Pegasus Harrier T.2 conversion ?

[Giorgio N]

I found over the weekend a Pegasus Harrier T.2 conversion at a flea market, not the kind of stuff commonly seen in these places but can't complain if items like these show up !

Does anybody have any knowledge of this conversion ? Is it accurate? Would it be worth using or would it be better to put this up for sale to collectors and use the money to help financing a more modern kit ?

Plastic parts look standard Pegasus of the days, thick and likely brittle. The tail in particular is in the famous hard clear plastic they used for some parts and the transparencies are what can be expected in a short run kit of the era... The sticker says to use with the Airfix kit (old mould of course) but I can't see too many problems in using it with a different kit... if it's at least accurate

 

[Max Headroom]

I have this from when it was first released. Mine is in a slightly translucent white plastic. If I remember rightly (it’s in deep store at the moment), there is the front end, extended tail and canopy and that’s about it. No internals? I think it it was meant to go with the original issue Airfix Harrier. I bought the C Scale white metal bits to go with it.

 

Not sure about accuracy. It was superseded by the Bobcat two seater (I have that ‘somewhere’ too). 

 

I think this this should be regarded as a collector’s item.

 

Trevor

[Graham Boak]

I had this - didn't realise it was Pegasus.  I was more into Harriers in those days, but don't recall any significant inaccuracies.  However you can do a lot better these days, surely?

 

 

[Graham Boak]

I have it and the Hunter T.7 conversion down as Reflex, but that may well be wrong.  I also have a Mosquito night fighter radome and Sea King  side windows down as Reflex, but I've more confidence in those.

[tempestfan]

Reflex or possibly ReyHex ? There was a shortlived shortrun venture by that name (one was a Mr Reynolds, the conversion or possibly initial range was commented on in some short SAM article back in the mists of time) who did a Harrier Twin conversion, and the others you mention would fit, I think. But of course Reyhex may have changed their name to Reflex or vice versa.

[andyf117]

Content withdrawn - I will NOT be threatened by a moderator, simply because I queried the actions of another...

Edited June 27, 2020 by andyf117

[Giorgio N]

Thanks everyone, I knew that someone here would have known about this one ! 😎

Mine is exactly the one in the link posted by Andy, and yes the fuselage parts are in a somewhat translucent white plastic while fin and canopy are in clear.

 

[Graham Boak]

Mine was the one with the solid tail, and I presume that the Hunter was too.   Reflex/Reyhex?  Could be, but Air Conversions appears to be the same. 

 

Mind you, I wouldn't swear to the nose being in two halves, but just how many of these white resin conversions could there have been?

Edited May 28, 2018 by Graham Boak

[Dave Fleming]

Pegasus did a couple of iterations of their Harrier trainer set

[Richard Humm]

The Air Conversions Harrier conversion kit was the first on the market, being advertised in the August 1972 Airfix Magazine. Bryan Philpott was behind Air Conversions, as an extension of his UK dealership for Airframe vacforms and Letraset rub-down decal sheets.

 

I'm not sure if ReyHex (Frank Reynolds and half of the Froude & Hext model shop owners) did a Harrier trainer conversion. They did one for a Hunter T.7 along with a RF-4 nose, Graham's Mosquito and Beaufighter radomes, Westland Sea King radomes, HH-3F Pelican parts and a Canberra TT nose. These were all around by 1975, apart from the Hunter which was probably 1976.

 

The Pegasus Harrier conversion was, I think, Chris Gannon's first product after splitting from Vagn Espensen at Veeday, and came out in late 1982.

[Graham Boak]

Thanks Richard: I had the Pegasus Spitfire Mk.22 in 1982.  I presumed that this and the Buchon were his first kits, and have been told that both were intended for Veeday.  Having already done a 2-seat Harrier conversion, this one would have been beneath my radar.

[Giorgio N]

I see that the card header bears the number 001, so it may very well be Pegasus first ever "kit". The same header carries the numbers "31-5-82", don't know if this refers to the date of issue of the kit or else.

Really torn now between using the conversion anyway or leaving this untouched, since may have have more collectable value than I expected

[tempestfan]

I admit google delivers no hits re the ReyHex T.2, but for some reason that conversion is firmly linked in my brains to that rather obscure brand. Would have to check the first two volumes of SAM, as I'm fairly convinced it was mentioned there. As SAM 1/1 came on the market in '77 I think, and you quote earlier dates Richard, could it be that it was actually not ReyHex but a successor operation of Mr Reynolds who did (or announced) the T.2 ? BTW, good to see you here, Richard 😉

[Dave Fleming]

I’m sure there was a Harrier T2 conversion under the Modeldecal brand - could it have been that one? Or am I confusing the Sea Harrier set they did?

Edited May 30, 2018 by Dave Fleming

[Max Headroom]

Modeldecal did a two seat Lightning.

 

Trevor

[sloegin57]

21 minutes ago, Dave Fleming said:

I’m sure there was a Harrier T2 conversion under the Modeldecal brand - could it have been that one? Or am I confusing the Sea Harrier set they did?

 

10 minutes ago, Max Headroom said:

Modeldecal did a two seat Lightning.

 

Trevor

Modeldecal ??.  I wasn't aware that Dick Ward did conversions and i am pretty sure that no Harrier T Bird appeared on the Modeldecal sheets.  Not sure about a Lightning T bird - I'll check

 

Dennis

 

[Nigel Bunker]

The Air Conversions Harrier T.2 came out in 1971 I believe. It was their second conversion kit, the first being the two seat Hunter. The man behind them was Bryan Philpott, from whom I bought both conversions at the monthly Reading IPMS meetings when they were held at the cafe off Market place in Reading. I think the Pegasus kit came out about 10 years after thje Air Conversions one.

 

I believe Modeldecal did a Sea Harrier conversion, not a T.2 conversion. They were due to to a two seat Lightning conversion but I don't know if it was ever issued. The decals for a 74 Sqn Lightning T.4 were issued as an extra in one of the Modeldecal sheets.

 

Well that's as my aging memory recalls things.

[Max Headroom]

53 minutes ago, sloegin57 said:

 

Modeldecal ??.  I wasn't aware that Dick Ward did conversions and i am pretty sure that no Harrier T Bird appeared on the Modeldecal sheets.  Not sure about a Lightning T bird - I'll check

 

Dennis

 

I think it was a one-off

 

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/MODELDECAL-conversion-kit-decal-sheet-1-72-Lightning-T4-SEALED-/323121188980

 

Trevor

[Dave Fleming]

5 hours ago, sloegin57 said:

 

Modeldecal ??.  I wasn't aware that Dick Ward did conversions and i am pretty sure that no Harrier T Bird appeared on the Modeldecal sheets.  Not sure about a Lightning T bird - I'll check

 

Dennis

 

 

This was the one I was getting confused by. he did a SHAR conversion

[sloegin57]

3 hours ago, Max Headroom said:

I think it was a one-off

 

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/MODELDECAL-conversion-kit-decal-sheet-1-72-Lightning-T4-SEALED-/323121188980

 

Trevor

Thanks Max and all.  You learn something new every day.  The SHAR and Lightning conversions are both very new to me.  The various decals Dick did for a Harrier T4 were related to the the Bobcat kit.  

 

The Lightning T.4 decals (74Sqdn) appear ,as has been stated, as an apparent 'add-on' to Set 70 dated 1983 as do the drawings.

 

7 minutes ago, Dave Fleming said:

 

This was the one I was getting confused by. he did a SHAR conversion

 

Thanks Dave, I had managed to trace that one to my surprise.  The decals originally designed for that conversion, or rather left over from, were added into Set 65 dated 1982 which was mostly concerned with grey F-4's and Lightnings

 

Thanks again

Dennis

[Seahawk]

Which disappeared from the market almost as soon as it appeared.  Did it unfortunately coincide with the issue of the Matchbox Sea Harrier?  The transfer sheet was later issued in with one of the normal Modeldecal sheets.  Think he had loads more printed than kits made, because I picked up several for the (as ever with Dick) comprehensive stencil markings. 

 

I have the Pegasus Harrier T.2 somwwhere in deep storage together with a mutilated Harrier GR.1 kit.

[Des]

Scale Aircraft Modelling from September 1981 (Volume 3 Number 12) had a conversion feature by Peter Doyle on using the Modeldecal parts on a Hasegawa Harrier which was the recommended recipient and concludes by saying that advanced test shot parts had been used and the production parts would be available in the near future although I do not recall them ever being advertised.     That issue of SAM also included their second Decal Sheet with High-Viz markings for all of the then current Sea Harrier squadrons.

 

I think that a later issue had a similar build using the Lightning parts although without a freebie decal sheet but while the Sea Harrier article just happened to be on the shelf for another project the Lightning one is in much deeper storage so I cannot confirm.

 

Around the same time Microscale released some Harrier decals and I am sure that they briefly offered some conversion parts as well but no idea now if it was for the Sea Harrier again or a trainer.