ProfiPACKs, the Bf 110C/D and Bf 110G-4.

These three kits aren’t new, but are items

that have not been available for a long time

due to missing sprues. Kits that we consider to be new releases will follow after

the New Year. In January, 2023, it will be

a re-edition of the Bf 110E (7083), the Weekend Bf 110G-2 in April, and we are hopeful

that the first quarter of 2023 will finally see

a list of new ‘110s in 1:48th scale, starting

with the Bf 110E and Bf 110G-2.

There is a 1:72nd scale kit amongst the new

releases for November, in the form of the

F6F-5N Hellcat, being released in conjunction with the SE-5a Hispano Suiza in 48th.

Both of these are ProfiPACK kits, as is our

common practice with re-editions.

BRASSIN

Most of November’s new releases in the

Brassin line will again be 3D prints. The

main themes will centre around the Wildcat

and the Zero of our own provenance. For

the F4F-3 Wildcat, we are introducing a set

of landing flaps and gun bays, and for the

F4F-4, a cockpit set. For the A6M3, wheels,

exhausts and a cockpit. For the same kit,

we also have a LooK set. All are suitable for

both the Model 22 and 23 A6M3.

We are not neglecting kits from other manufacturers. For the 1:48th Meng EA-18G

we offer engine exhausts, and for Zvezda’s

1:48th Yak-9D, we have exhausts as well,

and a LooK set. A new LooK set is also designed for the Revell Tornado IDS. This set

is, naturally, suitable for our above mentioned Limited Edition kit, too. Expanded

LookPlus sets are being released for the

Tamiya P-38J and F/A-18F (Meng), both in

1:48th. For ship modelers, we have two sets

of life rafts in 1:350th, and the two new BigSins are not to be overlooked, covering our

Camel and Wildcat.

PHOTOETCHING

For the 48th scale Buccaneer S.2C/D from

Airfix we have three photoetched sets available along with two mask sets. The same

can be said in this scale for the Hobby Boss

F4U-1A Corsair. Our range of landing flaps

grows with the addition of such an item for

our F4F-4 Wildcat. Further sets of masks

and photoetching are being released for the

48th scale F-35B from Italeri and 32nd scale F-35C from Trumpeter. There are sets in

the same scale for Revell’s Bf 109G-2/G-4.

In the Zoom line, which offers a simplified

number of pre-painted items, we have

the new Weekend Bf 109G-14/AS covered.

In 1:72nd scale, we are offering new sets of

masks and photoetched brass, and these

include a set of flaps for the SBD-3 Dauntless (Flyhawk) and the I-16 Type 5 (Clearprop). In 1:35th, November offers up a set

for the M1070 Gun Truck from Hobby Boss,

and in the ship scale of 1:350th, we have

a new set for the anti-aircraft cruiser

HMS Colombo kit from Trumpeter. Don’t

overlook the four new BigEds!

November 2022

SPACE

In the increasingly popular Space lineup,

we have a total of five new items to introduce in 1:48th scale. Of these, the sets

covering the Bf 109G-14 and F4F-4 are designed for our own kits, and the others are

for the Airfix Buc, Revel Tornado IDS and

the Italeri F-35B.

DECALS

As far new decals are concerned, we have

a set of generic stencil data for the German

Ju 87 in 1:72nd, and these are suitable for

any manufacturer’s kit if the type. For the

still-new P-38J from Tamiya in 1:48th, we

have a sheet coming out called ‘P-38J Over

Europe’, coming out of the kit we released

a number of years back with the same

name using plastic from the Academy kit.

It contains some very nice markings, and

deserves a closer look!

EDDIE THE RIVETER

The 3D decals we released under the

Eddie the Riveter banner for the new P-38J

attracted a lot of attention amongst modelers, and so we decided that we would

tweak it for the older P-38F/G/H kit. This

set also includes surface details besides

the rivets, such as filler caps for the fuel

tanks. I will point out that the rivets represented are of the countersunk variety,

not raised half-round as was mistakenly

assumed by some on the internet forums.

They also pointed out that the P-38 wing

was puttied a la the P-51 Mustang, but this

is a point of debate. As you know, we have

released kits recently of aircraft that did

have puttied surface features at production

level, and there is a consensus that rivets

on surfaces so treated were not visible.

Over the course of the research that we

conducted for these projects, we studied

several examples of the Mustang, among

other types, in museums as well as in private collections, and we have come to the

conclusion that invisible rivets are not entirely consistent with the reality of the situation. To a certain degree, it applies to

modern Warbirds that have their surfaces

treated with modern products. In aircraft

that were not brought up to airworthiness,

or were renovated taking care to preserve

surface originality, rivets are visible. This

is why we went with a fully riveted surface

for the 72nd scale S-199. This brought about

protests from backers of the smooth surface school of thought, but I am convinced

that our approach is the best one. But, of

course, I won’t force that on anyone. Anybody that does not agree with this viewpoint

can certainly refrain from the purchase of

the set.

SWEEP 2

We are activating another Sweep sales

event in November. This time, it concerns

photoetched products and will be relatively widespread. This event will cover

some 2,000 products cost-reduced by 50%.

It is planned to go into effect the second

week of November, the precise date to be

announced on social media and on our

e-shop. Those that are so signed up will be

informed by email. The sale will concern

mostly older items with lower turnaround.

Truth be told, most items are virtually sold

out with only a handful at most remaining

in stock, but once they’re gone, they’re

gone, so if any of these have been on your

list of items to get, don’t delay. They will

not be going back into production. Items

not completely sold out will stay in stock,

but that stock will not be replenished, and

it will only be a matter of time before these

are gone from the catalog as well. After the

New Year, some Brassin items will receive

the same treatment, revolving around

older items with a lower turnaround. There

won’t be as many of these are there will be

PE items, but even so it will still be in the

neighborhood of 400 products. The reason

for all of this is a move by our retail and

mail order departments to a new facility,

which we purchased at the end of the summer and are in the process of renovating.

We expect to be able to move in during the

first quarter of next year, with the retail department slated to do so in February. The

two reasons for the reduction in inventory

is to reduce the amount of goods that need

to be moved, and to provide a financial cushion in case unforeseen circumstances

crop up causing any delay in the selling of

our products. It should all take about two

weeks, and if you would like to help us in

this endeavor, please buy! Acquiring the

new facility, its reconstruction and subsequent occupancy are the final steps we are

taking to fully recover from the fire we suffered in December, 2020. With your support,

we can finally put that entire, dark chapter

completely behind us, once and for all.

ARTICLES

This will be the eighth installment of the

report on the air war over Ukraine by Mira

Baric. He is also the author of the interesting article about the aircraft carrier

USS Lexington. The third and concluding

piece on the father of the strafers, Pappy

Gunn, comes from Richard Plos. We make

a return to this year’s National Championships in Plastic Modelling with an article about the winning model built by the

National Champ Jan Koutny. We also have

five Boxart Stories, describing the events

depicted on the covers of November’s new

releases. Three are by Jan Bobek and the

remaining two by Richard Plos.

And that would be it for me for now. I wish

all that, as opposed to us, are going to

Telford a pleasant trip and a good experience, and a good read of our newsletter to all.

Happy Modelling,

Vladimir Sulc

INFO Eduard

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