CMK's 1/48 Henschel Hs 129 Detail Sets
For the Hasegawa Kit

4066: Interior Set
4067: Armament Set
4068:Exterior Set

Reviewed By Chris Banyai-Riepl

While Hasegawa's 1/48 kit of the Hs 129 is a nice kit all by itself, there are some areas that could use some improvement. These sets help out in those weak areas, while adding detail that wasn't there to begin with. Starting with the first set, you get a new cockpit floor extending way back behind the seat. On this floor is the fuel tank as well, and the instructions have you trim away back behind the seat to show this off. A new cover is provided, cast thinly in resin. The rest of the resin makes up the seat, control stick, armor plating and gunsight, while the rest of the set comes from the photoetch fret. In the photoetch you get rudder pedals, instrument panel, seat belts and plenty of other useful details, several of which are used to help detail out the exposed fuel tank.

The second set is called the armament set, but it's got at least one thing that should have been included in the interior set. More on that later. Since this is the armament set, I'll talk about what kind of armament you get. This opens up several hatches in the kit, with the big one being the fuselage cannon access hatch in the middle of the fuselage. Only one side is opened up, though. You get a nice insert with the back half of the cannon, plus some added plumbing. The hatch covering it is very nicely cast in resin so thin that you can see through it. Other open hatches include the pressurized air connection hatch on the right rear fuselage, the survival kit bay in the upper left wing, the ammunition magazine for the MG 151/20 in the lower left wing, and the radio bay right behind the fuselage cannon on the left side. The final bit is what I think should be in the interior set and that's the photoetch engine instruments. Since the cockpit of the Hs 129 was so cramped, these instruments were placed on the engines themselves. this set provides some PE bezels and acetate instruments.

The final set is that for the exterior. Like most of CMK's exterior set, you get a fairly complete set of control surfaces, the only ones missing being the ailerons. Separate elevators match replacement stabilizers, so all you have to cut off of the kit is the rudder and the flaps. The other addition this set provides is a set of wing fuel tanks and their appropriate hatches.

Combining all three of these sets together will result in an Hs 129 with lots of holes in it, showing off lots of interesting detail. You'll definitely want to think about a good diorama setting when you use these sets.