Ok everybody. I’ve got my next aircraft lined up and ready to put on the bench next to my other couple of builds that are going on. This one is a bit of a different style bird than most folks are used to seeing.
The Blohm & Voss BV-141 derived from the need for a Reconnaissance / Light Bomber role for the Luftwaffe in 1938. The idea behind this highly unusual aircraft was to allow an unobstructed view to any area being surveyed from the R/H side. The aircraft never saw operational service due to the German Air Ministry’s disapproval of it’s odd appearance and being underpowered despite its power plant being that of one of Germany’s “Top Dog” fighters, the Fw-190A series. Having a top speed of 229 mph was not enough to impress the Ministry and the project was cancelled in favor of the much nimbler and sleek conventionally designed twin engine Fw-189 reconnaissance aircraft.
Several 1/48 scale kits have been released to replicate this unusual aircraft in scale but IMO (as well as the general modeling community) this seems to be the best kit in which to do that with. The kit I’ll be going with will be Hobby Boss’s release of the BV-141B. I’ve been wanting to build this aircraft for about 15 years and now’s my chance.
Nice! Thanks for the information too. You’d think a BMW 801 would make that go faster than that. That was a seriously powerful engine. Perhaps the size. I’ll be following this one bro!
Ooooohhhhhh!! I’ve got that kit in the stash! I will definitely be observing your building techiques on this one. This is one of my favorite designs, mainly 'cause it’s weird, just like my wife says that I am!
The RLM’s complaint stemmed from the original A-series machines, which were powered by 700 HP Bramos I think. When B&V built the B-series with the 1200-1400 HP BMW-801, it solved the power issue, but its weight, power and torque disturbed the perfect balance of the original design. The offset stabilizer was done to give the rear gunner a better firing arc, but did not help with handling. From what I have read, the A-series machines handled very well, but the B-series not so much.
Still, it is a fascinating aircraft, and definitely an eye catching model.
BTW, get the resin replacement prop, as HB‘s CAD draftsman was asleep at the computer - the prop blades turn the wrong way! Compare their pitch to the cooling fan blades.
Devil Dawg: Glad to have you along seeing that you’ve got one of these in the stash. Maybe we could do a duo build. Two sets of eyes are better than one and it’d be fun to have someone else building a kit that almost never gets built.
The Bv141 is certainly an unusual aircraft. I built this kit last year; I don’t recall any real issues with it. Went together pretty easily. Not a lot of parts in it as compared to one of the C-47s I’m currently building.
