Airfix 1/48 Sea Harrier FRS.1 - another bite of the elephant

[Loki]

Any more on this ? Looking forward to the next instalment

[grayh]

Very interested in this build. any more?

[NickR]

Thanks for all the positive comments since my last post on 25th Sept after which I went a bit quiet!

Well, a lot can happen in 6 months! Got a new job, found out my wife wanted to become an ex-wife, bought and moved into a batchelor pad and only now had opportunity to pick up the plastic, glue and paint!

The progress made in the past week. Turned main gear into soemthing more interesting

Made some nose wheel bay doors

and did some scratching in the cockpit on the bulkhead, added PE consol and IP, scratched a throttle lever and new upper part of stick. Decals are cut from the kit sheet to ft onto the Eduard IP. Turning this lot

into this...

Next up detailing the Aden cannons and other weapons and stores....or shall I close up the fuselage ??? ...very nervous about that after all the work to get to this point...just hope it fits !!!!

[Windy]

You have put lots of hard work and effort and it shows. I am really looking forward to seeing how this progresses.

[glyn]

youve certainly got patience.

glyn

[Marcus.Q1000859]

Welcome back to the modelling desk, looking forward to the rest.

Marcus

[NickR]

Well - it's been a while!!

I have watched you guys in awe and jealousy over recent months but had to deal with what life throws at you. Back in the saddle now and hoping to keep up a steady pace on this. Been at it on and off for a few days and made some minor progress. So without further ado....

I took a long time getting my Aden cannons to look the part. Thanks to Nick Greenhall for some excellent photos of the real ones and his brilliant renditions too. Thanks to the guys here as well for their help

Corrected overall shape, especially around the muzzles, drilled out and shaped the rear end and added a bit of strip inside for pull handles. Drilled out the holes behind muzzle (did them “handed” until Nick G kindly pointed out they weren’t). So filled and redid one of them. Bit of brass tube up each muzzle for barrels. Couple of smaller vents between the holes beneath the muzzles and the ejector chute.

New bulges – SAnded old ones off and then I experimented with building them up with either filler and then sanding or making them roughly the correct shape and size in Evergreen, gluing and sanding in situ. The latter worked better for me and looked better (the bulges nearer the shell ejector ports). Scribed some panel lines, used my ponce wheel to add some rivets (can’t really see them yet) and some plasticard seals (or, seemingly, applied sealant by the look of piccies – hence the not perfect shape)

Turned these….

Into these, which I am quite chuffed about….

Thought I'd have a go at the vents on the tail and the GTS/APU above the engines next

The first two underneath I was quite happy with having thinned the inside wall of the fuselage, which broke at the weakest point (between the hole drilled for the vent and the join).

So patched up with a bit of spare card and filed and sanded carefully. For these two I used a common or garden nail punch from LHS which worked satisfactorily (bit rough around the edges). I set them in place with sparing amounts of Liquid Cement.

This held them firmly but then considering the weak area, the sanding around the join down the line and masking of the vents (don’t want a buildup of primers, paints etc. clogging it up) decided to hold them in place and brace the area with some rod, built up with some dissolved putty and fixed with Liquid Cement.

The aft most underneath RCV vent I decided to try a different approach. I used my trusty Shesto shears to cut the mesh in a small square roughly the size of the vent. Trimmed it to make a hexagonal and then tidied it up to make an almost perfect circle. This is possible cos the shears are brilliant. They can cut, if you have your Optivisors on, fractions of a millimeter of the tiny wire of the mesh. With this more accurate shape and size I was able to push it deeper into the hole and held in place much more solidly by sparing amounts of LC. A touch did run onto the mesh but not so noticeable to worry me.

I started on side to “chase” into the plastic to recess the Eduard PE tail fin bits - if anyone has a good tip on doing this I would be grateful. Wish I hadn’t as could probably make my own now I am a vent expert (not!!). So will decide whether to fill and sand or use the Eduard (erring on the later as drilling etc. into the filler might be an issue (Could LC some shim in there instead… )

Just spotted – Is there an RCV vent on top of the rearmost point of the tailfin??????

Decided to do the upper GTS/APU vent. I cut a hole in some 5 thou just smaller than the aperture cut into the fuselage to act as a frame or surround for the vent. Then cut carefully around the hole to leave the frame. I fixed this in place with sparing amounts of LC, so not as to melt the 5 thou into a soup, so there was an internal overlap to the aperture (See picture above).Then cut an accurate rectangle of mesh with my beloved shears to fit into the vent from the underside.

Again held in place with LC. I did get wary and reinforced two sides of the vent with shim LC’d in to hold it firm. I might well make a small box under the whole thing – not sure on that one. Looks ok from the top (mesh looks wonky here but is more square in reallity).

To have a break from vents I cleaned up the Pavla nozzles and cut the vanes back a touch inside and thinned them a bit. They are primed and ready for my new toys – My first selection of Alclad when it arrives!!!! (Thanks Paul at Little Cars)

Putting off doing the tailfin vents I fashioned a centerline pylon from a spare kit (hope the Pavla ones are up to the job)

At this point I decided that I am getting uptight on detail. Can you guess what I am planning to do with this lot????

Yep, I’ve lost it - 20 swing braces!!!

Hopefully more to come sooner rather than later! Thanks for looking

Edited August 22, 2013 by NickR

[LT Motta]

Nice job!!!

I do like the Aden guns.

[RMCS]

Loving following this build, great effort and I am learning a lot.

[Col.]

Great to see back at this one. Top class modelling going on there Nick.

[NickR]

A good deal done this weekend!

Drilled and pinned up all my pylons, mounts, rails etc. Think this will make them a bit sturdier and means I can take them apart and put them back together to paint etc

Scribed some detail, including rivets onto the drop tanks

Fashioned and added 20 sway braces to the mounts (after making them too big, trying to trim them, bu@@ering them up and redoing them!)

Then remembered that RichF had an issue (here) with the Pavla pylons not level. I checked and indeed the outboard Sidewinder rail downs point below the horizontal. I sanded (overdid one and had to add a shim) but now think they line up ok (although the picture suggests otherwise! Will have another look)

All that lot is now primed and drying in the gallery

I bought 2 micro chisels as advocated by Nigel Heath. They are great and in the hands of a craftsman (rather than a ham-fisted oaf) would be wonderful. They do a great job of chasing into plastic (and fingers) but after tidying my first effort on the port tailfin did an agreeable job on the stbd. Drilled through and set in the PE with some CA and then ran liquid cement around them – they need a bit of clean up but with do when put the fuselage together.

Cut holes for the moving tail plane and drilled through to connect the two tail planes. One side is 1mm brass tube the other side .8mm. when the fuselage is shut I will push through both bits of brass and CA the other tail plane in place rather than try to locate the two ends blind (glad that occurred to me!)

Put the locating plates for the nozzles in place having whittles where necessary to make them fit the Pavla nozzles and CA’d the b’jesus out of the plates so they don’t pop off when all sealed up and try to fit the nozzles.

Lastly, fit and the little window I had fabricated for the camera and fit the camera – needs a tidy up but will wait til all has set.

Now for some advice from you guys. Although I have lovely Brassin ones for this project I primed the kit sidewinders for some practice for when it comes to weathering. From piccies of Falklands SHARs (including 457) the noses of the drop tanks as well as noses of sidewinder rails, intakes etc appear worn through to the primer. I don’t want to overdo it so I shall experiment dry brushing on sidewinder with zinc chromate (Tamiya XF4 unless people know different) and the other apply zinc chromate, a bit of AF Worn Effect, over paint EDSG and wash back to the chromate.

Anyone got any other suggestions? Will post up the results

Any suggestions, advice or general help (esp from you SHAR gurus) gratefully received

Toodle pip

[pacificmustang]

Great stuff Nick, will be using yours as a tutorial when i do mine

Bruce

[NickR]

Great stuff Nick, will be using yours as a tutorial when i do mine

Bruce

Thanks Bruce - that is exactly what I have been doing using others' WIP and would point you in the direction of Rich F's here and Paulo Regini''s stunning build here (wish he would start that again) for more help.

[NickR]

Got up early this morning so did some more before work

Decided to do the defelctor plates. Ummed and aarred about hoe to do them and decided on wine bottle foil. So, using Nick Greenhall's excellent build notes, fashioned a couple. Used small hex head bit from the "big" tool box to scribe the lines on the plates, my scriber to add the rivets and foil strips CA'd across the back of the plates to act as the fastner brackets when the time comes to fit them in place. They are quite flimsy so may add plasticard to the back to reinforce.

Best go to work now!!!!

Edited August 27, 2013 by NickR

[Royster]

Cracking idea and very intricate!

[Gustavo Bunger]

Nick, very realistic ! Amazing work !

[LT Motta]

Impressive work with the chisel!

How do you know the depth? (to cut with)