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At the risk of over committing (this will be the fifth concurrent GB I’m entering) I would like to join in with this: which will be a 3 squadron jet from RAF Germany in the short lived NATO green over Lichen green scheme. Place holder for now as there is a Lansen and three Mustangs ahead of it in the queue. AW

I don't often do WIP threads, mostly because I'm quite slow at building but also never quite sure how the finished thing will turn out! Decided to take a chance and start one now. This'll be the third Sword twin-seat Harrier that I'll have built, and I've decided to do the raspberry ripple scheme of the DERA (later Qinetic) Active Control Technology airframe. I've always thought it looked spectacular, if a fiddly masking challenge in 1/72 scale. Then I saw @Navy Bird's stunning version, which decided me. The Sword kits can sometimes be a little frustrating but they end up as great-looking models, despite my best efforts to the contrary!! (Here are my T10 and T4 versions, so hopefully with some decent background photography at the end, the new one will look suitably tidy): So here we go. The kit comes with a little etch for the cockpit; extras already purchased are the mandatory dropped door intakes by Freightdog, a set of nozzles by Pavla (may or may not use these as they look a little small) and the fancy nose probe for the test aircraft. Decals will be the Combat Decals set, unfortunately not the Vingtor set with the Qinetiq markings, but I can at least do the older DERA version - plus there are at least two other options for other type builds I'm aiming for in future. First step, as with all end-opening kit boxes now, is to tape up the edges and ends, then hack the top open to create a top-opener. Doesn't have to be tidy but at least it's easier to get stuff in and out, and protect the build as it goes on: Thanks for reading so far, hopefully it won't turn into a 6-month thread!

Hi all just a general question what is the best 1/72 harrier aircraft kit. Also as I am just getting back in to the hobby would it be good to get a few of the same aircraft different mark like an FRS1 and GR1 or GR3 to do some repetitive builds to hone my skills. Also I love the British engineering of this aircraft. I admire this aircraft so it might keep my mojo alive? I have been looking at the Italeri kits which are based on the ESCI kits as they can be picked up for a fair price. Just to see if I can make a good enough job.

Hi all After the Miles Master, I decided to stay in the british wings This time, I choosed a airplane a little modern the well know Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the "Jumpjet" I have a little preference for the "long nose" version : the GR3 I bought severals month ago a box of the AV-8A version, the US version of the Harrier It was in "promotion" and because I wished use an after market decals, it was a very good deal for me If the kit has an update for the fuselage sprue from GR1/3 box, the GR3 nose is in this box. The decals sheet I didn't arrest my choice for the red or white tails option I have a little time to make my choice

I've got the chance to pick up this Tamiya kit pretty cheap but want to know how well it builds and if it's worthwhile adding it to my stash? As a much younger model maker I was bought an Airfix 1:24 scale Harrier GR1 kit that was more complex than my skill level at the time and I didn't do the model justice and never completed the kit before losing interest in modelling for 30 odd years. A loft clearout resulted in that half botched kit being dumped. However, since getting back into the hobby, I've always wanted to build a Harrier once again and finish what I started as a kid. Is this a good one to try? TIA all, Morfman

Cheers all, Having a bash at the Airfix 1/72 Harrier and looking to build XV762 in its various guises/configurations, one of which is the attractive (to me at least) white distemper scheme which appears to have been applied for deployment into Norway. There appears to be very little evidence of the actual scheme on the 'interwebs' and the extract from the Xtradecal sheet is pretty much all I've got to go with. I've done a scan of a wide variety of reference books I have available, and again, not much to be found. The white distemper finish appears to have been applied to the existing green areas of the camouflage, with the existing maintenance markings thereon masked over. This is what I understand (and sort of makes sense) from the red notes on the scheme below. While this isn't reflected pictorially of the images below, I'm planning to paint the aircraft in the green/grey scheme, apply the maintenance decals, then mask those same locations and apply a weathered 'dirty white' distemper finish over the green areas. Any thoughts based on any specific knowledge anyone may have of this scheme from the mid-1970s ? Any insight would be gratefully appreciated. TIA A30 (Alfred)

Here's my latest 1/72 build. It's from the Sword Harrier T.4 kit. One of those frustrating kits which is a fight to put together, but worth it in the end for the way it just looks right. Extra bits to the kit were Flighpath CBLS-100 practice bomb dispensers, and some scratchbuilt canopy detail (bracing bar, strap). plus the intake FOD covers which were also made from plasticard. I honestly can't remember if the seats were in the kit or if they were resin aftermarket (I suspect the latter but it was a while ago that I started building it!). I added some extra wire detail, plus placard decals on the headboxes. Airbrushed with Hataka acrylics - was going to use Vallejo, but couldn't quite match the colours from the selection I had, and the Hataka just looked better to my eye. Wheels were from Armory, and the intakes (the most important update for any 1/72 Harrier kit!) were from Freightdog. My benchmark for the build was several amazing Kinetic 1/48 T.4 builds which I've seen on here... I tried to get as close to their level of realism in the smaller 1/72 scale as I could, and although it's not perfect, I'm pretty pleased with how it's turned out. Special mention to Nick Challoner who has an interesting website featuring various designs of RAF hangar over the years - he very kindly allowed me to use a couple of his images to print off and use as backdrops. Here you can see a Type C shed at RAF Northolt, which works really nicely as a backdrop when printed large. Thanks Nick! Website here: https://www.challoner.com/aviation/hangars/index.html Assorted shots of this model, plus one alongside the Italeri GR.3 which I finished recently (and which is in the Arctic camo scheme similar to the example at RAF Cosford). I'm going to try a few hangar and/or night shots so might edit this post to add them in soon. Thanks for reading! And, as promised, a few more pics featuring my now usual 'night shoot' and hangar shot styles. Apologies if it's becoming boring but I like the look of them! As ever, assorted bits of ground equipment (plus Reedoak figures) and the Noy's hangar backdrop. One poor quality phone shot of the underside showing the tiny CBLS bomblets, taken at an earlier stage of the build before I put the super fragile masts / vanes / canopy on the topside of the aircraft! With thanks to @Selwyn who's about the sole CBLS expert on assorted threads here, including the tip I read on a dark brown Sharpie for the bomblet bands. At 1/72 even that was a challenge 😉 Finally view of my 1/72 Harrier family (minus a duplicate GR9). Still missing a GR1 [in the stash], an FA2 and maybe a GR5 and a GR7 [bit too similar to the GR.9 to motivate me to dig one out] but it's a reasonable spread of the evolution of the real thing! Two each from Airfix, Sword and Italeri. With credit to @gazza l who did a very similar thing but did it earlier and better!

After finishing the AV-8S the desire for the AV-8B Plus Harrier II increased, so it landed on my bench as my next project. Only kit in 1:72 is the one from Hasegawa, a quite good joice anyway. The only realy weak point is the cockpit. Some goodies from Aires, Quickboost and again decals from Series Españolas will complete this project. This is what Hasegawa gives you for the cockpit, the panel is as plain as the side walls, the instruments are only shown by decals. For comparison, the parts from Aires. So much for the beginning... Daniel

Good day everyone, in the wake of the F-35B Lightning I managed to finish earlier this year, I stumbled across an old kit I love for different reasons and unlike in the real world, the Lightning won't replace this one on my shelf but rather park next to it. It's the well known Hasegawa kit in 1/48th scale of the Harrier II Plus and it had a rather troubled story in my hands. It took me 11 years to finish this, believe it or not. Most of the time it sat in hiatus half built in its box because my old compressor had given up the ghost in the process. I started this kit while I was in school, which also kinda interrupted my model making. Graduation, the first job, the first love, then studying, other hobbies along the way, so something had to give. Finally after many years of absence I bought a new compressor in 2016, dug up the Harrier and got it done. This was also a kit of many firsts - The first multi colored kit with a camo pattern I tried with airbrush, the first time I used a detail set, the first time I tried to replicate bigger decals by using them as a template and airbrushing them, the first time I tried weathering and back in the day it was the first item I ever ordered online 😄. The result, of course, doesn't do the mighty Harrier any justice but I love the aircraft and because it took so long for the kit to be finished and what happened in the meantime, I love this kit. What amazes me, I forgot what I had for breakfast today, but I remember the whole build. So the story begins in late 2006 (The exact date I actually only know because I found the receipt still in the box). My brother and I were browsing on the web for modelling stuff and ordered the Hasegawa Harrier plus the Hasegawa USAF weapons set and a resin cockpit from Aires. As soon as everything arrived, I immediately begun construction. I remember being frightened by the use of superglue for the resin parts because I didn't want to mess things up so early into the build 😅 All went well, though, until the cockpit section and the rear fuselage needed to be joined together. The well know fitment issues there were also a source of frustration for young Luke. But with a bit of putty and some swearwords, it went together somehow. The rest of the build wasn't bad at all. With most of the construction done I started painting. I remember I used Revell Email airbrush colors, which I think got discontinued at some point. I managed to get the first two shades of grey onto the kit, then airbrush the vertical stabilizer by cutting out the big decals and using them as masks, then the compressor decided he's done with my s**t 😅 Being still at school and not exactly flush with cash I couldn't afford a new compressor at the time and so the Harrier got mothballed. The years passed, my brother moved away, we moved house, too, my father retired, etc....crazy how much stuff happened, while the kit sat quietly in its box, which itself got lost in the back of my closet at some point. Finally after almost 10 years I got a new compressor (ironically while visiting my brother in Poland, so he somehow put it all in motion and spiritually helped me bring it to an end) and got back to model building. I got a few kits finished before going back to this one. The last shade of grey was airbrushed, all the smaller parts were glued in place, the ordnance from the Hasegawa weapons set was added, then the decals went on, which got really brittle over time. Then I tried to weather the aircraft with acrylics and in the end everything got sealed with semi gloss varnish. Apart from the one big fitment issue I remember the build being utterly enjoyable, this includes the Aires cockpit. I'm also quite pleased with the result for so many firsts and tries. In some aspects I find it better in some aspects than some of my more recent kits, which worries me 😅 Of course for the balance of things, in other aspects it's worse but overall I quite like it. I hope you do, too and as always, thanks for watching (and reading through my probably boring story 😄 ) Cheers

One of my all time favourite aircraft the harrier. What's not to like with this aircraft! The first VTOL ever and a looker too! And a heroic fighter jet of the Falklands conflict that kicked some serious bottom.

AV-8B Harrier II Correct Air-Scoop set 1/32 Bandit Resin Factory for Trumpeter Kit Bandit Resin seem to be primarily producing parts you would see on normal peacetime modern jets as opposed to the weapons you would see on combat operations. This enables the modeller to build the jets they might see normally or at airshows. In a departure from their normal rails and pods, this set correct the air scoops on the Trumpeter AV-8B. The Resin These 3D printed parts give the modeller 2 small, and 2 large intakes for the top of the Harrier which are quite prominent which can be seen in this picture from our AV-8B Walkaround Conclusion These are great looking parts for your large scale second generation Harrier, Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of Bandit Resin Factory, click on the logo to goto their Facebook Page

This is the old Monogram Harrier kit. Still a very nice build, if you don't mind raised panel lines (I don't). I used Vallejo acrylics and caracal decals. Hope you like the pics. Kind regards, Gerben

Hi all, its been a while since I’ve posted any build related things, so thought it would be good to show you all my latest build of the somewhat lovely Kinetic Harrier GR.1. Standard box pic with some added goodies: I utilised the build notes and resources from the Harrier Sig, kindly sent over to me by @Ozzy . Thanks Mate! The kit itself was a strange juxtaposition of nice detail with some poor fit and soft detail. Some of the fuselage panel lines for example were very soft and didn’t line up. Somewhat reminiscent of some more recent Revell kits. However for the most part this kit was a very enjoyable build. One annoyance was the SNEB pods which are modelled with the rockets protruding, the instructions advise you to sand these off but it looks very naff, so had to fill and sand and make masks for the rocket covers on the nose of the launcher. PITA! Unfortunately I had to make life hard for myself by attempting to fit an Aries cockpit, which caused me endless hours of fun/pain . Eventually got it to sort of fit by removing as much plastic as I dared but in doing so it caused the from fuselage to bow out a bit which caused problems later down the line with the windscreen. Ended up screwing up the first part and had to order a replacement from Kinetic which turned up as reasonably quickly as one can expect from Hong Kong ( in standard British fashion it took as long to make it the 50 miles from Heathrow to central Bedfordshire as it did from Hong Kong to the UK). Other aftermarket was a dream to use, namely the Reskit wheels which were fantastic, especially as the hub and tyre are moulded seperately, very thoughtful when it comes to painting! Enough waffle from me anyway, kit is an early GR.1 of 1(F) Sqn in the early gloss scheme of Dark Green / Dark Sea Grey over Light Aircraft Grey, all paints were MRP, except the varnish which is Alclad Klear Kote 50/50 with MLT (somehow this is still a tiny bit tacky a week after spraying 🤦🏻‍♂️). Decals provided are by Cartograph and were perhaps the nicest I’ve ever used. Anyway, some photos! Cheers! Ash

Icelandic Fine Art is soon to release a 1/32nd BAe Sea Harrier resin kits. Source: https://www.facebook.com/flyingSmodels/posts/pfbid0HFLFhQSGb8iBTPathXgYiGxZVTmVhpRLV94yNMGxZUvzAgYS3Nm5TBxgPfpLPVQRl V.P.

Once I get around to opening the box I'll be building this... A fairly obvious choice but hopefully not too bad a kit (I think it's a relatively modern moulding), we'll see how it comes out compared to my first attempt with an airbrush (which was a Hasegawa Harrier a few years ago).

As a 'work in progress', this is a bit of a fraud really as this very lengthy project is now finished. But I thought I'd share my working pictures in case the way I do these things is of any interest to anyone else. My models tend to be 'museum type' i.e. little or no weathering. There are, in any case, many folks here on these pages who do that sort of thing much much better than I do. On the other hand my aircraft models feature most, or in this case all, of the following: - Fully working flight controls, controlled by stick and rudder. - Manually retractable undercarriage - 'Pose-able' flaps - Lighting - nav, collision and cockpit - Illuminated HUD or gunsight - Working props, fan, turbines etc This is the story of how I did these things with the Airfix Harrier. Quite the hardest plastic kit I've tackled - weeks of putty and scribing, rinse and repeat!

My first kit completed this year - AV-8S (VA-1) Matador, 1:72 Italeri (ex-ESCI). My 5th Harrier so far! Built out of the box (except for Pitot tube from Master, resin ejection seat from Pavla and some scratch). Italeri's kit is old and needs some work, but I'm quite happy with a result. Thanks for watching!

Hi all. I just finished my 3rd 1/48 Harrier of the year. After Kinetic's AV-8A and Hasegawa's AV-8B, I wanted to build the Kinetic RAF GR3 version. This kit is basically the same kit as the AV-8A, except for the decals. For this build I used Eduard's interior and exterior pe sets and a Master pitot tube. The kit has very nice surface details and the fit is very good. Only a few spots need some extra attention and a bit of filler. Nothing major though. The model was painted with Mr Hobby acrylics, colour numbers H330 and H331. This was airbrushed in thin coats over an Alclad black primer base. A wash was made from Abteilung 502 oilpaint and AK white spirit. The kit decals were used and they are very good. Printed by Cartograf and among the best I've ever used. Thank you for watching. René.

Hey everyone So whilst I'm waiting for the satin coat to dry on my Tempest in preparation for weathering my thoughts turn to my next build. I have plenty of started kits (1/48 Revell Phantom, Tornado F.3 and GR4) but theses are all full of resin and etch upgrades (the Phantom is looking good but its just a little too involved at the moment) and I gotta be honest I need something that I can just build straight OOB and this is my choice.. ..the Kinetic 1/48 Harrier GR3 which I intend to build as XV997, Op Corporate, Falklands Conflict, 1982. It will be OOB other than seat belts which will be from Eduard as life is too short trying to recreate them from bits of foil only for them not to meet my expectations and the seat is quite a prominent part of the cockpit. I'll be referring to @Lord Riot build for any pointers as his turned out rather splendidly. Cheers all Iain

Hello to all.I present you my quick harrier build.I built this kit in a week.I am pretty pleasently surprised by the quality.Despite its lack of cockpit details and trench like panelisation this one is a really nice kit to work on.I will get the gr.5 and FA2 at the first chance I get.I upgraded the instrument panel and seat.Also I made a new pittotube because I broke the old one like 15 times.The model is painted in gunze and tamiya acrylics.I just love all types of harriers.I made a youtube build video - Removed. Read the thread in announcements regards,Dragan

A couple of recently completed projects first being a refurb of the airfix L-1011 Tristar I build long ago complete with dodgy painting, no straight decals, unpainted and yellowing plastic. Since I had the decals still I refurbed from TWA to Cathay. Second is the 1:24 Harrier GR1 that was donated mostly unbuild to the museum I volunteer at (the donor got the kit in 1974 and never got round to building it instead was building the real thing) so I built the model for display at the museum to depict an engine change. Never tried my hand at diorama before so was interesting trying to build jacks etc. Tristar before After Harrier GR1 1:24 On display behind our GR3 Relaxing with his bottle of coke whilst others work.

Here's my attempt at the 1/72 Airfix GR.9A (recent tooling). I rather enjoyed building this one! For the most part it went together very nicely indeed and there's a superb range of options and extra parts in the kit - for example, 65% or 100% LERX, different moulded parts for flaps/ailerons up or down, air dam open or closed etc etc. In fact the only slightly odd omission was the main gear doors, which are either closed for flight or open (with gear down) - neither is appropriate to a parked Harrier so I had to tweak the closed ones a bit. I used a bit of aftermarket stuff: Pavla seat and cockpit, Brassin Paveway LGBs and a Sniper ATP pod [purists will spot they're not proper Paveway IVs as I'm still waiting for my set of them to arrive], Eduard 'Remove Before Flight' tags and the chocks are etched Flightline ones. Decals are the excellent 'Retirement Harriers' set by Xtradecal - enough stencils for at least two kits, plus markings for the entire farewell flight! I did stick with the kit nozzles, thinking I could get rid of the join lines, but I think I'll go back to the Pavla resin ones next time - those internal vanes are impossible to fix! Paints were Hataka Red Line acrylic (Dark Sea Grey over Dark Camouflage Grey) with a bit of pre- and post-shading, then a coat of Winsor and Newton Galeria gloss varnish. Weathering was with oils/white spirit and Flory's clay wash before a coat of W&N matt varnish. Thanks for taking a look, I know Harriers seem to be one of the most modelled aircraft around so there's nothing new here!!!

I've never done a work in progress - other than as part of a group build - so I thought that I'd be brave and start one. My last build didn't end well so this is a 'getting back on the bike' build to get something to the end. I recently acquired this kit at a reasonable price from a well known on-line auction site so since it was on top of the pile, comes with some resin, brass, a mask and decent decals I thought I'd give it a go. Weaponry will need to be added later. I'm going to build it as ZG479 a GR.7 with 100% LERX taking part in Operation Telic. Hopefully, this should be a reasonably problem free build.

AV-8A Update Sets (for Kinetic) 1:48 Eduard Kinetic have made a lot of 1:48 modellers very happy by releasing a slew of harrier kits of various versions, including the earliest Harrier to see service with the Americans, under the AV-8A designation. Eduard's new range of sets are here to improve on the kit detail in the usual modular manner. Get what you want for the areas you want to be more of a focal point. As usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. Upgrade Set Early (491164) Two frets are included, one nickel plated and pre-painted, the other in bare brass, plus a small piece of clear acetate sheet. A complete set of new layered instrument panels and side consoles are the primary parts on the painted set, with HUD and acetate glazing; new rudder pedals; ejection seat details; coaming instrumentation and canopy internal structure also supplied. There are also pylon mating surface detail skins; wheel bay inserts; airbrake skins; blast deflector plates for the rear exhausts; extra panels and skins for the landing gear doors; new oleo scissor-links; raised panels over the engine “lid”, and a template to assist you with accurate placement of the raft of new vortex generators on the upper wing surfaces. Zoom! Set (FE1164) This set contains a reduced subset of the interior, namely the pre-painted parts that are used to improve on the main aspects of the cockpit, as seen above. Whatever your motivations for wanting this set, it provides a welcome boost to detail, without being concerned with the structural elements. Seatbelts STEEL Early (FE1166) These belts are Photo-Etch (PE) steel, and because of their strength they can be etched from thinner material, which improves realism and flexibility in one sitting. Coupled with the new painting method that adds perceived extra depth to the buckles and other furniture by shading, they are more realistic looking and will drape better than regular brass PE. As well as a set of crew belts for the initial Martin-Baker seat, you also get a set of the pull-handle between the pilot's knees that gets him out of there in case of an emergency. Upgrade Set Late (491165) Two frets are included almost identical for the early version, one nickel plated and pre-painted, the other in bare brass, plus a small piece of clear acetate sheet. A complete set of new and subtly different layered instrument panels and side consoles are the primary parts on the painted set, with HUD and acetate glazing; new rudder pedals; ejection seat details; coaming instrumentation and canopy internal structure also supplied. There are also pylon mating surface detail skins; wheel bay inserts; airbrake skins; blast deflector plates for the rear exhausts; extra panels and skins for the landing gear doors; new oleo scissor-links; raised panels over the engine “lid”, and a template to assist you with accurate placement of the raft of new vortex generators on the upper wing surfaces. Zoom! Set (FE1165) This set contains a reduced subset of the interior, namely the pre-painted parts that are used to improve on the main aspects of the cockpit, as seen above. Whatever your motivations for wanting this set, it provides a welcome boost to detail, without being concerned with the structural elements. Seatbelts STEEL Late (FE1167) These belts are Photo-Etch (PE) steel, and because of their strength they can be etched from thinner material, which improves realism and flexibility in one sitting. Coupled with the new painting method that adds perceived extra depth to the buckles and other furniture by shading, they are more realistic looking and will drape better than regular brass PE. As well as a set of more simplified crew belts for the later Stencel SEU-3/A seat, you also get a set of the pull-handle between the pilot's knees and over the headbox that gets him out of there in case of an emergency. Masks (EX765) Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape. In addition, you get a set of hub/tyre masks for all the wheels (including the out-riggers), allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort. Masks Tface (EX766) Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with everything above, but also give you another set of canopy masks tailored to fit the interior of the glazing so that you can paint the interior and give your model that extra bit of realism. Review sample courtesy of

Having recently finished the Mig-29, I was looking for something different and a little bigger. After a lot of deliberation I settled on the Trumpeter 1:35 Mi-17 and promptly ordered one before Easter...By Friday all I'd heard was that the order would be shipped when it was complete, which I took to mean they didn't actually have it in stock! The weekend was looking dire weather wise so I was going to go stir crazy with nothing to work on🤨 A lot of model shops shut at 1300 on Saturdays in Germany, but there's a shop in our nearest city(Trier) so having persuaded the missus we needed a couple of hours out we headed over. They're basically a toy shop but do have a reasonable modelling and railway section. I was only really looking for something to keep me busy for a few days and their stock mainly consists of Revell mainstream kits and some Tamiya 1:35 tanks etc. As I'm on a budget due to no guaranteed summer work and very little winter work, 150€ for some of the big kits was a bit much, and even 50-60€ seemed a bit steep for a fill-in project. I then noticed a huge box with a Harrier on it for 30€...A quick look on Scalemates told me it was a very old kit (1972!!) so it was going to be a challenge, but it was cheap😜 You'd think I'd have learnt my lesson with the MiG, but no...🙃 Anyway I bought it, looked in the box and a few swear words passed my lips as I saw how much detail there wasn't...I then started doing some research and thought I might be able to do something with it, after all it was cheap...