VINTAGE CLASSICS HENSCHEL Hs123A-1

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Having had a little detour to build a few AFVs, I’ve returned to 1/72 scale aircraft from WW2, but I’ve stuck with the Vintage Classics and had a go at the Henschel HS123A-1. Although the original Roy Cross box art-work was lovely, I decided to stay with the WW2 paint scheme rather than the Spanish Civil War Condor Legion version featured on the box-top.

Like most of the older mouldings, the interior was a little basic, so I first of all added some ‘strakes’ to the side walls of the cockpit and the ‘floor’ – the aircraft never had (as far as I know) an actual floor – and then a representation of radio equipment and other items gleaned from pictures that I found online.

The pilot provided in the kit was the rather generic RAF pilot that is found in lots of the WW2 kits, and so I used a PJ Productions Luftwaffe pilot instead. Interesting to see the contrast!

There was no instrument panel at all included in the kit, so I had to first of all build a bulkhead (using the one in the kit to which the seat is fastened as a pattern) to which I affixed a Yahu Models HS123 panel, originally intended for a Fly or Amodel kit, but trimmed slightly width-wise to fit.

The other extra work done was to the top of the cowling and to the front of the engine. The machine guns fired through the propellor, and although there are suitable holes on the front of the cowling, there is nothing on the back, so I added some bulges from shaped sprue sections, which were then drilled out so the bullets could get through! I also added the cross-brace wires (made from some stretched sprue) in front of the engine before adding the prop. I also filled in a large slot in front of the windscreen with a gun-sight made from a drilled-out piece of scrap, as there was nothing provided in the kit; pictures that I found suggested a simple ring sight.

The paint scheme was the usual splinter pattern RLM 65/70/71, brush painted using the Vallejo Luftwaffe Pre-War to 1941 set. After applying the decals from the kit, and adding the HakenKreuz to the tail, I then sprayed the whole thing with Vallejo Matt varnish, and added the radio aerial and the windscreen.

It makes a nice little model, and it’s nice to have something a little more unusual to add to the Luftwaffe part of my WW2 collection. Sometime in the future, I might build it again, but as a Condor Legion aircraft, and do an early Bf109 to go with it, but that’s for another day… Thanks for taking a look!

[AirportsEd]

That's the kind of biplane model I like...no wire rigging required for the wings!

Nice work...

[Kenneth ONeill]

Great build. One question though; is it me or does the pilot look like Narn ambassador G'Kar from Babylon 5?