eduard news

[ALBATROS1234]

i while back a few of us tryed to contact eduard to see if we could convince them to maybe make some kits for us ww1 modellers that still build 1/48. many of the eduard kits were groundbreaking, the older ones all the way to the newer ones like the oeffag series and the fokker mag dvii that came out a few years back. eduard said a couple years back that they have no plans to look at making a ww1 model for at least 2 years. well its been 2 years. i am on their list for the newsletter and they send me stuff about new releases. well at the last one they were talking about " make sure to get your spitfire overtrees" overtrees are extra sprues that they sell for cheap so you can have extras etc. so i sent a message about overtrees for ww1 kits. below i will post my comment and their response:

    

Scottnicolich

Jul 19 12:39 (CEST)

what about fokker,albatros,pfalz,nieuport etc overtrees. you need to produce more NEW ww1 kits.

and eduards response:

    

Libor Havranek (Eduard Support)

Jul 19 13:01 (CEST)

Hello Scott,

Yes we know. Unfortunately, we're currently focused on WWII machines and this won't change in next few years for sure.

We have our topics and schedule for upcoming years and it looks like we're getting back to WWI topic far far from now. Sorry!

Libor Havranek


just wanted to let you guys know that eduard is no longer on our side. they have no intention of producing any kits for us. nor photoetch for new kits that i can see. they made some stuff years ago like seatbelts and whatnot but not in a long, long time. and now they say they arent gonna do anything for us for the indefinate future. i for one am completely done with them. they will not get a dime from me. no photoetch nothing. join me in a boycott of eduard.

[Modelnut]

The 100th anniversary of WW1 next year will Garner interest for hobbiests. Short minded on Eduardo's part for sure.

[ALBATROS1234]

really bad news. they are more concerned with spitting out yet another focke wolfe,messerschmit and spitfire. not that they arent important to aero history but cmon, how many diff,me 109 do we really freakin need. they should see by how much their old outdated kits go for on ebay to see there is need for ww1 kits too. one per year would make me thrilled.

[Dave in Dubai]

Yeup, have to agree

Far too many ME109 and P-51 kits out there, but these are the subjects that are shifting the volumes that make money.

Some well known model websites are dominated by the latest 109,190 and '-51 builds...all a bit ubiquitous after a while.

Very refreshing to have a site devoted purely to WW1 aircraft such as this one!

Keep up the good work Des and thank you.

[James]

I totally agree about the over abundance of Bf-109's, Spitfires, etc. That isa shame that Eduard have no plans for doong any World War I kits for the next couple of years. I could be wrong on this, but World War I kits, to me there seems to be way too many Albatros, Triplanes, Camels, and Fokker D.VII's. I could be wrong about that and not trying to start an argument. It would be nice to see some different and/or somewhat obscure aircraft, Wingnuts has done a Gotha, Rumpler, and Hannover's as an example. Would be nice to see more and Wingnuts will be releasing an A.E.G. in the near future.  World War I aircraft kits and Korean War aircraft kits seem far to few, in my opinion.

[coyotemagic]

Scott, I'm with you on the boycott.  For about a year now, the only Eduard products I buy are from other modellers via ebay and such.  So, I'm done with them, too.  Same with Roden.  As a symbolic gesture, I've deleted their sites from my bookmarks.  On the positive side, we've got Gaspatch and Copper State with new kits pending.
Cheers,
Bud

[lcarroll]

   The fact that the WWI Aircraft crowd are only a small part of the overall model aircraft market is what, in my view, causes the lack of interest on the part of the Eduards and Rodens etc. to market new Kits. This is greatly exacerbated by the incredibly high standard of WNW's products , difficult and expensive to match that. The small After Market producers are offering excellent products and hopefully will prosper;  Eduard offers an incredible inventory in this regard but seeking the high volume market they appear to have lost interest in our niche in the hobby. I really don't see a change in the near future, hopefully the other manufacturers will continue to produce or re-issue their Kits or we could find ourselves very limited in choice.
   It would be interesting to verify the numbers; how many model aircraft hobbyists build WWI vs. the other eras? I'd bet were in the vast minority and that is a poor business case for the model producer. Should the only new subjects (beyond WNW) be limited to after market releases we'd be in dire straits.
   Having said all that I'd suggest that increased lobbying may offer a better potential for our interests then punishing the former suppliers. I believe that the market listens and lobbying from the various Forums may be the best route to success. For example, a few communications from Des as a representative of a very successful Forum would be viewed differently then those of a few individuals. The other Forums could contribute as well. I feel sorry for those building in scales other then 1:32, the future does not look bright. Given the situation what someone has already said also becomes a great fear, what if Sir Peter goes on to other things? 
   Am I totally off base? Certainly we need to get active and promote our interests, I don't want to start over as a stamp collector!
Cheers All
Lance

[Bluesfan]

But... but... The one point I really don't get is the one about scales, specifically 1/48. As far as anyone knows, WNW has no plans to move beyond 1/32. Am I right on this? So it seems odd to me that other major (relatively!) manufacturers have shut up shop in WWI in 1/48 (and 1/72) as well.

Younger, I only ever did build in 1/72, simply because there was so much more available than in any other scale. These days, we've been well provided for in 1/48 and increasingly in 1/32. What's more, our average age is dare I say it somewhat older, and the decline in interest in 1/72 is understandable.

But as I say, I don't get this negative attitude to 1/48. These kits often feature good detail, and they're not too much of a challenge to the eye. Best of all, one can put a decent number on display even in limited space. Looking around this and the other forum, there are clearly still a lot of people building in 1/48.
So what gives?

Mark

[lcarroll]

Mark,
   A very good question, and one I don't have an informed nor logical answer to. Your points are excellent, and I wonder if there has been a significant reduction in sales of 1:48 Kits and accessories of late. I can't believe that a significant number of modellers in our genre have switched to 1:32 just because the WNW tidal wave struck. I made the switch based on a desire to add more detail then my old hands and eyes would allow in quarter inch, I'm no doubt not alone in that but the numbers can't be that high.
Cheers,
Lance

[Chris Johnson]

If WWI aviation was a money maker for Eduard and Roden, they'd still be heavily involved in the market. Sadly, it's obvious that there just wasn't enough worldwide interest for them to maintain their existing lines, let alone expand them.

Cheers,

Chris

[RAGIII]

If WWI aviation was a money maker for Eduard and Roden, they'd still be heavily involved in the market. Sadly, it's obvious that there just wasn't enough worldwide interest for them to maintain their existing lines, let alone expand them.

Cheers,

Chris

BOTTOM LINE! Very Good Point Chris!! I often wonder if WNW is a MONEY MAKER? In the end Eduard and Roden have gone directions that will make the owners/Shareholders? more money. That's what business is all about. Do I lament this as a WW1 Modeler? OF COURSE! One other thing, WNW hurt Rodens bottom line. I am sure of this even though I don't have any first hand bottom line knowledge. In a recent correspondence with Olga via customer service, she thanked me for Always supporting Roden! Seems self evident to me, No other companies doing Pilatus Porters and not many into 1/144th airliners anymore.    JMHO,
RAGIII

[ALBATROS1234]

i do acknowledge that wnw has hurt our hobby in a sense because companies that were regularly producing kits are no longer doing it. i understand the buisness model and bottom lines. eduard became a major model com pany on the backs of their 1/48 ww1 plastic models. they basically built the buisness to a high standard from a small short run begining. then out of left feild they abandon the people who gave them the capital to be a big player. no,no,no you will not convince me there is no money to be made. my guess is that the buisness changed ownership a few years ago and the new management and  staff simply arent interested in ww1. i understand branching out. but they could at least throw us a damn kit every now and then. to the people who made them great, the people who pay top dollar for their old ww1 kits on ebay. no this smells of disinterest. they said 2 years ago it would be 2 years until they would consider new ww1 kits. its been 2 years. now they say there are no plans to get into a ww1 subject until " far far from now" then the dismissive " sorry" its just bad buisness to betray you base market customers. its like "burger king" deciding that they make a few more bucks on chicken sandwichs so they stop selling burgers. its just dumb.
 

[ALBATROS1234]

if theres no money to be made why are all these cottage companies like hgw,taurus,aviattic,wood and wire,old propeller,etc.etc.etc.etc. doing it. because theres money to be made. eduards old staff has retired and or the company is under new management whom are not interested in this period in history. when they put out the oeffag albatros they sold like freakin hotcakes. everyone i know thats into ww1 planes has 5,6,7 oeffags. those kits flew off the shelves. so did the mag kit, so did the bristols, hell they released 2 limited editions the crocodile and the brisfish,plus the profipack, nightfighter and weekend editions. to my knowledge you can only get the weekend kit all the rest are sold out.

[kornbeef]

One thing that seems not covered in the discussion about Eduard that may well help explain their loss of interest in some way.

Kits released now by them are produced with built in money making features that call out for the use of their *extra's* such as Brassin sets The base kit is barely adequate in some area's it could be better detailed in so the builder feels inclined to buy the nice shiny resin engine/cockpit extra detail set for their Spitfire/Me.

I'm sure some of the time spent by them producing mountains of brass etch for some rather strage (to my mind) subjects could have been spent giving WW1 a bit of a boost, Most their WW1 Etch sets leave a lot to be desired anyway.

I've always wondered too about how HGW and Eduard are linked, one suggested once HGW was an offshoot of Eduard, I don't know if that's so but Eduard do produce their etch at least and must know how much sells?

On the scale side of things, like Lance and others I switched to 1/32 purely because my fingers are increasingly turning to sausages these days. I do admire the kits pushed out at the smaller scales and sometimes wonder how the builders manage to produce such gems. I'm not Scaleophobic...lol

Keith

[rhinocrat]

To me it seems a little naive
 to expect large kit companies to 'support' one section of the modelleing community or another. Eduard, Roden etc are not small cottage industries anymore, they are large concerns with many employees. As such they have to make sure they keep making healthy profits and follow the market. A really good Spitfire or 109 model is going to achieve far higher sales than a new Pfalz. When Eduard first started they filled a void; 1/48 WWI. There was very little competition. That void has now been fairly comprehensively filled, and Eduard are playing a much bigger game, competing with the likes of Tamiya and Hasegawa. I cant blame them for going where the money is.  I'm just happy there are now so many WWI kits to chose from, largely thanks to the early efforts of Eduard. Now that Eduard have left WWI behind, maybe we can expect new companies to come through? meanwhile I have a shelf full of WNW, Roden and Eduard kits that should keep me going until I make that final flight.