Piero Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Hello, Here is my MDD/Alenia AV-8B Harrier II Plus in use with the Marina Militare Italiana (Italian Navy) as “Lupi di Mare” (Sea Wolf) Squadron based at MARISTAER Grottaglie (Italy) and deployed on board of the Garibaldi and Cavour Italian carriers. KIT The model is based on Trumpeter AV-8B Plus kit in 1/32nd scale. This kit is not so good. Details are generally basic and the specific parts of this version as the radome, FLIR and chaff&flare launchers are really off in terms of shape and size. Wing pylons are wrong and doesn’t fit the wings. Ventral pylon is wrong too. External fuel tanks are wrong in shape. The panel lines are mostly incorrected too. The decals sheet in the box doesn’t offer the choice of the Italian’s Harriers… So, it’s a long way to get a decent Harrier replica… CONSTRUCTION Most of the correction and adds steps can be found on the WIP topic of this model. To recap the detail sets I sued and the parts from scratch I made, here is a list: · Aires resin cockpit set; · Aires resin undercarriage bays set; · Eduard PE sheets for internal and external details; · North Star Models resin AGM-65 Maverick missile and rail; · Cutting Edge resin LAU AIM-9 launch rails; · Isra Decal resin Litening targeting pod; · Hasegawa plastic external fuel tanks from an A-4 kit; · AMS Resin undercarriage wheels; · Radome from scratch; · FLIR from scratch; · Chaff&flare dorsal launchers from scratch; · Air scoops, external sensors and aerial antennas from scratch; · ECM ALQ-164 pod from scratch; · Ventral pylon from scratch. COLORS & MARKINGS The Italian’s Harries has a 2-tone grey camouflage: top and side are in 36231, with underside in 36320. Paint were from the acrylics lines of Gunze and Tamiya. For the decal I went with a mix form Phoenix decal for the stencils, Tauro Models were used for the wolf-steps on the vertical tail, Navy’s anchors and roundels. Zotz decal for the wolf-head, pilot name and the MDC inside the canopy. Some RBF tags were added to finish the model. And now some pictures of the completed model. CIAO! Piero 39 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andwil Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Great looking model. Is it correct that such large tanks would be carried on outboard pylons? Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted April 26, 2018 Author Share Posted April 26, 2018 3 minutes ago, Andwil said: Great looking model. Is it correct that such large tanks would be carried on outboard pylons? Andrew Hi Andrew, many thanks! yes, the AV-8B can carry up to 4 external fuel tanks. Depending on the type of war load, the external fuel tanks can be carried on the internal pylons or on the middle pylons. CIAO! Piero 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatFlyHalf Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Wow! It still amazes me how this aeroplane developed. (Temptation here to make a political comment about the stupidity of a certain government scrapping their Harrier force, but I'll resist the temptation). You've made a great job of modelling this heavily burdened aircraft. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovely Pig Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Cracking result Piero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Strasser Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Awesome!!! Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philtheplanetinker Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 What a beast! Quality just top quality work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJP Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Beautiful AV-8B and nice to see one in Italian markings - very nice photos too CJP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Really worth all the effort!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head in the clouds. Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Top marks for a top model and a refreshing subject matter too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Well done, a lot of extra work has gone into that one!! I can't see an area that you have not had to work on, having built the kit myself. Congratulations on a fine build. Shaun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screech Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Beautiful rendition on the Italian Harrier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Now that does look good! Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipthepilot Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 That is beautifully painted, I can't speak for the accuracy of the kit but you have certainly made it look good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipthepilot Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 On 27/04/2018 at 22:01, FatFlyHalf said: (Temptation here to make a political comment about the stupidity of a certain government scrapping their Harrier force, but I'll resist the temptation). Please go ahead, I suspect you will be hard pushed on this site to find someone who doesn't agree with you. 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djos Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 What a BEAST Looks very realistic. Weathering is perfect. Great model with lot of visual details.......perfect regards Djordje Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vlad74 Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 veramente bellissimo complimenti, ottimo lavoro💪💪💪💪 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epeeman Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Wow! Looks real .......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 Superb ! Looks amazing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted May 2, 2018 Author Share Posted May 2, 2018 Hello my friends, thank you very much for your compliments on my Harrier Plus!!! CIAO! Piero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Stonking work, looks amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now