Eddie Van Halen is indeed celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first Van Halen album, but not with a deluxe reissue of the self-titled disc.
Instead, he'll release three tribute guitars through his EVH Gear company -- Super '78, '78 Eruption Relic and '78 Eruption -- modeled after the signature black-and-white-striped six-string he used to record the album. He says, “Of all the guitars I've ever built, the white and black guitar will always be my favorite because it did all the things I needed a guitar to do, which prior to that guitar did not exist."
Combined, these guitars are limited to 78 pieces (1978) and come with re-creations of the original cases and accessories, a collector's booklet,a backstage pass vinyl cloth sticker and multiple autographed pieces, including a certificate of authenticity, a 1978 concert photo Eddie, a vinyl copy of Van Halen and a rare original red vinyl of Van Halen's Looney Tunes Merrie Melodies. Eddie also played "Eruption" on each guitar and signed the back of every headstock, which you can see on a video that is also included on a thumb drive.
Source: Van-Halen.com and Premiere photo credit - iHM archive