Editorial
Good day, fellow modelers!
Welcome to the tenth issue of our newsletter for this year. It is of course dedicated to October's new releases, which, like every month, are many and need to be reported on in detail. In addition, you will also learn something about November's new items, specifically about the Avia S-199 in 1:48th scale, the first kit of the new Eduard Brassin HYBRiD line. This kit, along with the entire new series, had its world premiere last weekend at E-Day in Litoměřice. We have been introducing this project on various occasions since the beginning of August, so it is unlikely that you would not have heard anything about it by now. Nevertheless, I will take the liberty of saying a few words about what you can expect from this new concept for kits.
These are composite kits manufactured using two technologies, the tried and true injection molding using metal molds along with 3D printing. Large and medium-sized parts are made of plastic, primarily the fuselage, wings, tail surfaces, propellers, as well as canopies and all other transparancies. Complete cockpit and landing gear strut assemblies will be manufactured using 3D printing, as well as some small parts, such as exhausts, antennas, or especially onboard weapons. Wheels will also manufactured using 3D printing. The landing gear legs of the S-199 are made of a special material, used for the production of prostheses and implants within the dental industry. This material is characterized by high resistance to deformation, low flexibility and dimensional stability. It is therefore suitable for the production of parts that require load resistance and long-term strength overall.
The HYBRiD series kits use the good properties of both types of material. The plastic parts are precise with high quality surface details and feature perfect fit. The printed parts also have great precision and, compared to their predecessors, resin castings, also have perfect fit, but compared to plastic small parts, they have a much, much greater fidelity of detail. The printed parts and specifically the printing process provides advantages that allow parts to be produced as one without needing to make multiple parts that might be necessary because of tings like undercutting. The result is a reduction in the number of small parts that the modeler has to glue together as with classic injection molded parts. The wheel wells in the first HYBRiD kit, the S-199 in 1:48 scale, consists of a single part that is simply glued into the wing, where it naturally fits perfectly. The same is true of the cockpit, where the floor with pedals and seat, including the rear wall of the cockpit, is printed as one part. Other parts of the cockpit include the side panels, again each printed from a single piece, the rear cockpit wall, the control stick, the instrument panel, and the trim control wheels.
This concept allows for the reduction of the number of parts in the kit while raising the bar for the quality of the details. For comparison, in the 1:48 S-199, the number of plastic parts was reduced from 126 parts in the previously conceptualized all-injection molded kit to 56 in the HYBRiD series kit. In addition to plastic and 3D printed parts, the HYBRiD series kits will be equipped with a cockpit painting mask, a decal sheet for six color versions and instructions as standard. Photo-etched parts are not included in these kits. An important detail is that plastic and printed parts can be glued together with classic solvent adhesives, it is not necessary to use instant adhesives. But that is of course also possible, the results of both gluing techniques will be equivalent.
In terms of price, the first HYBRiD 1/48 kits will be in a similar price range to the 1:48 Profipack kits. The first EDUARD BRASSIN HYBRID kit, No. 948011, the 1:48 scale S-199 Erla will cost 925 CZK (about 45 American Greenbacks). It is new for November 2025, but was sold for the first time last weekend at E-Day and during the associated Afterparty, and then will be again in November. In January, the second version of the S-199 with the sliding canopy will follow, and for 2026 we are also preparing HYBRiD 1:32 scale kits, which will be priced in line with classic kits of this scale available on the market today.
The concept of the new series is brought to you clearly and concisely by Jakub Nademlejnsky in his article about the new Avia S-199 kit. As a thank you for participating in the exhibition, modelers exhibiting at E-Day will receive another HYBRiD series kit, an Enstrom 480 helicopter in 1:72 scale. We have prepared this kit as a technological demonstrator that will give its owners a good opportunity to try out exactly what the new series brings in terms of construction and utility properties.
Other November new releases will also be on sale at E-Day, but only in kit form. They are the MiG-21F-13 in 1:48 and the P-40N in the same scale, with both kits being members of the Profipack line.
This year's E-day, which took place last weekend in Litoměřice, was successful but cold. The influx of Arctic air and hurricanes across the Atlantic did their job. Fortunately, it didn't rain until Saturday afternoon, but even so, it was probably the coldest of all 22 E-Days to date. However, we had the most models and modelers on display, a total of 1,459 models, compared to 1,123 models last year, and we are very happy about that! There were always lots of people around them. The discussions with the MiG-21F pilots and even with one of them, Colonel Spinka, who flew the S-199, were amazing, and the modelers enjoyed other discussions and lectures as well. And we sold all the S-199s in the new Eduard Brassin HYBRiD series by 2 p.m. So, all in all, it was a good event, and if you weren't there this year, come next year!
Happy Modeling!
Vladimir Sulc