Valiant Wings Publishing The Blohm & Voss Bv.141

[Mike]

The Blohm & Voss Bv.141 (Airframe Detail No.1)
Valiant Wings Publishing

The Bv.141 was perhaps one of the weirdest looking aircraft of WWII that almost made it to production, with its asymmetric design, large wings, fuselage nacelle reminiscent of an Fw.189, and the fact that much of its development and history has been lost in the confusion that reigned at the fall of the third reich. This new book from Valiant Wings has been penned by Richard A Franks, and extends to 63 pages in a perfect bound format. Notes in the corner of the first page tells us that almost all known pictures, drawings and diagrams still extant of this aircraft have been included in the book, and this is evident from the sheer quantity, some of which are surprisingly good, and some necessarily small and grainy because, well, that's all we have!

The book is broken down into chapters as you'd expect, as follows:

• Introduction. This includes a brief history and extends to 11 pages with plenty of photos between the text.
• Technical Description. Going over the airframe in 9 sections over 38 pages, this will be of great use to anyone wanting to improve the detail of their kit. Diagrams, technical photos and excerpts of the flight manual are included.
• Camouflage & Markings. Extending to 9 pages with four pages of three-view and profile drawings, this section covers the variation of markings and schemes from beginning to end.
• Building a Bv.141 A build by Steve A Evans is catalogued over 4 pages, with some very nice photos of an exceptionally well built model.
• Appendices. One page split between kits and available books.

Conclusion
This is a very interesting and informative book of a left-of-field aircraft that is probably going to be a little more mainstream after the recent release of the Hobby Boss kit reviewed here. It is eminently readable, laid out in a sensible order with some really good photos, especially of the interior, and should be of use to anyone wishing to improve their kit, whether it be the new 1:48 kit, or Airfix's ageing offering in 1:72.

Highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of