Editorial
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the 200th edition of the Eduard newsletter. Two hundred issues, that's almost 17 years, during which, every month, we have kept you up to date with the latest news from our company while also bringing you plenty of additional, reading and entertainment. But since nothing in the world is as simple as it seems at first glance, it is good to point out, however, that this is the 200th issue of INFO in its current form. There were at least ten years' worth of issues published before INFO evolved into the modern format we know today. These had a simpler form and were more or less limited mainly to basic information about new releases, and the publication was also called ‘Novinky Eduard’ (Eduard New Releases). This format was created in the nineties and in a way it still survives in the form of a Newsletter with information directed at distributors and retailers. It continued to serve this purpose while gradually evolving into an online magazine. That didn't happen by itself, either. It was one of the anti-crisis measures that we gradually introduced in response to the problems brought on by 2008 and 2009, which, however, affected us much longer. The period of stagnation and low performance growth lasted five years. We did not surpass our 2007 performance level until 2012, when a period of boom and rapid growth began. This was mainly due to the stabilization and growth of the world economy, which at that time had already recovered from the depression caused by the collapse of the US mortgage market in 2008. However, our rapid growth at the time, when in 2012 performance increased by 15% compared to the previous year and in 2013 even by a full 22%, was, in my opinion, strengthened precisely by the innovations we introduced in 2009 and 2010. This was most evident in model kits. There, the fundamental innovation consisted in the purchase of modern CNC machines and the introduction of spark-eroded Certal aluminum molds. This allowed us to produce higher quality kits of interesting types. Yes, those would be the Messerschmitts, Spitfires and Focke-Wulfs for which we sometimes received rather passionate criticism on Facebook. For kits, the market response to the change in technology and the increase in quality was fast, growth there already started in 2011. In the following year, accessory sets were added, sales of photo-etched parts and masks, as well as cast resin accessories from the then new Brassin department, grew very rapidly. The establishment of that department, which to some extent adopted the know-how abandoned in the production of kits, and the launch of the production of cast accessories was another major innovation in that 2009 and 2010 timeframe. The first brassin sets appeared on the market in January 2010, and the growth of their sales was incredible, in 2012 it was 190% compared to the previous year, so sales practically doubled during the year.
The change in the newsletter format, a part of a broader process involving the structuring of the marketing department and the reorganization of the sales department, fit right into these efforts to modernize the company as a whole. My colleague Jan Zdiarský led the establishment of the marketing department and the development of the NFO's new format. At the same time, a new website and e-shop were being developed and launched; this project was prepared and led by my colleague Láďa Eštok, working with Libor Havránek, who was his associate at the time. This was followed by the reorganization of the sales department, which had to gear up for a rapid surge in orders generated by the new e-shop and handle a much higher volume of shipments than usual. My then-wife, Jana, was in charge of this part of the project. All these initiatives were our response to a phenomenon resulting from the economic downturn that was absolutely critical for us: the reluctance of retailers to make purchases. This phenomenon had a clear cause. It was a reaction to consumer behavior during a crisis and our task was to overcome this sales hurdle. Do not be misled into thinking this was a minor issue; for us, it was a matter of fundamental importance, and the newsletter was essentially a support initiative designed to draw customers to our new e-shop. We succeeded in doing so. We launched our new website and e-shop in 2011, and just two years later, the e-shop had become our highest-performing sales channel, a position it still holds today, in 2026, with a performance level ten times that of 2010.
With what I have described, I want to show that, on the one hand, nothing happens by itself and in isolation, and on the other hand to point out the usefulness of a crisis situation in the development of a company. At the beginning of the century, we generally enjoyed a period of solid growth, which was not shaken even by the terrorist attacks in New York in September 2001, and we also managed a period of rapid strengthening of the exchange rate of the Czech Crown. Not that we weren't innovating back then. That's when we introduced color photoetching, started with masks and computerized design of kits, bought the first CNC machines and put new sales procedures into motion. For example, we built a very solid sales network in the USA. But the really hard and clear push for change didn't come until the 2008 crisis, and what we did in response to that crisis benefited us over the next decade and continues to reap benefits to this day.
Today, we are in the midst of another crisis, one that has far greater consequences than the crisis of 2008/2009. From today's point of view, this was just a test of the ability of governments, central banks and businesses to react to economic adversity. It could be viewed as a polite crisis, if you will. It broke out for quite obvious reasons, caused problems and gradually subsided, mainly thanks to the quick and vigorous reaction of the central banks and governments of the affected countries. The current crisis is different, it is more of a series of individual crises that follow one another in relatively quick succession. In 2022, Russia launched its aggression against Ukraine, followed by the energy crisis, which in turn fueled post-covid inflation and continued to complicate our lives even in 2023. In 2024, Donald Trump was elected as the US president, and after he took office, tariff wars broke out started by the new US administration and the disruption of the entire world order and trade relations ensued. When it seemed this spring that the world was recovering from this rose garden and the situation was stabilizing, as suggested even in our own performance, February brought the American attack on Iran and the subsequent pressure on the price of fuel, which are further escalating thanks to the mismanaged American policy towards Iran. It's quite simple, when gasoline costs 50 Czech crowns per litre (adjust the price according to the situation in your countries), you can't expect plastic model sales to go ballistic, to say nothing of some ‘luxury market’ accessories for them. They won't, and if customers are compelled to save as dictated by their own finances, save they will. We all have plenty of reasons to be cautious. Unfortunately, for manufacturers of basically anything, production costs then go up, which only complicates the situation further. We and other companies in our industry are no exception.
This does not mean, of course, that modelers now buy nothing. They still buy, but they spend less, the market has shrunk and model companies have to try to win over their customers with interesting new releases. It's the same in other fields, we have nothing to complain about. So we try to entice you, developing interesting and tempting releases to do it with. And to do that, we need to innovate. Those who do not innovate will not survive. So now, in the following lines, in which I will briefly introduce you to our new releases for October, I'll subtly sneak in a few mentions of those innovations.
Kit Releases
The cream of October's new releases, the 1:32 scale Hybrid P-51B Birdcage Mustang kit, is still a major innovation in its own right, even though the Hybrid kit concept was first introduced a year ago. However, compared to the previous kit of this series, the October release brings one partial innovation, which is a new style of instructions using computer renderings. I believe you will appreciate this new instruction format. Still in development, the new P-51B Mustang with the Malcolm Hood kit, slated for November release, has some other minor tweaks, but overall, this new instruction format can be taken as a glimpse into the future of our kits. In addition to the manual, we have also modified the printing technology of some problematic printed parts and improved the packaging of all printed components, which should also lead to greater customer satisfaction. I would also like to add that the October P-51B Birdcage Mustang and the November P-51B Malcolm Hood Mustang replace the 932011 P-51B Mustang Royal Class kit in our catalog, which is already sold out.
Unlike kit 932011, these two new items will not include a pilot figure, Omask wheel well plugs, or an expanded publication. They will also feature fewer marking options, five in total, and the 3D-printed parts will be slightly modified to be version-specific. Item 932012 will contain only the parts needed for aircraft with the Birdcage canopy, while item 932013 will contain only the parts required for aircraft with the Malcolm Hood. These two items represent the standard configuration of the Hybrid series kits, comprising plastic parts, 3D-printed parts, a canopy mask, a small photo-etched fret, and a decal sheet covering five marking options.
In addition to kit 932012, we will be releasing three other kits as part of our October release schedule. The most significant of these is the 1:72 scale Spitfire Mk.Ia ProfiPack kit, the first in a series dedicated to this important aircraft type. We will continue the Spitfire Mk.I series in December with ‘Spitfire Story: The Few’, a 1:72 scale Limited Edition kit. This will include two sets of plastic parts, one for an early Spitfire Mk.I featuring the flat canopy, and another for the later Spitfire Mk.Ia version. Compared to our Spitfire Mk.V kits, we have redesigned the fuselages for the Spitfire Mk.I, featuring more pronounced and, above all, more uniform riveting.
In the 1:48 Weekend line, we are releasing a kit of the German Messerschmitt Bf 109G-5 high-altitude fighter. In our catalogue, this replaces the Bf 109G-5 Profipack version, which has been sold out for a long time. These three new items are then complemented by a kit carrying the catalog number 11193 ‘15,000th’ reissue kit, dedicated to the anniversary of the P-40N Warhawk. This kit will feature a revised decal sheet from last year's release when we needed to address a few bugs and will be released in a very limited run of just 1000 units. I imagine many owners of the first edition will want to get the new decals. We will make that possible but will need a bit of patience from those that will want them, as it will take a little time to put that together. We will let those interested know of how to acquire them with a slight delay.
Accessory Items
In the accessories range, we have several sets designed for the new 1:48th scale Bf 109 G-6 Late kit from Tamiya and for the Ju 52 in 1:72 from Airfix. We also have two new sets of 1:35th scale printed tank tracks, for the Tiger I and T-34 for kits from Tamiya, and several new sets for 1:48 scale combat vehicle models. The sets for the He 111 1:32 (Airfix) and Sea Fury in the same scale from DMBK are also interesting. However, probably the most interesting will prove to be the 1:32 scale F-35A gun bay and wheel well sets (Tamiya). They are very complex, sophisticated and at the same time the largest 3D printed sets that we have produced at Eduard. The size and complexity of the design have an inevitable influence on the price, which is undeniably high, and I understand everyone who has indicated that they won't buy these sets for that reason. On the other hand, we can't make them cheaper, so if we want to release something like this, we have no choice but to sell them at this price and hope that, despite the cost, we will sell enough make their development and production viable. We've also changed the way these sets are packaged, which should better protect the sets from damage during shipping.
Shows
We will be very active at model shows throughout October and later in November as well. Last weekend, we were in Pilsen, and this coming weekend we will be at the Czech National Championship in Vyškov. On October 17th and 18th, you will find us in Eindhoven, and a week later, on October 24th, we will be in Nitra. At most of these shows, except for the Czech National Championship in Vyškov, we will have a stand with our full range of October new releases. There will also be an online Afterparty for the Eindhoven show.
Happy Modelling!!
Vladimír Šulc