Airfix 1/72 Harrier GR.3

[Phil1503]

Time to start another build; I had a browse of the model catalogues online, and decided on a Harrier. I have recently been able to sit in a couple of GR.3 cockpits at a couple of museums; the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection in Wiltshire, and Aeroventure in Doncaster:





I was born in March 1982, just as the Falklands War was kicking off..so I thought it would be good to do a Harrier from that conflict. Also, the Harrier GR.3 was the first Airfix kit that I made completely, fully painted and decalled 20 years ago; it was this one, given to me as a present in a starter set, with glue and brush and paints supplied:



So, I had a look around the web and in my local town centre (Reading). I found lots of the new tooling GR.3 in Hobbycraft, and one in the WH Smith/Modelzone, both selling it for £15. There is an old-fashioned model shop in Reading, and they also had the kit, priced at £12.60. I bought it from there; a nice bargain, and I much prefer to give the business to the small model shops before they disappear.

Anyway, here is the box:



3 of the sprues:



3 more sprues and the clear sprue:



And the instructions and decals:



Being a new tooling, the parts are very well produced, and should mke a great build. I have done the new tool Vampire and Me109 recently, so this should be equally enjoyable.

Edited August 10, 2014 by Phil1503

[Phil1503]

Made a start this afternoon after washing the sprues; I have assembled the cockpit walls and the ejector seat:



I will head to the shops tomorrow to pick up the paints I need...luckily I have most of them already, thanks to the Jaguar I made last year

[SaintsPhil]

It's a nice kit, a few were built for the GB which has just finished. Good luck with yours everyone loves a harrier!

[It's a disease]

It is enjoyable! I'm just onto paint with mine (almost ready for decals) great kit. (I'm in for another)

[Phil1503]

This afternoon I have been busy painting the cockpit parts (humbrol 27 and 163) and the insides of the fuselage and air intakes (humbrol 164 and 166):

[Phil1503]

I have spend a few days painting the cockpit parts, and other parts on the sprues with a couple of coats of each colour. This afternoon I have had a bit more time to make some progress...

The cockpit parts fully painted, assembled and the instrument decals added:



And then assembled fully with a bit of dry-brushing with black to bring out some detail:



I have also done some dry-brushing with black on the cockpit and wheel bay walls:



Also dry-brushed the engine fan:



And dry-brushed the other part of the wheel wells - lots of moulded detail there to bring out:



Lastly, I then assembled the inner pars of the engine intakes:

[Phil1503]

A bit of assembly done on the Harrier this afternoon; the cockpit tub test-fitted into the fuselage:



The intake assembly and the fan blade test-fittted as well:



Everything glued in place:



Also the part for the central undercarriage bay is glued in place:



And then the fugelage halves glued and assembled; a nice fit, with no real issues or gaps:

[Beard]

Looking good, I keep thinking about getting the new-tool Harrier but there are so many other kits I need to finish.

[CymroPenguin]

This looks like a nice start, shall be following this build with interest

[eng]

Nice progress so far, got a couple on the bench and they are lovely!

Beard - "Looking good, I keep thinking about getting the new-tool Harrier but there are so many other kits I need to finish."

I can assure you you are not alone, but buy the new Harriers, both of them!

Rgds,

Eng

[CymroPenguin]

Looking good, I keep thinking about getting the new-tool Harrier but there are so many other kits I need to finish.

I think we all know the feeling

[Phil1503]

Some good progress on the Harrier this evening; firstly, I fitted the wing undersides to the main wing part:



Then fitted the wing assembly to the fuselage - a very good fit:



Then I assembled the outer parts of the air intakes:



Then fixed them to the fuselage:



Then I fitted the elevators:



And lastly, fixed the part that holds them in place and supports the tail:

[CymroPenguin]

Coming on well!

Can't wait to see it when it's finished

[Phil1503]

A few more additions to the Harrier today; I have fitted the tailplane:



And then the small part at the rear of the fuselage:



I have also started on the under-wing fixings; the fuel drop-tanks:



The sidewinder missiles:



And the cannon pods that fit under the fuselage:



I am also painting the undercarriage, ready for fitting for the next stage.

[Phil1503]

A bit more progress on the Harrier after going away for the long wekend; I have fitted the nose cone:



I have also been painting the main undercarriage wheels. trying to do as neat a job as I can:



Also painted the smaller wingtip wheels and the sidewinder missiles:



And also painted the interior of the airbrake door and recess (humbrol 166):

[ModelMonkey]

Following with interest, as I'm thinking about getting one and painting it as an Arctic GR3. Hope mine looks as good as this is shaping up! Nice work so far.

[Phil1503]

A bit of work on the Harrier this evening; I have sanded the bodywork to smooth the seam lines and any slight steps between the parts:



This is such a good kit, the only bit of filler I really need is this tiny smear on the back of the tail:



There are no other major gaps that need filling, and the moulded detail is so good on this model, it would be very tricky and fiddly to do a decent job on areas such as the engine cowling or the nose cone, where there is a small seam but hardly noticable.

I have also fitted the part that sits behind the cockpit and canopy on top of the fuselage:

[Phil1503]

A busy weekend, so only a few fouches on the Harrier today; I have painted the cockpit surrounds, and dry-brushed with black to show some detail:



And I have also finished painting the wheels, and dry-brushed the interior areas to show detail and dirty them a bit:

[Phil1503]

Just fitted the cockpit head-up display, fitting into a gap in the instrument panel:



And also removed the main undercarriage parts from the sprue, tidied them up and given another coat of humbrol 129, ready for dry-brushing with black:

[Phil1503]

Today's progress on the Harrier; I have fitted the canopy parts...they were a great fit, as expected from this nice kit:



I have also dry-brushed the main landing gear struts with black to dirty them:



And the same on the outside undercarriage:



And then I masked the canopy with Tamiya tape:

[Phil1503]

This afternoon was an important stage in the Harrier build; the fitting of the undercarriage. I wanted to do a good job, as I was pleased with my painting of the wheels and struts, and the undercarriage is important for a realistic-looking build.

I removed the wingtip struts from the sprue, and fixed the tyres to the main undercarriage struts:



Then I fitted each outside wheel to the wings:





Then I fixed the front undercarriage:



Then came the tricky part...the centre wheels. Even though this is a great kit, the centre wheels were about a couple of millimetres off the ground when I test fitted the wheels with the Harrier on a flat surface. So, holding the centre gear in place with blu-tak, I adjusted it a bit and found the best place to glue it, so that all the wheels were touching the gound together:



And, yes, the main wheels and outside wheels touch the ground together:



I'm pleased I managed to do a decent job; the Harrier is looking the part now...

Edited September 4, 2014 by Phil1503

[AdrianMF]

This is looking great! The kit looks to be a leap ahead of the old one. My son built the old GR3 and I think that's what killed the hobby for him.

I would just like to suggest something to try out: If you are dry-brushing something, try dry brushing in a slightly lighter colour than the base colour to make the detail stand out a bit more. Then if you want to dirty it up and give it more depth, you can do a wash in a darker colour, which then collects in all the nooks and crannies to bring out all the grimy and shaded recesses. For washes I make up a cup of water with a few drops of washing up liquid (to stop it beading) and then use that to dllute a dark browny-grey water-based acrylic mix (Humbrol or the tube ones). You can make a wash stronger or weaker, push it around, and even dab it off before it dries to get the effect you want.

Regards,

Adrian

[Phil1503]

This is looking great! The kit looks to be a leap ahead of the old one. My son built the old GR3 and I think that's what killed the hobby for him.

I would just like to suggest something to try out: If you are dry-brushing something, try dry brushing in a slightly lighter colour than the base colour to make the detail stand out a bit more. Then if you want to dirty it up and give it more depth, you can do a wash in a darker colour, which then collects in all the nooks and crannies to bring out all the grimy and shaded recesses. For washes I make up a cup of water with a few drops of washing up liquid (to stop it beading) and then use that to dllute a dark browny-grey water-based acrylic mix (Humbrol or the tube ones). You can make a wash stronger or weaker, push it around, and even dab it off before it dries to get the effect you want.

Regards,

Adrian

Thanks...I know about washes...I just prefer to dry brush instead. Also, I do dry-brush with silver, if something needs to show wear and tear.

[Phil1503]

A few additions to the Harrier this evening; I have fitted the two cannon pods under the fuselage:



And also the probe on the nose cone:



Also the two antennae behind the cockpit:



I have also removed and put together the exhaust nozzles:

[Phil1503]

Made a start with the paintwork; starting off with a thin coat of the first camoflage colour, Humbrol 164: