Jean-Luc reviews the excellent new quarterscale Hs 126B from ICM.

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

That's very interesting, I really want it

About the thin decals, this should do the job

To tell the truth, Vector already released 3 detail sets for this kit :
- cockpit
- exterior
- corrected canopy with sliding mechanism (casted in clear resin)
This (and some other new sets from Vector) will be available in Telford. I will post pictures later.

Sergey.

Hi all,




That's what I wrote in the review...

Sergey, thanks for the heads up about the detail sets.

Jean-Luc

It looks like ICM has a good oppinion about Aeroscale and contiributing writes as one of our mates has been published and linked on their official website. Wonder who I write about? Follow this link. Really good job mate, my congratulations.

Hi Michal,

Thank you for the heads up about the Hs 126 pictures on the ICM website. I haven't spotted them.

The Spanish Civil War machine was built from the box while the Afrika Korps one has received PE pieces from Eduard's Hs 126 S.A. set.

Jean-Luc

My pleasure Jean-Luc. I noticed this article yesterday while checking the news, as you see it was published just 5 days ago.

I've just got this kit from Hannants on sale,

It is one of the best kits I have ever seen in terms of finesse and accuracy.

I obtained all the available Vector sets for it, and they are all worthwhile:

The one-piece Vector cowl of the exterior set (in itself a big bonus of simplicity) has thicker cowl lips edges than the kit's plastic cowl, and this is a major improvement. I did have to heat it in hot water to squeeze it very slightly into a more perfect round... Another big bonus of this resin cowl is the much more refined and accurate valve-clearing bumps.

The Vector resin canopy is even clearer than the very good kit clear part for this remarkably huge canopy (it looks like a 1/32 scale canopy!), and they elliminate a significant and unfixable mould flaw in one corner of the kit's plastic glass... The Vector resin clear parts also slightly correct some of the side window proportions very slightly.

I don't know how much of the Vector cockpit set I will use, but the resin seat is definitely worth the investment by itself.

The only downside was that the ailerons/flaps on the exterior resin set were warped in a curve, but the cowl alone makes it worth getting the exterior set, as the plastic ailerons are excellent anyway...

With the kit and resin combined, I feel this is one of the most accurate kits I have seen: The finesse of the fabric effect on the wings, and especially the sharpness of the trailing edges and wingtips is second to none, and ahead of most: You can gauge this by the finesse of the depiction of the "notch" in the wing that is over the pilot's canopy: This feature has its edges much more heavily bevelled and sharp than in any other kit I have seen with this same "high wing" feature, and it creates an outstanding "true to life" effect that shows just how much this kit is a cut above...

Don't be swayed away, as I was, by the subject's confidential nature... Even on sale at 12 Pounds, with all the Vector resin it does add up to a high price: It is worth every penny, and is probably the most refined model in my stash... It will now be hard to put it off for more glamorous subjects...

Gaston

Warped resin can easily be straightened out by plunging it into just-boiled water and then bending it flat against a counter top. Hold it in place while it cools and the warp will trouble you no more.

Hi Gaston

Now you know why we were so dismayed when ICM cancelled their 1:48 Fw 189. From what I heard from "insiders" at the time, it was set to be superb.

Fingers crossed, their Polikarpov I-153 and I-16 will still appear - if they're up to the standard of the Hs 126, the long wait will have been well worth it.

All the best

Rowan