I’ve just won a pair of Airfix kits off eBay - a Red Arrows BAE Hawk & the Harrier for a silly price, and was wondering what the Harrier’s like to build?
I know there are lots of updates available for the Harrier in general, but is there anything i should add to my “must have” list for this kit?
TIA
Hi, Mike,
I’m afraid that it’s, er, typically Airfix. The good news: the shape is more-or-less OK, and it comes with a pilot.
The bad news: It has raised panel lines, and more than its fair share of sink marks and ejector pin marks. It has no cockpit detail to speak of, so go looking for, at the very least, a resin seat and be prepared to scratch-build even basic cockpit detail. Of course, if you use the pilot, the canopy’s so thick you won’t be able to see much detail, so you could. just, get away with it OOB. The ailerons are too long, and the flaps are too short, so you’ll need to rescribe them. The blow-in doors around the intakes are moulded shut, while the upper ones should be open when the aircraft is at rest. The Sidewinders and launch rails are a bit basic.
The u/c bays and airbrake bay are lacking in detail. The tailplanes lack their rubbing strakes, and the angle at which they are modelled is wrong for an aircraft at rest. The exhaust deflector plates are moulded solid with the fuselage sides when in reality they’re separate pieces of metal.
Finally, it has, er, Airfix decals…[:I][censored]
However, there’s a lot of aftermarket stuff available for it, which will sort most of the problems, as a quick search on the Hannants website will show. However, getting all the stuff you need to sort the problems will at least triple the cost of the kit… Think of it as a challenge, and remember that the other two 1/48 SHAR FRS.1s (Tamiya, Hobbycraft) are even worse.
Cheers,
Chris.
Fantasitic!!! I love a challenge. [;)] Thanks for taking the time to give me a detailed run-down on what I need to sort out Chris. I presume that your comments are based upon bitter experience?
Seeing as I’m currently building a Falcon vacform of the Martin-Baker MB-5 (“the WHAT?” I hear you ask), a bit of scratchy building should be a walk in the park… a veritable holiday! [:D]
Hi, Mike,
Bitter expereince - yes, I’m afraid so…and there must be something wrong with me, because a few months later I was back for more, in the shape of the Airfix 1/48 Bucc…nothing that a vac canopy, a couple of resin seats, Eduard interior and exterior etch, some controlled and directed violence around the intakes and the fuselage join, some aftermarket decals and some shares in Fyffes couldn’t sort…
and MB.5 - Griffon-engined, cannon-armed, contra-prop-fitted Mustang on steroids! I presume you’ll be doing it in Sky ‘S’ undersurfaces/ Extra Dark Sea Grey uppersurfaces, fitted with catapult spools and a tailhook, operating off HMS Eagle in the Pacific in Summer 1948?
Cheers,
Chris.
Blimey charlie, no! I’m doing the one & only prototype, with a yellow underside. She never saw service, and given that I’m only ever going to make one, I wanted to do the “actual” airframe, rather than a Whatif…
“Mustang on steroids” is a good description though. I’m a little concerned that the Falcon vac bears TOO much of a resemblance to the Mustang in the fuselage area… particularly in the nose area. Not much I can do about that now, I guess [;)]