Piero

Hello my friends, work on this model as slowed down a little bit, but now she is on her legs... Working on the nozzles and one hundred of little bits... CIAO! Piero

Hi guys, thanks again for your support. Here a pic of the finished pylons. And another one of the load. CIAO! Piero

Hello my friends, ... back to my Harrier. Corrected external fuel tanks are done... Pylons has been modified and detailed... Weapon load will follow soon. CIAO! Piero

My friends, with my deep sadness, last night my dear friend and good modeller Roberto "Robyjet" Nardi passed away... R.I.P. Robertone. Piero

Hello my friends, going on with my big AV-8B+. Matt finish has been completed. Decals looks almost painted on now, but many of the grey shades varitions are lost too. I will apply some very diluited patch of greys all around and a lot of smoke, fumes and oil streaks in specific areas tipical of the Harries. At the same time I'm working on the pylons and load... some pics will be posted soon. CIAO! Piero

Hi guys, thanks again! Decals are on... Now a good layer of matt cote is a must!!! CIAO! Piero

Hi guys, thank you for your comments!!! The camouflage is 36231 for the upper surfaces and 36320 for the under surfaces. Unlike the USMC's AV-8Bs, no 36118 paint for the top surface. I use to paint with Gunze acrylic line: H317 and H307 are the equivalent references, but they looks too dark compared with the real italian AV-8Bs. Also, the italian AV-8B camouflage fades very quickly, giving to the Harriers a patched look. So, i sprayed pure H317 and H36320 first then I oversprayed random patch of very diluited colors mixed with white. The radome has a dark grey shade between 36231 and 36118. The wing is dark too, maybe because the blackish carbon fiber construction compared with the fuselage. The color of the rear section looks lighter compared with the rest of the fuselage. Same for flaps and ailerons. Some scratched areas are evident over and under the wing. Details as RWR and GPS antennas, chaff&flare launchers and RCVs are already painted too. A black false-canopy is painted under the front section... Washing will follow soon... CIAO! Piero

Hi Nick, nice to hear from you my friend! Yes, this Harrier seams to be a little quick build compared to the GR.7s because I had already make all the conversion parts & corrections some times ago. At the same time this is a good time for me with modeling... so, let's go! Pre-shading done... CIAO! Piero

Hi guys, glueing and painting the IP cover and the HUD, I'm ready to start the painting stage. With the windshield on and masked with yellow tape, it's time to put down a good layer of grey as primer. Pre-shading will follow soon. CIAO! Piero

... wings and fin are on!!! CIAO! Piero

Hi guys, front section has been mated with the main fuselage. Next step is to join the big wing... stay tuned! CIAO! Piero

... back to the Plus. The front section is the part that required more attention. The radome is completely off! Too long, not bulbous enough. it looks like an F/A-18's radome. I made a new one. The FLIR is too slim and the shape is not correct. Plasticard stripes and Milliput to correct it. I made a new one RCV under the nose too. CIAO! Piero

Hi guys, the whole fuselage has been rescribed and detailed with reinforcements plates and stripes. Another big fault of the kit are the chaff&flare box launchers over the rear fuselage. The box is too small and the shape is approximate. Milliput, plasticard and PE chaff grills are used to make a better piece. Next step is the vertical fin. Here the extended air intake at the base of the fin is too short. Plasticard is used to have the right length. Next step is the front section... CIAO! Piero

Hi guys, thank you! Some close up on the cockpit tub and the front wheel bay. Going on with the Harrier, here the main panel lines on the fuselage that needs to be removed. CA glue is the best for me with this job. The one-piece wing required a lot of work to obtain a better shape of the "kink" at the middle chord. Some Milliput and good sanding is a must here. CIAO! Piero

Hi, after a couple of Mirage kits, I'm back to my beloved Harrier. This time she will be an AV-8B Plus finished in the Marina Militare Italiana (Italian Navy) markings. The kit is far from being a good model. Many details are completely missing or bad represented. Fortunately there are many aftermarket detail stes available for the interior and exterior. I've started dry fitting the cockpit tub and the front undercarriage bay from Aires. Very good fit and tremendous amount of details here. After a good session of paint the resin parts are ready to be glued inside the front fuselage. The plastic parts needs to be rescribed and detailed here and there on both side. CIAO! Piero

Hello, thank you my friends!!! The following pics to show you some in-progress as requested. CIAO! Piero

Hello, Here is my IAI Nesher “61” 5 in IAF No. 113 “Hornet” Squadron during late ‘70s. The Nesher was the Israeli version of the French Dassault Mirage 5 multirole fighter. The “61” was the personal Nesher of IAF’s ace Giora Epstein. KIT The model is based on Italeri Mirage IIIE/R in 1/32nd scale. This kit is good in size and shapes. Details are generally good but sometimes are a bit poor especially panel lines due the shared molding with the IIIC kit. CONSTRUCTION To convert the IIIE kit into a IAI Nesher the main change I had to change the following airframe parts: · Replaced the IIIE radome with a longer and pointed resin one from Isracast conversion set for Nesher; · Length vertical fin base. Other than the modification listed above I had to add more details using aftermarket as a resin ejection seats, wheels, undercarriage bays and ATAR 9 exhaust. I made from scratch the instrument panel and the FOD for air intakes. I added some details such as hydraulic pipes and electric lines into the undercarriage bays, undercarriage legs and cockpit tube. The pitot tube is turned metal set from Master. I tried to add some missing details around the fuselage: · Panel lines under and above the fuselage; · Fuel drain points and intakes; · All the aerial antennas; · Cannon’s barrels. COLORS & MARKINGS Paints were from the acrylics lines of Gunze and Tamiya. Squadron markings, serial numbers and stencils are from Isracast conversion set for IAF Neshers. Some IAF RBF tags were added to finish the model. And now go with the pictures! CIAO! Piero

Thank you!!! This is what I was looking for... now back to my Nesher... CIAO! Piero

Hello, I' looking for pictures of IAI Nesher 561 (61) of IAF's top gun Giora Epstein, in 113th "The Hornet" squadron markings. I was able to find out only a couple of pics of the forward section of this Nesher, with Giora strike a pose in casual dress, but nothing about the rear section of the aircraft. I'm interested to know what was on the vertical tail during and following the Yom Kippur war. Any info is appreciated. CIAO! Piero

Hello, thank you very much for your kindly comments!!!! Here a couple of pictures of the model before the painting stage: I hope to take soon some better pictures of the model with the right light. CIAO! Piero

Hello, thanks to all the information and pictures you provide me in this topic, here is my BAF Mirage 5 BA in 1/32nd: CIAO! Piero

Hello, Here is my Mirage 5 BA in BAF No. 8 Squadron as part of the 3 Wing at Bierset during late ‘80s. The Mirage 5 BA was optimized for ground attacks and was in fact a version of the Mirage IIIE as used by the French Armée de l'Air but equipped with less sophisticated avionics. KIT The model is based on Italeri Mirage IIIE/R in 1/32nd scale. This kit is good in size and shapes. Details are generally good but sometimes are a bit poor especially panel lines due the shared molding with the IIIC kit. CONSTRUCTION I found a little bit confusing the Italeri instruction sheet, it could be due the common parts with the IIIC kit. To convert the IIIE kit into a 5 BA I had to change the following airframe parts: · Replaced the IIIE radome with a longer and pointed radome: started from the resin part made by Renaissance Model I had to reshape the contour, re-scribe all the panel lines and re-done the triangular big vent under the radome. · Modified the ventral canoe with arresting hook: I modifid the plastic part of the kit instead of using the resin part; · Added an ECM package at the base of the vertical fin: I used the resin part made by Renaissance Model; · Added an ECM fairing above the rudder: I made this part was from scratch; · Added a chaff&flares launcher under the rear fuselage: I used the resin part made by Renaissance Model; · Added and air scoop on the left side of the rear fuselage: I made this part was from scratch; · Modified the Instrument panel: I modified the plastic part and decals; · Added the small intake and a couple of aerial blades under the nose: I made this part was from scratch. Other than the modification listed above I had to add more details using aftermarket as a resin ejection seats, resin wheels, resin ATAR 9 exhaust, resin LAU-32 rocket pods. I made from scratch the ventral pylon, the rocket pod adapters and the FOD for air intakes. I added some details such as hydraulic pipes and electric lines into the undercarriage bays, undercarriage legs and cockpit tube. The pitot tube is turned metal set from Master. I tried to add some missing details around the fuselage: · Panel lines under and above the fuselage; · Fuel drain points and intakes; · All the aerial antennas; · Cannon’s barrels. A couple of Mk.82 retarded bomb where donated from the Academy’s F/A-18 kit. COLORS & MARKINGS I choose to do a BA in wraparound scheme of the ‘80s. The BA48 took part in a secret air combat training with the RAF Harriers based at Gütersloh in April 1982, so the pilots of the 3 and 4Sqn could prepare themselves for air battles in the imminent Falkland conflict with Argentine Mirage IIIEA and Dagger. Other than the 8 Squadron badge on the vertical tail the BA48 spotted a 1 Squadron badge (zapped, I presume). Paints were from the acrylics lines of Gunze and Tamiya. Squadron markings, serial numbers and stencils are from DACO and Renaissance Model decal sheets for the BAF Mirages. Some RBF tags were added to finish the model. And now some pictures of the completed model. CIAO! Piero

Many thanks my friends for all the kindly comments on my Hawk model!!! Thank you Shaun for the information about the correct base CIAO! Piero

Thank you guys!!!

should works now...