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1 72 Airfix BAe Harrier GR9A - Completed! (pg.20)


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Hi everybody; this is going to be my first Airfix kit ever (odd, ain't it?). Since I know close to nothing about Harriers, I decided to crack on with this build hoping to find out more about them, so any kind of help here is really appreciated :winkgrin:

Here are some preliminary pics: boxart

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Sprues:

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Transparents:

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There's a very annoying mould line on the opening canopy that needs to be dealth with :hobbyhorse:

Subject I intend to reproduce:

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Decals, printed by Cartograph, so they should behave properly :bobby:

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I'm going to take this easy, so don't expect quick progresses for the moment, also because I have another build on going for the Vignette GB.

Ciao

Edited by giemme
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It is a good kit Giemme, but beware of the plastic.

It`s brittle, especially the clear sprue.

Still, a man of your skill it shall be no problem.

Just break out the razor saw LOL.

Also watch the tolerances they are quite fine, the cockpit to front fuselage contact area especially so, but it does become a great fit.

I think I will follow this one along.

Simon.

Edited by Spookytooth
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Great choice, Giorgio!

I have this kit in the stash and will follow your build with interest.

I should be starting my Harrier GR.3 for the 80s NATO vs Warsaw Pact GB, but it's proving difficult to get time for it...

If you'd like a good overview of the Harrier's development and operational history, I'd recommend Aviation Classics' issue on the type.

Cheers

Jaime

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Hi pal,

I'm just about to start this kit myself. I will be very interested to see the progress. :winkgrin:

Cheers, welcome on board! :thumbsup2:

I'm here for this one too, Giorgio!

Keith

Thanks Keith, good to have you here too! :thumbsup:

Well I'm obviously on board!!..........wouldn't miss a Giemme production!

:popcorn:

:D Thanks Stix, welcome on board to you too! :thumbsup:

It is a good kit Giemme, but beware of the plastic.

It`s brittle, especially the clear sprue.

Still, a man of your skill it shall be no problem.

Just break out the razor saw LOL.

Also watch the tolerances they are quite fine, the cockpit to front fuselage contact area especially so, but it does become a great fit.

I think I will follow this one along.

Simon.

Thanks for the heads up, Simon :thumbsup2: Glad if you can follow along :thumbsup:

Great choice, Giorgio!

I have this kit in the stash and will follow your build with interest.

I should be starting my Harrier GR.3 for the 80s NATO vs Warsaw Pact GB, but it's proving difficult to get time for it...

If you'd like a good overview of the Harrier's development and operational history, I'd recommend Aviation Classics' issue on the type.

Cheers

Jaime

Cheers Jaime, thanks for the link :thumbsup:

Everybody: apologies, in my first post I forgot to mention that I'll be using an aftermarket, the PAVLA cockpit and seat set:

27940236426_d6106574ba_z.jpg

Ciao

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Giogio,

I'll be very interested in seeing the cockpit set in use, as there's no Eduard PE set for this specific kit.

Cheers

Jaime

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Hi everybody; this is going to be my first Airfix kit ever (odd, ain't it?). Since I know close to nothing about Harriers, I decided to crack on with this build hoping to find out more about them, so any kind of help here is really appreciated :winkgrin:

Excellent. I know close to nothing about GR9 Harriers myself so there'll be no help from me :)

Had a trip in the old T4 at Gutersloh once - and it did what was expected: The nav kit dumped - it didn't fly very far or for very long - did a bit of Forward Air Control and came home. Oh and it did it's up down, left, right, forward backward thing before landing - which I have to say was jolly amusing.

From GR5 onwards it's quite a different beast tho :)

Edited by Fritag
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Yes giemme! Now a harrier is a jet I love!! First model I ever built was a tamiya/hase one I think?? Definitely was a harrier, sea harrier in fact fs 1? Anyway, I clearly remember having to build the engine to put inside it..... Then painting it light grey with black, green and dark grey dots all over it and the White and black flying fist on the tail!! Cool in my eyes.... But I should imagine yours will be a little more authentic!!

Crack on, I can add nowt technical but I am ok at moral support.

Rob

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Excellent. I know close to nothing about GR9 Harriers myself so there'll be no help from me :)

Had a trip in the old T4 at Gutersloh once - and it did what was expected: The nav kit dumped - it didn't fly very far or for very long - did a bit of Forward Air Control and came home. Oh and it did it's up down, left, right, forward backward thing before landing - which I have to say was jolly amusing.

From GR5 onwards it's quite a different beast tho :)

Thanks for joining, Steve :thumbsup: Considering that I only flew on commercial flights, and the closest I got to the pilot was the first row of seats on a Virgin flight (my seat was the one in which you have to slightly tilt your head towards the right, if you want to fit in :frantic: ), I'd say that I am much closer than you are to know anything about a Harrier :) (EDIT because this last sentence was the other way round :banghead:)

Also, be careful when removing the tail plane, mine snapped off flush with the edge, no way of joining it.

Simon.

I think I see what you mean, Simon. I'll pay attention when I get to it, thanks for this heads up :thumbsup: Did I mention that I love BM? Haven't really started with this build and I'm already getting some help :winkgrin::thumbsup2:

Yes giemme! Now a harrier is a jet I love!! First model I ever built was a tamiya/hase one I think?? Definitely was a harrier, sea harrier in fact fs 1? Anyway, I clearly remember having to build the engine to put inside it..... Then painting it light grey with black, green and dark grey dots all over it and the White and black flying fist on the tail!! Cool in my eyes.... But I should imagine yours will be a little more authentic!!

Crack on, I can add nowt technical but I am ok at moral support.

Rob

Cheers Rob, thanks :thumbsup: All kind of moral support is welcome :D

Ciao

Edited by giemme
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This is a great kit, and you'll enjoy this one, I've built 2, and the new tool GR.1 and GR.3 -

image_zps3fdd0a64.jpg

Couple of things to watch out for -

1) take your time with the LERX piece it requires a lot of trimming and shaving on the underside to get a nice fit but patience here will save a bucket load of time trying to fill a very awkward area.

2) the one piece stabiliser is actually better being cut in half at the centre of the pivot shaft and a small bit shaved off either end. I found it quite a bit wider than the tail section when dry fitted, and it left big gaps between the end-plates and the fuselage,

3) the Pavla jet nozzles (PAVU72137) are well worth investing in,

Rest of the kit builds up really nicely, but as someone mentioned earlier go easy removing the canopy from the sprues, they take a bit of work to clean up but again patience and care are the way forward.

I'm going to have a go at building a T.12 soon with the Heritage conversion set.

Hope you enjoy this, will be watching your progress.

Rgds,

Eng

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Eng thank you very much for your heads up :thumbsup: I'll quote myself:

Did I mention that I love BM? Haven't really started with this build and I'm already getting some help :winkgrin::thumbsup2:

PAVLA nozzles set ordered, looks very interesting and at a great price, too. Great pair of Harriers you have there, BTW. :clap:

Ciao

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Will watch this one with interest !

Mind, the kit you're starting from is quite different from Hasegawa's Phantom...

Having built one last year, I agree with what has already been mentioned !

Removing any part can be a challenge. The thinner parts in particular are not easy to break clean with such large sprue gates. Arm yourself with plenty of patience...

As Eng said, the LERXs are a pain to get to fit properly. the 100% type is slightly better but both types require work.

Fit in general is not bad but care is needed as if only one bit is slightly misaligned it will throw all parts off.

The Pavla replacement nozzles are IMHO mandatory as trying to fill the kit parts is a nightmare...

One other thing to watch out for are the "slime light" decals for the wingtips: mine didn't fit at all, so much that in the end I painted them on. I seem to be the only one to have had the problem though, maybe I got a bad decal sheet... the rest of the decals though went down well and the printing quality is great, with absolutely no film visible using the Microscale liquids.

It's a nice kit, but some parts lack finesse and the panel lines are quite deep. Fortunately there's few of them..

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Thanks Giorgio :thumbsup: I did notice the sprue gate are very large, so I can foresee a large use of my ETS here ... :winkgrin:

You're right also about deep panel lines, but that doesn't really bother me, I think I'll just go heavier with the primer and the clear coats.

As for decals, I've probably already mentioned :D that I hate decals, so whenever I get the chance to paint on instead, I'm just happy :winkgrin:

Thank you very much for your hints and for joining :thumbsup2:

Ciao

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It's been a long time since I built a Harrier, so I can't help but boy I'm going to enjoy this 'un

I kinda like the look of this, are you getting me 'verticalated' again?

Well see huh

Somebody break out the popcorn

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So glad you're building this kit Giorgio, the Harrier is such a great aircraft. This kit is one of the most enjoyable I've ever built and it comes with every option for flap and landing gear position - something that Airfix excels at. I recommend the the resin nozzles as well, as that's four really annoying seams taken care of right away.

There was a Harrier STGB two years ago, and the discussion thread is chock full of good info.

Also, I'm glad I've already built mine, so I wasn't intimidated by the incredible result you're sure to achieve.

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It's actually a great little kit to build, usual few joint issues with Airfix, but nothing insurmountable, #lerx alert!

Thanks sailorboy61 :thumbsup:

It's been a long time since I built a Harrier, so I can't help but boy I'm going to enjoy this 'un

I kinda like the look of this, are you getting me 'verticalated' again?

Well see huh

Somebody break out the popcorn

Thanks for joining, perdu :thumbsup: Hopefully going toget you 'verticaleted' :D Is that a real word? :frantic::coolio:

So glad you're building this kit Giorgio, the Harrier is such a great aircraft. This kit is one of the most enjoyable I've ever built and it comes with every option for flap and landing gear position - something that Airfix excels at. I recommend the the resin nozzles as well, as that's four really annoying seams taken care of right away.

There was a Harrier STGB two years ago, and the discussion thread is chock full of good info.

Also, I'm glad I've already built mine, so I wasn't intimidated by the incredible result you're sure to achieve.

So no pressure on me then, right? :frantic::hobbyhorse::D

Thanks for the GB link :speak_cool: ; I have ordered the resin nozzles set, they should be here in a few days.

Ciao

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Climbing on board if you don't mind. I have a ton of (read: eleven) Harrier kits in the stash, this being one of them. I plan to do mine as one of the retirement planes - the Xtradecal sheet is amazing.

Cheers,

Bill

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Climbing on board if you don't mind. I have a ton of (read: eleven) Harrier kits in the stash, this being one of them. I plan to do mine as one of the retirement planes - the Xtradecal sheet is amazing.

Cheers,

Bill

You're more than welcome, Bill! :thumbsup: Now I'm really starting to feel some pressure...

Ciao

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