Henschel 123A-1 Airfix 1/72

TallBlondJohn · August 17

After 4 and a half years, about time I posted a model. Inspired by some Roy Cross ultraviolence in my local LMS, in 2019 I picked up Airfix's re-issue of the 1970 Henschel 123. Same kit, much better decals:

Like other Vintage Classics, it goes together well - fit is mostly very good - but can be made better:

Rivets sanded down and everything re-scribed.
Most of the panel lines are about right but the top wing is very wrong, I redid them as much as possible and sanded down the rib undulations, especially where the panels should be metal!
Redid the cockpit. Thinned down the side walls, added bracing, and dropped the access hatch. Seat and stick were old Aeroclub white metal bits, probably for a Hurricane. Other details scratch-built. There's no photo etch available, so I did the instrument panel by taking a photo of the real thing and scaling it down, printed out and glued in. Worked well. Belts where Kits World 3D decals, not that pleased with them as they weren't big enough and out of register. Foil might have been better.
Bit of spare photoetch for the gunsight.
Added the radio aerial - its now drooped in the current hot weather. Well don't we all.
Redid the drop tank struts and plumbing.
Redid the bomb racks from spare photo-etch bits.
Added the internal engine cowling braces from wire and the external joint lines from stretched sprue.
Added control surface wires.
Exhaust pipes from brass tube.
Pitot tube from brass rod.
New foot rest/step things out of wire and plastic sheet. They are fragile but look much better.
New windscreen from acetate sheet.

Now this is hard to admit, but after 40+ years together, some good, some bad, me and my Humbrols have decided that the best thing for our relationship is for me to get something younger and easier to live with, and for the Humbrols to go in a skip. Well no, I'm not that heartless. But I've taken the plunge and said hello to something sultry and Spanish: AK 3G Acrylic paints, and this kit was ideal to try them out. I confess I had a previous fling once with Vallejo but couldn't get used to them, they seemed very fragile.

And they were superb, really easy to work with and went on beautifully with a drop of W&N flow improver and AK thinners over Mr Surfacer Primer. Excellent coverage, no lift and tough to handle after 24 hours. I then went to the 2020 Scale Scotland show and bought half of AMS's stall. I'll still use Humbrols where suitable but I'm a convert. Two small gripes - the dropper bottle tips can split after a while so don't force the paint out, help it with a pin, and the code-specific print on the labels tends to come off if you throw thinner around or just from a lot of wear. Easy to fix with a pen but watch out for it.

Weathering was light apart from some engine oil and ground dust on the underside, these planes were brand new when they went to Spain.

Now the camouflage scheme - there is an interpretation of period photos which Airfix (and other manufacturers, like GasPatch) follow, but I'm not convinced. It looks too jagged and I suspect has been based on photos like this, which have been artificially enhanced creating false artifacts:

Now I don't think that thin splinter on the port aileron is real, I think its shadow. So I've omitted it - if I'm wrong I don't want to know. Anyway, onto the model: