DarkKnight Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 how is it that Eduard who used to only make photoetch and resin upgrades now makes competitive kits, and in some cases the best kits of 1:48 aircraft? computer technology? advances in #D modeling, passion? motivation? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElectroSoldier Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 I thought they took somebody elses kit added their photo etch or other parts, drew up some new instructions to add those parts to the original kit and sold that under their own name. So its for instance still a Tamiya kit but with Eduard add in parts and instructions. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Matt Walker Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 ElectroSoldier, Eduard also make their own complete kits. They are very, very nice, and quite a few of them. Check them out if you want a real treat! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 (edited) Eduard has the motivation! Download the “INFO Eduard” publication from their website each month to hear from Vlad about their plans, learn some actual history about their current or past subjects, see some beautiful builds, and preview what’s coming up. They are a great company that continues to get better! I’ve built their new tool MiG-21, Spitfire(x2), Bf 109(x2), and P-51. The accolades are very much deserved! Steve Edited December 23, 2019 by Falconxlvi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 The Eduard produced kits are Very Nice. I have their Mig-21 and P-51 kits in 48th. Both are Very Nice. The challenge is knowing which “Eduard“ kits are/aren’t reboxes of other manufacturers kits. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DarkKnight Posted December 22, 2019 Author Share Posted December 22, 2019 I forgot about the reboxes, Ive got their Mig-21 and P-51, and Bf-109, there was a time when I bet nobody could beat/match Tamiya/Hasegawa and Eduard were the people that made the little parts I could never get to fit into overly complicated projects Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElectroSoldier Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 3 hours ago, habu2 said: The Eduard produced kits are Very Nice. I have their Mig-21 and P-51 kits in 48th. Both are Very Nice. The challenge is knowing which “Eduard“ kits are/aren’t reboxes of other manufacturers kits. In that case I doubt it makes any real difference. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 (edited) 4 hours ago, habu2 said: The Eduard produced kits are Very Nice. I have their Mig-21 and P-51 kits in 48th. Both are Very Nice. The challenge is knowing which “Eduard“ kits are/aren’t reboxes of other manufacturers kits. It’s not difficult to figure out. Checkout scalemates.com if you want to know whether the kit is a re-box of something else or original. Eduard is by far and away producing most of their own subjects in house these days and they are getting better and better at it! Edited December 23, 2019 by Falconxlvi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falcon053 Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 (edited) Their Spitfire's and Tempest kits and they are really, really nice also. I've got 5 of their MiG-21s also in the really, really nice category. I also have one of the Overtrees of the Hasegawa/Eduard F-8E, wish I could find more. Edited December 23, 2019 by Falcon053 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElectroSoldier Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 1 hour ago, Falconxlvi said: It’s not difficult to figure out. Checkout scalemates.com if you want to know whether the kit is a re-box of something else or original. Eduard is by far and away producing most of their own subjects in house these days and they are getting better and better at it! I think you missed the point of what I said. It doesnt really matter if its their original work or not does it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Darren Roberts Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 I'm curious about Hasegawa. Are they to the point where they won't be releasing anything new in 1/48 scale in regards to jets? I know they do very good business in other categories. It seems they might be content to simply rerelease kits and maybe add new decals. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 1 hour ago, ElectroSoldier said: I think you missed the point of what I said. It doesnt really matter if its their original work or not does it. I am missing your point completely. IMO it does matter. The quality and engineering of the Eduard-produced Mig-21 kits far exceeds the quality and engineering of the Kinetic-reboxed-by-Eduard F-16s. I don't mean that to be a slam against all Kinetic kits but the F-16 was one of their first attempts and even Kinetic admits it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Inquisitor Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, ElectroSoldier said: I think you missed the point of what I said. It doesnt really matter if its their original work or not does it. 1 hour ago, habu2 said: I am missing your point completely. IMO it does matter. The quality and engineering of the Eduard-produced Mig-21 kits far exceeds the quality and engineering of the Kinetic-reboxed-by-Eduard F-16s. I don't mean that to be a slam against all Kinetic kits but the F-16 was one of their first attempts and even Kinetic admits it. I don't see his point either. Because it does matter if it's an in-house Eduard mold or a rebox from another company. With their own kits you can expect at least a certain level of quality. With reboxes it can vary from turds to well selected quality kits. Another example is their reboxes of the shitty Academy MiG-29 and Su-27 with a few resins, pe and decal to spruce up things, yet still shitty kits compared to today standards or other kits they've reboxed. Edited December 23, 2019 by Inquisitor Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mstor Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 3 hours ago, Inquisitor said: Another example is their reboxes of the shitty Academy MiG-29 and Su-27 with a few resins, pe and decal to spruce up things, yet still shitty kits compared to today standards or other kits they've reboxed. Add to that the KP Su-17/22 and Su-25. Did they do a KP Su-7 too? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElectroSoldier Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 I didnt say it doesnt matter if the kit is any good or not, what I said was it doesnt matter if it is or isnt their original work Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aircal62 Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 The question was asked how did Eduard go from Photo Etch manufacture to producing their own very high quality kits? The answer is a love for the hobby and a desire to be involved in making the hobby better. Its in part the opportunity to have the freedom to have a dream and the ability to start a business on a shoestring and follow that dream. Its trying new things, making mistakes, learning, and trying again. It is not giving up, deciding that doing things "in house" was the ultimate goal and year by years taking steps to achieve that goal. They have gone from crude photo etch, then learning to use etching masks to produce layered etch. Then crude epoxy molds to produce limited run kits and each kit learning and improving upon their next kit. It is having a bit of ego and believing in yourself and your dream. Eduard has embraced technology and is constantly evolving and pushing their abilities. Personally I like their way of doing variants by proving an entire new part such as a wing or fuselage rather than using inserts or multiple parts such as different panels or separate noses or tails to mate to existing parts. I much prefer how Eduard does things than say Kitty Hawk with their using 5 or so many fuselage pieces to make up a different version. Say on the Kitty Hawk F9F Cougar, Eduard would have just done two or three different fuselages rather than making 5 interlocking pieces to make up the difference in fuselages between versions. Having started several business and failed at a few, I really admire Eduard as a business. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 2 minutes ago, ElectroSoldier said: I didnt say it doesnt matter if the kit is any good or not, what I said was it doesnt matter if it is or isnt their original work But that's the entire point of the OP's question. Eduard didn't advance by reboxing other manufacturer's kits, good or bad. The OP's question specificaly related to Eduard's kits produced in-house. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Falconxlvi Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 1 hour ago, aircal62 said: The question was asked how did Eduard go from Photo Etch manufacture to producing their own very high quality kits? The answer is a love for the hobby and a desire to be involved in making the hobby better. Its in part the opportunity to have the freedom to have a dream and the ability to start a business on a shoestring and follow that dream. Its trying new things, making mistakes, learning, and trying again. It is not giving up, deciding that doing things "in house" was the ultimate goal and year by years taking steps to achieve that goal. They have gone from crude photo etch, then learning to use etching masks to produce layered etch. Then crude epoxy molds to produce limited run kits and each kit learning and improving upon their next kit. It is having a bit of ego and believing in yourself and your dream. Eduard has embraced technology and is constantly evolving and pushing their abilities. Personally I like their way of doing variants by proving an entire new part such as a wing or fuselage rather than using inserts or multiple parts such as different panels or separate noses or tails to mate to existing parts. I much prefer how Eduard does things than say Kitty Hawk with their using 5 or so many fuselage pieces to make up a different version. Say on the Kitty Hawk F9F Cougar, Eduard would have just done two or three different fuselages rather than making 5 interlocking pieces to make up the difference in fuselages between versions. Having started several business and failed at a few, I really admire Eduard as a business. Great synopsis! I love it! I would also like to add that they did this out of the ashes of a post-USSR Czechoslovakia, which in my mind makes it even more impressive. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ElectroSoldier Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 (edited) Value chain economics. Reboxing other manufacturers kits probably gave them some free cash, they used that cash to develop their own products. It doesnt matter. Edited December 23, 2019 by ElectroSoldier Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 I'm by no means an expert on Eduard history, but weren't they producing their own molds of WW1 aircraft well before they ever started re-boxing stuff? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Curt B Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 (edited) On 12/22/2019 at 5:16 PM, Falcon053 said: Their Spitfire's and Tempest kits and they are really, really nice also. I've got 5 of their MiG-21s also in the really, really nice category. I also have one of the Overtrees of the Hasegawa/Eduard F-8E, wish I could find more. I agree 100% I have begun doing airplanes again, since not having done so since I was little, and all 3 of my completed planes are 1/48 Eduard (Spitfire Mk. VIII, FW-190A-4, and Tempest Mk. 5 Series 2) and all 3 have been fantastic! I also have their MiG-21 (the Around the World release) which I have not started yet, and I have more FW-190s, more Spitfires, a Bf-109 in my collection, all as yet unstarted, I’ve begun parts of their P-51D, and I have another ‘109, and another Series 2 Tempest (and a Series 1) on the way. So, am I sold on Eduard kits...you betcha!! And...what am I going to do next? Just started the Tamiya P-38F/G, and it will be interesting to see what it’s like to do a Tamiya right after the Eduards. I’m wondering, myself, what I’m going to think... And sorry for the non-jet content, folks. Edited December 24, 2019 by Curt B Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 And let's not forget their F6F series, IMHO easily the best 1/48 kits of the type. Their Mirages are pretty good as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Curt B Posted December 25, 2019 Share Posted December 25, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, seawinder said: And let's not forget their F6F series, IMHO easily the best 1/48 kits of the type. Their Mirages are pretty good as well. I'm thrilled about the Hellcat. As much as I think I know about Eduard kits, I surely don't know a lot, and I know how significant the Hellcat was in the Pacific, despite it's short, stubby/chubby appearance. I guess I owe it to myself to get a Tamiya Corsair, and now, an Eduard F6F to even out my currently 100% ETO airplanes. However, I guess I'm starting my Pacific aircraft group with the P-38 I'm just beginning and going to build as Miss Virginia... Edited December 25, 2019 by Curt B Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mawz Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 On 12/24/2019 at 7:52 PM, Curt B said: I'm thrilled about the Hellcat. As much as I think I know about Eduard kits, I surely don't know a lot, and I know how significant the Hellcat was in the Pacific, despite it's short, stubby/chubby appearance. I guess I owe it to myself to get a Tamiya Corsair, and now, an Eduard F6F to even out my currently 100% ETO airplanes. However, I guess I'm starting my Pacific aircraft group with the P-38 I'm just beginning and going to build as Miss Virginia... Eduard does ETO Hellcats 😉 There's markings out there for ETO Corsairs as well (both served in the ETO, primarily in the FAA). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
drake122 Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 Eduard's 1/72nd Mig-21 is a dream to build for sure. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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