MiG-21MF
had eight. That’s not to say that all will have that
many in future releases, and I think that the more
realistic number will turn out to be ve.
The new line is called ‘SUPER 44’, and will
have its ofcial opening in November with
the aforementioned MiG-21MF. This will be
followed by another two, the MiG-21SMT and
‘bis’, which will mirror the release order of the
48th scale kits. The next kit in line will be the Ju
52, which will require the noted modications,
and we won’t get to those until our 72nd MiG-
15 is nished, likely over the second half of next
year. Next fall will see a series of new little kits,
starting with next year’s admissions kit to E-day,
and at the end of the year, we’ll see the old,
albeit rehashed, Stuka.
In November, along with the 1/144th scale kit,
we’ll see the return of the 48th scale Tempest.
At no point in time would I have expected that
our good ol’ Tempest, at the end of its career,
would move the modeling world in such a way.
Through the rst half of September, we have
received another 1800 orders, which is reason
to issue another run. I would like to say, again,
that this will be the last run, but its tough to be
sure about anything, anymore.
To give the Tempest the proper sendoff
it deserves, we are reissuing a small series, along
with a T-shirt with the inscription ‘Clostermann -
Charles the Great’. The tees, dubbed TEMPEST
PLUS, is available only on our web shop, and
if you should like one, do it fast, as we will not
be accepting orders beyond October 6th, and
the production run will be consistent with that
of the orders. When you order, conrm your size.
For your information, the total released Tempests
for November’s second edition will be 2550,
including the TEMPEST PLUS. Both items, with and
without shirts, will be sent out starting November
1, 2011.
Staying with November kits, its worth also
pointing the 48th scale Fokker D.VII MAG in the
Weekend Edition. The Austrian version of the
Fokker is one of the few allowing the building
of the kit without the use of Lozenge markings,
which is one of the reasons for its release.
November also sees the release of color
aircraft PSP bases.
Since November is a bit off yet, we’ll get
back to October releases, the intended theme
of this newsletter. This month, we are releasing
the second version of our rather popular Hellcat,
the F6F-5. With respect to the older 48th scale
kit, it should be obvious that this concerns the new
72nd scale release. Compared to the F6F-3, this
F-5 has a new wings, as did its larger cousin,
as well as some minor changes in the interior and
the exterior. Most of these, with the exception
of the wing, were also included in the dash
three. We decided that it was unnecessary
to complicate the molds, and left a lot of the
version specic components on the trees in both
releases. This includes the small window behind
the cockpit, which is a well known difference
between older and newer Hellcats. This was not
an absolutely dening feature, as most of you
will know that initial ves had the same window
as the threes.
In the Limited Edition line, we are releasing
another alternate version of one we have already
offered. In this case, it is the 48th scale MiG-
29UB. As was the case with the single-seater, the
two-seater is based on the Academy kit, with the
addition of our Brassin pieces and photoetching,
which is by now a proven combination. There are
ve marking options, the crowning glory of which
is a striking Polish aircraft.
The Weekend Edition sees another new
member, in the form of the MiG-21SMT. Its
good to be able to add a quarter scale item,
as our scale alternatives are growing. And that’s
to say nothing of the potential in 1/72nd scale,
for which there has been a surprising strong
demand. As shown in the case of the Tempest,
the voice of the people matters!
In the case of November releases, I have to
report a not-so-pleasant development. We
indicated that we would be releasing a Limited
Edition Su-27 in November. The kit is intended
to be the Academy base kit complemented by
our Brassins and photoetching. Academy has
informed us of changes and modications to the
forms of the kit in the cockpit area, and we have
not yet received a sample of the new moldings
to conrm the suitability of our parts. So, as
a precaution, we think it wise to hold off on the
release until we can conrm that we want to add
will actually t. The new planned release is now
January, 2012.
In October, we are offering a list of photoetched
sets that should prove to be more attractive than
usual. Beginning with 1/32nd, where there is
the greatest number of new items, probably the
most anticipated and most commented on model
of the year, if not of all time, is the Tamiya
Mustang. Eduard, on this occasion, cannot stay
on the sidelines. To not release any sets for this
kit is simply out of the question, and the rst sets
to be released are in October’s offerings. We
also took the unprecedented step to move the
planned release of the next three sets for this
kit, originally slated for November, to October.
There are a total of ve sets available for the
Mustang: seat belts, ammunition bays, engine
and interior for initial versions (P-51D-5 to
D-15), with this interior set also being offered as
a Zoom set, in a slightly simplied form in terms
of parts count. The remaining three (or four,
depending on how you look at it) sets for this kit
(exterior, interior for the D-20 to D-35, and later
ammunition bays) will be available in November.
Certainly in the shadow of the Mustang, there
is nevertheless the similarly interesting 1/32nd
scale project from Revell, in the form of their He
111P. If this will be as successful as the Ju 88
from the same people, then we have something
to look forward to. The likelihood that it will