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Found 20 results

  1. Dear Fellow Modellers My Nephew bought this for me for Xmas so i thought i'd impress him by building this as my first 2024 build. This was my second attempt at this very old 1971\1982 boxing Tamiya 'SHAR' kit. Some of the parts are awful.. The Nozzles !.. The Nozzles ! - but this is well documented so I won't bitch about this aspect too much here.. The First one, I made an utter and complete hash of and after using it as a paint mule until I binned it.. Well at least it got recycled and I learned some skills and tips that I put in to practice on this second one. Done pretty much 'OOB', I thought i'd go for a Falklands War inspired Lt Cmd 'Sharky' Ward version on HMS Invincible FAA 801 Squadron. I'm no expert on RN aircraft but I believe on the way 'down south' in 1982 the Sea Harriers were painted overall in a Extra Dark Sea Grey. c/w black writing.. and modified Blue and Red only roundels? I went with the decals in the box as I didn't want to spend any extra money on this one. Some of them badly silvered. Anyway I do hope you enjoy it .. as it is.. with all it's imperfections and missing bits and possibly wrong decals. It's my tribute to 'Sharky' Ward. A true 'professional' pilot in the best traditions of carrier born pilots. I've formed the impression he has a very human side to his character and never hated his enemy, Instead he saw his combat as machine against machine and was very happy that enemy pilots were able to survive. His job as a professional pilot was to remove the threat, a job he carried out as he was trained to do with great skill and fortitude. That it turned out as reasonable as it did is more luck than skill ! But apologies to any SHAR experts reading this post.. I did my best with this problematic kit. I might post some more pics up later. Criticisms and comments always accepted ! Q. Dark Sea Grey? or EXTRA Dark Sea Grey? what looks to be the most accurate? Regards, Andy
  2. Sea Harrier FRS.1 Falklands 40th Anniversary (K48138) with Royal Navy Tow Tractor 1:48 Kinetic Model via Lucky Model With the Royal Navy officially getting out of the carrier business in the late 1970s due to some naïve assumptions that the RAF could provide cover anywhere in the world, the Royal Navy was left to operate three Light Aircraft Carriers, or “Through Deck Cruisers” as they were called at the time for a variety of reasons, including saving face. While these new vessels were primarily intended to operate Anti-Submarine Helicopters and act as Command & Control ships, it was recognised that they would be able to operate a Vertical Take Off and Landing aircraft. There would be a need for them to defend against long range Soviet Air Assets that wanted to destroy their watery airfield. As early as 1963 the then Hawker P.1127 had shown it could operate from HMS Ark Royal (R09), and then later the Kestrel underwent trials from HMS Bulwark. Hawker Siddeley as they were then beginning work on navalising the new Harrier GR1. This aircraft became The Sea Harrier in 1975 when the Royal Navy placed an order for 24, enough to stand-up two squadrons. The new aircraft would be designated FRS.1 (Fighter. Reconnaissance, Strike). The first Sea Harrier would enter service in 1979 with the “carriers” gaining Ski ramp structures in the bow to aid in launching the aircraft whilst heavily loaded for war, but in a near normal fight mode. Like the Harrier it was based upon, the new aircraft was designed around the Rolls Royce Pegasus engine, with a large frontal intake feeding four exhaust nozzles. The front pair were (relatively) cold, using just compressed air from the engine; while the rear two were hot like a conventional engine, exhausting burned fuel and rapidly expanding air. All four nozzles were able to rotate to give the jet its unique ability for vectored flight. The main visual difference from the RAF Harrier was that the SHAR was designed with an air intercept radar in the nose in the shape of the Ferranti Blue Fox. This would perform as both an air interception and air to surface search and strike unit, and was surprisingly good in the hands of an experienced user. The canopy of the Sea Harrier was also raised to give greater visibility, gaining that familiar bubble frontal profile. Primary air-to-air armament of the Sea Harrier was to be the AIM-9 Sidewinder, and two belly mounted 30mm ADEN cannons as fitted to the GR1 for close attack. Squadron operations began in 1980 with the formation of 800 Naval Air Squadron, closely followed by 801 Sqn the following year. This proved to be fortuitous, as the Sea Harrier was very soon to have its moment in the spotlight, where it would prove its worth time and again. Following the invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982 by an Argentinian force, the Royal Navy was to assemble a Task Force to retake the Islands, with the only air cover for this force operating unfeasibly far from home (and indeed any land other than South America) was to be the new Sea Harrier. Without attempting to explain the whole air war in the Falklands, the Sea Harrier would go on to provide a good account of itself, shooting down 20 enemy aircraft (28% of the total) as well as numerous bombing missions, harassing raids; and providing much needed support to the Army. No Sea Harriers were lost to enemy aircraft, however six were lost to ground fire and accidents, unfortunately with the loss of four Pilots. All surviving RN Sea Harrier FRS.1s would undergo re-manufacturing in the early 1990s to become Sea Harrier FA.2s, incorporating a new pulse Doppler radar in an enlarged radome, and the ability to operate The AMRAM missile in addition to the Sidewinders. The only other nation to use the FRS.1 was to be India, where they remained in service until 2016 when they were replaced by Flankers. The Kit We waited many years for new toolings of the two variants of the SHAR, having to make do with some fairly old toolings from a bygone era while we waited – patiently, of course. Kinetic listened, and over the course of a couple of years we were treated to their new kits, making Navalised Harrier builders in 1:48 extremely happy, particularly with the addition of a Royal Navy deck tractor to accompany the new kits. Now they’re both in the same box. The kits arrive in a familiarly styled top-opening box with a SHAR sitting on the deck with its canopy open, a tractor front and centre, and the miserable weather in the background. Inside you have nine sprues of mid-grey styrene, a sprue of clear parts and a fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass parts that aren't shown on the sprue diagrams, or mentioned in the instructions. There's a large decal sheet covering almost all the bottom of the tray along with another smaller one for the tractor, and the instruction booklet with a portrait cover, but landscape steps. At the back of this are the painting & markings pages in black and white, which can be annoying, but as the SHAR is painted very simply, it’s not an issue. Perusal of the sprues shows some very nice detail, such as the slide-moulded exhaust nozzles with their integral louvers and exterior texture, although a little flash has appeared in places, but should be easy to remove and is always preferable to short-shot nozzles. Panel lines are finely engraved with an accompaniment of similarly restrained rivets here and there, and there’s a lot to hang off the pylons. Construction begins with the cockpit, which is nicely appointed with raised dials, knobs and so forth on the main panel and side consoles, a clear HUD, separate rudder pedals and control column. The Martin Baker seat is made up of a two-part frame, cushion, head-box topper and rear ejection tube, plus the actuating loop between the pilot's knees, and some PE seatbelts that aren’t covered in the instructions. This fits into the tub with the addition of a rear bulkhead, which in turn mates to the nose gear bay, with built-in intake section that leads to the face of the engine fan in a bell-shaped intake housing. The rear gear bay and air brake bay are built up as one unit, with the brake shown being installed as a flex-fit part, which you'll perhaps want to see if you can fit later if you're planning on deploying it. Harking back to the old toy-like kits of the 70s, the nozzles are all joined internally by connecting axles between the sides, and linkages that replicate the movement of one pair of nozzles in the other. This is simply clipped together and the only glue needed is to secure the nozzle bases to the axles. With these built, you're now able to close the fuselage. The cockpit sidewalls in the fuselage halves are bereft of details, so if you fancy it, you can make free with the styrene strip and detail it up, or just paint it and any of the intake area that remains visible after assembly. At this point the fuselage is wide open where the wings should be, but it gives you the opportunity to flood the fuselage seams with a little extra glue to firm up the joint. Kinetic's engineers have put a lot of effort into the intakes, creating a three-part assembly that comprises an outer skin, a set of interchangeable blow-in doors (one set of open and closed doors are provided), and an inner skin that tidies up the intake area. Once built up you could paint the trunk white, and handle the intake lip colour change before attaching them to the fuselage sides. The hot and cold exhaust pairs are glued (carefully) into their bases, and a nicely detailed heat-deflecting plate is added behind the hot nozzles. The wings are hovering over the fuselage in the construction step, which are full-width on top and in two halves for the undersides. These drop into the large gap in the upper fuselage, and are joined by the deck behind the pilot. You should now have a model that looks like a Harrier with the addition of the nosecone part. The bicycle style landing gear parts are provided for wheels-down models, and for those of you wanting to put your SHAR in the sky, the same bay doors will fit in the closed position too, with the removal of the hinges. The nose gear leg is split vertically, and fits around the three-part wheel that Kinetic often use. The rear leg is one part, and has a three-part wheel added to the stub-axles on each side. Happily, these can be left off until main painting has completed, which is nice. There’s a three-page gap at this point to build up the pylons and weapons for your SHAR, but we’ll continue building the airframe here for now. There are a lot of antennae, sensors and blade aerials to add throughout the build, plus a very pointy pitot on the nose and refuelling probe on the port intake, which you might want to leave until later in the build. There are also four small (tiny) leading-edge fences in PE that are best added before painting with a dot of super-glue. Clear parts are provided for the wingtip lights and other formation lights, as well as the canopy, which has been moulded very thin and clear, with the prominent det-cords moulded into the inside, although there are a pair of det-cord decals printed inconspicuously at the very bottom of the decal sheet. These delicate clear parts have been protected on the sprue by large upstands around them, to prevent scratching or worse during transit and storage. The flying surfaces are all separate, and you have the option of showing the flaps extended or retracted by choosing one or other set of actuator fairing parts. The elevators have separate swash-plates and simply fit into sockets in the rear of the fuselage, so make sure you get your alignment just right. The rudder is separate too, and poseable to whatever sensible angle you choose to add some visual interest. A SHAR without gas-bags and storage would look a little naked, and in their usual generous style, Kinetic have provided plenty for you to play with. In the box you get the following: 2 x External Fuel tanks (large) 2 x External Fuel tanks (small) 2 x AIM-120 with a choice of adapter rail or pylon - never used on FRS-1 2 x Sea Eagle anti-shipping missile 4 x AIM-9 Sidewinder plus adapter rail - twin rails only ever fitted to display aircraft 2 x 30mm Aden cannon pack 4 x 18 round Matra rocket pods – Carried in early years, but unused after 1986 2 x 36 round rocket pods (unused) 1 x BL755 Cluster Bomb (unused by the RAF & RN since 2007/8, and not seen in inventory since 1986) There is an isometric diagram showing which munitions go where from a low angle, but take careful note of real-life weapons loads before you go ahead if you want to keep it realistic. Note also that the Sea Eagle missiles have been moulded as if in-flight, with the engine intake exposed, whereas it should have an aerodynamic cover fitted, which is jettisoned during the launch sequence so that the engine can breathe. A little extra research should give you brownie points with your peers. Deck Tractor The little deck tractor has power beyond its size, and is made compact due to the size limitations of even a huge warship such as an aircraft carrier. The chassis is a tangle of boxes, adding front and rear bulkheads to give us our first clue which way it travels, fitting sides and the top cowling that has a raised grippy surface moulded into it. The seat, steering column and foot pedals inserted into the centre solidifies the direction of travel, and a pair of headlights are fixed to the front, and a rolled-up hose on one wheel arch. Speaking of wheel arches, they’re filled by four two-part tyres wrapped around their hubs, and with a stub-axle inserted from behind, after which they are installed, one in each corner. A tow-bar with a pair of transport wheels on a V-shaped axle finish off the build phase, and over the page painting and decaling is covered on set of diagrams, with a choice of Golden Yellow or Olive Green depending on when your tractor was operating. The stencils were stable over the years, with just the unit markings and military number plate differentiating them. Markings The last twelve pages of the instructions give you a clue as to the sheer number of decal options, topping out at 14 numbered airframes, which is backed up by the large sheet of decals that is covered in hundreds of aircraft codes, and squadron markings. In addition, you get a folded A3 sheet in glossy colour printing that gives a brief history of the SHAR’s participation in the conflict, and a short sentence on each of the airframes that were present, as well as pertinent information that sets them apart from each other. From the box you can build one of the following, plus more besides: While that seems already rather generous, there are further decal options noted in diagrams and tables within those pages, which will give you many more airframes to choose from. The decals have been designed by CrossDelta, and printed by Cartograf, with good register, colour density and sharpness, with a thin glossy carrier film closely cropped around each decal. The decal designer has also helpfully added sizes in inches to each row of the serials, which will be helpful when you're choosing decals for one of the less detailed options. Conclusion The kit is now the definitive Harrier FRS.1 in this scale, and deservedly so. The detail is good, the decal sheet superb and colourful, and the addition of the tractor in the box makes for a compelling package. Luckymodel have been aware that some customers don’t feel comfortable ordering from overseas due to fears of lost packages and the possibility of customs charges on entry to their home country. This has now been addressed using regional warehouses, so you can now order from them with confidence. If you’d like to learn more about it, there’s a page here on Luckymodel’s site. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  3. My entry will be a Sea Harrier using one of the kits from this Hasegawa twin boxing: I’ll be doing the overall EDSG one. (The other kit is reserved for a future Indian Navy build). Mostly it will be out of the box, but I will have to do something about the cockpit as the one provided by a Hasegawa is fairly naff. I also have a Master turned brass pitot for it, and some better sidewinders from the spares box. AW
  4. Somewhere in the South Atlantic May 1982... This is my 1/350 build of three of the ships in the RNs Falklands task force, there are two scratch builds, and one minor conversion, plus huge amounts of detail on all three. I don't want to think about the amount of time I've spent over the past 5 1/2 years... Starting with the complete scene: From left to right: HMS Broadsword, HMS Hermes and HMS Yarmouth HMS Hermes and Yarmouth are both scratch built from plans Weathering on both was closely based on photos from the time to get the weather worn look of two of the oldest ships in the fleet. Many of the details are from WEM and Atlantic Models etched brass sets, but I also learnt to etch at home for unique pieces including H's mast, crane, davits and some antenna. Around 230 figures are spre​ad across the 3 ships, mostly on the flight deck HMS Broadsword was a conversion of the OOP WEM HMS Brilliant kit, the main change being the funnel, plus a wealth of detailing. the seascape is modelling clay plus acrylic medium and teased out cotton wool for the foam and spray. The base was lined with plasticard to get a mid-ocean swell adding a bit more interest and action Finally for this post a couple of overhead shots, Broadsword is approaching to start taking on fuel from Hermes' starboard quarter, Yarmouth steaming past on the port-side. Both escorts are really a bit close, but the base is the largest I could fit in my cabinets (to the millimetre) and the navy have been known to bend ships every so often so it's not impossible. Next up some detail shots. If anyone has missed the WiP and would like to see the history on this one, here's the thread: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234927178-operation-corporate-carrier-battlegroup-1350 Andrew
  5. Hi there! After almost a 20 years hiatus... I returned to this beautiful youth hobby a few months ago, and decided to give it a go with some old WWII kits (Tamiya's Wildcat, for instance). However, during the reading of the excellent book written by Commander Nigel David "Sharkey" Ward about his experiencies flying the SHAR during the 1982 conflict between UK and Argentina, I decided to build several British and Argentinian aircraft on a "Falklands/Malvinas" serie. To start the fires, I chose the Kinetic 1/48 scale BAe SEA HARRIER FRS. 1. Here are some photos of its process and the final results. PS: this was the second jet that I painted with acrylics... and I loved the results! Cris. PS 2: SuE is on it's way!
  6. Hi all and taking the plunge with this one, Esci's lovely Sea Harrier FRS1 That second plane in the pattern looks a bit close! Esci Sea Harrier FRS1_box by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Inside the box.. Esci Sea Harrier FRS1_contents by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Esci Sea Harrier FRS1_contents_2 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr The plan is OOB but will try to display in a diorama.. Thanks for looking and enjoy your builds Dermot
  7. Well, just to show that I really do build bits and pieces, here is a gathering of recent builds (easier than starting separate threads for each). Mainly Out of The Box. The main aftermarket stuff is added bang-seats, paint and tamiya tape! The MPM X15-A2. (pocket money scale). Not my preferred scale but this is a lovely little kit. First attempt at foiling on the tanks. 20161102_113443-1 20161102_113943-1 20161102_114118-1 Hasegawa He-162. (1:48) This was a lovely little build which added to my interest in German WW2 jets. 20161103_201838-1 20161103_201921-1 The old Tamiya SHAR FRS1. (1:48). Nothing like XDSG! A small wrestling match was entered into here, but overall the kit goes together well. Not the nicest cockpit, so a bang seat was added. 20161018_092424-1 20161017_221613-1 20161017_221424 Revell SEPECAT Jag. (1:48). Inspiration for this came from the old Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (80's) and the loadout reflects this. 20160714_172044 20160714_172006 Another old Tamiya kit, the A-10! (1:48). After reading about the activities out of "Cajun West" in GW1, the AC were massively loaded for the journey out to the op area, and on the way they'd drop dumb bombs on "Home Depot" before carrying on with the rest of the ord. I was tempted to do the RFOA-10G variant, which is still tempting... The lizard scheme was too tempting though. 20161103_201548-1 20161103_201629-1 20161103_201709-1 Tamiya F-117. (1:48) 20161103_203344-1 Airfix Hawk. (1:48) As a re-introduction to the new AFX kits, these have come as a pleasant surprise! Followed by the Spit, Bf-109 & Hurricane. 20161103_202254 20161103_202308-1 20161103_202413-1 20161103_202447-1 20161103_202843-1 20161103_202920-1 The FW-190 is the Italeri boxing and had some shocking issues between fuselage/front of wing. 20161103_202123-1 20161103_202101-1 Righto! Added another. The Italeri Sled in 1:72nd. 20161104_141117-1 20161104_141125-1 20161104_141155-1 A more recent P-61 build. 20170219_113443-1 20170219_113157-1 20170701_190635-1 20170701_190723-1 Gnat-1b Gnat-1c 20171115_184558-1 20171115_184638 20171115_184800-1-1 "And now for something completely different" 20171122_220918-1 20171128_142408-1 20171129_094711-1 A mojo restorer! Hope you have enjoyed this little journey through part of the display case.
  8. Dug this out of the stash, with the intention of a fairly quick and easy winter build. How wrong I was, this is a pig of a kit and after reading all the various build threads, decided it was not going to beat me !! First of all, purchased the Pavla Sea Harrier intakes and nozzles ( £6) and although designed for the airfix kit, they just about fit but as you can see, took a lot of filler and sanding. No detail for the empty front wheel bay but this will be sorted later and the same goes for the rear however as someone pointed out, the main undercarraige doors can be shut on the real thing, when the wheels are down. This is a preffered option for me !!. I also elected to paint up the Pegasus, as the kit shows that you can have a removable panel, in order to display it. Fit of this panel was awful, so I closed it up and added yet more weight with some filler. The kit cockpit and seat are basic, so I just added bits n bobs from my spares box to give an impression of a Martin Baker seat. The pilot will be getting added at the end ( again after some serious cosmetic work ) Aden cannon fitted by eye, as there are no locating marks at all. Canopy tacked on meantime and masked and the sanding has begun before first coat of primer. First coat of primer added and shows up what work is required still, with regards any sort of detailing and or panel lines. As of today, this is where I am at. Spent ages sanding and still some small problem areas to work on but this model has given me the chance to try out a new tool. The Tamiya rescriber in the background has been used for the first time and is very sharp and cuts through the plastic easily ( sometimes too easily ). Getting the hang of it but this is not an easy model to scribe, for a beginer, due to my lack of experience and the complex curves of the model. It has been a case of mark carefully once, scribe once, muck it up and apply more filler and start again. Still ..... keeps me occupied The panel lines are not accurate but neither is this model. That's it for now, all the best and happy modelling ...
  9. Hello everyone, I have just bought the very nice ESCI Sea Harrier FRS1 kit. I would like to depart a little bit from the ubiquitous Falkland War camo, and the late Indian FRS Mk51 camouflage has caught my eye : While the tanks and moving canopy look like they still are painted EDSG and white, I have no clue about the main camo colour. Does any one of you know what is the colour used for this camo, and a corresponding model paint equivalent? Are the undersides the same colours (could not find any picture)? And by the way, what are the main visible differences between FRS1 and late FRS51 (beside the weaponry which I am not going to use on my model)? Thanks in advance!
  10. Morning all. You know sometimes, you just run out of steam on a project - for various reasons. This is one I was really enjoying, and then for some reason - principally because the windscreen caused me grief and got a big glue mark in it, the spark sort of died a bit. I'm not unhappy with it, but Im not overjoyed. Anyhow - inspired and aided by Pappy's & Callum's models - here's my "lurker" - finished with Tamiya & Gunze acrylics, decals from the kit, and few improvements to the gun pods. I've forgotten to add the kill marks, and the camera fairing on the starboard nose should be in MSG. Oops! All comments welcome as ever. Jonners
  11. Evening all, As a virtually exclusive 1/72 modeller, it takes a pretty special kt or subject to sway me to the darkside of 1/48, but when it's a new tool Harrier, and a naval one at that, it's a bit of a no brainer really. Having picked this up at Yeovilton, I couldn't resist cracking on with immediately, and have spent the last couple of days trimming, sanding and dry fitting. What I;ve found so far is that Eduard and Tamiya can lure into a false sense of security as far as new tool kits are concerned, and while this kit from Kinetic is very good, it does have it's foibles, or at least mine does. I'm finding every mating surface needs a good few swipes of a coarse sanding stick to remove any flash or chamfering along the edge to achieve a good fit with it's opposing piece. I've been paying particularly close attention to getting the fit of the cockpit and nose gear bay assemblies to fit snugly, primarily to achieve a smooth join between the inner intake faces and their respective fuselage sides. This has necessitated a spot of grinding and trimming of various areas of the kit as detailed below, with my Dremel making a rare appearance to help speed things along. Essentially, I found that the nose gear bay assembly sat too far aft, and needed to come forward a bit, hence the work above. The results are below, and while the gaps may still not look great, they close up well with a bit of pressure that I obviously couldn't apply in the pic. I'm hoping this compression during cementing will fully close the gaps, or at least limit it to a straightforward filling job. I've also had a quick look at the wing fit. Early fettling suggests in general it's not bad, but will require the removal of more material from the fuselage locaters. I fear the rear join will result in an unavoidable filling job to smooth out the step. I've laid down the base colours in the cockpit- Xtracolor Admiralty Grey- and will proceed with detail painting and washes. Thanks for looking, more soon Cheers, Shaun
  12. Hello everyone! Greetings for the new year! I'd like to share my last build of 2015- the 1/72 Italeri Sea Harrier FRS 1, 300 sqn, Indian Navy. I used the Eduard PE detail set, along with the Model Alliance Sea Harrier Decal sheet. Additional decals were sourced from some old Modeldecal sets as well. Brass pitot from Air Master. I tried cramming in detail where ever the kit fell short- the Ejection seat, the nose gear bay, and the nose-gear itself. Styrene sheet and stretched sprue worked wonders together. I churned up my own shades of paint using primary colors, and eyeballed it as close as possible to selected references. It still ended up being a tad too blue. Oh well... Weathering was done using oils, and everything was sealed up with a lacquer matte coat. Scratch built the ejection seat using styrene sheet and stretched sprue. Eduard Seatbelts and decals from spares. Here it is installed in the cockpit Shot a new closeups in natural light to showcase the weathering better Thanks for watching and have a great year in modeling ahead!! Cheers! Alex
  13. Sea Harrier FRS.1 1:48 Kinetic With the Royal Nay Navy getting out of the carrier business in the late 1970s the Royal Navy was left to operate three Light Aircraft Carriers, or “Through Deck Cruisers” as they were called at the time for a variety of reasons (mostly to save face). While these new vessels were primarily intended to operate Anti-Submarine Helicopters and act as Command & Control ships, it was recognised that they would be able to operate a Vertical Take Off and Landing aircraft. Also there would be a need for them to defend against long range Soviet Air Assets. As early as 1963 the then Hawker P.1127 had shown it could operate from HMS Ark Royal (R09), and then later the Kestrel underwent trials from HMS Bulwark. Hawker Siddeley as they were then began work on navalising the then Harrier GR1. This aircraft became The Sea Harrier in 1975 when the Royal Navy ordered 24. The new aircraft would be designated FRS.1 (Fighter. Reconnaissance, Strike). The first Sea Harrier would enter service in 1979 with the “carriers” gaining Ski ramp structures to aid in launching the aircraft in a near normal fight mode. Like the Harrier, the new aircraft was designed around the Rolls Royce Pegasus engine. With a large frontal intake feeding four exhaust nozzles. The front pair were cold, using just compressed air from the engine; while the rear two were hot like a conventional engine exhausting burned fuel. All four nozzles were able to rotate to the give the jet its unique ability for vectored flight. The main visual difference from the RAF Harrier was that the SHAR was designed with an air intercept radar in the nose in the shape of the Ferranti Blue Fox. This would perform as both an air interception and air to surface search and strike unit, and was surprisingly good in the hands of an experienced user. The canopy of the Sea Harrier was also raised to give greater visibility, gaining that familiar bubble front profile. Primary air-to-air armament of the Sea Harrier was to be the AIM-9 Sidewinder, and two belly mounted 30mm ADEN cannons as fitted to the GR1 for close attack. Squadron operations began in 1980 with the formation of 800 Naval Air Squadron, closely followed by 801 Sqn the following year. This proved to be very timely as the Sea Harrier was very soon to have its moment in the spotlight, where it would prove its worth time and again. Following the invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982 the Royal Navy was to assemble a Task Force to retake the Islands, with he only air cover for this force operating so far from home (and indeed any land other than South America) was to be the new Sea Harrier. Without endeavouring to explain the whole air war in the Falklands, the Sea Harrier would go on to provide a good account of itself, shooting down 20 enemy aircraft (28% of the total) as well as bombing missions, harassing raids; and providing support to the Army. No Sea Harriers were lost to enemy aircraft, however six were lost to ground fire and accident, unfortunately with the loss of four Pilots killed. All surviving RN Sea Harrier FRS.1s would undergo re-manufacturing in the early 1990s to become Sea Harrier FA.2s. These would feature a new pulse Doppler radar and the ability to fire The AMRAM missile. They only other nation to use the FRS.1 was to be India, where they are still in service at time of writing. The Kit We've been waiting for new toolings of the sorely missed SHARs now for some time, having to make do with some fairly ancient toolings in the meantime. Kinetic have been listening, and almost exactly a year after their very well received FA.2 that we reviewed here, we now have a completely new tooling of the FRS.1 to go with it. Navalised Harrier builders in 1:48 have now officially never had it so good, particularly with the addition of a Royal Navy deck tractor to go with these new kits. How long before we get a kit of some RN carrier deck I the same vein as the US deck released some years ago? I do hope soon. The kit arrives in a familiarly styled top-opening box with a SHAR hovering front and centre, and a carrier in the background. Inside you have eight sprues of mid-grey styrene, a sprue of clear parts and a tiny fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass parts that aren't listed on the sprue diagrams. There's a large decal sheet covering almost all the bottom of the tray, and the instruction booklet with a portrait cover, and landscape inner pages. At the back of this are the painting & markings pages in black and white. A brief scour of the sprues shows some very nice detail, such as the slide-moulded exhaust nozzles with their integral louvers and exterior texture. Panel lines are finely engraved with an accompaniment of similarly restrained rivets here and there, and if you're worried about having something to hang off the pylons, don’t; there are plenty! Parts breakdown follows a familiar vein, as it's the most sensible method, so why change it? Construction begins with the cockpit, which is nicely appointed with raised dials, knobs and so forth on the main panel and side consoles, a clear HUD, separate rudder pedals and control column. The Martin Baker seat is made up of a two-part frame, cushion, head-box topper and rear ejection tube, plus the actuating loop between the pilot's knees. This fits into the tub with the addition of a rear bulkhead, which in turn mates to the nose gear bay, with built-in intake section that leads to the face of the engine fan in a bell-shaped intake housing. The rear gear bay and air brake bay are build up as one unit, with the brake shown being installed as a flex-fit part, which you'll perhaps want to see if you can fit later if you're planning on showing it open. Harking back to the old toy-like kits of the 70s, the nozzles are all joined internally by connecting axles between the sides and linkages that echo the movement of one pair of nozzles on the other. This is simply clipped together and the only glue needed is to secure the nozzle bases to the axles. With these built, you're now able to close up the fuselage. The cockpit sidewalls in the fuselage halves are bereft of details, so if you fancy it, you can make free with the styrene strip and detail it up, or just paint it and any of the intake area that remains visible after assembly. At this point the fuselage is wide open where the wings should be, but it gives you the opportunity to flood the fuselage seams with a little extra glue to firm up the joint. Kinetic's engineers have spent a lot of time with the intakes, creating a three-part assembly that comprises an outer skin, a set of interchangeable blow-in doors (one set of open and closed doors are provided), and an inner skin that tidies up the intake area. Once built up you could paint the trunk white, and handle the intake lip colour change before attaching them to the fuselage sides. The hot and cold exhaust pairs are glued (carefully) into their bases, and a nicely detailed heat-deflecting plate is added behind the hot nozzles. The wings are hovering over the fuselage in the construction step, which is full-width on top and in two halves for the undersides. These drop into the large gap in the fuselage top, and are joined by the turtle-deck behind the pilot. You should now have a block of styrene that looks like a Harrier with the addition of the nosecone part. The flying surfaces are all separate, and you have the option of showing the flaps extended or retracted by choosing one or other set of actuator fairing parts. The elevators have separate swash-plates and simply fit into sockets in the rear of the fuselage, so make sure you get your alignment just right. The rudder is separate too, and poseable to whatever sensible angle you choose, but don't forget to offset the control column, or the accuracy police will be knocking on your door (kidding!). The bicycle style landing gear parts are provided for wheels-down models, and for those of you wanting to put your SHAR in the sky, the same bay doors will fit in the closed position too, with the removal of the hinges. The nose gear leg is split vertically, and fits around the three-part wheel that Kinetic seem quite fond of. The rear leg is one part, and has a three-part wheel added to the stub-axles on each side. Happily, these can be left off until main painting has completed, which is nice. There are a lot of antennae, sensors and blade aerials to add throughout the build, plus a very pointy pitot on the nose and refuelling probe on the port intake, which you might want to leave until later in the build. There are also four small (tiny) leading-edge splitters in PE that are best added before painting with a dot of super-glue. Clear parts are provided for the wingtip lights and other formation lights, as well as the canopy, which has been moulded very thin and clear, with the prominent det-cords moulded into the inside, although there are a pair of det-cord decals at the very bottom of the decal sheet. These delicate parts have been protected on the sprue by large upstands around them, to prevent scratching or worse during transit and storage. We have been informed by one of our members (thanks Pappy!) that the location of the camera window lens (F6) is mentioned in the instructions but is not drawn. There is the potential for it to be installed the wrong way around with the relief side facing outwards if the builder is not careful. This may have been corrected in later editions, but please be wary. A SHAR without gas-bags and storage would look a little naked, and in their usual generous style, Kinetic have provided plenty for you to play with. In the box you get the following: 2 x External Fuel tanks (large) 2 x External Fuel tanks (small) 2 x AIM-120 with a choice of adapter rail or pylon - never used on FRS-1 2 x Sea Eagle anti-shipping missile 4 x AIM-9 Sidewinder plus adapter rail - twin rails only ever fitted to display aircraft 2 x 30mm Aden cannon pack 4 x 18 round Matra rocket pods – Carried in early years, but unused after 1986 2 x 36 round rocket pods (unused) 1 x BL755 Cluster Bomb (unused by the RAF & RN since 2007/8, and not seen in inventory since 1986) There is a three-dimensional diagram showing which munitions go where, but take careful note of real-life weapons loads before you go ahead if you want to keep it realistic. Please note that the Sea Eagle missiles have been moulded as if in-flight, with the engine intake exposed, whereas it should actually have an aerodynamic cover fitted, which is jettisoned during the launch sequence so that the engine can breathe. Markings The last twelve pages of the instructions give you a clue as to the sheer number of decal options, which is backed up by the large sheet of decals that is covered in hundreds of aircraft codes, and squadron markings. From the box you can build one of the following: Sea Harrier FRS.1s of 800 Naval Air Squadron based at RNAS Yeovilton and deployed on HMS Hermes, 1981 to March 1982. Sea Harrier FRS.1s of 801 Naval Air Squadron based at RNAS Yeovilton and deployed on HMS Invincible, 1981 to March 1982. Sea Harrier FRS.1s of 899 Naval Air Squadron based at RNAS Yeovilton, 1981 to March 1982. Sea Harrier FRS.1s of HMS Hermes' Air Group, "Operation Corporate" - The Falklands/Malvinas War, Apr-Jun 1982. Sea Harrier FRS.1s of HMS Invincible's Air Group, "Operation Corporate" - The Falklands/Malvinas War, Apr-Jun 1982. Sea Harrier FRS.1 of 809 NAS on establishment / en route to the South Atlantic for "Operation Corporate", late Apr/mid May 1982. Sea Harrier FRS.1 of ex-809 NAS as part of HMS Hermes' Air Group, "Operation Corporate", late May/mid Jun 1982. Sea Harrier FRS.1 of ex-809 NAS as part of HMS Invincible's Air Group, "Operation Corporate", late May/mid Jun 1982. Sea Harrier FRS.1 of 800 Naval Air Squadron, "Exercise Arctic Express", HMS Hermes, 1983. Sea Harrier FRS.1 of 801 Naval Air Squadron, HMS Invincible, 1983. Sea Harrier FRS.1 of 899 Naval Air Squadron, RNAS Yeovilton, 1988. Sea Harrier FRS.1 of 809 NAS deployed to the South Atlantic with 809 NAS on board HMS Illustrious, 1982 Sea Harrier FRS.51s of 300 Indian Naval Air Squadron, 1983 Sea Harrier FRS.51s of 300 Indian Naval Air Squadron, 2005 While that seems already rather generous, there are further decal options noted in diagrams and tables within those pages, which will give you in the region of fifty (I know!) airframes to choose from. The decals have been designed by CrossDelta, and printed by Cartograf, with good register, colour density and sharpness, with a thin glossy carrier film closely cropped around each decal. The decal designer has also helpfully added sizes in inches to each row of the serials, which will be helpful when you're choosing decals for one of the less detailed options. If only all decal sheets were that descriptive! Conclusion After the buzz, and some initial concerns about the depth of the nose (which I shared), the actual kit is happily looks fine in that area, especially when painted. The detail is good, the decal sheet superb and colourful, which if you add in the fact that this is a new tool FRS.1 makes for one compelling package. Kinetic Publicity Photo Extremely highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  14. The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval short take-off and vertical landing/vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, reconnaissance and attack aircraft; the second member of the Harrier Jump Jet family developed. It first entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980 as the Sea Harrier FRS1 and became informally known as the "Shar". Unusual in an era in which most naval and land-based air superiority fighters were large and supersonic, the principal role of the subsonic Sea Harrier was to provide air defence of Royal Navy aircraft carriers. The Sea Harrier served in the Falklands War, both of the Gulf Wars, and the Balkans conflicts; on all occasions it mainly operated from aircraft carriers positioned within the conflict zone. Its usage in the Falklands War was its most high profile and important success, where it was the only fixed-wing fighter available to protect the British Task Force. The Sea Harriers shot down 20 enemy aircraft during the conflict with one lost to enemy ground fire. They were also used to launch ground attacks in the same manner as the Harriers operated by the Royal Air Force. I have the Dogfight Double version of the kit - looks a nice kit, similar to the latest GR3/GR7/9 releases by Airfix, looks to be a newer tool? Will be built out of the box, although I do have some extra decals (Modeldecals sets 65 and 66) to build any SHAR from the Falklands....it may be prudent to to the aircraft pictured if I am going to build the skyhawk too at some stage. Funny thing, Pilot seems to be WW2 vintage! I shall use the skyhawk pilot in this case. Looking forward to building both Britain's last fight and last Bomber, the Buccaneer....also in Fleet Air Arm markings!
  15. Sea Harrier FRS.1 Updates (for Kinetic) 1:48 Eduard Following their new tooling of the Sea Harrier FA.2 in 1:48, Kinetic gave us a new FSR.1, which was the initial variant that did so well in the Falklands War. If you have seen the FA.2 sets here, you've pretty much seen these sets already, apart from the cockpit set where the instrumentation is subtly different due to the older equipment fit on the FRS.1. 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. Interior (49769) This two-fret set includes a pre-painted and self-adhesive sheet, a bare brass fret and a small piece of clear acetate for the HUD glazing. The ejection seat is the to receive attention, with a comprehensive addition of the complex harness and cushion arrangement, plus the pull-handle, drogue chute pack in the headbox, and some stencils for the side of said headbox. The instrument panel is relieved of its moulded in detail, has a new PE and acetate HUD installed, and is skinned with a lamination of parts to give a highly-detailed panel. The same is true of the side consoles, and their upright portions are skinned with more detail panels, while the rudder pedals are given new detailed fronts. The cockpit sidewalls are upgraded with a detailed sill and ancillary boxes, while the rear bulkhead on the canopy receives a skin after. The outer sill is fitted out with a sliding track for the canopy, and the aft turtle-deck behind the seat has additional parts added. Finally, a rear-view mirror is mounted centrally on the leading edge of the sliding canopy. Exterior (48887) This bare brass set adds detail to both wheel bays in the shape of skins & small parts that aren't included in the kit, plus replacement oleo-scissor links to the main wheel, door actuator on the nose gear, and a replacement door for the nose gear bay as well as the main. The air-brake part is detailed inside with a number of small panels that fit between the ribbing, with a pair of flare panels just behind it. The rearmost "hot" nozzle has a protective plate behind it, and the large aft section is removed from the kit part, to be replaced by a PE part that has a latticework section folded behind it to give it depth, then deformed with a ball-pen, and curved to match the profile of the original. It's not massively well described in the instructions. The last few small vents and access panels are dotted around the tail and gear bays, plus a set of skins for the four weapons pylons, after which the APU inlet & exhaust panels (one open, one covered in a grille) are added, and the chunky styrene vortex generators from the upper wing are removed. A template is supplied for the fixing of the little PE replacements, but you'll need to be careful with the glue so you don't inadvertently glue the template down. There are eleven each side, and each one will need bending along a pre-etched line to form an L-shape. canopy Masks (EX508) Eduard's kabuki-style pre-cut masking system takes all the hassle out of masking a canopy, and this set has two C-shaped parts for the large sliding portion, and three panes for the windscreen, with the centre section having two options with a cut-out part for the moulded-in windscreen wiper. As a bonus you get four masks for the outrigger wheels, which are moulded into their legs, so will be tricky to paint otherwise. You will need to add a little extra masking fluid or tape offcuts, as usual. Review sample courtesy of
  16. I am gathering aftermarket bits and bobs in preparation to start working on Kinetic's Sea Harrier FA.2. One thing that I can't seem to find, however, is a resin ejection seat with molded-in belts for this plane. I've taken a look at the MB Mk.10s from Wolfpack Designs but they seems to be the wrong type of seat, featuring a slightly different head box compared to the SHAR seat. Thus, can anyone point me in the right direction to get the correct seat? Thanks! Mark
  17. Hi all, Despite a self-imposed 'F-14 only builds for 2014', I couldn't pass up the chance to build a Harrier! So I'm in with this one (in between a couple of Tomcats, obviously) Will be mostly OOB but might swap the Sidewinders out (as they look like the earlier ones). Does anyone know if the decals in this kit are accurate for a Falklands-era Sea Harrier? Thanks for looking and good luck with your builds! Dermot
  18. Hi everyone Despite having the Modellers datafile, the excellent stuff from Nick Greenhall et all from the SIG site and other piccies from t'internet I can't seem to find any drawings (ideally to 1/48) of the 30mm Aden pods so I can more acurrately detial them on my Airfix SHAR. I have done the obvious (drilled out muzzle, rounded ends, sanded off blisters to replace, drilled cooling holes) but would like just a bit more detail. Thanks in advance
  19. Hello all, I am here with my recently finished build. As a tribute to 30th anniversary of Falklands war, I have build this very nice plane The Airfix Harrier FRS.1 (Actually I am doing a brand new Argentinese A-4 Skyhawk from Airfix too). I think, there was said all about this kit. I build it straight OOB and used Xtradecals for camouflage of one of David´s Morgan used planes. Only a few comments: Considering its price, the kit is very good. Besides little inacuraccy which is described in another section of this forum, the only afwull issue is the engraving of the kit. I am really glad, that the new Skyhawk has the very better panel lines (the best which I have seen from Airfix). I also had to correct lenghts of both main undercarriage in order to have right pose and all the wheels in one plane. Also I have cut the bays for wings undercarriage. The Xtradecals I used for the first time with pretty good result. The only think which dissapointed me is, that I have to obtain underwings imatriculations for Har. Gr.3 which is not included in this set. In conclusion, I would like to give special thanks to Nick Greenall for his support and sources. P.S. Sorry for the photo quality, seems to be autoresized, but dont know where is mistake
  20. Sea Harrier FRS51 - IN623 / 23, 300 Sqdn, Indian Navy, circa 2012 The latest model (build 12) in my Harrier Project is a FRS51 Sea Harrier in the latest Indian Navy scheme. At least I think it's the latest scheme, because trying to find up-to-date reference photos has proved to be quite difficult. Job done now, so a bit late to change. The Indian Navy Sea Harriers are now nearing retirement, so I expect this to be the last camouflage scheme that they carry. IN623 / 23 was the last FRS51 to be delivered to the Indian Navy in April 1992 and is one of only eight still flying / flyable, together with three T-birds. Twenty plus years of service is on a par with some of the longest serving Sea Harriers of the Royal Navy and in much higher temperatures! Yes, it is another boring monotone Harrier, but I fancied the new scheme, even though it meant I pretty much had to create all the stencil decals myself using an inkjet printer and inkjet decals paper. The roundels were provided courtesy of Nick (NG899) from an old decal sheet. I'm still learning the ropes with home made decals and as a consequence the swear box kitty has had a bit of a topping up (I'm sure the charity where the proceeds go will not mind). Trying to produce colour matching to print light numbers proved beyond my wallet. Hence, there's a few dodgy decals, but probably in keeping with some other parts of the venerable Airifx 1/48 scale kit that I chopped and changed to try and get a more representative SHAR (courtesy of Nick's indispensable build guide). My reference photos from 2010 showed a pretty clean Sea Harrier just out of it's "LUSH" upgrade, so I've moved it on a couple of years and given her some wear and tear in keeping with the traditional state of Harriers. Aside from having a go at most of the suggestions in Nick's build notes, I added a resin seat, and Heritage Aviation's nozzles and dropped door intakes. I did mix and match the undercarriage from various items in the spares box. She's brush painted of course, using Life Color's acrylic Light Compass Ghost Grey (FS36375) and Light Gull Grey for the radome. Klear coating has darkened it a fraction more than I would have liked, but let's not go to far down the shaes of grey debate. Weathering from Tamiya and rounded off with a spray of Humbrol matt varnish. So here she is ... Comments welcome as ever. Next up on the bench will be a Monogram / Revell AV-8B II.
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