Hamiltonian Posted April 25, 2022 Share Posted April 25, 2022 This is the Hobby Boss kit of Richard Vogt's gloriously asymmetrical design for Blohm & Voss. About 20 Bv141Bs were built, intended for short-range reconnaissance and ground support roles. The production details are murky and many airframes are unaccounted for. Competition for the BMW 801A engine meant that production was halted in 1942. The kit contains decals for two 141Bs - call-sign NC+RA, which was photographed while undergoing testing but seems never to have flown operationally; and GK+GH, a later airframe photographed by the US Army in a wrecked condition at the end of the war. I've built the former, which was numbered Bv 141 V10 or Bv 141B 02. I used the kit decals, but ignored the painting instructions, which called for a dark grey interior and RLM65/02/71 exterior. I went with RLM02 interior, which seemed more likely for the date of manufacture, and RLM 65/70/71 camouflage, which fits better with the low-contrast appearance of photographs. (Reference images from Richard A. Franks's Bv 141 Technical Guide.) The kit goes together well and was a pleasant build, the main error being that the propeller is the wrong way round - a particularly glaring error for an aircraft which was designed to be asymmetrical in part to counter the engine torque. Fortunately, True Details make a replacement propeller. I also used the (very nice) Eduard PE detail set, and paint masks from Montex (for the interior) and Eduard (exterior). Paints are Colourcoats from Sovereign Hobbies, weathering a mix of TrueColor Liquid Pigment and Tamiya powders, and Plastikote sealer from a rattle can. These aircraft seemed to get pretty grubby/faded: I was a little more understated with my own attempt at weathering, trying to reproduce this sort of appearance: I did some minor scratch building as detailed in the WiP thread: Here's the result: 45 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamiltonian Posted April 25, 2022 Author Share Posted April 25, 2022 And a couple of images of the gondola interior during construction, which details up nicely with the Eduard aftermarket parts: 27 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maginot Posted April 25, 2022 Share Posted April 25, 2022 Nice work. Certainly makes for an odd looking crate. I reckon I could grow early tomatoes in that greenhouse. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted April 25, 2022 Share Posted April 25, 2022 Weird and wonderful! I'm glad to see you had paint masks for that greenhouse. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamiltonian Posted April 25, 2022 Author Share Posted April 25, 2022 18 hours ago, Maginot said: Nice work. Certainly makes for an odd looking crate. I reckon I could grow early tomatoes in that greenhouse. On the topic of tomatoes, the cockpit actually featured an array of roman-blind-style sunshades. I considered adding them as internal details, but gave up on the idea because: a) I couldn't find a good reference photograph b) I'm probably too handless to produce a good result c) No-one would be able to see them, anyway 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamiltonian Posted April 25, 2022 Author Share Posted April 25, 2022 2 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said: Weird and wonderful! I'm glad to see you had paint masks for that greenhouse. First time I've ever made sure to order and receive the paint masks before I dared to order the kit! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wulfman Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 A lovely job on the weird bird ! Wulfman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toryu Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 This is an excellent representation of this odd aeroplane. Well done on matching the reference photos! I always wondered how they got the thing stabilized - one person less in the cabin and it stalls...? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 Superb work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giampiero Piva Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 Very nice ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberto Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 Interesting and well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamiltonian Posted April 28, 2022 Author Share Posted April 28, 2022 Thanks, everyone. On 4/26/2022 at 6:22 PM, Toryu said: This is an excellent representation of this odd aeroplane. Well done on matching the reference photos! I always wondered how they got the thing stabilized - one person less in the cabin and it stalls...? Part of the torque compensation comes from the offset weight of the crew cabin, and part (I think) from the asymmetry of the wings. The balance will be perfect at some combination of cabin weight, power and airspeed, and less-than-perfect otherwise. But that's still better than a conventional single engined aircraft. So in a Bv141 the pilot will need to apply the usual control input to compensate for the reactive roll and adverse yaw, but that will vary with the cabin weight as well as the propeller torque. Or so it seems to me. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winenut Posted April 28, 2022 Share Posted April 28, 2022 It is a magnificently weird aircraft! Your build is superb The extra detail was worth the effort Cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndM Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 Really nice work on this interesting and unusual subject. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold55 Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 Very nice job and I am not sure I would have notice the backward prop but glad you did and fixed it with an aftermarket. And I concur on your paint choices. Maybe HB was thinking it was a latter war prototype and just failed to do their research but what you did makes sense. Beautiful job and thanks for posting! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opus999 Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 That is wonderful! The subtle weathering and all those sublime little details make this look very realistic. Beautiful work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamiltonian Posted May 2, 2022 Author Share Posted May 2, 2022 Thanks, everyone. 19 hours ago, Harold55 said: Very nice job and I am not sure I would have notice the backward prop but glad you did and fixed it with an aftermarket. And I concur on your paint choices. Maybe HB was thinking it was a latter war prototype and just failed to do their research but what you did makes sense. Beautiful job and thanks for posting! The curious thing is that the kit has the fan behind the propeller correctly orientated to drive air into the cowling. The issue with the propeller was drawn to my attention first by the mismatch between the kit propeller blades and the fan blades---only then did I think about which way the propeller needed to rotate for this airframe to be in balance, and a quick check of my reference photographs sent me off looking for an aftermarket replacement. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spadgent Posted October 1, 2022 Share Posted October 1, 2022 Fantastic work. I happened across this aeroplane by chance and had to get it in the stash. Luckily I got one at a reasonable price from the bay. You have done a wonderful job, lovely weathering. Thanks for pointing out the prop I would never have known. I’ll print one. 😉 Must now hit your WIP for info on the build. Johnny. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamiltonian Posted October 2, 2022 Author Share Posted October 2, 2022 17 hours ago, The Spadgent said: Fantastic work. I happened across this aeroplane by chance and had to get it in the stash. Luckily I got one at a reasonable price from the bay. You have done a wonderful job, lovely weathering. Thanks for pointing out the prop I would never have known. I’ll print one. 😉 Must now hit your WIP for info on the build. Thanks. My first time using Tamiya weathering powders, and I'll certainly use them again. How does printing a replacement prop work? Do you have a pattern for one, or is there some way of scanning and reflecting the existing prop? Asking for a friend. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VolkerR. Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 Very nice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuraiwarrior Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 Hi, A very nice result of your Bv-141. I like the detail you have given to the interior and the final paint job and weathering. I built the HiPH short run kit which was a challenge. Hobbyboss seem to have made a good job of the subject with the exception of a few areas. I must get mine out of the stash after being inspired by yours. Excellent work and finish. Thanks for sharing Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spadgent Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 6 hours ago, Hamiltonian said: Thanks. My first time using Tamiya weathering powders, and I'll certainly use them again. How does printing a replacement prop work? Do you have a pattern for one, or is there some way of scanning and reflecting the existing prop? Asking for a friend. I’ll just make a model using reference in a 3D program on my computer. ( I use 3D studio max ) Then I’ll make a resin print using my Elegoo Mars 2 printer. looks like I’m going to have to do similar with the interiors as the Eduard PE sheets are like gold dust. I have pinned your build as a stunning reference source. Thanks again. 😇 Johnny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamiltonian Posted October 2, 2022 Author Share Posted October 2, 2022 11 hours ago, The Spadgent said: I’ll just make a model using reference in a 3D program on my computer. ( I use 3D studio max ) Then I’ll make a resin print using my Elegoo Mars 2 printer. looks like I’m going to have to do similar with the interiors as the Eduard PE sheets are like gold dust. I have pinned your build as a stunning reference source. Thanks again. 😇 Thanks. I guess I need to get into 3D printing some time, but I seem to be halfway up too many learning curves at present. I'm glad the build log will be of use to you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted October 2, 2022 Share Posted October 2, 2022 Great build of a gloriously weird design. Lovely interior detail too. I would imagine there was a large range of Aileron trim available to help achieve level flight no matter what the crew load. It's a very large chord wing too, so lots of lift. Large elevators, yet no flaps apparent. Relatively small elevator. 'Interesting' to fly then. Could be another reason why they only built about twenty. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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