Mach 2 1/72 Blohm & Voss Bv 142 |  | Background Blohm & Voss attempted to adapt the Ha 139 seaplane into a transatlantic mail transport for Lufthansa, but its mediocre payload and performance did not pass the corporate "so-what" test. Attempting to salvage the project, Blohm & Voss engineers replaced the mail storage bay with a bomb bay and added an He 111-styled ventral cupola in an attempt to interest the Luftwaffe. Once again, the aircraft failed to pass another "so-what" test and the aircraft slipped into obscurity. The Kit This kit consists of three sizable trees of injection-molded styrene parts and a single tree of clear parts. The details in this kit are nicely scribed and the molding is nicely done with no sign of flash on the parts. While this is a limited production kit (read this as modeling skills are required to assemble this model), there don't appear to be any major problems in the layout that prudent dry-fitting and good parts preparation won't overcome. You will need to have a good grasp of modeling basics as the instructions from Mach 2 provide selected assemblies and painting diagrams all on one side of one sheet of paper. While the model is a relatively simple affair, there is a surprising lack of detail in the instruction department. Markings are provided for one example - PC+BC, the bomber prototype. Conclusions Until now, the only way to get a Bv 142 in any scale was a single vacuformed kit released many moons ago from Airmodel in 1/72 scale. This will likely be the one and only time we'll see this subject in styrene. My sincere thanks to Squadron Mail Order for this review sample! | 
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