Henschel Hs 129B-2 by Landlubber Mike - Hobby 2000 - 1/48 - PLASTIC

[Landlubber Mike]

For the "Sandbox" group build on the LSM sister site, I'll be building (and hopefully finishing) the Hobby 2000 Hs 129B-2.  I've got probably every piece of aftermarket for this kit so I'm planning on showing this bird fully opened up.  I hadn't heard of Omask before, but when researching, I found they offered a lot of great AM for this kit, including a 3D printed Mk 101 cannon (which I couldn't find elsewhere in this scale) and stencil masks for the two color schemes offered in the kit.  

 

I'm planning on building the one on the cover:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also managed to find some scale camels to add to the diorama.  Should be a fun ride!

[Landlubber Mike]

When I was researching this a few weeks ago when the GB topic was being considered, I think I found a picture of the particular plane I will be modeling:

 

 

The caption for the photo I believe said something to the effect of US soldiers inspecting a captured Hs 129 in Tunisia in May 1943.

[king derelict]

This should be a spectacular build.im looking forward to it.

alan

[Egilman]

Kool pic, nice shot as well... But I was wondering, how you gonna model that flat tire? {chuckle}

 

I'm down for this one brother....

[Landlubber Mike]

6 hours ago, king derelict said:

This should be a spectacular build.im looking forward to it.

alan

Thanks Alan!  Hoping it goes well!

 

4 hours ago, Egilman said:

Kool pic, nice shot as well... But I was wondering, how you gonna model that flat tire? {chuckle}

 

I'm down for this one brother....

Thanks EG!  It would have been fun to try and model that scene - flat tire and all - but I have a lot of aftermarket to open the plane up so I probably will just model it undergoing maintenance or something.

 

There are some other cool pics out there of US and UK soldiers coming across fields of wrecked Hs 129s in Tunisia.  That would be another fun diorama to try out.

[davec]

Mike - I'm looking forward to watching, especially seeing how you integrate all that aftermarket. I always learn a lot. Dave

[Canute]

Mike, I'm in for this build. Very interested in your integrating this mass of detail parts.

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks Dave and Ken!  Thankfully, a lot of the AM is plug and play, minus some cutting out of panels, etc. in the fuselage and wings.  So, it hopefully shouldn't be that bad.  There's definitely some duplication amongst the AM sets, so I'll just pick whatever looks best.

[Dave_E]

I’m in! 🥤🍿👍😊

[Landlubber Mike]

Glad to have you Dave!

[Landlubber Mike]

Last night, I started work on the cockpit.  The CMK set has a nice replacement tub that includes the fuel tank behind the pilot's seat.  To display the fuel tank, you need to cut off the part of the fuselage that covered it, which you can see in the top fuselage half below:

 

 

Next up was trying to fit the CMK tub.  It was a bit too big for the fuselage halves to close properly, but after sanding back some of the interior of the fuselage and portions of the tub that will not be visible, it fit nicely:

 

 

 

Thanks for looking in!

Edited September 6 by Landlubber Mike

[ccoyle]

The problem with viewing other people's build logs is that it often kindles a strong desire to build a similarly-themed model. In this case, I'm thinking about all the desert camo kits I have in my stash, both Axis and Allied. I'm very close to finishing my current project, ya know. 😬

[Landlubber Mike]

11 minutes ago, ccoyle said:

The problem with viewing other people's build logs is that it often kindles a strong desire to build a similarly-themed model. In this case, I'm thinking about all the desert camo kits I have in my stash, both Axis and Allied. I'm very close to finishing my current project, ya know. 😬

Glad to get your interests piqued!  Would love to see your desert camo work!

 

In other news, after some prodding by the folks on LSM, I've decided to do a second diorama of the desert Hs 129B-2.  First will be the one I'm currently working on, with all the aftermarket, things opened up, etc.  Second will  be a recreation of this scene below of a Hs 129 B-2 "Blue C":

 

 

I already have an Opel Blitz truck in the stash, and building this Hs 129 will be fairly quick as I won't need much aftermarket, particularly since the nose, cockpit, and nacelles are covered by tarps, and I won't need to include the wings.  A couple of hours ago I managed to pick up an older Hasegawa B-1 kit off eBay for a really good deal.  The B-1 and B-2 were very similar, and essentially the two kits are the same minus different nacelles (which will be covered up by the tarps).  Along with the great price, the B-1 kit has a decal for an "O" which I can use as a template to create a mask for the Blue C.  The camo is a little easier to recreate, so I can practice on this second one before the the more complicated first one.

[Haliburton]

You’re off to another great start Mike - looking forward to watching your progress and the diorama piece will be very interesting too.  Scott

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks Scott, really appreciate it!

[Lt. Biggles]

On 9/5/2024 at 12:59 PM, Landlubber Mike said:

Last night, I started work on the cockpit.  The CMK set has a nice replacement tub that includes the fuel tank behind the pilot's seat.  To display the fuel tank, you need to cut off the part of the fuselage that covered it, which you can see in the top fuselage half below:

 

 

Next up was trying to fit the CMK tub.  It was a bit too big for the fuselage halves to close properly, but after sanding back some of the interior of the fuselage and portions of the tub that will not be visible, it fit nicely:

 

 

 

Thanks for looking in!

Looks like an interesting build! Flying a normal plane the fuel is a big enough hazard… can’t imagine flying knowing that fuel tank was right behind me while in a combat environment! 

[Landlubber Mike]

7 hours ago, Lt. Biggles said:

Looks like an interesting build! Flying a normal plane the fuel is a big enough hazard… can’t imagine flying knowing that fuel tank was right behind me while in a combat environment! 

Yeah, not sure how common that was/is.  I haven't fully gone through the cockpit area, but it looks like there is what could be a metal armor plate between the seat and fuel tank to maybe offer a little protection.  I think this plane also had fuel tanks built into the wings, as one of the CMK detail sets allows you to model those.

[Landlubber Mike]

I managed to find a 2000 boxing on eBay for a really good deal, so I will do two dioramas (especially since I already have an Opel Blitz kit I can use for the tow vehicle).  It's for a B-1, but really the only difference is the intakes on the nacelles so I can easily convert it.  Another good thing is that this kit has an "O" decal, which I can use as a template to create a mask the Blue "C" for the subject I'm doing.

 

 

 

I've spent the last few days working on the various CMK sets, cutting them from their plugs, cutting open the fuselage and wings, etc.  Here you can see what was cut from the first kit versus what the original parts look like from the second kit.  Given that the second diorama will be covered in tarps and partially disassembled, I probably won't use much aftermarket at all on it.

 

 

 

 

 

If you're building this with the various CMK sets, the wing/undercarriage details need to be modified to fit everything in the wings.  You have to really shave back the undercarriage tubs to be able to fit the wing fuel tanks from the CMK exterior set.  I also had to cut an opening into the fuselage to fit the ammo magazine from the armament set.

 

 

Thanks for looking in!