Hasegawa 1/48 scale Henschel HS 129 B-3
The Henschel HS 129 B-3 nicknamed "PanzerKnacker" (Tank Cracker) (I wish I had heard this name years ago, I would have used this to nickname some friends / co-workers !).
The B-3 version was the latest/ last version packing a 75mm semi automatic gun in a under mounted gun pod. The semi auto firing system achieved better accuracy than the earlier version full auto version, however the 2600 lbs of added weight to an already underpowered aircraft didn't help performance. It also only carried 12 rounds. To help with the added weight, two of the four 20 mm machine guns were removed, (I don't think this helped much !).
Only 25 B-3s were produced, but some field conversions added to the overall number.
This particular aircraft depicts an aircraft from 14 PZ / SQ 9, Hungary 1945.
The kit is a special addition kit released by Hasegawa about 8 years ago. The kit included a resin gun pod, a brass gun barrel and aluminum muzzle break / flash suppressor. The only issues I had with the kit was aligning the gun barrel to the muzzle, and that the plastic
was two different consistence's. For example the cowlings were a much harder plastic than the rest of the engine covering. Careful sanding was needed in some areas to make sure you didn't over sand the softer plastic. I solved the gun barrel assembly by building a jig on a piece of wood, so that everything would lay straight while the epoxy I used set up.
I used Model Master enamel paint. The seat belts were custom made using leaded foil. The break lines were made from 34 gauge artist wire. The antenna was made from stretched sprue.
Overall, a fun kit to build, and an interesting airplane with that monster gun staring at ya !
That's all you're gonna say about this great modeling job? 🙁
"...hasegawa...".
Well - let ME say it, then. Nice build, nice finish and nice photography. 🙂
Ahh,a little oops to start off with, I hit enter before I wrote anything. I've since given you some narrative here. Thanks for the nice compliments, glad you like it !
What is not to like?!
Terry, it's the Henschel with the beeg cannon! Haven't seen one done before! Great work on her.
Given they had more powerful engines available, it's lucky for us they didn't use them. World War II was hard enough, it was good the Nazi were morons (of course, if they hadn't been morons, we wouldn't have had World War Ii to fight).
Nice work on this!
Thanks Tom, from what I've read the German war ministry, wouldn't allow Henschel to use any existing engines that were already in use. They ended up using captured Gnome-Rhone 14M radial engines they captured from France. They then reproduced these engines in Germany. Apparently the French engines were much better than the original German design Henschel was being force to use. hmmm, politics interfering in military design / need !
You did an amazing job on this, a nice build, cant wait to see this in 1/32 scale...
I've not seen many of these models built. Yours is a beauty. Superb finish.
Your Henschel is superbly made. And it’s a rarely seen version also, so thanks for posting such a lovely model. Just out curiosity, what colour brand did you use?
Hey Pedro, I used Testors model master enamels, RLM71 dark green, RLM70 black green on the top surface and RLM65 Light blue for the underside. I think I added a little light grey to the light blue to dull it down some. The yellow is a mix of insignia yellow with a few drops of red, be careful not to end up with orange. Thanks for the nice comments !
I like the "big gun staring at ya" thing.
Great modelling too, Terry. Very decent and subtle.
Regarding your nickname idea: you may be interested in the fact that in the German translation of Mickey Mouse the Beagle Boys are named Panzerknacker.
Having built this kit, I can only heap praise upon the Hasegawa kit. You did an amazing job on this Panzerknacker. The A 10 of its era! Well done Terry!
Nice job Terry, looks good at every angle.
Nice work Terry. Looks great.
Ditto. great work!
Excellent work! I've got a couple of these in 1/72 that I'll get around to someday... I'll be sure to use their big brother for reference!
Thanks Greg, I think this would be a great model to build in 1/72 scale. Its actually not very big in 1/48 scale. What kits do you have ?
Terry, another triumph. You've done a great job with a fascinating airplane.
The history of birds like this is as fascinating as the creature itself. Studying them is like watching trick play footage of the NFL: these aren't the things that win or lose the contest, but they are a lot of fun to examine. You don't a great job of taking us there.
Interesting bit of history with this model, and a great nickname (I've given my Chinese mother-in-law the English name of "Stuka"). It seems incredible it only had 12 rounds of ammunition on board. Whatever, you've made a nice job of this kit.
Very nice build and information Terry
Nice, nice work.