....a roller coaster of a ride. The Covid-19 epidemic has been hard on us,mostly because of what it has done to the mail system, world-wide. We have had to postpone our development of the European studio, due to complications brought on by local restrictions, and the move back to Canada that it precipitated. However, things are gearing back to development and production of new sets. The one thing that has not suffered is development of new items, and this has been brisk. A couple of major new developments have been the decision to begin offering sets with wheel wells to go with them. Some of these will be of obvious advantage, such as with the landing gear set for Eduard's 48th scale Hellcat, and with the set for the Academy F-4s. The production of both is nearing, but some raw materials are still in extended transit, delaying things in an unpredictable way. Here is a sample of the nearly completed art for the Hellcat: The set includes full main landing gear units and everything associated with them, including HybridCAST oleos and three tire options, allowing a choice of various combinations. The F-4 sets are being finalized (mostly with wheel well fit confirmation) and this set includes the HybridCAST oleos and retractions struts for the main and nose gears, and as a bonus, includes full speedbrakes as well. Retraction struts with lock collars are included as well. 3D printed clear lights are a major plus. Wheels, of course, are included, and the wheel well walls are a single piece affair replacing Academy's five piece units. Needless to say, the detail limitations of the kit units are beautifully overcome in these sets. Three initial sets are being developed, covering the Academy F-4B/N, F-4J/S and F-4C/D. These are also being drawn to be used with the SWS kits (including their upcoming F-4E), and the old but very much liked Hasegawa kits. Scaling up to 1:32nd scale is slated through the fall. the F-14 kit is redesigned. It is still designed for the Tamiya kit, but a new casting system has specifically been developed for this set, and is being used in all the others. Much of the assemblies are a 'snapfit' (they are in all of these sets, actually) and this greatly facilitates gluing. The parts stay in place of their own accord, and this greatly eases assembly. This set won't be offering the wheel sells, but does include clear parts for the lights, and includes a nose strut that is there in its full length, and does not use the upper portion of the Tamiya kit. So, despite the pandemic and the complications that go with it, development at Kazan has not taken it lying down. These sets, among others, will be available shortly.
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