Dear business partners, you are receiving this December Newsletter now, a bit earlier than on the tenth as you did the previous  months. It simply is so to allow us to deal with your orders in time so that you get the ordered products for your customers well akad of the Christmas holidays. So, please, do not hesitate and place your orders soon. 
   It is quite early to look back upon the year that is to end in less than a month. That said, we have to admit however that we do live in rather interesting time now. And even though 2022 has been a bit turbulent, it did not have an impact on the sales of our model kits. On the contrary. This year’s new releases sold simply like hot cakes. The top ten of them are:

100-SH72352    Mirage IIIC 1/72
100-SH72457    Bugatti 100  ‘French Racer Plane’ 1/72
100-SH72448    Junkers Ju-87D-5  ‘Axis Satellites’ 1/72
100-SH72462    Messerschmitt Bf 109E-7Trop ‘Braving Sand and Snow’ 1/72
100-SH72445    Tachikawa Ki-54Otsu / Hickory ‘ Gunner Trainer’ 1/72
100-SH48218    L-4 Grasshopper ‘From Africa to Central Europe’ 1/48
100-SH72458    Junkers Ju 87D-5/N/D-8 ‘Night Attack Stukas’ 1/72
100-SH48230    AH-1G Cobra ‘Over Vietnam with M-35 Gun System’ Hi-Tech Kit
100-SH72438    Short Sunderland Mk.I/II ‘The Flying Porcupine’ 1/72
100-SA35009    Panhard 178B ‘47 mm Gun Late Turret’ 1/35

  And we do believe our new models will retain this degree of interest among the modellers in the new year, too. In the first quarter of 2023 we are going to lunch the release of the first Mirage IIIC kit in its first French guise, the 109 Emil in the E-1/B ground attack version and a two seater Viggen in 1/72 which will later follow also in the quarterscale. Sometimes in the first half of 2023, we promise you to release the 1/48 He 177 Greif in re-edition, with some of its moulds will be new. And we are positive that the other releases will form quite an interest among the modellers too, especially such that has not been available for some time and which now sell for horrendous prices in online auctions. And as this year, we are going to focus on the pre-cut mask sets in 2023. Our resin casts sets will still get a welcome addition in the form of some 3D printed parts, but we are also going to develop further the solely 3D printed sets range. 
   Much more comprehensive information on our new releases will follow in early February. And our attendance at the Nuremberg Toy and Model Fair is slowly becoming more and more certain, sadly though the exact placement of our booth is still uncertain. More information should be available in our January Newsletter. 
   Now let me send our very big thank you to all our valued business partners for the cooperation and also wish you very happy holidays. In the new 2023 we wish you success in your personal and professional lives and we are looking forward to cooperating with you for mutual benefit.

A.    Riedel

SPECIAL HOBBY PLASTIC MODEL KITS

L-4 ‘Cub in Post War Service’ 1/48

   Quite soon it became clear to the US military, as well as the British RAF, that the rather large and complicated types such as the O-47 or Lysander which had been designed in the pre-war days for army co-operation, close support, artillery observation and liaison roles were in fact ill-suited for the real operations. Lighter types with the ability of very short take offs and landings proved much more successful. And arguably the most famous of all types of this category is the L-4 Grasshopper, developed from the originaly civil J-3 Cub which did really well during US.Army pre-war excercises.
While the L-4s proved their worth during the war, as they also did later when they attributed in the development of the sports aviation when the US began to sell cheapy the surplus machines. And many of those ex-war birds keep flying until these days.
   The kit contains two styrene sprues joined by one with clear parts, a set of etches and a decal sheet catering for four machines. It offers markings for one Czechoslovak machine with an advertisement for alcoholic beverages on the fuselage, another one as flown in Poland, then one Piper from the UK which bears rather plain-looking colours and finally a Swiss machine in yellow with striking red trim.

-    Colourful civilian options
-    Brand new tooling, superbly detailed
-    Also available is: paint masks M48007, resin cast wheels 4452 and the excellent, exposed engine P48002 made by 3D print.

Fiat G.50B Bicomando 1/32

   The Regia Aeronautica, as well as many other air forces during WW2, used two seat machines converted from standard fighter types for the pilot training purposes. In 1940, the RA faced a difficult task as besides new pilots requiring the pilot training, those many already accustomed to flying in the open cockpit of a biplane needed to learn to fly modern, fast monoplanes with retracting undercarriage. And the Fiat G.50B suited this need very well. This two-place variety of the standard G.50 fighter came about by adding another pilot’s seat in place of the fuselage armament, in front of the standard cockpit. In total, 100 of these trainers were built and became a welcome addition to the Regia Aeronautica and a few also saw service with the Luftwaffe and the military of Croatia. One such machine survived the war and went on serving with the new Italian Air Force until 1948.
   The model kit contains five grey styrene sprues, one with clear parts, finely detailed resin parts and etches. The decals cater for four marking options, machines of the Regia Aeronautica, Luftwaffe, Croatian Air Force and the post-war Italian Air Force.

-    Highly unusual and rare version
-    colourful schemes
-    resin cast parts and etches in the box

MASKS

AJ/SF/JA-37 Viggen MASK 1/48

Pre-cut spray masks for the clear parts and undercarriage wheels of all single seat SAAB 37 Viggen versions

SK-37 Viggen MASK 1/48

Pre-cut spray masks for the clear parts and undercarriage wheels of the SAAB SK-37 two-seat trainer version of the Viggen jet model.

RESIN KITS & SETS

Yak-9D Wheels 1/48 / for Zvezda kit

   Finely detailed, weighted wheels for the new Zvezda Yak-9D kit.

Yak-9K/T Exhausts 1/32 / for ICM kit

   Resin cast exhausts with hollowed out ends and some more detail are a direct replacement of the original styrene ones of ICM’s Yak-9 kit.

Yak-9K/T Wheels 1/32 / for ICM kit

   Undercarriage wheels with weighted tyres and plenty of detail. For the new ICM Yak-9K and Yak-9T kits.

15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 / 3,7 cm PaK 36 Wheels / for Special Armour kits

   Special Hobby’s SA72026 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 and SA72025 3,7 cm PaK 36 models can only benefit from this resin cast detail wheel set.

Beaufort Mk.I Mainwheels and Tailwheel w/Leg / for ICM kit

   Mainwheels and tailwheel correction set designed for the otherwise very nice ICM Beaufort Mk.I kit. Our cast wheels feature weighted tyres as well as the correct type of the hub which is also of the correct size. The tailwheel leg is made from special resin material which is heat treated for greater strength. The tail wheel is also of the correct shape and size

3D Printed Parts

Yak-9D Exhausts 1/48 / for Zvezda kit

   Printed exhausts directly replace the original styrene items, offer much better detail and have their ends hollowed out. Designed for Zvezda’s Yak-9D model.