1/100 Avia BH-1 Sports Plane (Minimodels)

    New project.... This model, in 1/100 scale, is available as a free download from Minimodel, Czechoslovakia.


    The subject is the BH-1 sports plane, a single-engine aircraft from 1920 (the first from the Czechoslovakian company Avia).


    The BH-1 was a low-wing, braced, monoplane of wooden construction, with tailskid undercarriage. Power was provided by a Daimler engine, which actually proved inadequate to fly the aircraft with both seats occupied. It was rebuilt in 1921, with a Gnome Omega rotary engine.... The more powerful engine enabled the aircraft to be flown two-up.

    I started with the cockpit assembly.... Components cut out, scored and folded.

    Seats, seat bases, and cabin assembled.

    Completed, with exposed edges coloured.

    Next, the wing support struts and tail fin. It looks like they are perhaps meant to be folded and glued, but I found it easier to separate each component......

    ... like so...

    ... then glue each half together (and colour the edges of the struts)...

    Wheels....

    I don't like the design where the middle part should be rolled up.... Too difficult to get the tyre to line up on the perimeter (maybe I'm wrong?). I decided to dispense with these and use cardboard between the wheel halves. After cutting out the wheels, two of them were glued onto 1mm thick cardboard...

    The cardboard was then cut out to size and the remaining halves glued on the other sides. After lightly sanding to get the round profile, the 'tyres' were coloured black...

    The undercarriage was cut out - again, I decided to separate and glue (rather then fold and glue).

    I have coloured the edges and scored/folded, but will wait until the fuselage is assembled to get the correct angles

    Change of plan on the undercarriage. I decided to build it as a separate sub-assembly that can be glued onto the fuselage. I cut a piece of card of the same colour from the sheet...

    ..... to use to assemble the folded undercarriage....

    To get the basic component....

    Then I added struts (plastic rod, coloured)...

    ... and the wheels, to get the sub-assembly...

    Fuselage... I cut out the two cockpit areas... I also removed all of the printed tabs, as I don't like them, and at this small scale I'd argue they're irrelevant (?)...

    After gently curving the top panel, I glued in the cockpit assembly to the top then started gluing the sides to the top from the rear. Some manipulation was required to glue the front.

    I touched in white areas with colour, although the match isn't accurate ☹️

    Wings..... I cut off the joining tabs as the trailing edges can easily be glued together without them at this small scale. The yellow wing fillets show the profile required.

    On the reverse, I marked with a pencil the leading edges and used a thin metal rod on foam to form the profile.

    I then folded the wing halves together and held the trailing edge down until the UHU dried.... The weight of the cutting mat maintains the join...

    Then I do the same thing with the wing tip...

    The yellow wing fillet is then folded in and glued in place before carefully flattening the wing surface to get the correct profile. Here, the port wing is being glued to the fuselage....

    Wing struts added.... They were slightly short (?) as they wouldn't line up on the top wing markers without significant dihedral, so I added very small strips of the same card to cover the wing marks. I also added a strip of card on the underside, to reinforce the fillet.

    It's a fragile little model, so I will reinforce everything with dilute PVA before varnishing.

    Propellor..... I separated both parts rather than attempt to score and fold, trimmed them individually, and glued them together.....

    I coloured the edges and added some 'grain' with a darker-coloured pen.....

    Windshields..... Using the hole punch, I made a circle from acetate sheet. I then cut this in half and gently curved each one with tweezers......

    Aside from a coat of varnish, here is the completed model......

    The exhaust stack points slightly to the port side, as in the real aircraft. I think the windshields and 'grained' propellor look okay. I coated the model with dilute PVA and it feels much stronger. I will apply a coat of gloss varnish. I am making a display base for it and will post additional photos in the Gallery. Thanks for viewing and thumbs up 😄