shatters Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Looking better than my 1/72 version. Phil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Good to see more progress Craig and it's good the fit seems to be okay too. Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted March 8, 2018 Author Share Posted March 8, 2018 2 hours ago, shatters said: Looking better than my 1/72 version. Phil Phil you are doing a great job on your Harriers, and you are doing 4 of them! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted April 3, 2018 Author Share Posted April 3, 2018 Well through one thing and another (work and family stuff) I haven't put in anything like the time I would have liked to on this build but I have been slowly plugging away at it. My build apathy has not been helped by the kit which, too my mind anyway, is not worth the price they are going for. It is far more like a limited run kit than one from a mainstream manufacturer, a good example being the tail planes. As well as the location hole being about 4mm too far forward (according to those in the know) the location hole for them is around twice the size of the peg on the tail plane itself, the sprue gates on them are very big and it is quite difficult to remove them without damaging the parts, my tail planes had a double edge at the rear which was easy to sort out and the 2 strange location lugs where they join the plate that goes onto the fuselage are way too big and don't line up and are best removed. Mini rant over here is where things stand today. Looking Harrier like. The cockpit area has been completed apart from adding the seats and has had the backseaters extra windshield added, here is a closer look; The seats themselves are quite nice, not aftermarket resin standard but very good for kit supplied ones and come with some etched seatbelts and once painted up I think they look quite good; I have added the underwing pylons (a bit of a pain to get at the right angle) and have gone for the gun pods rather then the strakes under the fuselage, well who wouldn't! The plan today is to get the seats in and the glazing installed and that way I will be able to make a start on the painting before too long. As you may have guessed I'm overly enjoying this build, in fact I got far more enjoyment from an old Monogram AV-8A I built a few years ago and when people start selling them off cheaply when Kinetic finally release their RAF type single seaters I will start picking them up. Thanks for looking in, and being patient, and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSH Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 Those seats do look a cut above the average kit supplied, nice build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyboy76 Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 My kit has arrived and safely stored in the stash. Taking notes 📝😎 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted April 3, 2018 Author Share Posted April 3, 2018 4 hours ago, MarkSH said: Those seats do look a cut above the average kit supplied, nice build. Thanks Mark the seats are rather good aren't they. They are now fixed into the cockpit and the front canopy fixed and the other two sections temporarily held in place for painting as I haven't decided whether to have the cockpit open or closed. 10 minutes ago, Hockeyboy76 said: My kit has arrived and safely stored in the stash. Taking notes 📝😎 Good luck with your build HB. Don't get put off by my little rants, you will be able to make a good job of it, just check EVERYTHING before gluing and there are a couple of places where the instructions would have you glue things in the wrong places, the ailerons are a good/bad example of this. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 Just having a catch up Craig, great work as usual and as you have said there are some lovely details in this kit. You have made a great job of the instrument panels and seats. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted April 3, 2018 Author Share Posted April 3, 2018 6 minutes ago, nimrod54 said: Just having a catch up Craig, great work as usual and as you have said there are some lovely details in this kit. You have made a great job of the instrument panels and seats. Thanks John, As you say there are some great details in this kit, and some unnecessary over-detailing, which makes the bad points more frustrating as it could have been a superb kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 You're doing a great job Craig. There must be something about Harrier T kits - I built a Heritage Aviation one a couple of years ago and it was 'challenge' too! Cliff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted April 6, 2018 Share Posted April 6, 2018 Just caught up with the build craig, shame about the faults, you would expect a little more i agree taking the cost of the kit into account , still its looking fine though, peck on pal, will you be at cosford sunday? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted April 7, 2018 Author Share Posted April 7, 2018 15 hours ago, Hewy said: Just caught up with the build craig, shame about the faults, you would expect a little more i agree taking the cost of the kit into account , still its looking fine though, peck on pal, will you be at cosford sunday? Cheers Glynn, Yes she is a bit of a pain to build but I am plugging on, she now has a coat of dark green all over ready to be masked up for the dark grey area to be painted later, maybe not today as like you say i will be busy getting ready for the Cosford show tomorrow. My clubs display will be in hangar 2 next to the Bristol 188, not taking the Harrier but I will be bringing the Mig-25. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Hi Craig. Good to see more progress and, despite the issues, it is looking excellent. The seats, as you say, do look very smart, especially for ones which come with the kit. Hope the show goes well tomorrow. Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted April 15, 2018 Author Share Posted April 15, 2018 Got a bit more time in on the Harrier and have got the camo scheme done. I have used Gunze acrylic RAF dark green and dark sea grey and they perform very well indeed and leave a nice smooth finish, I have tried to give an uneven slightly worn finish on the grey but given a more even finish to the green, this is because the green will mostly be covered by the white distemper. I have also applied a couple of coats of Klear using a wide flat brush which will give a nice finish for the decals to adhere to, my plan is to apply all the decals which are visible on the grey or have been painted around and then add the white. Anyway here are a couple of pics of how she looks at the moment; Hopefully I will make a start on the decals today. Thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex77 Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Looking very good Craig! Well done on the paint job. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Wow! The paintwork and camo looks excellent Craig. Looking forward to seeing what you do with the weathering. Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSH Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Agree with all other comments the paintwork does look really sharp. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Job well done craig, camo looks really good 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted April 15, 2018 Author Share Posted April 15, 2018 Cheers guys, your kind comments are much appreciated. Made a start on the decals, they are a little thick but do seem to settle down into the detail (eventually). But once again the Kinetic instructions are a big let down, there are several places on the sheet where you have 2 or 3 options of decals to use but the instructions do not tell you which one is the appropriate one to use for which mark of aircraft you are building, highly useful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyboy76 Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Sorry to hear the kit is causing you headaches, but on the plus side it’s looking great dude. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirageiv Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Nailing it Craig, looks stunning! Really like the quality of finish you have particualry with the paint, very good indeed. David 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted April 15, 2018 Author Share Posted April 15, 2018 3 hours ago, Hockeyboy76 said: Sorry to hear the kit is causing you headaches, but on the plus side it’s looking great dude. Cheers HB much appreciated. I'm afraid the kit really isn't as good as some would have us believe, and as I said in an earlier post if this had come from HobbyBoss or Trumpeter some would have jumped all over them for some of the mistakes/bad engineering/terrible instructions. Don't get me wrong it's certainly not unbuildable but for a modern tooled kit I expected more, and I am grateful that a 2 seat Harrier has been released. 2 minutes ago, mirageiv said: Nailing it Craig, looks stunning! Really like the quality of finish you have particualry with the paint, very good indeed. David Thanks David. I'm really looking forward to getting the decals finished and having a crack at the white distemper. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 Update time again! Spent the past week applying the decals and trying to decide which aircraft to finish her as. As I said earlier the decals are a little on the thick side but do settle down quite well if left alone for a while, the only ones I have had any difficulty with are the roundels which go over the open blow in doors on the intakes, more specifically the small parts which go onto the open sections as they are a little too big but nothing that cannot be fixed. I have also used some decals from the Sky Decals sheet as they have the codes for one of the aircraft I was considering (and settled upon) and the squadron marking for 233 OCU were a bit better than those on the Kinetic sheet. Here are some pictures of her with the decals added; The tail area showing the chosen aircraft code (ZB600). Another one of the nose area showing the squadron badge, which was slightly modified from the decal as it came. Well with the decalling out of the way that meant that it was time to bite the bullet and make a start on the temporary white. As I said much earlier on I am applying this by brush (way out of my comfort zone!). Now don't go expecting anything up to the standards of @tonyotor @PlaStix, but in my defence the real thing doesn't look like it's been painted professionally (mine certainly doesn't!) and that is the look I am trying to achieve, the one that makes it look like the white was applied by my 11 year old self. Here are a couple of pics to show you how she is getting on, still very much a work in progress; And a closer look at the nose area, some of which has had a couple of coats. I am reasonably happy with how she is looking at the moment but it is really weird not trying to achieve a perfect finish. I hope to get a couple of coats on the whole airframe over the next couple of days then I can do some more general weathering such as staining and panel lines. Thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shatters Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 The winter finish looks really convincing, great job. Phil 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyboy76 Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 Good luck with the rest of the white. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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