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Well, well, well…!  It’s been a challenging year, hasn’t it?  Looking back, we have only released about just over 20 new kits or sets during 2017.  We could have released far more new products, but somehow the timing did not always seem ‘right’ and this means 2018 will start with a bang with no less than 18 new products hitting the ‘shelves’ before mid-February.  Amongst those, the first two 1/72 AFV kits we have released in over 4 years.  2017 saw us revive the RetroTracks range with a couple of kits designed for the World War Toons kits, and this gave us the impetus to re-start working on the 1/72, and 1/35, AFV ranges…  Thank you Meng and Studio Roqovan!   The next few weeks will see this range grow too, and with a T34 and a PzIII in the pipeline (or in the post for some!) to add to their existing lines, there’s no way to see when we can ever end coming up with yet more conversion kits!

We were very pleased by the reception of our Egg Concorde at the end of 2017 and 2018 should at least see two more complete Egg Planes join the catalogue (Mirage III tw0-seater anf Kfir), while we consider the many options offered by the Tiger Model Cute series of kits and by the forthcoming Zvezda ‘chibi’ kits..  Decals are definitely on the cards and will soon appear here.

Our now mainstay 1/144 aircraft range is set to keep growing and growing too, as this scale is becoming yet more and more popular with each passing month.  Several new sets will appear here shortly too, as are our first five sets designed to upgrade 1/100 military aircraft kits.  It’s a little ‘niche’ that has been neglected for too long and we hope our resin sets and decal sets will give you the desire to give this scale a go…

RetroSF is set to get a few more Bananaaas over the next few months (six are being cast while 6 more await caster’s time), along with a handful of interesting figures and busts before we turn our attention back to good old SW…

2017 saw us taking part to more shows in more countries than ever before, and the trend is likely to continue in 2018.  It was certainly a good year in terms of meeting people we had either never made an impression on before or only dealt with through our webshop, and for that we are immensely grateful.  Let this trend continue in 2018!

Happy New Year, Folks!

Only one show left to attend to this year..!  But we are very busy planning our next ‘season’ with planned trips to a number of European countries, to some usual haunts such as Affligem, Lingen, Hornchurch, Ransart, Fréthun, Veldhoven,.. and to quite a few new ones such as Vienna, Compiegne, Nymburg, Stammheim to name but a few…  Of course, the calendar is likely to change quite a bit before we hit the 1st of January 2018, and probably after that date too..  No reason to change regular habits!

Anyway, our second RetroTracks item is now available from those pages, the Calliope conversion kit aimed at the really cute World War Toons Sherman from Meng.  Saying that we are a bit excited about this new Meng range is the understatement of the year, the only problem being that there is a limited number of hours every day, and sooooo many possible conversions possible with the (so far) 6 kits released by Meng in this series…  The past few weeks have been dedicated to designing the next few conversion kits for the WWT kits, and to sculpting for the RetroSF range, with plenty of new goodies set to appear around the end of January 2018.  The next few weeks will be dedicated to our 1/35 and 1/72 AFV ranges, and our Facebook page will soon start showing off the progress made on the forthcoming T13 Type 1 / Type 2, Breda 501 and Harmon/Herrington artillery tractor.  We remind you that the new releases in the 1/72 RetroTracks range are ONLY available through pre-order and will not be made available at shows nor on the RetrokiT website.  Orders are being taken now.

RetroWings fans rest assured we are not forgetting you, we have a large number of completed patterns that await caster’s time and will be released from the New Year..!

Well, we never ever said we were never going to get back to doing AFVs, did we??!  But, yes, let it be known, we’re back at ‘it’..!  Our first step is to start a range of conversion kits for the Meng World War Toons AFVs.   The first of those resin kits is now available, and it will turn the cute WWT M4A1 into a similarly cute M4A3.  A Calliope conversion is to follow soon, and plenty more afterwards based on the other five (currently!) WWT kits.

Probably a little bit more interesting to a few more of you is the return of the 1/72 RetroTracks range with two brand new kits currently being completed (as far as patterns go), and a few more to follow of course.  All those forthcoming 1/72 RetroTracks kits will be available as ‘limited editions’ only: you will be able to pre-order them (the first two will be made available tomorrow, 11 October 2017) and the casters will be asked to run a number of kits equal to the number of orders received.  No more, no less.  Those resin kits will NOT be available at shows, nor through distributors, anytime.  We will simply move on to other AFVs.  The ordering ‘window’ will be in the region of three to four months.  Orders can be placed online, or at shows RetrokiT will attend to.  Those wanting more details or wanting to know the various and sometimes complicated reasons of this ‘different’ way of doing things are welcome to contact us, of course!

Speaking of AFVs, our long-awaited 1/35 Belgian T13 Type 1/Type 2 is now scheduled for release in March 2018 in Vienna (Go Modelling Show), a fitting place since the only surviving example of this curious AFV was found hidden there a few years ago…  You can place a pre-order from today and in doing so get a free 1/35 Belgian tanker figure with the deal..!  This special deal will end at the end of December 2017.

Apart from that, you may notice that our Egg Concorde is now available, also as a pre-order, also as a special edition with BA or Air France markings.  The kit and separate marking will be available after this special offer ends on 30 November 2017 though.

And more Egg Plane bits and three new Bananaaas! should hit the store before the end of the week too, so stay tuned!

First of all, a big ‘Thank You’ to all who attended to our local show in Seraing, Belgium on 7th of October.  Although it was the club’s 40th annual model show, this one was different on many levels.  For a ‘First’, it was, I think we can say, pretty good.  We plan to build upon what we have created, taking into account comments, suggestions and critiques and we hope to see many of you in 2018!

RetrokiT, as it stands today, is about to complete it’s 10th year of existence, and in order to celebrate this, a number of special ‘deals’ affecting a number of new and forthcoming releases will be offered in the coming days; they will, of course, be limited in time, so stay tuned!  There are some pretty interesting (we hope!) bits of info that will be unveiled too.  Details will appear on our Facebook page over the next few days.  This FB page, by the way, is one of the best ways to keep abreast of what’s being developed and what is currently ticking our fancy!

Last but not least, we are next off to Affligem, Belgium for the IPMS Belgium National Convention (aka Plastic & Steel), where, as usual, RetrokiT sponsors a special prize for the Best Egg Plane in the whole show.  Get your eggs ready, Folks!

Next on our list of shows to attend to is a local one, very local one since it’s being organised about 1km away from ‘home’.  It’s organised by the club we grew up with, the club we are part of again.  We have changed a lot from the previous years’ formula’: new organising team, one day instead of two, totally different time of the year, re-focus on static scale modelling, lots of exhibitors and traders, a different kind of competition and the use of different halls in the same venue.  But the spirit, the enthusiasm, the welcoming attitude, the fun and the Belgian beers are the same as in the past!  It should be good and you can find all details here.

Five new releases have been added to the 1/144 RetroWings and RetroSF catalogues:

• Saab Draken Cockpit Detail Set
• Me-163B Cockpit Detail Set
• Exotic Kfirs (decal sheet)
• Mustangs in Foreign Lands (decal sheet)
• 1/72 UD-4L Drop-ship Cockpit Detail Set

We hear the groans coming from a great numbers of modellers who are not lucky enough to own the old Halcyon Drop-ship kit, a rather rare thing nowadays, fetching over €100 apiece at shows and online…  But if we do try to somewhat follow and cater for what’s new and trendy, we also have a real interest in designing products for all those old and often not-so-bad kits that do not grace the shelves and e-shelves of our favourite distributors…  So keep digging in your stash, under the tables at shows and on the auctions site, you never know what’s just lurking around the corner!

We’re next off to Amnéville in France for the third installment of this very friendly show..!  Keep on modelling, Folks!

The Air-Terre-Mer show in Mons, Belgium, around mid-August, traditionally represents the end of our summer break and the return of the big shows that will take us, very rapidly, to the end of the year.  If you have not been to Mons yet, this show is well worth a visit.  We particularly like the range of ‘scale modelling’ presented at this show, it’s eye-opening, and a reminder that static scale modelling, even including wargaming and figure painting is all but a small part of the hobby.  Also of great interest is our stand’s location right next to the bar and the famed warm Belgian waffle stand..!  Come and say ‘hello’ and have your face-painted too (since we’ll be in Mons wearing our Face/Off hats too!).

Getting slowly ready for the first big show of the second half of the year in Mons, Belgium, we are first attending a smaller show in Enghien, near Brussels…  Both shows are slightly different from our usual fare as they present almost all facets of the hobby, rather than ‘just’ static scale modelling.  An opportunity to meet a different crowd, talk to people doing different things, learn new ways, skills and tricks for our own enjoyment of the hobby.

We are soon going back to the Czech Republic for the second edition of the Duchkov Model Festival, then we have again three shows in August, so we can say that the holidays are just about over for us at RetrokiT..!  Indeed, the RetroSF catalogue just grew by seven references today, and we are expecting more new releases before we head to the Air-Terre-Mer show in Mons on 19-20 August.  Those will be the 1/144 cockpit detail sets for the Me-163 (Brengun) and Saab 35 (Pit-Road) and 1/72 cockpit detail set for the old Halcyon Drop-ship kit..!  September should also see more releases, including in all likeliness, the first sets of a new range aimed at the 1/100 aircraft kits out there.

Don’t miss our stock clearance, it is only to be found on our Facebook page..!