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Kinetic 1/48 FA.2 Sea harrier


Pappy

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G'day people,

 

I cracked the bags on this one today,

 

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I enjoyed building my Kinetic FRS.1

 

 

So it will be interesting to see how this one goes together as this was the first release in Kinetics's Harrier 'family' of kits. Also, having already built one, I should be able to avoid the pitfalls inherent in the kit. I tend to jump around and build in sub-assemblies rather than strictly follow the suggested assembly sequence  and this build will be no exception. For this reason I began with the main wheel well which received some PE

 

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I have left off one of the side walls to aid in painting. Next up, the cockpit tub.

 

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I have decided to keep the raised console details rather than replace them with pre-painted PE as it is a little too flat for my liking in 1/48. I did scrape off the details on the quarter panels however and will use the corresponding PE sections here.

 

The cockpit side walls are completely featureless OOB, so I decided to add a few details loosely based on references

 

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The canopy frame did not miss out either

 

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The PE set supplies a MDC control box cover for the aft canopy frame bulkhead but I think it is a little too big so I decided to make my own instead. A quick blast of paint and a wash and drybrush later and the cockpit sides were done!

 

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Likewise the tub

 

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Meanwhile the wing assembly was completed

 

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The APU inlet (r/h side) is a fair representation but the exhaust is greatly simplified and far too shallow, correcting this will be tomorrow's job. One difference I have noticed already is that the fit of the underwing inserts at the wingtips is far better in the FA.2 release than the FRS.1 boxing. Here is the FA.2 wingtip:

 

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Now compare this to the the FRS.1 equivalent:

 

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The FRS.1 wing also has another error as  section of the inboard underside 'dogtooth' is not the correct shape. These mistakes have been carried over to the new two seat 'T-Harrier' boxing.

 

DSCN4822_zpsgw7sz1ko.jpg

 

Well, that is all for now,

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Pappy
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On 11/11/2017 at 11:10 PM, pacificmustang said:

Pappy, I think you have accidentally double posted the pic of the unpainted canopy frame . Nice painting of the cockpit btw

 

Bruce 

 

On 11/11/2017 at 8:37 PM, F111Fan said:

Pappy,

 

Looks like a good kit, that tub is beautiful!

Thanks very much fellas, and thank you Bruce for the heads up, on the double post (fixed now)

 

G'day people,

 

Well, I started the day by painting up the kit seat and adding some PE loveliness

 

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Pavla offers a resin seat however unaltered, it is far too tall to sit in the cockpit.  You would have to reduce the raised plinth that the kit seat rests on which could be tricky. In any case the kit supplied seat is very nice and really only lacks the seats straps to look convincing. The kit decal sheet even includes a pair of data plate decals for the seat headbox (not mentioned in the instructions) and the PE set also supplies pre-painted stencil placards but I think the kit decals look better so that is what I used. I also repainted the pre-painted seat PE belts because I did not like the colours.

 

A quick test fit to make sure that there will not be any surprises come installation time

 

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Satisfied I moved on to the main wing assembly.

 

As already mentioned, as supplied the APU exhaust is simplified and far too shallow to be realistic

 

The APU recess was opened up by chain drilling and then cleaned up with files. Once satisfied, a representation of the exhaust duct was scratchbuilt using plastic sheet

 

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Once dry, this was trimmed back. The rectangular lip that surrounds the APU inlet is a little soft in definition and PE replacements is supplied for bothe the APU inlet and exhaust so the extant detail was sanded off in preparation of the PE application.

 

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Once I was happy that everything was neat, the PE parts were then added

 

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The final task was to sand off the molded wing vortex generators  and clean up the wing seams as I will be replacing these with PE items later. I chickened out on doing this with my FRS.1 build but I want to have a crack with this one to see if it is worthwhile.

 

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I consider myself a reasonably good detail painter but I could not compete with the pre-painted instrument panel PE parts

 

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The PE instrument panel was installed into the tub.

The main gear bay has also been painted and weathered.

 

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The two oval depressions in the main wheel bay roof represent recessed scoops that allow the main wheel unit tyres to nestle inside the wheel bay when retracted. They are a bit too flat/shallow to be accurate but there is no point getting too carried away here as the main gear doors are typically closed on the ground unless opened for maintenance. I was satisfied with the effect following the application of a simple wash to imply depth.  Additionally, when hydraulic power is removed, the doors droop slightly leaving a noticeable gap, which is how my doors will be depicted when they are finally installed.

 

The cockpit tub, nose gear bay, main wheel bay and airbrake assembly were now offered up to the fuselage and this was then glued together and is currently drying,

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Pappy
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Having acquired a T-bird at Telford yesterday (destined to be a T4N in which I blagged 4 trips on holdover at 899 in 1984/5), I’m watching closely - not least to learn from any kit errors / Pappy-improvements.  It looks a good kit, but the perfect kit has yet to be released (& probably never will be)

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21 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

Having acquired a T-bird at Telford yesterday (destined to be a T4N in which I blagged 4 trips on holdover at 899 in 1984/5), I’m watching closely - not least to learn from any kit errors / Pappy-improvements.  It looks a good kit, but the perfect kit has yet to be released (& probably never will be)

I also have a two hole Harrier and it took a LOT of restraint not to start is before the FA.2! Perhaps I can follow your T-4N build when I eventually start mine! The kit has a few gotchas, mainly to do with the aft reaction control vent part, however the two-seater has a different part breakdown in that area due to the longer tail boom. The kit goes together relatively quickly, there are only 5-6 assembly steps to get most of the jet assembled.

18 hours ago, exdraken said:

Great work on the pit!

Taking note also on your improvements, have the single seater waiting ...

Dive in Werner, you are going to love it. The Kinetic kit is not vice free, but it should go together without too many hassles despite the Kinetic knockers, just be sure to take the time and test fit before committing to glue. The fit of the intake ducts (that also form the nose wheel bay) to the forward fuselage is not great and the forward main wing assembly to fuselage  are the two biggest areas to look out for.

12 hours ago, Paco said:

Nice work! Looking forward to this thread.

 

11 hours ago, Phone Phixer said:

I'm in. You're not hanging about are you!

Going by your beautiful FRS1 build, this should be great.

Well, as my old instructor used to say, I'm not here to fornicate with arachnids! The sooner I get this one done, the sooner I can start on my two-seater

 

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cheers,

 

Pappy

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20 hours ago, Christer A said:

This I'll follow with great interest. Lot's of info on what needs fixing, and superb photos showing how you did it.

That cockpit is just lovely!

Thanks Christer.

 

A lot of the fixes have been dealt with in my FRS. 1build, there is a link at the top of the thread

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G'day people,

 

Well I have managed to get the main wing attached to the fuselage so now it is time to get down to the drudgery of filling and sanding seams. The fit is actually not as bad as the pics would have you believe as I am using liquid filler painted on to fill small, shallow seams.

 

The intake duct was the first area that has been tackled

 

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Next up, the seams around the upper fuselage/wing

 

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Note these seams fall along natural panel lines so the aim is not to completely eliminate the line, just reduce its depth.

 

Next up this small clear part is the In Flight Refueling (IFR) light

 

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When the IFR probe is not installed, a solid panel is normally fitted in its place and the kit offers both options. The fit is not too bad once the wing recess has been filed to better suit the contours of the part

 

Now for the really ugly bit, the wing root fit is bad and will require some proper filling and sanding

 

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Finally, an honorable mention must go the pitot probe moulded integrally to the left fuselage half

 

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The probe tip is very delicate and I have lost count how many times I have bumped and bent it, yet is remains resilient!

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

 

 

Edited by Pappy
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G'day people,

 

It is with a heavy heart that today I must inform you that I have lost my little mate 'Spike"

 

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This little guy had stuck (no pun intended!) with me from the start of this build but sadly today his journey has come to an end. After fighting on despite many blows from my clumsy fingers, Spike finally sustained a mortal blow and there was nothing more I could do for him so I had to put him out of his misery. Spike is survived by his best mate, 'Stumpy"

 

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RIP Spike

 

On a happier note, most of the seams are behaving well.

 

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Just the underside wing roots to go now

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

Edited by Pappy
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On 18/11/2017 at 7:07 AM, baldwin8 said:

Beautiful execution. Looking really good.

 

Cheers Baldwin!

 

G'day people,

 

Well, I am slowly bashing the underwing seams into submission, but in the meanwhile I have been keeping myself busy with the undercarriage.

 

Kinetic insists on molding the wheels as a single part hub and two separate tyre halves. Some people may like this approach as it makes painting the hubs easier  but I have always ended up with a gap around the wheel hub section and the tyre halves need sanding to take care of the resulting seam. This would mean that the tread pattern is also obliterated however as Kinetic did not bother with providing any, sanding the tyre seams is not an entire loss. This is one area where Kinetic needs to improve in general as this gimmick is sadly not limited to just the Harrier family of kits.

 

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This photo does not really illustrate the bead of filler required around the wheel hubs but it is there and would be a redundant step in Kinetic would actually learn to mould wheels with integral hubs. Also not the deep sink marks on the lower section of the outrigger wheels which required filler and re-scribing. My FRS.1 kit and T-harrier kits all have sink marks in the same spot.

 

Anyhoo, enough soap boxing. I busied up the nose gear unit first using all the usual scratch building materials,

 

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Satisfied, I now turned my attention the the main undercarriage pogo stick

 

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I also started adding some of the airframe furniture

 

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It is interesting to note that the GPS unit is located where one of the upper VHF aerials would normally be. The second VHF aerial seems to be re-located on the upper aft fuselage aft of the wing trailing edge. I would have thought that this is where the GPS receiver would have been placed but I guess it is just one of the quirks of the FA.2

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

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G'day people,

 

Well, in between bouts of seam sanding i have been busy on other bits.

 

Kinetic stuffed up the rear RCV part E25.

 

The part fits very well as per the kit instructions but the details have been transposed. The rectangular outlet should be at the back and the two circular grilles at the front, not the other way around as Kinetic have them moulded. The problem is more complicated as simply turning part E25 around so that the details are correctly orientated introduces another problem as the tail boom tapers in two planes and you will need to sand back the aft end and build up the front end with putty and restore the circular grille details.  It is not really that hard but I have already done it once in my FRS.1 build and didn't feel like doing it a second time. Hopefully Kinetic will correct this mistake when they eventually release their GR.3 kit.

 

Instead I decided to leave off part E25 altogether and scratchbuild the exposed RCV mechanism instead. I began by removing the side RCV panels from the tail boom and the top and back were then boxed in

 

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Next up, i knocked up a representation of the RCV mechanism using bits of scrap styrene and sprue

 

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After an enjoyable morning I was happy with my mech. It is not super accurate but will pass a cursory glance

 

After  a splash of paint I temp fitted the mech

 

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Happy days! This will be put to one side and installed once all the main painting and weathering has been completed

 

Apart from a lack of tread, Kinetics main wheels are also devoid of any brake pack details. Not much can be seen in any case but I still wanted to busy my wheels a little bit so some scraps of styrene and a punch set were use to busy this area up

 

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cheers,

 

Pappy

Edited by Pappy
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