discussion Pete's BV141

[stillp]

Well, I've been persuaded to build this next, so I'd better start a build thread. As a reminder, I spotted this Airfix 1/72 Blohm & Voss BV141 kit at Cosford. It was priced at £10, but Ron persuaded me to offer £8, so I started bidding at £7 - and the seller kindly agreed. That was the end of my resolution to not buy any kits at Cosford. It's all Ron's fault. :smiling:
For anyone who, like me, is unfamilar with this odd-looking aircraft, there's a write-up on Wikipedia here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blohm_&_Voss_BV_141
The kit dates from the early seventies, but looks pretty well moulded, with the possible exception of the clear parts - the most important part of the build, so I've ordered a set of masks to give me a fighting chance of getting a reasonable finish to the main canopy.
The decals are showing their age:

Some of the parts have been taken off the sprues, but they all seem to be present.

A bit of clean-up needed, but the main components seem to fit well.
More later in the week.
One question - what colour would the crew uniforms be?

Cheers
Pete

 

[SimonT]

Bit of a golden oldie there Pete - red stripe box probably 70's so hardly surprising the decals are a bit yellowed

why the odd cut out section of the crosses - a wheel well?

 

[Neil Merryweather]

Oooh Pete,this brings back memories of my teens!
I WILL be watching
Neil

 

[papa 695]

Just pulled up a seat Pete.

 

[colin m]

That doesn't look too bad, good decision with the masks though. That's a lot of glass to cover. Get those decals in the sun (before we loose it again) and it might just cure the yellowing.

 

[spanner570]

Blame me?
Huh, it was your fault for falling for all that luuurrrvly glass work!

Matron on standby with sedatives...

Ron

 

[Gern]

I remember buying this as a kid. Strange though, I don't remember building it!

 

[stillp]

Bit of a golden oldie there Pete - red stripe box probably 70's so hardly surprising the decals are a bit yellowed

why the odd cut out section of the crosses - a wheel well?

Yes, '71 according to Scalemates. The year my first child was born!
Yes, the cut-outs in the decals are for the wheel bays.

That doesn't look too bad, good decision with the masks though. That's a lot of glass to cover. Get those decals in the sun (before we loose it again) and it might just cure the yellowing.

Decals are in the window - if the sun disappears I'll try my wife's UV lamp for curing her nail varnish.

Oooh Pete,this brings back memories of my teens!
I WILL be watching
Neil

I remember buying this as a kid. Strange though, I don't remember building it!

Neil, Dave, I'd never seen the kit before, and never heard of the aircraft. Blohm und Voss did make some weirdos didn't they!

Just pulled up a seat Pete.

You're welcome Ian.

Blame me?
Huh, it was your fault for falling for all that luuurrrvly glass work!

Matron on standby with sedatives...

Ron

I've always been easily led...
The chap who sold the kit told me he enjoys masking so much he does the insides as well.
The sedatives might well be needed!

I'm a bit knackered after a day in Norfolk so won't be doing much tonight.
Thanks for watching folks!
Pete

 

[stillp]

Been reading up on B & V - apparently they built Bismarck, as well as many U-boats.

 

[stillp]

Canopy masks arrived today, so no excuse now! Been gardening most of the day but I've joined the wing uppers and lowers (three sections) and the fuselage halves. A bit if filler needed, so some of the raised rivets are no longer raised.

Cleaned up the engine and nacelle parts, and glued the 2 rows of cylinders, then painted with VMA steel. They'll have a black wash tomorrow.

The crew are interesting:

Pilot has complete legs, navigator's cut off at the feet, gunner has had his legs amputated mid-thigh, though he does get what looks like a heated suit to make up for it. Pilot gets a seat of sorts (can be seen behind the engine in the pic above), nav has to sit on a shelf on the cockpit floor, while the poor chap with no legs has to lie down.
The instructions are a little vague on the cockpit assemble, but this is how the major parts go together (dry) :

The IP is beside the pilot, not in front. Good for forward visibility, but...

Still not sure about the colours. RLM66 for the cockpit interior of course, but what colour would the crew uniforms be?

Thanks for watching
Pete

 

[Tim Marlow]

Looking good Peter. I do have a reference book for this beast somewhere, so if you want to know anything just shout out....can’t help ref uniforms though, only aircraft details.....

 

[minitnkr]

I think the WL reversed the proportions of blue & gray from WH, at least to my untrained eye. PaulE

 

[Neil Merryweather]

those pilots look more like RAF types with a Mae West....
Thinking back to 'Battle of Britain'I think they should have khaki overalls and a paler Khaki life vest. Certainly the Luftwaffe flying helmet was a khaki drill with black rubber ears
View attachment 341250
although surely by this time in the war they would have had sheepskin?

 

[Mickc1440]

Never seen this kit built up so I'll follow along with the rest.

 

[Guest]

Looking forward to this.

 

[stillp]

Looking good Peter. I do have a reference book for this beast somewhere, so if you want to know anything just shout out....can’t help ref uniforms though, only aircraft details.....

Thanks for the offer Tim. I'm assuming from the Airfix instructions that the airframe would be RLM65 undersides with the splinter camo in RLM72/73 - is that in line with your book?

I think the WL reversed the proportions of blue & gray from WH, at least to my untrained eye. PaulE

Thanks Paul, but I have no idea what you mean!

those pilots look more like RAF types with a Mae West....
Thinking back to 'Battle of Britain'I think they should have khaki overalls and a paler Khaki life vest. Certainly the Luftwaffe flying helmet was a khaki drill with black rubber ears
View attachment 341250
although surely by this time in the war they would have had sheepskin?

That's just what I needed, thanks Neil. I'd found this online (International Museum of WW2) but didn't know if it was appropriate for this aircraft.

Seems to be the same, but a bit less faded. What about the gunner in the back though - he has an open canopy and seems to be wearing a lot more padding than the other two - an electrcally heated suit perhaps?
I found this image by Alamy; would this be OK?

Never seen this kit built up so I'll follow along with the rest.

Looking forward to this.

Mick, Ralph, pull up a chair, all comments welcome.

Thanks for watching,
Pete

 

[Jim R]

Hi Peter
A most unusual looking plane. I'll follow your build with interest. Certainly a geriatric kit which I'm sure you'll make the most of.

Get those decals in the sun (before we loose it again) and it might just cure the yellowing.

Was Colin's comment tongue in cheek or does the sun really improve yellowed decals?
Jim

 

[stillp]

Jim, I've read several times that the UV in sunlight will bleach yellowed decals, but haven't tried it before.
Thanks for your kind comment.
Pete

 

[Guest]

Hi Peter
A most unusual looking plane. I'll follow your build with interest. Certainly a geriatric kit which I'm sure you'll make the most of.

Was Colin's comment tongue in cheek or does the sun really improve yellowed decals?
Jim

Hi Jim.
I did it many years ago with a set of yellowed decals from an old kit.
I taped the decal sheet to a window and a few days later they were fine.

 

[stillp]

Thanks Ralph. Just had a look and they seem better already. Expecting them to be fragile though so I'll give them a coat of Microscale Liquid Decal Film before I use tham.
Pete