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AV-8B Harrier II Correct Air-Scoop set 1/32 Bandit Resin Factory for Trumpeter Kit Bandit Resin seem to be primarily producing parts you would see on normal peacetime modern jets as opposed to the weapons you would see on combat operations. This enables the modeller to build the jets they might see normally or at airshows. In a departure from their normal rails and pods, this set correct the air scoops on the Trumpeter AV-8B. The Resin These 3D printed parts give the modeller 2 small, and 2 large intakes for the top of the Harrier which are quite prominent which can be seen in this picture from our AV-8B Walkaround Conclusion These are great looking parts for your large scale second generation Harrier, Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of Bandit Resin Factory, click on the logo to goto their Facebook Page

This is the old Monogram Harrier kit. Still a very nice build, if you don't mind raised panel lines (I don't). I used Vallejo acrylics and caracal decals. Hope you like the pics. Kind regards, Gerben

It was a strong rumour, now confirmed by R. Chung, the Kinetic boss himself, in ARC forums. After the Sea Harrier FRS.1 (link) & FA.2 (link), the two seat Harrier T.2/T.4/T.8 (link), Kinetic is quite logically to produce 1/48th Hawker Siddeley/BAe Harrier GR.1/GR.3 kits. So time to open a dedicated thread, I think. Source: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=287539&view=findpost&p=2798826 V.P.

Hi all, its been a while since I’ve posted any build related things, so thought it would be good to show you all my latest build of the somewhat lovely Kinetic Harrier GR.1. Standard box pic with some added goodies: I utilised the build notes and resources from the Harrier Sig, kindly sent over to me by @Ozzy . Thanks Mate! The kit itself was a strange juxtaposition of nice detail with some poor fit and soft detail. Some of the fuselage panel lines for example were very soft and didn’t line up. Somewhat reminiscent of some more recent Revell kits. However for the most part this kit was a very enjoyable build. One annoyance was the SNEB pods which are modelled with the rockets protruding, the instructions advise you to sand these off but it looks very naff, so had to fill and sand and make masks for the rocket covers on the nose of the launcher. PITA! Unfortunately I had to make life hard for myself by attempting to fit an Aries cockpit, which caused me endless hours of fun/pain . Eventually got it to sort of fit by removing as much plastic as I dared but in doing so it caused the from fuselage to bow out a bit which caused problems later down the line with the windscreen. Ended up screwing up the first part and had to order a replacement from Kinetic which turned up as reasonably quickly as one can expect from Hong Kong ( in standard British fashion it took as long to make it the 50 miles from Heathrow to central Bedfordshire as it did from Hong Kong to the UK). Other aftermarket was a dream to use, namely the Reskit wheels which were fantastic, especially as the hub and tyre are moulded seperately, very thoughtful when it comes to painting! Enough waffle from me anyway, kit is an early GR.1 of 1(F) Sqn in the early gloss scheme of Dark Green / Dark Sea Grey over Light Aircraft Grey, all paints were MRP, except the varnish which is Alclad Klear Kote 50/50 with MLT (somehow this is still a tiny bit tacky a week after spraying ). Decals provided are by Cartograph and were perhaps the nicest I’ve ever used. Anyway, some photos! Cheers! Ash

As a 'work in progress', this is a bit of a fraud really as this very lengthy project is now finished. But I thought I'd share my working pictures in case the way I do these things is of any interest to anyone else. My models tend to be 'museum type' i.e. little or no weathering. There are, in any case, many folks here on these pages who do that sort of thing much much better than I do. On the other hand my aircraft models feature most, or in this case all, of the following: - Fully working flight controls, controlled by stick and rudder. - Manually retractable undercarriage - 'Pose-able' flaps - Lighting - nav, collision and cockpit - Illuminated HUD or gunsight - Working props, fan, turbines etc This is the story of how I did these things with the Airfix Harrier. Quite the hardest plastic kit I've tackled - weeks of putty and scribing, rinse and repeat!

Once I get around to opening the box I'll be building this... A fairly obvious choice but hopefully not too bad a kit (I think it's a relatively modern moulding), we'll see how it comes out compared to my first attempt with an airbrush (which was a Hasegawa Harrier a few years ago).

Icelandic Fine Art is soon to release a 1/32nd BAe Sea Harrier resin kits. Source: https://www.facebook.com/flyingSmodels/posts/pfbid0HFLFhQSGb8iBTPathXgYiGxZVTmVhpRLV94yNMGxZUvzAgYS3Nm5TBxgPfpLPVQRl V.P.

My first kit completed this year - AV-8S (VA-1) Matador, 1:72 Italeri (ex-ESCI). My 5th Harrier so far! Built out of the box (except for Pitot tube from Master, resin ejection seat from Pavla and some scratch). Italeri's kit is old and needs some work, but I'm quite happy with a result. Thanks for watching!

Hi all. I just finished my 3rd 1/48 Harrier of the year. After Kinetic's AV-8A and Hasegawa's AV-8B, I wanted to build the Kinetic RAF GR3 version. This kit is basically the same kit as the AV-8A, except for the decals. For this build I used Eduard's interior and exterior pe sets and a Master pitot tube. The kit has very nice surface details and the fit is very good. Only a few spots need some extra attention and a bit of filler. Nothing major though. The model was painted with Mr Hobby acrylics, colour numbers H330 and H331. This was airbrushed in thin coats over an Alclad black primer base. A wash was made from Abteilung 502 oilpaint and AK white spirit. The kit decals were used and they are very good. Printed by Cartograf and among the best I've ever used. Thank you for watching. René.

Hey everyone So whilst I'm waiting for the satin coat to dry on my Tempest in preparation for weathering my thoughts turn to my next build. I have plenty of started kits (1/48 Revell Phantom, Tornado F.3 and GR4) but theses are all full of resin and etch upgrades (the Phantom is looking good but its just a little too involved at the moment) and I gotta be honest I need something that I can just build straight OOB and this is my choice.. ..the Kinetic 1/48 Harrier GR3 which I intend to build as XV997, Op Corporate, Falklands Conflict, 1982. It will be OOB other than seat belts which will be from Eduard as life is too short trying to recreate them from bits of foil only for them not to meet my expectations and the seat is quite a prominent part of the cockpit. I'll be referring to @Lord Riot build for any pointers as his turned out rather splendidly. Cheers all Iain

Hello to all.I present you my quick harrier build.I built this kit in a week.I am pretty pleasently surprised by the quality.Despite its lack of cockpit details and trench like panelisation this one is a really nice kit to work on.I will get the gr.5 and FA2 at the first chance I get.I upgraded the instrument panel and seat.Also I made a new pittotube because I broke the old one like 15 times.The model is painted in gunze and tamiya acrylics.I just love all types of harriers.I made a youtube build video - Removed. Read the thread in announcements regards,Dragan

I've never done a work in progress - other than as part of a group build - so I thought that I'd be brave and start one. My last build didn't end well so this is a 'getting back on the bike' build to get something to the end. I recently acquired this kit at a reasonable price from a well known on-line auction site so since it was on top of the pile, comes with some resin, brass, a mask and decent decals I thought I'd give it a go. Weaponry will need to be added later. I'm going to build it as ZG479 a GR.7 with 100% LERX taking part in Operation Telic. Hopefully, this should be a reasonably problem free build.

Evening, all! After building on and off since first lockdown(!) I've finally managed to finish my Hasegawa Harrier, built as GR.9 ZG511/82 as she was during her last deployment to Kandahar. This build was a real labour of love. It's still the best big wing Harrier in this scale in my opinion, but she really fights you along the way. The end result is worth it though. I threw lots of aftermarket goodies at this one. I felt that the subject was worth the effort. Aires cockpit (butchered to more resemble a Brit Harrier) Eduard MB Mk.12 Ejection Seat AlleyCat 100% LERX Eduard TERMA & Sniper pods DJRP from @Shaun (many thanks, again!) Eduard PE Eduard weighted wheels & outriggers Belcher Bits LAU-5003/CRV-7 Pods L'Arsenal PWIV Model Alliance decals This was my first time using Hataka Red line acrylics, and they performed flawlessly. Weathered using Windsor & Newton oils, Flory wash, and sealed with W&N Acrylic varnishes. There was a bit of scratchbuilding and correcting to do to represent a British Harrier. For anyone interested, trials & tribulations can be found on my WIP here. Anyway, here's some pics. Hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed building it! C&C welcomed as always. Thanks for looking! Daryl.

A couple of recently completed projects first being a refurb of the airfix L-1011 Tristar I build long ago complete with dodgy painting, no straight decals, unpainted and yellowing plastic. Since I had the decals still I refurbed from TWA to Cathay. Second is the 1:24 Harrier GR1 that was donated mostly unbuild to the museum I volunteer at (the donor got the kit in 1974 and never got round to building it instead was building the real thing) so I built the model for display at the museum to depict an engine change. Never tried my hand at diorama before so was interesting trying to build jacks etc. Tristar before After Harrier GR1 1:24 On display behind our GR3 Relaxing with his bottle of coke whilst others work.

Here's my attempt at the 1/72 Airfix GR.9A (recent tooling). I rather enjoyed building this one! For the most part it went together very nicely indeed and there's a superb range of options and extra parts in the kit - for example, 65% or 100% LERX, different moulded parts for flaps/ailerons up or down, air dam open or closed etc etc. In fact the only slightly odd omission was the main gear doors, which are either closed for flight or open (with gear down) - neither is appropriate to a parked Harrier so I had to tweak the closed ones a bit. I used a bit of aftermarket stuff: Pavla seat and cockpit, Brassin Paveway LGBs and a Sniper ATP pod [purists will spot they're not proper Paveway IVs as I'm still waiting for my set of them to arrive], Eduard 'Remove Before Flight' tags and the chocks are etched Flightline ones. Decals are the excellent 'Retirement Harriers' set by Xtradecal - enough stencils for at least two kits, plus markings for the entire farewell flight! I did stick with the kit nozzles, thinking I could get rid of the join lines, but I think I'll go back to the Pavla resin ones next time - those internal vanes are impossible to fix! Paints were Hataka Red Line acrylic (Dark Sea Grey over Dark Camouflage Grey) with a bit of pre- and post-shading, then a coat of Winsor and Newton Galeria gloss varnish. Weathering was with oils/white spirit and Flory's clay wash before a coat of W&N matt varnish. Thanks for taking a look, I know Harriers seem to be one of the most modelled aircraft around so there's nothing new here!!!

AV-8A Update Sets (for Kinetic) 1:48 Eduard Kinetic have made a lot of 1:48 modellers very happy by releasing a slew of harrier kits of various versions, including the earliest Harrier to see service with the Americans, under the AV-8A designation. Eduard's new range of sets are here to improve on the kit detail in the usual modular manner. Get what you want for the areas you want to be more of a focal point. 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. Upgrade Set Early (491164) Two frets are included, one nickel plated and pre-painted, the other in bare brass, plus a small piece of clear acetate sheet. A complete set of new layered instrument panels and side consoles are the primary parts on the painted set, with HUD and acetate glazing; new rudder pedals; ejection seat details; coaming instrumentation and canopy internal structure also supplied. There are also pylon mating surface detail skins; wheel bay inserts; airbrake skins; blast deflector plates for the rear exhausts; extra panels and skins for the landing gear doors; new oleo scissor-links; raised panels over the engine “lid”, and a template to assist you with accurate placement of the raft of new vortex generators on the upper wing surfaces. Zoom! Set (FE1164) This set contains a reduced subset of the interior, namely the pre-painted parts that are used to improve on the main aspects of the cockpit, as seen above. Whatever your motivations for wanting this set, it provides a welcome boost to detail, without being concerned with the structural elements. Seatbelts STEEL Early (FE1166) These belts are Photo-Etch (PE) steel, and because of their strength they can be etched from thinner material, which improves realism and flexibility in one sitting. Coupled with the new painting method that adds perceived extra depth to the buckles and other furniture by shading, they are more realistic looking and will drape better than regular brass PE. As well as a set of crew belts for the initial Martin-Baker seat, you also get a set of the pull-handle between the pilot's knees that gets him out of there in case of an emergency. Upgrade Set Late (491165) Two frets are included almost identical for the early version, one nickel plated and pre-painted, the other in bare brass, plus a small piece of clear acetate sheet. A complete set of new and subtly different layered instrument panels and side consoles are the primary parts on the painted set, with HUD and acetate glazing; new rudder pedals; ejection seat details; coaming instrumentation and canopy internal structure also supplied. There are also pylon mating surface detail skins; wheel bay inserts; airbrake skins; blast deflector plates for the rear exhausts; extra panels and skins for the landing gear doors; new oleo scissor-links; raised panels over the engine “lid”, and a template to assist you with accurate placement of the raft of new vortex generators on the upper wing surfaces. Zoom! Set (FE1165) This set contains a reduced subset of the interior, namely the pre-painted parts that are used to improve on the main aspects of the cockpit, as seen above. Whatever your motivations for wanting this set, it provides a welcome boost to detail, without being concerned with the structural elements. Seatbelts STEEL Late (FE1167) These belts are Photo-Etch (PE) steel, and because of their strength they can be etched from thinner material, which improves realism and flexibility in one sitting. Coupled with the new painting method that adds perceived extra depth to the buckles and other furniture by shading, they are more realistic looking and will drape better than regular brass PE. As well as a set of more simplified crew belts for the later Stencel SEU-3/A seat, you also get a set of the pull-handle between the pilot's knees and over the headbox that gets him out of there in case of an emergency. Masks (EX765) Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape. In addition, you get a set of hub/tyre masks for all the wheels (including the out-riggers), allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort. Masks Tface (EX766) Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with everything above, but also give you another set of canopy masks tailored to fit the interior of the glazing so that you can paint the interior and give your model that extra bit of realism. Review sample courtesy of

Having recently finished the Mig-29, I was looking for something different and a little bigger. After a lot of deliberation I settled on the Trumpeter 1:35 Mi-17 and promptly ordered one before Easter...By Friday all I'd heard was that the order would be shipped when it was complete, which I took to mean they didn't actually have it in stock! The weekend was looking dire weather wise so I was going to go stir crazy with nothing to work on A lot of model shops shut at 1300 on Saturdays in Germany, but there's a shop in our nearest city(Trier) so having persuaded the missus we needed a couple of hours out we headed over. They're basically a toy shop but do have a reasonable modelling and railway section. I was only really looking for something to keep me busy for a few days and their stock mainly consists of Revell mainstream kits and some Tamiya 1:35 tanks etc. As I'm on a budget due to no guaranteed summer work and very little winter work, 150€ for some of the big kits was a bit much, and even 50-60€ seemed a bit steep for a fill-in project. I then noticed a huge box with a Harrier on it for 30€...A quick look on Scalemates told me it was a very old kit (1972!!) so it was going to be a challenge, but it was cheap You'd think I'd have learnt my lesson with the MiG, but no... Anyway I bought it, looked in the box and a few swear words passed my lips as I saw how much detail there wasn't...I then started doing some research and thought I might be able to do something with it, after all it was cheap...

I've had Hasegawa's 1/48 Harrier GR.7 in the stash for a good few years now, just looking at me and wondering when it will get started. For an aircraft that I - as well as a lot of us on here I'm sure - have such an affection for, I feel bad that I haven't gotten around to it sooner. I feel one of the reasons I haven't started this kit sooner is that I had plans to throw lots of goodies at it in an attempt to get it looking as good as I can manage. I've been collecting AM bits and bobs for a while now, and feel that I have everything now that I need to build an a/c that I will be happy with. I saw a picture of ZG511 in-theater with lots of bits hanging off her pylons, and figured that I'd like to do a fully kitted out Harrier. So the plan is to try and depict her as she was during her last det. to Kandahar in 2009 - loaded with EPW IV, LAU-5003/CRV-7, and with TERMA/DJRP/SNIPER pods underneath. I've been collecting reference materials for longer than I've had the kit, so hopefully I will have half a clue as to what it's supposed to look like at the end... Although part of the reasoning behind doing a WIP was to feed off the wealth of knowledge on here and hopefully identify mistakes and issues before they can't be fixed! Any any recommendations for impulse purchases - ahem - vital reference materials are greatly appreciated! I'll be kicking off with the cockpit to start. I have the Aires GR.7 cockpit - one question before I do start though; I know the Aires cockpit has a couple of issues, especially with the bangseat rails and the actual seat being undersized. I plan to use the Eduard Brassin MB Mk.12 which I prefer the look of over the Aires seat. However the rear bulkhead doesn't much resemble pictures of the real thing at all (minimum effort on the visible bits such as the ground power panel/omission of cabin pressurisation valve etc.), and to be honest, compared to other resin cockpits of theirs that I've used, it does leave a lot to be desired. Has anybody used/compared the CMK offering? Is it any better than the Aires kit, or is the Aires cockpit as good as it gets, and a bit of scratchbuilding here and there will get me through? Cheers, Daryl.

I think this might be the next project to start. Not an easy kit to get hold of these days - managed to find it on ebay a couple of years back. Heard some comments in the past about some tricky parts fit? I've also bought aftermarket intakes / nozzles which seems to be this big issue with the Sword kit. It's going to have to be a rattle can paint finish too, so let's see how that works out!!! Will try to update some pics through the build.

XV778 was delivered to the RAF in April 1970 as a GR1. It was converted to GR3 standard in the early 70s when it received the updated Mk103 Pegasus engine, before receiving the laser nose and tail RWR by 1977. This Harrier served in Belize and later took part in exercises in Norway during its time with 1 Sqn at Wittering. The Kinetic kit is absolutely fantastic, fitting together well and with great detail and superb decals. I’ve depicted the Harrier as an early GR3 pre laser nose. Huge thanks to @NG899 for the brilliant and very helpful extra info on the kit and the Harrier in general. All comments welcome!

I couldn’t wait to start this brilliant new Harrier kit that my dad very kindly bought for my birthday recently! Not only that but he included a set of extra decals too. The kit decals are superb. I like how the fuselage roundels include notches cut out for the intake doors. I’m actually not sure what option to make yet. My favourite Harrier markings are 233 OCU wraparound camo, but I already have the Airfix one in those colours and will be making my Kinetic T4 the same. So I’m thinking No. 1 Sqn for this model. But will it be a pointed nose or laser, wraparound or light grey underneath? I need to decide before starting as there’s lots of optional parts. There’s a lot of plastic. Quite a few pieces are stores I won’t use, and you get two upper wings and various other bits for Sea Harriers/AV-8s that I won’t need. Also included is this little metal etching set. Paints ready!

Model Aircraft Extra - Building the Harrier (978191610541) MA Publications There can be no doubt the Harrier is one of Britain's iconic aircraft. The ability to take off and land vertically made it in a league of its own until the new F-35 arrived. While it was used by the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, US Marine Corps, The Spanish Navy, Indian Navy; and the Italian Navy. It is most famous for it's participation in the Falklands war. As well as this Harriers went on to serve in the Gulf War, over Bosnia, Libya and in Afghanistan. This new magazine style publication from MA publication give us a look at the harrier and 13 builds across the two most popular scales of 1/72 & 1/48. Inter spaced between the builds are articles on the different types of Harrier and their use in the different conflicts they have taken part in; containing many photos which will be of interest, and use to the modeller. There are also 2 pages of 1:72 plans towards the middle of the book. The builds are; First Generation Duo - 1:48 Mongram AV-8A Artic Harrier - 1:48 Eduard Gr.7/9 SHAR School - 1:48 Kinetic T.2/T.4 So Long SHAR - 1:48 Kinetic FA2 Vertical Reality - 1:48 Kinetic FA2 VSTOL Radar Raider - 1:48 Hasegawa AV-8B Falkland Fighter - 1:48 Kinetic FRS.1 Artic Training - 1:48 Kinetic T.2/T.4 Marines Jumper - 1:72 Airfix AV-8A Hover and Out - 1:48 Kinetic FA2 Spanish Matador - 1:72 Airfix GR.1 Harrier in Helmond - 1:72 Airfix GR.7A/GR.9A Step-by-Step SHAR- 1:48 Airfix FA2 One of the good things about this is that is is not a "sponsored" publication. Different kits are used which are readily available, reasonably priced; and in terms of the older kits it is good to see them not forgotten. The different modellers also use difference techniques and products on the various models so its good to be able to see them, and contrast their use. The reader will then be able to try a couple and see what works for them, rather than have the whole publication dedicated to a particular product or technique. Conclusion This is a well put together publication for the modeller thinking of a building a Harrier. There is a good range of kits and techniques on show, as well as scale plans, and photos of the real thing. Highly recommended . Review sample courtesy of

Hello fellas! As I was reading the book of Sq. Ld. Jerry Pook and learning more about the almighty mud movers actions during the 'South Atlantic' conflict in 1982, Kinetic released it's long-waited 1/48 Harrier GR.3, so I have no other choice than proceed!! Hahaha... A very very enjoyable kit to build. Definitely -in my opinion- several steps forward on comparison with their previous Harriers. About the ordnance, and discarding the Sidewinders, the RN rocket pods on the outboards pylon and a CBU BL-755 on central pylon appears to be more accurate with some of the Falklands actions. A flight of Harrier GR.3 with rockets made a decisive and fatal blast on the last push on the ground battle for Goose Green. No aftermarkets where used on this kit, but there are only 2 variants to it: the addition of a 1/48 Tamiya pilot (from an old A-10) and a slightly customization of the ADEN 30 mm cannon pods drilling the vent holes. So, enough talking, let the photos show you my tribute to this legend. Next one will be the F-5 Tiger III of the Chilean Air Force (FACH). Best wishes from Chile and happy modelling to all! Cris

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

Hi, all, I'm trying to convert the CMK Unimog to an RAF one as used on the RAFG Harrier Force in the mid 1980s. Does anyone know if the hard top Moggy was used on the HF sqns, or were they all soft tops? I have a faint memory that the hard top ones were usually restricted to bomb dumps, but those brain cells are not very reliable. I only have a few pics from 4 Sqn and they all show soft tops, which will need rather more work on the cab. Thanks Tim