THE MATTER OF PRIORITIES

My first memory of a plastic model competition is still clear today. I remember the sheer

joy when my mother handed me an envelope containing a letter telling me that I had

been selected for the national finals of the

„Prostějov“ – at that time a prestigious competition for young modelers, which was backed

by Kovozávody Prostějov company. To apply,

one had to pack his model and send it by postal

service! Quite funny not even today, right? There was a lot of fixing on the venue, when modelers arrived and saw the damages to their

models …

In that letter, as a thirteen-year-old scout,

I also received an address of some Jiří N.

It was a fortunate coincidence that there was

an older modeler in a small town I was living

in, who qualified as well! “He will be a helping

hand to you during the travel to the venue”, the

letter said. And he really did! Jiří then not only

took care of me on the train travel to Prostějov,

he became my best modeling companion and

tutor for several years. We became friends and

we are still friends today for some 43 years!

When I saw what models were gathered on the

competition desk, it was clear to me how naive

my La-7 model was, even with an open engine (hilariously piggish work, to be honest…),

and that if I ever wanted to think about being

part of the frontrunners, I would have to “work

hard”. Then followed several other, already

standard competitions, which I attended, now

as a member of the nearby Chomutov Plastic

Model Club. I remember how little we needed

to get lucky. We were just looking forward to

the trip, to the lunch in a restaurant and especially to the models. That was what we were

all about. We were eager to see the creations

of true masters!

And then, it all got changed somehow. When

I came back to modeling years later, it wasn’t just about the models anymore, we wanted lots of sellers, preferably with hard-to-find products or with discounts ... No, there's

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INFO Eduard

nothing wrong with that, I just think that the

models, inspiration and new friends should be

what we enter competitions for. At many different (especially corporate) events, they are

only as good, as the catering is, but in the case

of model shows, I hope it's more than that.

We celebrate 20th anniversary of the E-day

this year, the contest organized by Eduard.

This is already a nice tradition spanning over

five venues, to which a sixth is to be added

this year. There were different pros and cons

at every venue, and it is going to be no different this year. No venue is perfect, and neither

will be the Milovice Tank Training Area and its

main building. To be honest, I doubt there is any

“perfect place”. Just for fun, let's sketch out

what it should look like when combining the

various requirements of different modelers,

usually expressed in discussions: easy transport, parking for everyone as close as possible

(ideally right next to the building); the venue

set preferably outside the centers of major cities, but, at the same time, somewhere where

there are also other possibilities of other en-

joyment, lots of space in the hall, which should

be amply illuminated, also lots of vendors

with lot of goodies, lots of refreshments, flight displays, workshops and demonstrations,

but also enough time to get everything done in

one day ... Maybe I’ve forgotten something, but

this list already suggests that such a mythical

place doesn’t exist. I don’t want to belittle the

importance of a good location or organization,

but I think it’s safe to say that any plastic model

competition is only as good as the participants

make it themselves.

Just before I quit modeling for many years at

the age of seventeen, I took part in the Regional Junior Championship. It was for the first

time there was an advancing to the National

Finals system. I was probably on my best regarding the modelling skills at that time, so

I kept some hopes for advancement. I decided

to use already built old F4U-1A Corsair from

Frog to disassemble it and turn it into highly detailed model with engraved panel lines,

full detailed cockpit, wheel wells and opened

gun bays. All made just with the use of plastic

rods and sheets from yoghurt and other food

packages. Then, I missed the advancement by

half a point in 100-point evaluating system!

I finished third, but only two of every category advanced … But, anyway, I remember from

that event mainly the friendly atmosphere and

the nice models that were there. It was held in

some ugly building in the middle of nowhere,

there were no vendors except for a small stock

exchange. And still, it was a great event and

one that I still fondly remember after nearly

forty years!

Writing all of that, I hope you will enjoy this

year’s E-Day. It’s been two years since we organized it, so we will meet again after quite

a long time. Eduard staff did everything possible to set up a nice contest, so I believe

it will be like that. But, still, it will largely depend also on all of those showing up. I am looking forward to meet all of You there and let’s

have some fun!

Richard Plos

October 2022