Dear business friends,

   The first month of 2026 is justus, as is the Nuremberg Toy Fair 2026. It was very pleasant to meet our business partners and friends and gain new ones. The number of exhibitors, especially in the model industries, was lower than in previous years. However, there were even more of them here as visitors. Overall, the participation was lower than before. The question is where the fair is heading to and whether the fair management want and can do something to make it more attractive.

   The German model magazine ModellFan awarded our 1/72 SN72007 Kriegsfischkutter kit with the title Model of the Year 2026. This is by no means the first Model of the Year award we have received. But it is the first time that our ship model has been awarded.

   At the fair, we mainly presented the models planned for this year. In addition to the 1/72 DH.94 Moth Minor Coupé kit, which you will find as a new item in this newsletter, there was the 1/48 Heinkel He 177 planned for the spring and the 1/48 Baltimore Mk.I for the summer. The kits planned to follow on from our excellent 1/72 Bf 109E kits also attracted great interest. We are preparing the Bf 109T, Bf 109E-0 and the Swiss export version of the Bf 109E-3a. Another attractive new item will be the 1/72 Albacore. We are already milling the moulds for this model. We are also designing the moulds for the next 1/72 Mirage III versions. This year will therefore bring very attractive new items among the Special Hobby models.

   This newsletter, as already mentioned, brings one of them, the 1/72 British DH.94 Moth Minor Coupé sports and tourist plane. Other new items are the reissues of the 1/48 Seafire Mk.III, 1/72 Messerschmitt Me 163A and 1/72 Bugatti 100 kits. Among the 3D printed and resin cast kits and sets, I would like to highlight in particular the sets of various machine guns for the 1/48 Lysander, the first of the sets for the 1/48 Marder IIIM, an excellent half-scale figure of a German tank crewmember and especially seats for the 1/48 Fw 190. These seats are intended for Eduard kits and are offered in variants with and without belts. Both variants offer a seat and back cushion with a cutout for a parachute. These cushions were part of the equipment of every Fw 190. All kits and aftermarket seats do not have these cushions. Only our sets offer them, completely exclusively. They were created by measuring seats and cushions from a completely unique private collection. You will find very attractive items in the newsletter and we look forward to your orders.

A. Riedel

SPECIAL HOBBY PLASTIC MODEL KITS

DH.94 Moth Minor Coupé ‘Travel and Sport Plane’ 1/72

   In 1937, the De Havilland company designed the DH.94 Moth Minor as a modern replacement for the DH.82 Tiger Moth biplane. De Havilland had produced the type for civilian customers until 1940, when it switched to military production. The civilian machines were confiscated for the needs of the RAF. These were used in the utility and liaisons role. The Moth Minor was designed with open cockpits. For more wealthy customers, the De Havilland company prepared a Coupé version with a closed cabin for two people. The first airframes were built during the war, other machines were built and also converted from Moth Minors with open cockpits. As tourist and sports, these Moth Minors flew until the 1970s, when their technical service life ended. However, several have undergone general repairs and are still flying today.

The Moth Minor kit consists of two sprues of plastic parts and a single sprue with a clear canopy. The decals feature three colourful civilian aircraft flying in the British Isles and one aircraft flying in New Zealand.

-        nicely detailed and yet very easily assembled

-        attractive schemes and decals

Supermarine Seafire Mk.III ‘Last Fights Over Pacific’ 1/48

   The Seafire naval fighter was created during World War II as an emergency navalization of the Spitfire Mk.V. Gradually, versions Mk.I to Mk.III were produced with R&R Merlin engines (they were then followed by other versions with R&R Griffon engines designated Seafire Mk.15, 17, 45, 46 and 47 - Special Hobby offers the Seafire Mk.15, cat. no. SH48116, SH48125 and SH48233). Unlike previous versions, the Seafire Mk.III was equipped with folding wings. The R&R Merlin series 45 engine with the highest performance at low altitudes gave it performance that was higher at sea level than that of the land-based Spitfire Mk.IX. The Seafire Mk.III became the best naval fighter of British design of World War II. Although its fragile landing gear was a certain handicap when operating on aircraft carriers, it was a dangerous opponent in the air. Many a Japanese pilot could confirm that by the end of World War II.

 Kit SH48052 offers the choice of three Seafires operating on aircraft carriers in the Pacific. One of them was flown by Sub/Lt R.H. Reynolds, the highest-scoring Seafire pilot. Another machine took part in the very last battle of British naval fighters in World War II on the morning of 15 August 1945 when Sub/Lt G.J. Murphy shot down two Japanese Zero fighters in this battle. The kit box contains five grey styrene sprues, an injection-moulded clear canopy, a fret of etches and a self-adhesive film.

-        reissue of this very interesting version

-        a type not offered by any other company

Messerschmitt Me 163A 1/72

   The Messerschmitt Me 163A was the world's first mass-produced rocket-powered aircraft. The production aircraft were used for testing and pilots training for the Me 163B combat version. On 2 October 1941, Heini Dittmar became the first person in the world to exceed the speed of 1,000 km/h (623.67 mph) in the cockpit of a Me 163A V-1. The rocket-powered Komet took off from a two-wheeled, jettisonable cart and landed on a ski placed under the fuselage.

The model includes a sprue with Me 163A parts, an injection-molded clear canopy, resin interior parts and a fret of etches. Decals are available for three Me 163A aircraft.

-        detailed, resin cast cockpit with etched parts

-        aircraft very important for the aviation history

-        re-release of long-time sold out kit set

Bugatti 100 1/72

   Before World War II, Ettore Bugatti decided to build a racing aircraft that would win the then popular Deutsch de la Meurthe races. During the design work, the original single-engine project was revised and the Bugatti 100 ended up being powered with two engines asymmetrically placed one behind the other in the fuselage and driving counter-rotating propellers. It was intended attempt to break the world speed record. The aircraft was ready to fly on the eve of World War II. After the German invasion of France, it was hidden. It is now exhibited at the EAA Aviation Museum in the USA.

Two sprues of plastic parts are completed by an injection-molded cockpit canopy. Since the machine did not carry any markings, the kit does not contain any decal sheet. The instructions offer two colour schemes, one of them fictitious.

-        re-release of already sold out kit

-        interesting and unorthodox-looking airframe

-        detailed, resin cast air intakes in the empennage

SPECIAL MASK

DH.94 Moth Minor Coupé MASK 1/72

Pre-cut spray masks for masking the clear part and wheels of the Special Hobby DH.94 Moth Minor Coupé model kit.

RESIN AND 3D MODEL KITS & SETS 

Hetzer Exterior Detail Set 1/72 / for Vespid Model kits

   The 3D printed set, designed for the new Vespid Model kit, corrects the kit's errors and offers a high level of detail. In addition to the correctly shaped gun shield, it also includes new crew compartment entrance covers, a remote-controlled machine gun, a late-version exhaust cover, a jack, and a half-figure of the loader-radio operator for the open hatch under the machine gun.

M36 Jackson Cardboard Transport Tube for 90 mm Gun (6 pcs.) 1/35

   Resin cast cardboard tubes in which the gun shells in the M36 Jackson were transported. The set offers 6 examples.

Lewis machine gun (two - with ring/bead and reflector gun sights),1/48 Lysander / forAirfix kit

   A 3D-printed set offering two machine guns, one with traditional ring and bead sights, the other with a reflector type sight. (Both types were used in the Lysanders.) The set also includes spare Lewis magazines, which were placed on a rotating platform, or a turntable in the Lysander fuselage.

Lysander Twin Browning machine gun 1/48 / for Airfix kit

    3D-printed set with a twin Browning machine gun with ammunition belts that will add more detail to the new Airfix Lysander kit.

Marder IIIM Exterior Detail Set & Driver Half Figure 1/48 / for Tamiya kits

    3D-printed correction set that also adds more detail to the Marder IIIM kit. The set contains open driver’s hatch and a half figure of the driver.

WWII German Tank Crew (Driver) Half Figure 1/35

   3D-printed and highly detailed half figure of a German tank driver that fits to an open crew compartment hatch.

Hetzer Mid + Late ‘Saukopf’ Mantlet Correction (Short Type) 1/35 / for Academy kits

   The Hetzer tank destroyer was equipped with a gun shield, or mantlet, called a ‘pig’s head’. This shield was modified during the production, its shape changed and was produced in several variants. Academy was not able to fully capture the shape of the shield in its Hetzer kit. Therefore, we prepared 3D printed shields of the correct shape. This set offers the so-called short type of shield.

Hetzer Mid + Late ‘Saukopf’ Mantlet Correction (Long Type) 1/35 / for Academy kits

   The Hetzer tank destroyer was equipped with a gun shield, or mantlet, called a ‘pig’s head’. This shield was modified during the production, its shape changed and was produced in several variants. Academy was not able to fully capture the shape of the shield in its Hetzer kit. Therefore, we prepared 3D printed shields of the correct shape. This set offers the so-called long type of shield.

Fw190A Seat and Side Section Back Armour (w/ harness) 1/48 / for Eduard kits

   Based on an private collection original seat, armours and most importantly with uniquely preserved cushions (a seat cushion and a back cushion with a cutout for the parachute), we have prepared a 3D printed seat. The seat is printed with the belts.

Fw190A Seat and Side Section Back Armour (w/o harness) 1/48 / for Eduard kits

   Based on an private collection original seat, armours and most importantly with uniquely preserved cushions (a seat cushion and a back cushion with a cutout for the parachute), we have prepared a 3D printed seat. The seat is printed without the belts.

  DH.94 Moth Minor Wheels / Circumferential Tread Pattern 1/72 / for SH kits

3D printed wheels for the Special Hobby DH.94 Moth Minor and DH.94 Moth Minor Coupé model kits.