Review: Just landed on my desk – Eduard 1/48 Trenér Limited Edition
Finally, I received my limited edition Zlin Z-226 kit, made by Eduard. I was among the very few modelers being excited about these kits. I remember the initial comments on modeling forums. Why does Eduard waste its valuable resources on a basic trainer? Why don´t they release the [nth iteration of my favorite WW2 plane]?
Well, I believe they have a lot of cash cow projects to please the crowd, and they are right to show their aviation history to the modeling community. Just as Italeri does it with Italian subjects, Airfix with British planes, Zvezda with Soviet/Russian designs.
The Trener family is probably not very well known in the Western part of the world, but it is an important part of aviation history elsewhere. It is pretty much the same category as the more famous DHC-1 Chipmunk - same period, size, weight, performance, and number of planes built.
The history started right after WW2 with the Z-26. The mixed metal-wood design quickly evolved into an all-metal airplane, with a lot of different variants, including single-seat aerobatics models. Eduard will release almost all models, except the last one, the Z-726. That version was produced in a very limited quantity, and probably Eduard´s product management decided not to make tools for such a rare type.
The first kit is a limited edition dual combo. It is a heavy box. Very heavy. I understood the reason immediately after opening it - the frames contain most of the parts for the other, to be released variants (we even get the canopy of the single-seater aerobatics version). Eduard once again made a clever design, so they simply have to replace the frame with fuselage and wing parts to make a new kit.
We get parts for two Z-226, with four possible variants. Z-226B was the glider tug version, T the trainer, and M/MS reengineered variants with different engines and propellers.
There are 11 paint schemes, all very colorful, civilian planes from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. The kit includes canopy masks, and etched parts for the cockpit.
Eduard did an amazing job here. A rare, not well-known type made by a mainstream manufacturer in excellent quality. Sometimes dreams do come true.
That’s really cool in my opinion. Just the sort of thing I’d buy on a whim and enjoy to the Nth degree. Thanks for sharing. I’d really like to see Eduard do the Zlin crop duster in 1/48.
It would be great! I am getting older, and my preference is shifting towards 1/48 scale planes. I can´t see those tiny 1/72 scale parts anymore.
I have the feeling that Eduard is testing the market with these releases, and seeing what they can sell. I am not sure if anyone from Eduard is reading this, but why not try - Hey, Eduard, how about a 1/48 scale L-200 Morava kit? Or a Brigadyr, including the crop duster variant? 🙂
That looks really well made ! Enjoy putting it together and thanks for the education on a plane I did not know anything about.
I am happy to see that you learned a bit about this family of planes. I will try to share even more information about the type once I get started with the build. I will post it here on iModeler.
Really looking forward to seeing this built up.
I now know 100x more than I did about this airplane. 🙂
Thanks! I'll be looking forward to seeing what the results look like.
Stay tuned for the build, I will try to dig into the history and details! I already have quite a few stories to share, few of these boring, civilian planes had very exciting lives.
Most probably I will get started with this build in the first half of 2022.
A super kit indeed, Csaba!
Looking forward to see both built!
It is one of the best kits I have seen recently. My current plan is to make a plane not included in the box, with its first and last livery. It was made as a T variant and converted to MS later, and the parts are there for both. Would be an interesting project, but I need a bit more research about the first livery.
The best part is that there are upwards of 1,800 photos of this and its variants on airliners.net, some with REALLY wild paint schemes!
Yes, and if you take a look on Edaurd´s newsletter from November, you will see a preview of the upcoming Profipack release, including a few of those really wild schemes. Somehow I have the feeling that this first dual combo was not the only release I am going to buy. 🙂
Seems like decent kits, Csaba @pikofix
Thanks.
Looking forward to see them built.
Wow, even the OK-MUA from the wild escape of the Bezak family to west Germany is on the decal sheet.
Can imagine this becoming a good seller for it is a civilian with a fighter look/size. Plenty schemes. For you others not being able to imagine yourselves to build a civilian machine, don´t worry, there will be at least one more Bf 109 coming.
…or a 526 with a (not-exactly-accurate-but-still-cool) Messer livery. 🙂
Photo from Avia-info.hu
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.