I've completed my sixth build for this Year of the Axis Build. This is the unusual Blohm & Voss Bv141 in 1/48th by Hobby Boss.
From what I was able to ascertain, the Bv141 never saw combat due to its rather late entry into the war, and I believe I saw a shortage of engines attributable to more pressing need for Focke Wulf fighters as another explanation for its lack of a wartime record. But despite its ungainly appearance, it reportedly handled well in the air, although I suspect you would not have wanted a rookie pilot taking this thing out for a spin given its unique airborne characteristics.
For this build, I used mostly Model Master acrylics - RLM 02 and RLM 82 over RLM 65. The insignia are Tamiya flat white and Tamiya flat black. I bought the Montex Mask set for this kit, but everything else is OOB with the exception of a set of custom-made seatbelts (made by applying Tamiya tape over a strip of aluminum foil, then painting those belts Tamiya khaki).
No complaints over the kit. It goes together easily. There are not a lot of parts for this one, with everything on 3 sprues plus a clear sprue. The only slight troublesome area of the build was in attaching the gondola-side landing strut - that piece resisted all of my efforts to align it properly, or at least to match the alignment I had already achieved on the opposite side strut. I was eventually able to nudge it into an acceptable position.
I built the basic airframe before addressing the few seams that this kit presented me with. After I handled the seams to my satisfaction (it took three iterations of sand, scrape, prime to get to an acceptable look), I put down a coat of gray Stynlyrez primer, then used Tamiya flat black in pre-shading the panel lines.
I struggled with the paint scheme for this one. I've reached a near exhaustion point on these German builds with their splinter schemes, but with as few of these that actually flew, there were very few schemes available in online or printed materials that I could find. The kit suggested the scheme I eventually went with, as well as an all gray (RLM 02) over RLM 65 scheme. I almost built the all gray version, but just didn't think that would look that good. As it turns out with the pre-shading, I think the all gray scheme may actually have looked pretty good, but oh well.
Painting was trouble-free. RLM 65. Let that set then mask followed by RLM 02. Let that set then mask again followed by RLM 82. The pre-shading accounts for most of the weathering I did on this build, although I did use a silver pencil to replicate wear along the path the pilot probably took to access the cockpit, and I streaked some Flory dark dirt wash off selected panels on the underside. Finally, I used black and gray pastels for the exhaust stains.
For this build, I used 4 decals - the code on the gondola and the swastikas. The Montex set included the swastikas, but were so small that I could not make out the demarcation lines on the masks between the black portions of the swastikas, and the white outlines. The kit decals were garbage, however, and I ended up removing them and using some swastikas off an old decal sheet I picked up shortly after I returned to this hobby back in the mid-1990s.
Regarding the Montex canopy masks, I have noticed a trend with these in my last couple of builds using them. First let me state that I love these masks - they are easy to apply (easier than Eduard masks), and I have yet to see any paint seapage when I have used them. But I've noticed a lot of adhesive residue left right smack in the middle of clear plastic. On a bird like this one, such residue simply cannot be left there - it would mar any quality of build because there is so much "glass". I used denatured alcohol to get rid of this glue residue, but I'm a bit aggravated about having to do that yet again.
Any way, on to build photos.
So next up for me, I'm leaving the Luftwaffe behind and checking in on Regia Aeronautica with a double build - Maachi's Mc.200 Saetta and Mc.202 Folgore.