The Henschel Hs 126 was a German two-seat reconnaissance and observation aircraft which
featured a parasol wing giving it excellent short takeoff and slow speed
handling characteristics. Join me in this video as i Build and review the Zvezda "Art
of tactics" kit of this second world war observation plane.
Hello and welcome to Model Minutes! In this video I build and review the Zvezda art of
tactics 1/144 scale Henschel HS 126B plastic model kit.
Before we start the kit, As always, remember that adult supervision may be required due
to the use of sharp tools and toxic paints and chemicals!
The kit comes contained within a small box with some rather exciting box art. The rear
of the box features images of the assembled but unpainted kit, along
with some sort of token. If you know what this is, let me know in the comments below,
as i couldn't read the language or find out online.
upon opening the box, there are quite a few items. The first thing I look at is the sprue
containing the display stand. This is molded in hard black plastic.
Next, the playing card for the art of tactics tabletop strategy game. this features all
of the specifications for the henschel in the game, such as the number
of tiles it can move and its health amongst other things.
The decals are contained within a plastic bag, and along with the standard german crosses
for the wings and tails, there are extra numbers so that you can have
and entire squadron of these models. You might be able to notice that this sheet of decals
has an error on the numbers 8 and 9, it appears as though there is a smudge
but fortunately I don't have to use those numbers, but I would be disappointed if those
were the numbers I needed.
Also in the bag with the decals is the clear cockpit canopy.
The instructions come on an A5 leaflet which is printed on both sides. One side has information
regarding the art of tactics game, and the other has step by step
pictures indictating the sequence of construction. Fortunately, these instructions are multi-lingual
and are clear to follow.
What I did notice however, despite there being instructions on where to place the decals,
there aren't any how to paint the model or an appropriate paint scheme.
When I come to paint the model later, i'll use the box art, google searches and an element
of modeller's license in order to finish the kit.
Finally, all the parts of the aircraft are contained within two grey plastic sprues.
The model is designed to be assembled without any glue, and the parts are molded
to a good quality. I did notice however, that there is not a great deal of detail, which
is understandable in this small scale, particularly as these are intended
to be wargaming avatars, but as a scale model I feel as though they could have put more
detail on as is acheived by other manufacturers in this scale.
I started constructing the kit, by cutting the fuselage halves from the sprue and cleaned
up any burrs with a nail file. I use polycement throughout the construction
of this kit quite liberaly, as it's not really required due to the design of the model.
I then repeated the process for installing the parasol wing struts. These are quite small
and fiddly, so tweezers might be handy here.
Next, the elevators were removed from the sprue and added to the model.
Following this, the landing gear was added. This part required a little more cleaning
up with a nail file prior to installation.
The outer wing struts were then cemented into place on the wings, which was then followed
by the propeller. I won't glue this on yet, as i'll paint it first to
make it easier.
The display base is easy to assemble as it consists of two parts. They slot together
and form a solid base, which is quite handy for moving the model around if you
intend to use it in the art of tactics game.
Next, i started painting the underside of the model with Humbrol 65 duck egg blue enamel
paint. This paint was thinned with white spirit at a ratio of about 2 parts
paint to one part thinner in order to avoid leaving brush strokes and to help spead up
drying times. The top parasol wing has been left off the model in order to
make painting it easier.
I then painted the propeller humbrol matt black acrylic number 33. I didn't thin this
paint as i only required a small amount.
The propellor spinner was then painted humbrol 174 signal red satin acrylic, this again was
not thinned as only a tiny amount was needed.I'll remove the propeller
at this point in order to aid painting the engine.
The engine was given a coat of humbrol 53 metallic grey acrylic, as was the rear of
the propellor spinner to hide where it attaches to the model.
I moved on to paint the top surface of the wing and fuselage with humbrol 30 dark green
acrylic. I thinned this paint with water, using the same ratio as the enamel
paint in order to avoid brush strokes. Getting the lines right between the different colours
can be difficult. I did all mine by hand but you could use masking tape
to help you.
I then used humbrol 80 grass green enamel to finish off the camouflage pattern. I chose
these colours based on the painting on the box, and my internet research.
The canopy was lined with humbrol 30 matt green, and because of the small size of the
part I decide to use a home made tool from a peice of sprue. The sprue has
been melted over a candle and has a fine point, it was left over from when I stretched the
sprue to make wires for a previous model. It acts as a very fine paint
brush, but doesn't hold much paint. Patience has to be used at this point in order to get
the paint in the right place.
The landing gear was painted using humbrol 33 matt black acrylic. A fine paint brush
was used in order to correctly place it on the molded tyres on the landing gear.
The parasol wing was then cemented to the fuselage struts when all the paint had dried.
This was a difficult step, and care has to be taken to avoid damaging the
struts as you install the wing.
I then painted the model with humbrol 135 satin varnish. Again this was thinned with
white spirit in order to help it flow and prevent brush strokes. This varnish
will be used as a base for the decals and help prevent them from appearing silvery on
the model.
The decals were then cut from the sheet and soaked in warm water to release them from
the backing paper. Humbrol decalfix was applied to the model and the decal
was then slid onto the model in the correct position. The decalfix helps soften the transfers
into the surface of the model and make them appear as though they
were painted on.
You might notice that some of the decals, particularly the crosses, don't appear to
have been printed correctly. The black crosses don't seem to align with the
white backing quite right. This isn't so noticeable from a distance, but can be distracting close
up. If i'd noticed this earlier, I could have cut the decals to
make them look better, or painted the crosses on using white and black paint, and some creative
stenciling with masking tape.
When the decals had dried, a final coat of paint was applied over the top to help seal
them and provide a uniform finish. I used Humbrol matt varnish number 35.
This enamel paint was again thinned using white spirit.
Normally i use a black wash to highlight the panel lines, but as there were so few on this
model i decided to instead try using a black fine tip marker pen.
I applied the pen on the panel lines where the ailerons, elevator and rudder were, but
fortunately it was water soluble so could be removed if I made a mistake.
Finally, I cemented the propellor to the model, then added the cockpit canopy. The canopy
should be installed before the parasol wing, and as a result I had to
remove one of the locating pins in order to get it to fit correctly. The canopy was glued
in position using a general purpose glue which helps prevent the plastic
from apearing foggy.
I realised that the box artwork had some yellow identification panels on the wings, fuselage
and nose of the aircraft, and felt I wanted to add these as it made the
aircraft look more interesting. I used humbrol pale yellow number 81 acrylic for this job,
again i painted the panels free hand, but masking tape could be used
to make it easier.
Whilst you watch me finish this step, i'll tell you a little about the actual Henschel
HS 126
Entering service with the luftwaffe in 1938, the HS 126 had a crew of a pilot and an observer.
The pilot could use a single 7.92mm MG17 machine gun in the nose
and the observer had a 7.92mm MG15 on a swiveling mount at the rear for defence. Additionally
the aircraft could be fitted with bombs for ground attack.
Despite having excellent short take off and slow flying speeds, the aircraft was removed
from frontline service in 1942 having been supersceded by more advanced
and capable aircraft.
And heres the finished model, I've included a pound coin in some of the photographs to
give an indication of the small size of this model.
I found it to be simple and fun to build, easily acheiving good results in a single
afternoon of building. Naturally, drying times of the paints may mean that
this kit is built over a number of days.
I like the box art work, and the different decal options. Although I don't really know
what the Art of tactics game is, it looks interesting from the included
information and playing card.
Where the kit is let down is in the lack of fine detail and the poorly printed decals.
Perhaps the decal problem was just in my version of the kit, maybe others
in the range don't have the same problem.
The kit retails for about £4 in the united kingdom, which i think is a reasonable price.
I'd recommend this kit to a beginner due to its easy clip together construction, but lack
of painting instructions can make it a bit daunting. I do expect however
that many who use these for the game don't paint them, instead just applying the decals.
So, in conclusion, this is a great little kit which is well designed and easy to assemble,
but was let down by the decals in my sample and lack of painting instructions..
I'm pleased with the overall results i've achieved, and I think that if I were to build
another one, it'd look pretty good as part of a micro diorama.
As always, let me know what you think of my build, techniques and finished model in the
comments below.
I'm also keen to hear your suggestions as to other kits that you'd like to see me build
on my channel, so feel free to post that too!
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