Eduard 1/32 P-51B/C Birdcage for October release

[DougN]

On 6/14/2026 at 1:21 AM, drsquid142 said:

I do have to say, as I mentioned in the other thread about this kit, that I am not very happy with how Eduard has handled the pricing for the pre-orders.

 

I've been eagerly anticipating this model, and as soon as the pre-order was open, I ordered one directly from Eduard at the $165 USD they list it for on their site, shipping to Canada. I did think it was a tad expensive compared to other equivalent 1/32 kits from Tamiya or Kotare, esp. since it doesn't have an engine, but I know it has a lot of 3d printed parts, so you won't need as much AM for it. And I know, as a Royal Edition boxing, it has a lot of extras, like the included book. So I pulled the trigger.

 

So I was pretty disappointed to see the price European modellers were saying they paid for it here, and after going back to Eduard's site and setting the currency to Euros, I was very frustrated.

 

Here is how the pricing breaks down from what I've seen online so far (before VAT):

Eduard Store (Czech Republic) 

2314.05 CZK = ~96 € or ~$110 USD

93.35 € = ~$108 USD

$165 USD

Squadron (United States)

$165 USD

Jadlam (UK)

£79.20 (listed as £94.95 with VAT) = ~91.75 € or ~$105.85 USD

So IMO, something is wrong here. Now I completely understand that regional pricing for any product can be different due to many factors, so if Eduard has set the North American recommended retail to $165 USD, so be it. A little too expensive, to be honest, but it's their right to set whatever NA wholesale and suggested retail prices they want for their stockists, like Squadron and any other US store that starts pre-orders for the kit, such as Sprue Brothers.

 

What gets me is the price when ordering directly from Eduard in the Czech Republic. Why have I been charged SO MUCH more for the same model when pre-ordering it from the same store? The only thing that should be different is the shipping costs, and I know and expect the shipping costs to Canada are going to be higher than shipments within Europe.

 

And tariffs should not come into play here for a buyer in Canada. Yes, perhaps there are some additional costs to ship to the US from the Czech Republic due to the tariff situation, and if so, then spell those out clearly in any breakdown of the price. But the base price for the kit itself (excluding any VAT, other costs, shipping, etc.), when ordering from the same store, should be exactly the same for everyone.

 

I've already emailed Eduard to try and get an explanation about the pricing differences, and if they are not willing to adjust the price I paid to match the price they are charging in Euros, I am going to cancel my pre-order with them. I would try to order from Jadlam, but it looks like they will not ship to Canada  , so I am going to have to wait to see when Hannants or someone else with the "right" price opens pre-orders. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I believe Eduard has agreements in place that they will not charge below the MSRP in the customer's market for a kit.  So if the kit is set at an MSRP of $165 in the US, then they will charge that to any US customer ordering direct (not sure what Canadian MSRP is, but likely the same).  They do this to protect their reseller network.  If we could all order direct from Eduard for less than MSRP, that would negatively impact the number of kits their resellers would be able to sell.

[Kagemusha]

I hope there will be parity regards price when it's available domestically worldwide, I had a £5 voucher at Jadlam, due to expire next week, so I pre-ordered the kit for just under £90. 

[quang]

1 hour ago, D.B. Andrus said:

No s--t, Sherlock.

Indeed Watson, the game’s afoot.

[Kagemusha]

...and back to the kit, there are some shots of painted wheel bays, the start of a build by Jan Baranec  on their fb page, which I don't do, a few photos

 

 

 

[quang]

WOT? No watermark on the alclad sheets? Disappointing!

[Kagemusha]

33 minutes ago, quang said:

WOT? No watermark on the alclad sheets? Disappointing!

 

 

But then if you have the main gear bay doors closed, problem solved, looks better aesthetically.

 

 

 

[quang]

…And of course I can drape a tarpaulin over the Malcolm hood 😇

[petrov27]

I mean all jokes aside that is pretty frakkin amazing for an out of the box wheel well as far as detail (and yeah im sure that was not an easy paint task there)

[quang]

I suspect the 3D wheel bay is the main attraction of the Eduard kit and the cause for 99% of the pre-orders 😜

[Troy Molitor]

Hey Quang,

As a licensed aviation mechanic for my entire life, however not working as a mechanic, the water marks you see would never be facing an outside exposed surface as a professional structures mechanic.  What you see above (P-51B) is a newly re- manufactured P-51B replica with a period P-51B data plate.  The mechanic would /should simply flip the panel over and not expose these water marks.  As a professional, you would/should hide the markings to a minimal / exposed facing panels.  Buff or polish (mechanical removal) of the markings is also an option.  High grade carnauba wax or ceramic spray removal is also another option.  Spraying to fill in micro abrasions, etc.   

I cringe at newly remanufactured WWII aircraft as the new set of normals for us LSP'ers.  Some of the He 162 being built in the salt caves at wars end adhere to these simple rules mentioned above.  Then, I see brilliantly built He 162's here on LSP with water marking clearly stamped a thousand times to the exterior.   I would love to see period WWII photos reversing my banter above. Great site, great people.  We have a great community.  My two cents worth here.   Cheers.  

[williamj]

A 32nd special Royal Class "Hybrid" kit, I imagine it contains some resin bits, not sure.  Needs a tail fillet.

 

[quang]

@Troy Molitor Thanks for you very informative input.

I’m by no means a specialist in aviation. I first saw the watermarks on the restoration of P-51B Lope’s Hope, arguably the most authentic reconstruction according to P-51 guru John Terrell.
The watermark is on the reverse side of the upper wing panel (the ‘roof’ of the bay).
If like you suggested, the mechanic flips the panel over, the watermark would appear on the upper surface of the wing, which in my speculation would present ANOTHER head-scratcher for us, poor modellers 🫣

Cheers,

Quang

[drsquid142]

1 hour ago, DougN said:

 

 

I believe Eduard has agreements in place that they will not charge below the MSRP in the customer's market for a kit.  So if the kit is set at an MSRP of $165 in the US, then they will charge that to any US customer ordering direct (not sure what Canadian MSRP is, but likely the same).  They do this to protect their reseller network.  If we could all order direct from Eduard for less than MSRP, that would negatively impact the number of kits their resellers would be able to sell.

Ok, that's an explanation and makes sense.

 

However, then I think the US MSRP is still too high. Even factoring in tariffs, etc. it should be closer to the Euro cost. Perhaps $140? And Canada should not have the same MSRP if tariffs are the reason for the high price.

 

Either way, if this is the case, then it makes no sense for NA buyers to preoder directly from Eduard as shipping is going to be much higher. So I am going to cancel my preorder and wait for Canadian hobby stores to list it.

 

[quang]

9 minutes ago, williamj said:

A 32nd special Royal Class "Hybrid" kit, I imagine it contains some resin bits, not sure.  Needs a tail fillet.

An add-on tail fillet is not too hard to build from scratch as I did in my younger days on the Revell P-51D.
 HERE

Please note that the add-on fillet is slightly different that the regular tail of the later D version.

Cheers,

Quang

[Juggernut]

The outer surfaces of P-51 wings were primed and painted, either an OD/NG or silver from the factory.