1/48 Airfix Harrier GR3

[Lord Riot]

Straight into the next 80's RAF jet and it's the brilliant Harrier, one of the most iconic and important aircraft of all time. It looks like a decent kit from the sprues, and a nice decal sheet; particularly good to see an OCU option and this is the one I'll be doing, albeit a slightly later one with wraparound grey/green camo, circa 1986/7.

 

Any tips on this kit or Harrier GR3s from this era welcome. On to the standard box and contents pics. It was a cheap ebay special so the box is a bit scruffy but it'll only end up in recycling so no worries there.

 

 

[phildagreek]

I seem to remember this was a pretty good kit & went together pretty well if lacking in fine detail. I don’t recall the decals being great though.

[bar side]

Hmm, from memory the cockpit seems a bit small & under scale.  Basic seat too?  The fit between the wings & body will need some filler.  Check out the Harrier SIG site for ways to improve it

 

http://www.harriersig.org.uk/

 

Got to say the Monogram GR1 / AV8A is a much nicer kit, but the finished Airfix kit looks like a Harrier GR3

 

 

But I messed about with mine to bury leds inside to light it up, so you can buld to a better standard if you try.  Will be watching with interest.  Good luck!

[bar side]

This is the SIG page 

 

http://www.harriersig.org.uk/models/gr3buildnotesv2.pdf

 

There is a diagram pdf too

[Lord Riot]

Thanks @bar side, I'll have a look at that SIG page. Lovely build of that Harrier btw, looks superb, I'll be more than happy if mine turns out like that!

 

Made a start now, the Airfix seat didn't look that good so I added the back rest from a Canberra seat and used two AIM-9 forward fins for the headrest 'Batman ears'.

 

 

I'll do my usual masking tape seat belts when the paint's dried. 

 

It does look a pretty basic kit actually, and because it was an ebay bargain the under fuselage strakes are missing! 😡 

 

 

[Devilfish]

I'm sorry to disagree, but this is a HORRIBLE kit! I built one, converting it to GR.1, adding aftermarket parts to replace the intakes, nozzles, seat, and I rescribed the entire airframe, and I still hated the end result.

The Monogram kit, although also having raised panel lines and the American Stencil seat, is still far superior.

What we really need is for Airfix or Kinetic to bring out a modern kit.....

 

Airfix...

20170615_221424_zpsfnyxbbpe by Paul Carter, on Flickr

 

Monogram

DSC_0774 by Paul Carter, on Flickr

[Lord Riot]

It's beginning to look that way @Devilfish, though looking at your two examples you'd never know, they're amazing!

 

This is about the best I can do with the bang seat ...

 

 

It looks like there's quite a few mods I'll need to try based on that Harrier SIG. Some are beyond me and I won't bother, but I can probably try a couple. Need some thin plastic card by the look of things, especially for that airbrake and the cockpit rails. Unless I can find suitable bits in the spares bag!

Edited April 15, 2019 by Lord Riot

[bar side]

Still the only kit out of the box that looks roughly like a GR3.  But very dated.  As @Devilfish says we need a new kit for this - Airfix could sort the Harrier, Jag & Bucc and we would all be happy.  Preferably under the £40 a kit mark though.

 

But it did give me one of my all time favourite model photos

 

 

 

[Lord Riot]

Well here's a stroke of luck. A 1/72 bomb bay door (from a Canberra I think) fits the curve and thickness of the airbrake exactly! I just need to cut an extra bit for added width then glue on the extra 5mm to the airbrake. 

 

From the Harrier Walkaround on here the airbrake looks very thin so it'll need a bit of filing too.

 

 

Shouldn't be too bad once I sand down the filler.

 

[Lord Riot]

4 minutes ago, bar side said:

Still the only kit out of the box that looks roughly like a GR3.  But very dated.  As @Devilfish says we need a new kit for this - Airfix could sort the Harrier, Jag & Bucc and we would all be happy.  Preferably under the £40 a kit mark though.

 

 

I completely agree, those would be amazing retooled and released, preferably nearer the £30 mark like Revell's Toom! 

 

A 1/48 Dominie wouldn't go amiss either, but I digress ...

 

That night Harrier shot is incredible, looks like a real one.

Edited April 15, 2019 by Lord Riot

[exdraken]

i you want you can upgrade a lot using Pawla resin items, 

the kit itself is not great but abolutely buildable!

 

cheers, Werner

[Lord Riot]

The cockpit is a terrible fit. Basically it doesn't! I had to pull out the instrument panel which was too high and wide. I've trimmed it down and will try to squeeze it in once the glue sets. It leans forward from the top too, it's a truly awful fit. If you make this kit maybe make your own instrument panel from plastic card.

 

 

Secondly, the fuselage halves are also a poor fit, needing lots of glue then masking tape to hold them together while setting. The nose is a particularly bad fit; mine was warped which didn't help. There'll be a lot of join lines to sand down once it's set. I'm hoping Airfix may release a new tool 1/48 Harrier, we must be due one?

 

[Lord Riot]

Finally got it stuck together, and that awkward cockpit and instrument panel fixed in place. All the fuselage joins needed lots of filing then rubbing down with a 12,000 fineness pad to buff out the sanding marks a bit. 

 

[Lord Riot]

The kit doesn't include that sticking up tailplane hinge plate thing so I'm making a pair from the fins of Martel missiles.

 

 

After a bit of sanding and filing they're good enough for me. At least there's something there now.

 

Edited April 16, 2019 by Lord Riot

[Lord Riot]

Lots to do on this to bring it up to scratch. The further I get into the build the more issues I find. The nose pitot tube is woefully inadequate, so I cut the Sea Harrier one down and filed it thinner. Whichever probe you use though there's a massive hole behind it that needs filling.

 

 

The wings are a terrible fit. Not only are there huge gaps at the join but they sit lower than the curve of the fuselage, leaving a step and a gap like getting on a train. 

 

 

Lots of sanding needed, which of course ruins the surface detail, so that had to be rescribed later. I cut one of the tabs off as with it on the wing just sat at the wrong height, it was easier to just glue it where it should be then use more filler.

 

 

That'll do for now. I'll see how it looks with a coat of paint on, I'm guessing horrible.

 

[whiskey]

There's a build article out there where a guy basically took the nose of this kit and successfully mated it to the Monogram AV-8A to depict the GR.3. Said it was easier and looked better if I recall correctly.

 

Edit: Here it is. http://www.hyperscale.com/features/2001/harriergr3pds_1.htm

Edited April 17, 2019 by whiskey

[bar side]

Having built a Monogram AV-8B and modified it to a GR5, I can say the Monogram kit is a dream compared to the Airfix kit.  One piece wing for a start!  No joins to the body.  Doing well though Riot.  Coming together & it will look the part when it’s done.

[NG899]

Very quickly....

 

No canopy breakers on the MB. Mk9 used in the GR3.

 

Yes, the Airfix kit does build okay if you take a tube of filler and apply the kit to it. It is basic, so to avoid pig’s eye syndrome I suggest doing as many of the mods in the SIG build notes referred to as you feel able to do. They are not that hard and you’ll improve your skills lots.

 

The Monogram one needs as much work in many respects but, mercifully, not those wing joints. Whoever at Airfix thought plug-in wings on a Harrier were a good idea neither knew the aircraft or made models of it IMHO.

 

Intake interiors - are not white!!! Anywhere! Dark Green starboard side, dark sea grey port side... ALL the way back to the bits that go round quickly! Check.

 

Better kits? If all goes to plan, some prayers may be answered in November, but not by Airfix; I’m sad to say. What’s in the box yet TBC.

 

And we’re working on some good 1970s-80s UK ordnance too; with someone else not so far in the east.

 

The prices will be out of my control, as will any import duties involved; please note!!! 

 

More news will become available later in the year through the usual manufacturer and trader websites; so please don’t ask me as I don’t look at those sites too often and don’t do Facebook!

 

As a bonus, look out for a 1/48th scale Harrier T10/12 conversion set from someone else closer to the UK too; already announced iirc. It’s designed as a simple plug and play for the old Hasegawa/Revell kit. Yes, it can be made into TAV8B using an AV8B Hase/Revell boxing, but you will need an extra Stencel seat from another similar kit. You will get two MB.Mk12s.

 

Hope that helps for now.

[Lord Riot]

More work on the Harrier today, this kit gets worse with each part. 

 

The moulding was poor between the wheel bay and airbrake section so I had to build it up with filler.

 

 

I added some detail to the airbrake interior with a few bits of thin copper wire. The undercarriage doors are a poor fit, being slightly too wide to fit together in the recess. Furthermore, because of the big gap underneath they wouldn't sit flush with each other so I filled it up with blu-tack to support them.

 

 

Now the worst bit so far (even more than the ill-fitting wings!); trying and miserably failing to melt, cut and neaten the holes in the intakes. I thought a heated mini-screwdriver would melt a neat square hole but the plastic around it just melted too and left all sorts of detritus. 

 

Unless some kind soul has a couple tney could donate I'm tempted to either bin this or try and find the world's cheapest 1/48 Harrier or spares on ebay just for new intakes! Time to call it a night I think, see what I can do in the morning.

 

This is such a rubbish kit for a 1/48 Airfix, it must be really old. Why would they mould the intakes with no vents open?

 

 

 

[bar side]

I think I might have sacrificed the back ring for open vents.  I think I took a small square file and filed them back.  Can’t remember if I had to build it up underneath first but it was trial & error

 

[Lord Riot]

It'll buff out

 

[Lord Riot]

Not quite as bad after a bit more work.

 

[NG899]

KBO, you're getting there.

 

Drop me a PM with your email in it if you need me to send you anything more specific to help you than you have now, e.g. templates for the intake blow-in doors.

 

Cheers

 

Nick

 

 

[Lord Riot]

Thanks Nick, much appreciated! I may well do as it's a dog of a kit isn't it. I'm hoping the Kinetic T-Harrier is rather more friendly.

 

First coat of paint now sprayed on. After the bubbling issues with the paint on the Canberra previously I tested the combination on an old Vulcan wing and there was no bubbling this time. I've sprayed the green first as with my test spray so hopefully the grey will take later with no issues.

 

 

[Lord Riot]

Bagged up before spraying. Despite being quite a small model this took ages!

 

 

Dark sea grey sprayed and as yet no sign of blistering, huzzah!