Airfix BV-141

[Ozzy]

A bit of fun with my local clubs 6 hour build competition, it was the first in person build for a couple of years. My entire was this offering, as the aircraft didn’t make it to full production I thought I’d go for a North African scheme. All out of the box less for a set of Eduard canopy masks.
 

 

 

 

 

[Natter]

2 hours ago, Ozzy said:

a set of Eduard canopy masks

Personally, I think that these are the only way to build this kit and retain your sanity! Top banana mon frere, not enough of these odd-bods get built.

[Bertie McBoatface]

It looks like you had fun! That's the main objective I reckon. I had no idea it was only a prototype.

[Ozzy]

18 hours ago, Natter said:

Personally, I think that these are the only way to build this kit and retain your sanity! Top banana mon frere, not enough of these odd-bods get built.

Thanks Dave,

 

it was a really enjoyable build and a bit of a talking point throughout, I really like these old Airfix kits using techniques that I wouldn’t have known about as a kid.

 

7 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said:

It looks like you had fun! That's the main objective I reckon. I had no idea it was only a prototype.

cheers Bertie,

 

it was most certainly a fun build, there were prototypes built and flown but while waiting for an upgraded engine the contract was as signed for the FW 189 to conduct the aerial reconnaissance role.

[MRMRL]

Wow, I know the Germans designed and built some funny looking planes in that period, some years ahead of their time, others just like this. Really nice to see, and great work, can't believe this went together that quick.

[Andy Dyck]

I think to build this in 6 hours is world record! Nice to see that unusual plane!

 

Andy 

[Hamiltonian]

Six hours is just mad. Well done. I think it took me nearly six hours just to get the canopy masks on!

 

On 2/7/2022 at 9:00 AM, Bertie Psmith said:

It looks like you had fun! That's the main objective I reckon. I had no idea it was only a prototype.

 

Three prototypes, and then a couple of cycles of approval aircraft--five A series and five B series, if memory serves, and then the production order was cancelled. As @Ozzy says, it eventually lost out to the Focke-Wulf 189.

Edited February 8, 2022 by Hamiltonian
Wulf, not wolf!

[Ozzy]

23 hours ago, MRMRL said:

Wow, I know the Germans designed and built some funny looking planes in that period, some years ahead of their time, others just like this. Really nice to see, and great work, can't believe this went together that quick.

Cheers MRMRL,

 

it is a little weird looking but those that flew it said it handled well,  haven’t read a bit about them it seems it’s offset canopy was a little to out there for the German high command.

 

11 hours ago, Andy Dyck said:

I think to build this in 6 hours is world record! Nice to see that unusual plane!

 

Andy 

 

cheers Andy, I went for a fairly quick build. The winner was an Airfix 1/72 2 seater vampire.

 

3 hours ago, Hamiltonian said:

Six hours is just mad. Well done. I think it took me nearly six hours just to get the canopy masks on!

 

 

Three prototypes, and then a couple of cycles of approval aircraft--five A series and five B series, if memory serves, and then the production order was cancelled. As @Ozzy says, it eventually lost out to the Focke-Wolf 189.

cheers Hamiltonian,

 

I was impressed that there was a set of canopy masks available, it took a good 40 minutes to get all the masks on. I hadn’t realised that there were so many prototypes built, thanks for posting that info.

[Graham Boak]

It was designed to provide a good view whilst compensating for the engine torque/gyro effect that was coped with on other types by offset fins, wings at different incidences, or even shorter wing semi-spans on one side.  Apparently this worked well on the experimental predecessor but less so on the Bv.141A.  However there's little doubt that the Fw.189 was a better choice, cheaper, simpler, capable of operation from smaller fields, and didn't use the powerful BMW.801 engine so much in demand for other combat types. 

 

Interestingly, there is at least one photograph showing an example coded beyond the usually accepted range for those produced.

 

Every now and then I dip into the box with my Bv.141 in, but in truth painting the canopy frames is just too off-putting with so many more interesting alternatives on the shelf.  There's a '189 in the same box...

[Wulfman]

Nice work, looks great in that whif scheme !

 

Wulfman

[Hamiltonian]

20 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

Interestingly, there is at least one photograph showing an example coded beyond the usually accepted range for those produced.

 

Myrha's book has a photograph of a wrecked aircraft encountered on a Luftwaffe airbase by the US Army, letters GK+GH. It looks like a 141B with the tail lopped off, lying next to the severed tail of a 141A. It doesn't fit into the sequence of 13 numbered aircraft that Myrha lists, but the ever-reliable Wikipedia says those letters were assigned to a late 141-B1, WNr 0210018, which pushes the production up to 26 airframes, if all the WNrs prior to GK+GH were actually completed. So the mystery is, maybe, what happened to all those other airframes, in the gap between V13 (WNr 0210005) and WNr 0210018?

[Hamiltonian]

18 hours ago, Hamiltonian said:

Myrha's book has a photograph of a wrecked aircraft encountered on a Luftwaffe airbase by the US Army, letters GK+GH. It looks like a 141B with the tail lopped off, lying next to the severed tail of a 141A. It doesn't fit into the sequence of 13 numbered aircraft that Myrha lists, but the ever-reliable Wikipedia says those letters were assigned to a late 141-B1, WNr 0210018, which pushes the production up to 26 airframes, if all the WNrs prior to GK+GH were actually completed. So the mystery is, maybe, what happened to all those other airframes, in the gap between V13 (WNr 0210005) and WNr 0210018?

More on this, from Franks' book. The three prototypes, five A-series and five B-series are the airframes known to have been delivered, all issued with Versuchs (V) numbers--so V01 to V13. Another five B-0 and eight B-1 have work numbers and assigned letters, but are not documented as having been delivered. The wrecked GK+GH I mentioned earlier is the very last of these airframes, numerically, and was found at the B&V's Wenzendorf facility (ie not on an airfield as I reported earlier), looking like it had suffered explosion damage rather than crashed. The other 12 airframes (between V13 and GK+GH) seem to be unaccounted for. Richard Vogt always claimed that 20 were built and delivered--more than the number documented to have been delivered, but fewer than the number of assigned work numbers!

[Ozzy]

On 08/02/2022 at 20:31, Graham Boak said:

It was designed to provide a good view whilst compensating for the engine torque/gyro effect that was coped with on other types by offset fins, wings at different incidences, or even shorter wing semi-spans on one side.  Apparently this worked well on the experimental predecessor but less so on the Bv.141A.  However there's little doubt that the Fw.189 was a better choice, cheaper, simpler, capable of operation from smaller fields, and didn't use the powerful BMW.801 engine so much in demand for other combat types. 

 

Interestingly, there is at least one photograph showing an example coded beyond the usually accepted range for those produced.

 

Every now and then I dip into the box with my Bv.141 in, but in truth painting the canopy frames is just too off-putting with so many more interesting alternatives on the shelf.  There's a '189 in the same box...

Thanks for posting Graham,

 

I can’t recommend the canopy masks enough, I wouldn’t fancy hand painting the canopy. I’ve got a 189 to build at some point not the Airfix one though.

[Ozzy]

On 08/02/2022 at 22:05, Wulfman said:

Nice work, looks great in that whif scheme !

 

Wulfman

Cheers Wulfman,

 

I’m rather pleased with the way it all turned out.

[BleedingBlue]

6 hours is impressive.  In my youth I built models that fast but things usually fell off 😁.  Those canopy masks had to be a lifesaver in that quick a build.

[Head in the clouds.]

6 hours! I would would be last to finish in about 6 weeks...😃 good effort.

[Ozzy]

On 12/02/2022 at 02:33, BleedingBlue said:

6 hours is impressive.  In my youth I built models that fast but things usually fell off 😁.  Those canopy masks had to be a lifesaver in that quick a build.

 

 

On 12/02/2022 at 06:49, Head in the clouds. said:

6 hours! I would would be last to finish in about 6 weeks...😃 good effort.

 

thanks guys,

 

6 hours is a bit of a beastly target, the canopy masks definitely helped a lot. As I didn’t fancy hand painting all that frame work, the only difference from my youth is I had the correct colour paints and didn’t have to make do with what I’d got left over.

[Farmerboy]

What fun, brings back so many great memories of buying and building a model on the same day, ah the joys of childhood!!!

Good job!

[Ozzy]

10 hours ago, Farmerboy said:

What fun, brings back so many great memories of buying and building a model on the same day, ah the joys of childhood!!!

Good job!

Cheers Farmerboy,

 

It sure does, slightly more care given to the build and I even read the instructions.