Best early Harrier in 1/72?

[Fifer54]

What the thread title says, really!

Has anyone an opinion about which Harrier GR.1 or GR.3 kit in 1/72 is best, from the viewpoint of an easy and enjoyable build, but

with "Better-than-Starfix" levels of accuracy?

[rs2man]

I believe that the new-tool Airfix GR1 & GR3 are reckoned to be the best available , though the Esci kits & the Italeri reissues thereof are also good , accurate kits , just lacking in cockpit detail .

[upnorth]

I agree, though recently eclipsed by the Airfix new tool kits, the Esci/Italeri kits still represent good value for money and were the gold standard for early Harrier marks in 1/72 for many years.

As mentioned, the cockpit detail is a bit sparse, but the Esci kits build up nicely with minimal fuss and are pretty much spot on with regards to shape and dimensional accuracy.

Sea Harriers are a bit of a different story and I'm told, in some regards anyway, that the Esci FRS.1 does have certain advantages over the Airfix new tool kit. Not sure what they are exactly though.

[Dave Fleming]

New tool Airfix - the GR3 fin is a little too short, but that's 10 minutes with some plasticard to fix (Or buy Freightdog's resin replacement)

Sea Harriers are a bit of a different story and I'm told, in some regards anyway, that the Esci FRS.1 does have certain advantages over the Airfix new tool kit. Not sure what they are exactly though.

They are accurately shaped for one. The Airfix kit suffers from shape errors in the lower rear fusleage and canopy for starters

Edited May 18, 2015 by Dave Fleming

[Fifer54]

Thank you, gents, you have confirmed what I suspected!

[KRK4m]

Of course new Airfix is miles ahead of the rest, but why do you consider ESCI/Italeri better (shapewise) than Fujimi GR1/AV-8A?

[Dave Fleming]

Shapewise they are not too disimilar to the ESCI kits but i fid them cruder and they don't fit as well

[Black Knight]

I'm building the new Airfix GR1 at the mo and find its a really nice kit. I've replaced the exhaust nozzles with Pavla ones as the kit ones were moulded rather poorly with blocked vanes and no definition. I don't know if this is a common problem.

I've built the Italeri FRS1, which was nice to build, but I found the Fujimi GR1 and Hasegawa AV8A [ex-Frog kit I think] very poor and needed lots of work.

[rossm]

Of course new Airfix is miles ahead of the rest, but why do you consider ESCI/Italeri better (shapewise) than Fujimi GR1/AV-8A?

Shapewise they are not too disimilar to the ESCI kits but i fid them cruder and they don't fit as well

I built the Fujimi one years ago and vowed never to build another because of fit and detail problems.

Edited May 19, 2015 by rossm

[tempestfan]

I've built the Italeri FRS1, which was nice to build, but I found the Fujimi GR1 and Hasegawa AV8A [ex-Frog kit I think] very poor and needed lots of work.

The Fujimi kit is at least one generation ahead of the early Hasegawa kit, which was first reboxed and then copied by Frog. The Hase kit may have some merit if one does want a "pre-production" Harrier, you know the one with the "unblended" front nozzle fairings, as I think it's the only kit featuring this (forgive my non-expert terms). It also includes early style, unfaired CBLSs. But didn't Hasegawa replace that mould some time in the early 80s with a completely new one ?

[PLC1966]

Matchbox

[Black Knight]

The Hase AV8A was a '90s boxing. I bought a 21st C boxing of the GR1 and found it was exactly the same sprues with a copy of the Frog decals. For the price I was paying I expected better. [it was a sealed box from a reputable dealer, so sprue replacement could be ruled out perhaps]

Hase has different 'coloured' levels; perhaps in one of the more expensive coloured lists they have a better kit.

[Giorgio N]

The Hasegawa gr.1 is a very old tool however the gr.3 first appeared in the early '80s and is a much better kit.

The esci and new airfix kits both have merits, while the airfix kit may be better, I would not bin any of the esci early harrier kits

[tempestfan]

The Hasegawa gr.1 is a very old tool however the gr.3 first appeared in the early '80s and is a much better kit.

That probably explains it - I was thinking of that kit (and the similar vintage SHar) and assumed that more recent GR.1s/AV-8As were based on the newer tool.

[KRK4m]

Shapewise they are not too disimilar to the ESCI kits but i fid them cruder and they don't fit as well

I have built both Fujimi and ESCI while new Airfix GR.1 is stash-waiting. Of course ESCI AV-8A fits better than Fujimi and they both are generations ahead of the crude FROG/Hasegawa offering from the 1970s. Nevertheless having the opportunity of investigating the real bird at my Krakow museum i found no reason for bulged wing underside area around the outside hardpoints, so prominently marked by the Italian duo. Both Fujimi and new Airfix are absolutely plain there, so who's right?

Edited May 20, 2015 by KRK4m

[Giorgio N]

I have built both Fujimi and ESCI while new Airfix GR.1 is stash-waiting. Of course ESCI AV-8A fits better than Fujimi and they both are generations ahead of the crude FROG/Hasegawa offering from the 1970s. Nevertheless having the opportunity of investigating the real bird at my Krakow museum i found no reason for bulged wing underside area around the outside hardpoints, so prominently marked by the Italian duo. Both Fujimi and new Airfix are absolutely plain there, so who's right?

There is a bulge in that area but only when the pylon is not fitted. Esci moulded the bulge and then a pylon to stand over the bulge, incorrectly

[Selwyn]

There is a bulge in that area but only when the pylon is not fitted. Esci moulded the bulge and then a pylon to stand over the bulge, incorrectly

The bulges were actually fairing stowages for the Pylon electrical looms. They had two blank connector stowages built in inside them. the looms were coiled inside the bulge. There were also similar (slightly different shape) bulges for the inner wing pylon looms for use when no pylons were fitted.

Selwyn

[tempestfan]

There's a pic of a SHar 1 in IIRC one of the Aircraft Archive Post-War Jets vol.'s that shows the fairing to good effect as the fairing I think remained white while the airframe had been repainted EDSG (or DSG, or whatever).

[Dave Fleming]

There's a pic of a SHar 1 in IIRC one of the Aircraft Archive Post-War Jets vol.'s that shows the fairing to good effect as the fairing I think remained white while the airframe had been repainted EDSG (or DSG, or whatever).

If it';s the one I am thinking of, then it was one of the FA2 development aircraft. What was especially intruiging was that this was one of the aircraft delivered after the colour scheme had become overall DSG....