Lookin at some 1/48th Hs 129B's... Which One???

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lesofprimus

lesofprimus

Brigadier General
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Jul 27, 2004
Long Island Native in Mississippi
ihatemeatballs.com
One plane that I really want to do is the Hs 129B... There is NO 1/32nd scale kits available, why????????????

Retarded industry....

Anyways, It looks like there are 4 kits available...

Hasegawa
Italeri with Opel truck
Revell
ESCI

The esci is reaaaaaal cheap in price... I cant find out much about the kit or company.... Has anyone built ANY of these kits????
 
Found this...

ESCI became noted for their 1/72 military vehicle line as they were one of the first manufacturers to release an extensive and accurate series in that scale.
ESCI's 1/48 arcraft line had below-average accuracy and detailing in spite of the interesting themes (Mig-23, Mig-27) and eyecatching box art. The exception to this are the two crisp models of the famous Henschel ground attack aircraft, the (Hs-123 and the Hs-129).

After 2000, Italeri has begun re-releasing many interesting and still accurate ESCI kits, this time under the Italeri brand and with new updated box art and decal options. These re-releases ensure ESCI's lasting contribution to the plastic modelling hobby.
 

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I've built a few ESCI/Italeri kits over the years Dan. I always thought their 1/48th scale aircraft kits were OK, despite what some say about inaccuracies. If there were any, they were minor. Their F5E Tiger II weas a beautiful, and accurate, kit. Their 1/72nd armour was fantastic, and the current range of 1/35th scale armour and trucks is more than acceptable. One thing you might notice with some of their kits - the plastic looks a bit thin and fragile, compared to the 'soft' plastic used by some manufacturers, but I've never had a problem, and they have all built into very nice replicas, where the tinner walls of, say, hatches or doors, are a bonus.
I've seen the Hs129 and truck under a different label recently, and it was very nice indeed. In the late 70's, it was really Esci (now Italeri) who brought about the resurgence in 1/48th scale aircraft, with a large range available, and then, the Hs129 was regarded as THE kit of the type. The Huey I built recently was Esci/Italeri, and it was a very nice kit, with lots of fine detail parts, optional parts, and a very good decal sheet; most of their kits have at least 3 choices of decal markings. Coincidentally, I was considering the kit with the Opel truck, just for the truck! It is advertised at around £10 here in the UK, which seems very good value to me!
 
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I didnt know it was the ESCI kit that was included Jan, glad I didnt purchase that kit then.... That kit is way behind the Hasegawa B kits it aint funny....

Im lookin at the B-1 version of the Hasegawa lineup.... Its has decals for N. Africa and thats what I want to try for the Build....
 
Looks nice.Modelling certainly is educational - I always thought the Hs129 was only used on the Russian Front, never knew about North Africa.
Anyway Dan, you saved me a problem, I was toying with getting the Supermodel kit, just for the truck, and letting you have the Henschel, as I don't have an interest in that type. Saved me some unneccessary spending mate!
 
LMAO Terry...... Thanks for thinking of me Brother....

And yes, they served in N. Africa for a very short period of time.... They didnt handle the desert very well, but got some combat experience in.... I love the way they look in the camo scheme.... Cant wait to see what decals are included besides the cover art... Ive not been able to find out....

Yet...

And the kits are kinda specific Jan for what weaps they carry... The 4 I know of are:
B-1 Africa
B-2 bombs
B-2 cannons
B-3 75mm cracker

Since the Mk.103 didnt see service on the Panzerknacker until Kursk, I'll have this one outfitted with the Mk.101 rig...
 
The box-top photos show the model in eastern front colours, and the truck in the earlier grey finish. I didn't notice the 'big' gun, which should be prominent, but then I wasn't really looking for that.
 
Hs 129 B-1
Even before the A-1s were delivered the plane was redesigned with the Gnome-Rhône 14M radial engine, which were captured in some number when France fell. This engine supplied 700 hp (522 kW) for takeoff compared to the Argus at 465 hp (347 kW). The Gnome-Rhone radials were also made in versions with opposite rotation for the propeller, and were installed on the Hs 129 with the port engine rotating clockwise, and the starboard rotating counterclockwise, as seen from nose-on, thus eliminating engine torque problems. The A-1 planes were converted into Hs 129 B-0s for testing (although some claim that some As were sold to Romania) and the pilots were reportedly much happier. Their main complaint was the view from the canopy, so a single larger windscreen and a new canopy with much better vision were added, resulting in the production model Hs 129 B-1.

B-1s started rolling off the lines in December 1941, but they were delivered at a trickle. In preparation for the new plane, I./Sch.G 1 had been formed up in January with Bf 109 E/Bs (fighter-bomber version of Bf 109 E) and Hs 123s, and they were delivered B-0s and every B-1 that was completed. Still, it wasn't until April that 12 B-1s were delivered and its 4th staffel (squadron) was ready for action. They moved to the eastern front in the middle of May, and in June they received a new weapon, the 30 mm MK 101 cannon with armor-piercing ammunition in a midline pod.


Hs 129 B-2
By May 1942 after only 50 of the planes had been delivered, they started to deliver the new Hs 129 B-2 model side-by-side with the B-1. The only difference between the two were changes to the fuel system – a host of other minor changes could be found almost at random on either model. As time went on these changes were accumulated into the B-2 production line until you could finally tell them apart at a glance, the main differences being the removal of the mast for the radio antenna, the addition of a direction-finding radio antenna loop, and shorter exhaust stacks on the engines.

In the field the differences seemed to be more pronounced. The R-kits were renumbered and some were dropped, and in general the B-2 planes received the upgraded cannon pack using a MK 103 instead of the earlier MK 101. These guns both fired the same ammunition, but the 103 did so at almost twice the rate.


Hs 129 B-3
Close up of the Bordkanone BK 7,5 cannonEven by late 1942 complaints started about the effectiveness of the MK 103 against newer versions of the Soviet T-34 tanks. One obvious solution would be to use the larger Bordkanone BK 3.7 37 mm gun, adapted from an anti-tank gun that had recently been abandoned by the army. These guns had already been converted into underwing pod-mounted weapons for the Ju 87 and found to be a fearsome weapon. When mounted on the Hs 129 the empty area behind the cockpit could be used for ammunition storage, which would address the only problem with the Ju 87's mounting, a limited ammunition supply.

But for some reason the Luftwaffe decided to skip over this gun for the Hs 129, and as had been done with the heavy-gunned Ju 88P-1, they installed a gigantic 75 mm gun from the Panzer IV to produce the Bordkanone BK 7.5 model. A huge hydraulic system was used to damp the recoil of the gun, and an auto-loader system with twelve rounds was fitted in the large empty space behind the cockpit. The resulting system was able to knock out any tank in the world, but the weight slowed the already poor performance of the plane to barely flyable in this new Hs 129 B-3 version.

B-3s finally started arriving in June 1944, and only 25 were delivered by the time the lines were shut down in September. A small number were also converted from older B-2 models. In the field they proved deadly weapons, but with only 25 of them they had no effect on the war effort.


Hs 129 C
In order to address the poor performance of the aircraft, plans had been underway for some time to fit the plane with newer versions of the Italian Isotta-Fraschini Delta engine that delivered 850 hp (634 kW). However the engine ran into a number of delays, and was still not ready for production when the plant was overrun by the Allies in 1945.

The Hs 129 never really had a chance to prove itself in any way; the plane was produced only in small numbers and deployed during a time when the Luftwaffe was unable to protect them from attack.
 
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