Eduard info-2010-05EN.pdf

D O R A , D I E J U N G E R E S C H W E S T E R

C H A N G E S I N PE D E V E L O P M E N T

B R A S S I N I N I N T E R A C T I V E P D F

NEws iN May

Instructions, pictures and

other information on

www.eduard.cz

Editorial

News Eduard, Monday 10th of May 2010

No.5

8184 Fw 190D-9 1/48 - Oblt. Hans Dortenmann, iV./JG 26, 1945 - kit built by Josef Choreň

The domestic depression,

a signii cant crisis for us,

is evidently coming to an end.

Since January, we have had

an increasing amount of work

to do, and by the beginning of

this, the second quarter, we

are at a point where our capa-

cities are being tested to the

limit, despite the last two years

being at a reduced level. You

may have noticed that there are

quite a few kits that are listed

as temporarily out of stock.

The problem has been that we

haven’t been able to match our

molding to demand, and this

is more evident in some kits

than others, based on popula-

rity. It would seem that we have

become more understaffed

than two years ago, and this

has been mostly evident in the

Fw 190D-9, stock of which we

haven’t been able to shelf for

more than a week, regardless

of previously sent shipment

amounts. The same can be said

of photoetched items, where

though, it may not be quite as

evident simply due to the shear

volume of product.

beginning of May sees us with

an increased color printing

capability. This will solve that

problem well into the future.

We also helped ourselves out

qualitatively, as the old printer

will be retired, and replaced

by two new ones. There will

be a i ner i delity of detail. I

don’t certainly expect to satisfy

everyone with this upgrade,

but the percentage of satisi ed

clients should rise.

Capacity problems have hit

i rst and foremost the color

photoetched line, where we

just haven’t been able to keep

up with demand. But, no worry,

as we haven’t succumbed to

panic in the times of lull. First

off, we didn’t let any employees

go, and second, we thought it

wise to invest. As a result, the

This year will generally see

Detail on guns

Page 1

Editorial

a lot of innovation at Eduard,

and I dare say, to a level I don’t

remember seeing for a one-

year period. Most of these will

advance the production of kits.

It may be said, that it’s nothing

really that far out of the ordi-

nary, and that the production

of kits here, over the past eigh-

teen years, has essentially held

a dynamic pace. And this was

done with only two department

heads over that span. Eighteen

years ago, the department was

organized by Zdenek Sekyrka,

who saw it through from its

Ota is retiring in June,

but to ensure a smooth

transition of leadership,

Ota is already working

with the new director,

and we have a lot of

coni dence in her.

As of May 1st, kit pro-

duction will be led by

a young lady by the

name of Martina Kura-

kova. Some may i nd

this surprising. Tooling

is generally regarded

as a male domina-

ted i eld with very few

women involved, to

say nothing of directing

capacities. Neverthe-

less, our choice is a

logical one. Martina is

no greenhorn, and she

has been with us for

eight years, initially as

a member of the con-

struction team. One of

her projects was the

Fokker D.VII, in my es-

timation our best WWI

kit, and one of our nicest

kits, period. She left for

Martina Kuřáková -

from 1st May new chief of plastic kit development

some time to lecture at a uni-

versity, but returned after that,

and appears to be well settled.

In the last two years, she has

been heavily involved in our

technological upgrade, which is

expected to see a marked im-

provement in the quality of our

production, and a greater ﬂ exi-

bility in the production process,

which is still a weak link for

us. Our front-burner goal is to

drastically improve upon this

aspect, and under Martina’s di-

rection, to take this section and

i ne tune it from the ground up.

Ota Janeček - the current director of kit production, Ota Jane-

cek worked in the eighties on development of the Czechoslovak

research satellite ‘mAGIoN’. As an experienced ship modeler,

he found related work i rst at the i rm Poseidon, and later at

tespon Kolin where he took part in the development on several

kits for Revell. He is at Eduard from 1996, i rst as a member of

the development team, later as director of tooling, and from

2001, as director of Section 12, which is kit production.

beginnings all the way up to the

Airacobra, one of our best kits.

In 2001, Zdenek left, and kit

production was taken over by

Ota Janecek. An experienced

machinist, Ota then reorgani-

zed the entire department. Tra-

ditional hand made techniques

gave way to computers and

CNC machines.

Under Ota’s leadership, we

released some nice pieces of

work, such as the Fw 190s.

With the last of the one-nine-

ties, the D-11/D-13, Ota will be

saying his goodbyes, as he is

retiring. And he won’t allow his

mind to be changed. Ofi cially,

Fokker D.Vii MAG - one of many works of Ota Janeček

Page 2

Editorial

Our local area has been very

thoroughly dug up thanks to the

twentieth century mining indu-

stry, and what a mess it is. Those

boys were pretty thorough, and

as a result, at the moment, the

front of our building looks like

a future subway station or an

underground parking garage.

One net result is that we lost

our parking lot, so not many of

us would say ‘no’ to a garage.

It’s a pain.

In May, we will be introducing

our new version of the Dora,

the Fw 190D-11/D-13. Certa-

inly, there will be critics, but in

my own view, I do categorize

this as one of our better endea-

vors. Besides looking good,

this one has the advantage that

among our competitors, there

hasn’t been a new D-11 or 13

in a long time. Maybe Trimaster

some time ago, but that is a kit

showing its age.

We made a new canopy for the

Bf 109E-4, and so far, there is a

lot of confusion surrounding it.

We have been inundated with

questions along the lines of ‘is

it true’ and ‘will you send me

a replacement?’ Yes, we will.

If you bought your kit from a

store, and not directly from us,

we would recommend you go

through that store.

Construction yard in front of our company

Through April, we were sending

out replacement canopies to all

our distributors, and the end of

May, maybe the beginning of

June, should see the supply of

new canopies be signii cant.

I would also like to point out

that the replacement canopies

concern the E-4 version. The

E-1 and E-3 canopies are not

affected, nor will they be.

First built up prototype of Fw 190D-11

Page 3

Editorial

Corrected canopy for Bf109E-4

Changes will also be initiated

in the INFOs. This INFO will

indicate the direction these

newsletters will take. This is not

the i nal representative face of

what we want the newsletter to

look like, but over the coming

months, the newsletter will gra-

dually take shape to that end.

Personally, I’m hoping that this

will be i nalized in the fall, to

coincide with the launch of our

new site to replace one that

is becoming a bit obsolete. In

any case, from May on, we

will be enlisting the help of our

friend, Honza Bobek, in the

form of regular commentary

on our successes, advances

and even things that will be ca-

tegorized as bummers. I hope

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