Well here I am ... again .... this time with a build log of the kit I'm doing for the "Hot out of the moulds Campaign" the Bv141. I've wanted a mainstream kit of this particular beastie since I built the Airfix 1/72 scale kit for the Airfix2 campaign. Well you could've knocked me over with a feather when I saw this kit pop up on eBay! So it was immediately bought and as luck would have it it turned up exactly on my birthday. (A present from me to me! LOL)

So here are the initial shots of the kit and the sprues look good. One thing worth a mention at this point is that unusually the box is a fraction on the small size for the sprue with the wings on it. Leaving it with a curve in it and this may or may not affect the fit of these parts and only time will tell.

I'm really looking forward to the build and I'll be diving pretty much straight in.

My god, what a strange thing

Have fun with the build I will look at it with interest

Chris, I have the same kit at home and want to start it sometime this year. To make things easier, I've ordered the new Eduard mask for the canopy at my LHS. You should also consider this. The number is EX 443.
Oh, and of course I will follow closely on you build!

Torsten

Chris,
I'll be following along, as I just can't resist it as this has to be one of, if not the strangest to ever fly aircraft.
Joel

Well with a low parts count you'd expect things to fall together fairly quickly and that's pretty much what's happened. As I thought might happen the wings were warped quite badly on the starboard side, but unnoticeable on the left. I taped everything up with Tamiya masking tape and then taped the starboard wing to the bench in an effort to get it to straighten out. Which was not as successful as I'd hoped, but found that bending the wing actually pulled it back into shape and broke the two wing surfaces apart. A little thin cement run into it, then more masking tape fixed that particular issue.

I've read a couple of build logs that have talked about fit issues with the kit but I've yet to find any. Yes the wing was warped but that was created by it not being flat in the box as opposed to the engineering of the kit. The cockpit is a delight, well detailed and will look great, which is just as well as you can see everything through that glasshouse cockpit!

HobbyBoss attach the sprue gates to the mating surfaces and although it means a little careful clean up is required it doesn't mar the outside of the joint as it would it it were gated in the traditional way. I thought I might be opposed to the idea, but after assembling the kit so far I find I quite like the idea! It may well be not to everyone's liking and I'm sure it'll polarize everybody into those that'll either love it or those that'll detest it. I'm firmly on the "love" side of things after putting this kit together.

Also while I delight in the front row of cylinders provided, HobbyBoss don't provide the back row, not even a set of half cylinders! While I think little of it could be seen through the front set of cylinders and the cooling blade. It would've added a little extra depth to the detail and I find it a tad disappointing. Not really a big issue but the rest of the kit is so great it seems a shame to cut this particular corner.

The exhaust stack is nicely done and I'm sure the aftermarket crowd will have little trouble making a drop in replacement for it. However it's a 14 cylinder radial engine and there were what looked like 17 exhaust stacks! I could find little in the way of diagrams or pictures that could help me decipher which should go and which should stay, so I lopped off the ones that didn't look like they belonged and cleaned it up. I'll paint it and add it to the airframe after I've painted the camo on the fuselage. It'll make for easier weathering!

Chris,
Warped wings and or large warped parts aren't the easiest of things to correct. I've had some moderate success as well as some utter failures trying to straightening out warped parts using hot water, but not boiling water. A quick dunk into the water then on to a flat surface with even pressure applied from the top to force the part flat. Usually a heavy soft cover book with a weight on top of it will do the trick. It's the time in the water that's critical. I've forced parts back into position and glued them in place. Again, it doesn't always work for me.

As for the rear bank of engines not being included in the kit. If even a small portion of the banks shows, then they really should have included it. That's just not up to current kit standards.

Joel

Hi Joel, I agree with you regarding the engine, the kit has such a great interior it seems a shame to save plastic there.

As to the use of warm-hot water, the wing is unusual and has a complex shape (not quite gull wing) that may not easily be compensated for, if it was a simple straight wing then usually I would tape it to the bench first, then gently heat it with a heat gun on low and leave it to cool. I usually prefer to put the parts together force them into the shape I need and let them dry like that, not necessarily easy but I've gotten good results.

HobbyBoss it's a really easy fix, honest! Somebody, anybody at HobbyBoss if you're listening, increase the length of the box by 10mm max! Allow the wing to lay flat and the majority of the problem will fix itself!

Just as an after thought I have Revell's BV P-194 which is similar in construction to the Bv141 would anybody be up for me to build review that here on this thread or in a thread of it's own?

Well further along still in the build, it's going together particularly easily and it does look really great! I've got the cockpit attached and mostly painted there is a wash and some highlighting to be done but that is easily done with the cockpit in situ.

I've got the wheel wells and landing gear painted RLM02 and I'll add those last thing to avoid breaking them off. The propeller is together and I had to use waxed dental floss tied into a slip knot to pull it in tight to the spinner boss as it was a mite on the large side. I left it to set and I've now cleaned it up. I use waxed thread as it tends not to stick to the parts. Here are a few pics to update the progress.

Hi Chris

Nice progress so far, and well caught on the extra exhausts. Hobby Boss look to have made a silly error with the propeller too - the pitch is reversed, so it turns the wrong way: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-2005-0725-526,_Aufkl%C3%A4rungsflugzeug_Blohm_-_Vo%C3%9F_BV_141.jpg

All the best

Rowan

Great progress Chris, and a very informative thread for anybody who will build this down the track.

Cool looking aircraft, I've always been fascinated by the asymmetrical design.

I'm following this thread, keep the updates coming my friend!

Cheers, D

@Rowan: Thanks Rowan I appreciate the encouragement! Dang it Rowan you're right, great catch there! In fact after a quick search on eBay True Details does indeed have a replacement prop but I think for now I'll give that a miss, but I'll remember that when I build the next one! If I remember correctly there is also some discussion over the prop blades shape being wrong too. Disappointing by HobbyBoss a simple thing that got missed or screwed up at the design stage.

Again a mixed bag from HobbyBoss some really well done details in the cockpit and wheel Wells but seemingly simple errors elsewhere. I'm no rivet counter but after finding these errors I find they IRK me somewhat! I still love this kit regardless of these simple mistakes.

This is why we do this, build logs, they provide info and insight that might be missed otherwise. It will also make another modellers build that much easier as the issues with the kit will be known and the possible fixes already supplied.

@Damian: Thanks D your encouragement is always welcome!

Hi Chris

To be honest, simply putting the blades on back-to-front wouldn't really solve the problem, because the profile would be wrong. You'd be better off leaving the propeller loose to replace with an aftermarket item or if you get a spare from an old Fw 190 (or similar).

Getting the direction wrong is a bit of a clanger, but Hobby Boss aren't alone in messing up the shape of the blades - for some reason, German propellers seem to be notoriously hard for mainstream manufacturers to get right - witness my efforts to correct Eduard's Dora's prop HERE.

All the best

Rowan

Chris,
You're making excellent progress as there is something everyday to checkout. The prop issue would be rather easy to miss if one wasn't familiar with this particular aircraft. Out of curiosity does the instructions have it right or wrong ?

Joel

Actually Joel the prop is one piece so it can really only be setup as it is. The shape of the prop would appear to be peculiar to this aircraft as per Rowans link. I think that a wide cord blade from a bomber aircraft might be closest or possibly one from a late D model Fw190??? I agree that Luftwaffe props are problematic, quite possibly because there are so few left to get measurements from. Also that the prop might not be original to the airframe as some static displays can be quite mix and match when it comes to parts.

Here's a link to the HobbyBoss part so you can see the differences for yourselves.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Blohm-Voss-Bv-141-Propeller-for-HobbyBoss-1-48-True-Details-48558-/391044153313?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5b0c0c3fe1

What were you guys saying about progress on a daily basis? Well here's a little bit more of the on going engine debacle. I've glued the front row of cylinders in and as expected you can see the empty back quite clearly (I painted it RLM02 to make it quite visible), even with the prop in place the missing rear row is visible! A simple set of half or part cylinders would have fixed this! However given the drop in nature of the part I'm sure somebody will come up with a replacement part. Perhaps True Details may come to the rescue and market it as a replacement set with their prop??? (HINT HINT)

I've also decided to use some of the decals provided for the various panels inside the cockpit. The decal for part number A29 (decal 9) I cut in half lengthwise as there is a decent step in the part and it wouldn't have sat properly on the part with out it. Now I pretty much bathed the various decals with micro sol once they were in place and I've given them several other coats since then to get them to settle over the parts. And for the most part I've been successful. I'll post more pics once things are dry to show you the results. About the only decal I haven't used was the pilots side console as I'd already glued in part A3 and it's really tall so the decal would have had a great deal of trouble settling over it. Check out the pics and see what you think.

Being following along , interesting kit so far ..




Terri

Hi Terri nice to have you along!

So another update to keep you all fixed in front of your collective electronic devices! The fit of the kit so far has been nothing short of exceptional. No filler has been required in the build thus far, simple filing and sanding has sufficed to blend everything together.

I have struck a problem with the cockpit canopy however! When joining the two front halves together HobbyBoss has split them along the framing which is great except that it's not in the middle of the framing rather it's at the top. This makes not marking the glazed area a lot more difficult. Using ultra thin cement as I did is not perhaps the best thing, non fogging superglue maybe better or Humbrol's crystal clear (May not provide as positive a join as is necessary). The issue though is that the two halves need to be pulled together to get them to join flush with one another as can be seen in the pics. This also squeezed the thin cement out of the joint which marked the inside of the canopy (bugger!).

There are a couple of other marks on the outside but nothing to dramatic which can be polished out. I'm just a little disappointed in myself as I anticipated that this may happen. I also used the thin cement to glue the upper instrument panel into place and capillary action drew it out onto the canopy as well but only as far as the outer edges of the panel. Not very noticeable but again I anticipated this and my solution didn't work as I anticipated. Thick polystyrene cement would most likely have reduced the risk. So not really an issue with the kit more my execution of it. Okay onto the pics!!



















The last pic is of the bomb racks supplied with the kit, they look rather good, but no ordnance is provided for them. Easily fixed with either resin or parts from the spares box. Again it would have been nice to actually get the bombs with the kit, not really a big thing but it adds to the feeling of HobbyBoss cutting corners.

Hey Chris,
Great build of a cool looking a/c.
If one pops up at the right price on Trade Me,it might be a goer.

Cheers

Chris.

Sounds like a plan Chris! I got mine from eBay direct from China for a little over $69 NZD and there's one on eBay now for $60 NZD including shipping from Germany. So they're always popping up ..... on eBay at least.

Chris,
I'm having a hard time following your cockpit glass issue. From the pictures I really can't see any seam line where you joined the two halves, so you did an excellent job. As far a gluing the glass to the fuselage, I always use Tamiya Extra Thin, but very sparingly. I've never had it run where I didn't want it, and I've never had any fogging issues.

I'm not a big fan of PVA white type of glues as it's just to easy to accidently pop off the glass, especially when it comes to windscreens.

One thing I would have done differently is the masking I would have done it prior to gluing it to the fuselage. It's just so much harder doing it afterwards.

Joel

Masking it prior to attachment to the cockpit nacelle would certainly have protected the out side of the canopy. I've always preferred to mask the canopy once in place as I usually don't paint the inside of it and doing it this way saves masking the inside from over spray. The other point you make is well taken Joel, over application of thin cement was the main issue leading to over run when pressed together. I've taken a couple of pics to try and show you what's going on Joel. I'll probably invest in some precut masks for this kit as per Torsten's suggestion as there is an AWFUL lot of canopy to cover.

Great (and quick) progress on this lovely bird, Chris! Just opened the bags of my kit and had a closer look at the issues you've mentioned. My wings don't look warped (lucky me) but you're right, the box is quite "squeezy" here. Thanks for the hints of the exhaust stacks. Just marked 3 in black to be cut off when I start building the kit. I have also heared about the wrong propeller. I'm sure to have an extra prop from a Tamiya/Eduard/Dragon Fw 190 kit somewhere which I can use. Btw, there was also a BMW 801 B engine with 1560 hp. It had a left turning propeller. But probably not for the BV 141 ....
Hm, 59 NZD for the kit is not too bad. If I remember correctly, I paid around 32 Euros at my LHS for it, which are about 48 NZD.

Good night!
Torsten

Hi Torsten my wings didn't appear warped either until I tried to fit them together, a test fit should prove conclusive. I've been investigating the propeller issue and the Dragon kit has individual blades, however the Eduard wide cord blade (I've got the Eduard Fw190A-8/R2 kit) would be an almost drop in replacement. It has a hole rather than the pin of the Hobbyboss kit but it would be a simple matter to create something to mate the two together.

Chris,
thanks for posting that other picture of the greenhouse. I now see the problem literally head on. The seam line looks easy enough to sand then polish, just mask on both side of the seam 1st. Unfortunately, he fogging isn't fixable at this point, but it doesn't look too noticeable, and will be even less so once the greenhouse is painted.
Joel