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Gábor Szabó
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“zu Fuß” a Hs129 retreating in the desert in 1942 – on foot :)

April 13, 2015 · in Diorama · · 18 · 2.1K

Hi! This is my second Hs-129 this time in 1:72. I bought the kit AFTER built the 1:48 Hasegawa one 🙂 so that was clear soon that I had to make something different from this err... not so good kit. I intended to go a little ”cross-genre” to make this aircraft more interesting with ”non-aircraft things” :). The idea based on a photo from the Luftwaffe Im Focus “number-I-don't-remember-which-one” 🙂 when the retreating germans towed this "not too good for desert" airplane thorough the Sahara. The represents well the Hs129's short operational life (or "episode") in the african theater. The sand is actually from the Sahara (from Erg Chebi) so I laughed a bit when in a meeting some guys criticized its colour 😉 I had to heavily modify the truck wich is - I think - a nice kit, much better than the newer Airfix one. The two figures sculpted/kitbashed till they posing exactly like the tired drivers on the photo. The greatest challenge in this build was the protective canvas for the plane - I made it from cling film as this was the thinnest material at home on hand. I'm somehow proud of the Wermacht K-rations cans dropped away on the side of the road 🙂 Those were made from lead-foil.

Reader reactions:
7  Awesome

25 additional images. Click to enlarge.


18 responses

  1. Glad to see this reposted from Groups.

    As I mentioned then: well thought through, and executed.

    By the way, a little tissue paper soaked with water/white glue will give you a nice canvas effect as well, and can be 'folded' as required for greater realism.

    • Thank You! I tried tissue paper but int his scale the texture too rough for my taste - I want the canvas texture to look uniform in this "breille scale". Please don't forget that in 1:72 the whole diorama is only 8". The macro make all thing tooo big 🙂

  2. That 'Cling-Wrap' looks like it works pretty good (similar to the wet tissue method that we've all used)...good idea. I assume there's another truck in the "convoy" that's carrying the wings? 🙁

    • Well, quite likely 🙂 thepic is from the Luftwaffe In Focus 2003/2 - more on this plane: This is no 0297 werknummer Hs129B2 assigned to No. 4 (PZ) / SG2. The unit was officially founded in June 1942 in Deblin-Irena and flew missions from EL Adem and this particular plane served by 11 July 1942 onwards. Shortly after arriving in El Adem this machine withdrawn from service because they were not part of the dust filter replacement on hand, the filters are so beat down of the engine power to the load machines was dangerous to fly. The fly records also show why it is not resolved the moving to new air bases by overflows: Due to the powder the Gnome engines oil consumption at the time of a 200km flight was 24 liter (normal value such term would been 4-5 liters !) that was the 70% of the total oil tank capacity - ie a longer flight time risked ruining the engine.

      The picture taken during the retreat of the unit from Barani, backed by Stehereasat and Misurata toward the busiest airports in Tunisia. In the course 0297 in Melhala was shattered after a sandstorm and left "destroyed" status reported. On 01.23.1943, the British marched into Melhala and found the machine that was returned to England and repaired under NF756 number. After repairing flight tests undergone (1426 Record-Keeping 6/23/1943). The machine was stored until 1947 in Brize Norton as "foreign equipment" then unfortunately scrapped. The unit - 4 (PZ) / SG 2 - after the retreat settled in Berlin Staaken for filling and relaxation. The last three working machines saved and brought back from Africa was handed over to the 8 (PZ) / SG-2's (eastern front). Several pictures were taken of this "C" during the retreat (which is why this diorama titled "Zu FUS - Somewhere In North Africa). On the canvas below the canopy clearly visible the Werknummer painted on. Also seen on the truck the BK101 gun's cover while the expensive new weapon probably shipped separately in a weapon crate. The wings also shipped separately as the Opel blitz 4x2 has limited cargo capability.

  3. I build 1/72, and couldn't help but admire the beautifully done rigging on the aerial. Do you mind sharing your process to get such a realistic look in the scale?

    • Thanks! I tried several method for rigging. This one is made from nylon stockings thread 🙂 recently I use EZ-line (great product for these tasks!) or Caenis thread (also good if not better).

  4. you can tell a lot of effort went into this scene... great work!

    • Thank You! I had the Opel and the Henschel in 1:72 in the same time (and I have limited storage also). Well also 1:72 is still a more popular scale in Europe than 1:48 (and to dismember a Hase 129? Nooo!) 😀

  5. Gabor,
    Great looking diorama. Creative idea and excellent work.

  6. Lovely diorama. It's nice seeing B/W pictures come to life..

  7. Brilliant modelling ! A historical correct and realistic looking diorama, well done !

  8. that is very cool

  9. What type of paint did you use on the cling wrap, and is there anything supporting the creases and folds from underneath? (Or is it a matter of "do not touch" to avoid ruining the folds?) I like the photos you took from a similar position as depicted in the book.

  10. Thank You! I painted the wrap with Gunze acrilics - these paints tolerate well "bending" while not 100% cured (that means 30-40 minutes) - before applied them. Naturally Ihad to make touch ups after application here and there but the method worked. I used thinned paper glue for the application as this cures slow and I could clean the residue with watered q-tip. You are correct there isn't anything supporting the creases and folds but as I noted the macro pictures distort proportions. In real life most of these are well under a millimeter so they don't really need any support but well I may worry that if someone touched them 🙂

  11. Definitely a 'stand out' model, Gabor, very well thought out, and the extra details make all the difference.

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