Second Henschel 126 (PK-26, 1974-5) - Desert Scheme - Finished

[AdrianMF]

Well for those of you who remember my first build way back in this insanely popular GB, this will look awfully familiar:

 

I copied up the cockpit from my first one this afternoon, which means I can seal up the fuselage of this one.

 

Matchbox kits fitted so well , in the main:

 

Don’t think I will be using much filler on the fuselage joins…

[AdrianMF]

The sprue shot for this kit showed the broken propeller with a blade missing and the wrong canopy:

 

I have a home made vac canopy left over, and I moulded a couple of replacement propeller blades from Milliput:

 

Note the red marks to help with cowl alignment. Matchbox do provide an offset peg to align it all but it’s hard to find next to eight other identical-looking pegs!

 

[edit] painted and dirtied up a bit:

[The Spadgent]

Oooh lovely!! I still can’t get over that matchbox plastic! 😵‍💫

 

Paint work looks great on those interiors and prop. Nice one. 😃

 

 Johnny.

 

I’ll tag along if that’s ok. 😇

[AdrianMF]

On 09/05/2022 at 23:51, The Spadgent said:

I’ll tag along if that’s ok.

Please do Johnny! Glad to have you aboard.
 

I have been trimming the spats off the undercarriage legs and removing the mudguard on the tail wheel to reflect that these were removed in service. The plastic on this kit is very brittle and I can see why the propeller was broken now. My tally has been one undercarriage strut, a tailplane strut, aerial, gun and pilot’s leg so far! It’s strange because I didn’t notice that at all with the first one, which was the same age and coloured plastic.

 

The dull grey colour is actually Hu 248, which is meant to represent the deep blue used in Mediterranean and tropical theatres. It suffers a bit from being next to the vivid blue plastic, but I think I need to liven it up a little with a brighter blue:

[bigbadbadge]

Crikey, this is a real quick build, cockpit looks great .  Cracking work 

Chris

[AdrianMF]

2 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

this is a real quick build

Needs to be. I’ve spent far too much time on that real life thing and not enough modelling! Two builds to finish in three weeks or so…

[JOCKNEY]

Great stuff Adrian 

"So many kits, so little time"

Cheers Pat 

[AdrianMF]

Once again at the green stage. This time I’ve got one in European camouflage, so I’m going to power on to the desert scheme tomorrow:

 

The FROG MS406 is showing my first attempts at “rough sand overspray”.

[AdrianMF]

Just as a quick comparison, here’s today’s 126 on the left painted with AK Air RLM 70/71, and on the right my earlier one painted with Humbrol 241 and 242, the latter lightened with Revell 46 NATO-Olive to increase the contrast:

 

The AK paints are more vibrant and provide much more contrast straight out of the bottle, the RLM70 being almost emerald green in its intensity.
 

Now to cover most of it up with sand!
 

 

[stevej60]

Great work Adrian,desert scheme should look great.

[Dave Slowbuild]

Did you use the hairy stick approach with the AK Air?  
I’ve not used it, so I was wondering if it’s not too thin a mix for brushing?
 

Dave

[AdrianMF]

1 minute ago, Dave Slowbuild said:

I’ve not used it, so I was wondering if it’s not too thin a mix for brushing?

It’s fine for brushing, in fact I add a tiny bit of water to it. Covers even over that bright blue plastic in 2-3 coats, and the RLM70 over the top covered in one. I’m gradually migrating away from Humbrol…

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Dave Slowbuild]

Reading your many comments on brush painting, and those of other BMers too, I’m sorely tempted to put the airbrush away for a while.  I think I used to enjoy it more in the old days, so much less angst and faff!  And as your builds regularly show, the finish can be just grand too.

[AdrianMF]

Well I’ve got most of my sand on…

 

BUT

 

I can find pictures on t’web of this exact fuselage and several other aircraft from the same squadron, all with the same slapdash overpainting of the European scheme with sand, which I think I’ve represented quite faithfully (especially the slapdash bit!)

 

The scheme for this, the Italeri kit and various other kits and decal sets all show wing overpainting as a solid sand colour with sweeping edges and ragged fuselage painting. But I can find no photos of the wings.

 

The two styles look incongruous together and I find it hard to believe that half the plane was repainted by a pro finishing shop and half by a bored bloke with a spray gun.

 

Has anyone seen photos to support/disprove this? Should I mess up the top wing and tailplane to match the fuselage?

 

Dunno. Suggestions welcome…

[PeterB]

Hi Adrian,

 

The 126 is not an aircraft that gets a lot of coverage, but I have seen a few pics of them in the desert which seem to confirm a patchy overpaint on the fuselage, though maybe larger patches of the green showing than on yours. As to the wings I have not been able to find any photos I am afraid but as you say it does seem rather strange.

 

Pete

[AdrianMF]

Thanks Peter.

 

I raised a topic in the WWII section and a super reply from @SafetyDad that has helped me make my mind up. The fuselage paint styles and blotch sizes did vary and I’m happy that I’ve got the right effect for -AK.

 

Wing repaint ahead. Well, trying to finish two in the same weekend is not going to happen!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[AdrianMF]

Well that’s better:

 

That hard plastic came in handy. I even managed to keep the blue underneath!

[AdrianMF]

European camo back on:

 

I didn’t bother to mask the RLM70 because it will hardly be visible! 
 

Note the half-done slapdash overpainting on the tailplane.

[Dave Slowbuild]

Great recovery!
The fuselage splodgy camo in @SafetyDad photos looks a heck of a challenge for brushing, but yours is looking really good!

[AdrianMF]

Sorted:

(the wing is just balanced on)

 

It looks like the struts were sand-over-green too so I’ve got some more painting to do.

[bigbadbadge]

Looks good Adrian, great work.  I am a fan of brush painting Humbrol enamels, but an interested in your comments re the AK Air and brush painting,  can you feather the edges for soft edge camouflage patterns?

Thanks

Chris

 

[SafetyDad]

That's looking great Adrian - well done!

 

SD

[Galligraphics]

1 hour ago, AdrianMF said:

(the wing is just balanced on)

Phew - I'm glad you said that... thought my eyes were going funny 

[AdrianMF]

1 hour ago, bigbadbadge said:

can you feather the edges for soft edge camouflage patterns

I don’t normally bother with soft edges for RAF schemes unless there’s a softer than usual edge. Then it’s out with one of my cut down brushes and dry brush stippling time. Takes forever, but you can get good results (IMHO) :

[edit] Those are Humbrol acrylics, definitely harder to stipple than enamels but doable.

 

1 hour ago, SafetyDad said:

well done

Thank you so much for a prompt resolution! I just had that “oh sh…ugar” moment this afternoon when I put the wing and fuselage together.

 

49 minutes ago, Galligraphics said:

thought my eyes were going funny 

You and me both! The first one was perfect out of the box, but I think this one will need some gentle trimming and sanding to get straight and level.

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

[bigbadbadge]

33 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

I don’t normally bother with soft edges for RAF schemes unless there’s a softer than usual edge. Then it’s out with one of my cut down brushes and dry brush stippling time. Takes forever, but you can get good results (IMHO) :

 

Thanks Adrian,  I think I will stick with the enamels for now then , used to working with them and find them easy to work with,  unless anything changes to force me over to acrylics !!!

Thanks

Chris