Pete's BV141

[Fernando N]

Missed the start of this one Pete, looking good for such an old kit.

Great that Airfix had a canopy to help you out and smart to use a masking set for all the windows.

 

[stillp]

Thanks for the comments chaps.
Yes, the masking set was a good investment - the canopy framing is so vaguely moulded that it was hard to know exactly where to put some of the masks. Without the pre-cut masks it would have been all guesswork.
Very good service from Airfix, shame it was the last one in the box and had been cut off the sprue a bit roughly.
Pete

 

[colin m]

Looking nice. I know the raised rivets can be a pain, but in a way, are a bit more authentic.

 

[boatman]

HI Pete just caught up on this one very nice build an very unusual plane must have been difficult to fly
chris

 

[stillp]

very unusual plane must have been difficult to fly

Maybe not Chris, the asymmetry cancelled out the torque from the prop, so might have been easier to fly than something more conventional.
Pete

 

[Tim Marlow]

It was apparently very stable in flight and as effective as a FW 189 for recon work.

 

[stillp]

Been a bit busy in the 1:1 world, but I've managed to get the underside painted in RLM65, then masked and painted the topside overall in RLM70. I'll give that a couple of days before I mask for the splinter camo in RLM71.
View attachment 343558
Conveniently, the upper surface of the cockpit nacelle is entirely RLM71. I'm a bit worried about creepage under the masking, as there is a lot of raised detail on this plane, so I sprayed the underside colour round the edges of the masking before applying the upper colour. The engine cowling is held on with blue-tack, as it seems easier to paint it as part of the fuselage before adding the engine and prop.
More soonish.

Pete

I got my 70 and 71 swapped over in the post, but not in reality!
Masking for the splinter camo this evening.
Pete

 

[stillp]

Spent an hour masking the camo:

I used the online instructions as reference, since my screen is larger than the instruction sheet. As before, I put a light spray of the first colour over the edges of the tape to try to stop any creepage. I'm out most of tomorrow but hope to spray the schwarzgrun when I get back
Cheers
Pete

 

[stillp]

Airbrushed the schwarzgrun, then got impatient so stripped the masking off:

I'm quite pleased with that. A couple of touch-ups needed on the underside, and a couple of spots of creepage, as well as a bit of a ridge in places where I had too much paint along the edge of the masking tape, but I can live with that.
Next jobs will be to remove the temporary canopy and fit the new one, fit the undercarriage, and then the engine and prop. Oh, and there's a landing light and a ladder to add.

Thanks for watching.

Pete

 

[Neil Merryweather]

Oooh that brings back memories!
Looking great Pete.
N

 

[stillp]

As might have been expected, the geriatric decals didn't behave very well. Not helped by the elevator actuators being in the way.


I gave all the rest a second coat of liquid decal film - they didn't break, but didn't settle down very well either, even after several doses of Micro Set. The paint was beginning to suffer from repeated handling, so I decided to call it finished. Here's the underside:

I'll put some more in a 'finished' thread.
Thanks for watching and your kind comments.
Pete

 

[Jakko]

they didn't break, but didn't settle down very well either, even after several doses of Micro Set.

Did you use Micro Set or was that a typo and do you really mean Micro Sol? Because Set is an adhesive, while Sol makes the decal soft so it will conform to ridges, bumps, compound curves, and other detail on the model. I’d be kind of surprised if a several coatings of Micro Sol left decals in a state in which they can lift off the surface — they normally go weak and wrinkly.

 

[stillp]

I know the difference Jakko, and I meant what I wrote. The small one on the side of the crew nacelle lifted, the others just wouldn't settle onto the raised detail. Does Micro Sol deteriorate with age? Mine was old when I acquired it from an ex-member of this site a couple of years ago.
The extra coat of Liquid Decal Film made these a bit thicker, which must have given the Micro Sol a harder task.
Pete

 

[Jakko]

I know the difference Jakko, and I meant what I wrote.

I was just checking I’ve seen people confuse the two before, and then wonder why it didn’t work as expected.

Does Micro Sol deteriorate with age? Mine was old when I acquired it from an ex-member of this site a couple of years ago.
The extra coat of Liquid Decal Film made these a bit thicker, which must have given the Micro Sol a harder task.

If I had to guess, I’d say both are very plausible. I’m not sure it deteriorates, but after a little research, it seems it’s acetone mixed with isopropanol, but I don’t know enough about either of those two to say whether or not it can go off.

 

[stillp]

after a little research, it seems it’s acetone mixed with isopropanol, but I don’t know enough about either of those two to say whether or not it can go off.

Well, somebody thinks it's acetone and isopropanol. Both of those are volatile so would evaporate over time, leaving perhaps water... That wouldn't explain the faint smell of acetic acid though. I have heard that somebody successfully used Tamiya X20 thinners as a decal softener, and that's largely isopropanol. I'm not sure why anyone would try that, or a home brew, when the proper solutions are cheaper than most kits. After all, the decals aren't applied until after the kit has been built and painted, so most of the time and money have been invested.
Pete

 

[Jakko]

Well, somebody thinks it's acetone and isopropanol.

True But it was about the only information I could find on a quick search.

Both of those are volatile so would evaporate over time, leaving perhaps water...

Micro Sol does evaporate — I had bottles of Set and Sol of which the caps cracked after a couple of years, and the contents did too, eventually.

I have heard that somebody successfully used Tamiya X20 thinners as a decal softener

That’s easy enough to try to see if it works. Not that this would be much cheaper than using Micro Sol, though, so it’d only be useful if you happen to have run out of actual decal softener.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Peter
You will be an expert at masking after this. The canopy looks very very fiddly. You seem to have sorted the camo. Old decals often present problems. I still reckon that this is up there with the weirdest aircraft ever produced.
Jim