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AV-8B Harrier Plus. Hasegawa 1/72.


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Hello everyone.

 

After building two STAR WARS ships, I build a plane again, in this case my favorite theme is the aircraft that are or have been in service in the Spanish Armed Forces. Specifically one of Harrier Plus that served on the Principe de Asturias aircraft carrier and later on Juan Carlos I.

Spanish modelers call the camouflage schemes of low visibility "sosogrís", which would be translated into English as unattractive or unimpressive, because of their lack of color. However, I really like these schemes.

 

I started building the model a long time ago but the problems of resin fitting discouraged me and I removed it from the work table. I come back wanting to continue and hoping to overcome the problems that give the resins of Aires.

 

Well, for its construction I will use the following materials:

 

- Hasegawa kit for the AV-8B Plus.
- Resin cockpit of Aires for the AV-8B Plus.
- Airbrake and Quickbost Bay for the AV-8B.
- Wheels and part of the Attack Squadron landing gear for the AV-8B.
- Nozzles of Arma Hobby for the AV-8B.
- AIM-9L missiles of Eduard Brassin.
- AGM-65 Maverick missiles of Northstar Models.
- Series Españolas decals for AV-8B and Plus.
- Plasticard, copper wire and stretched plastic.
- Alclad, Tamiya, Gunze and Vallejo paints, as well as Tamiya and Marabu varnishes.

 

 

COCKPIT

 

Aires is possibly one of the best manufacturers of resin complements in general and of rooms in particular, for detail and fineness. This cabin for the AV-8B Plus is really detailed.

But it has been an infinite succession of rebates and checks, checks and rebates, rechecking and downgrading endlessly, again and again.
I quit and detail with plastic and plastic stretched the sides, taking as a reference the resin. The rest of the cabin is as it is except for the part behind the head of the pilot that is detailed with stretched plastic and telephone cable sheath.

 

I have used only Vallejo MC paints to paint it.

 

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Thank you all.

After a Sunday afternoon on the beach with the family I return with what I have done so far with this model.

 

IMPROVING SOME PIECES

 

With the tip of a blade I remove the excess plastic in the dynamic air intake on the front of the drift base.

 

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The Harriers carry two gondolas in the ventral zone, or replacing them with fins. I have not seen any photo of a Spanish Plus with the gondolas of the canyon, but as the model will go armed as if it were going to take action it will take these.
The gondolas have fins presenting a thickness of 0.5 mm, which is excessive for the scale.

 

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I decide to replace the fins with 0.2 mm everdreen, which means a 60% thickness reduction.

 

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The outer skids of the landing gear fold into a fairing under the wing. Its walls are also reproduced with excessive thickness.

 

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I thin them inside, helped with a knife and sandpaper.

 

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The dome comes as always: with the mold line. The truth is that a reactor kit whose dome comes without the damn line is rare

 

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But gentle sanding and thorough polishing eliminates and repairs it.

 

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I paint the ejection detonating condom in light gray of  Vallejo MC, and for an extra shine I dipped the pieces in Klear.

 

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Pitot tubes have a practically cylindrical shape. I refine them on their tip using sandpaper.

 

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The fins of the fuel tanks have a thickness similar to that of the gondolas of the guns. I work in the same way, replacing them with 0.2 mm Evergreen.

 

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The difference in thickness is evident and much more appropriate to the scale of the model.
My maternal grandmother really liked what in Spain they are called "refranes".  I don't know its translation into English but it could be explained as phrases that teach a truth that life makes you see.

Well, I agree with my grandmother. Many small details in a model I think they get it finally looks better.

Also, I have a lot of fun improving these little details.

 

 

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I continue with the fuel tanks making oval records with a punch and a metal template that omit Hasegawa on the sides. I also add some ducts using brass tube and stretched plastic.

 

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Another detail that I replace of the kit is what I think is a fin that guides the flow of air, located on the leading edge of the wings.

 

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This time I use 0.13 mm plasticard. in a circle, cut at an angle from the back and embedded in the edge of the wing after making room with a mini-saw.

 

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And finally the engine exhaust nozzles. That was the last thing I did to this model before I put it aside because of the problems that I mentioned about resin fittings.

 

The nozzles provided by the Hasegawa kit are a completely forgettable piece of plastic. Instead I use what the Polish brand Arma Hobby offers in resin for this aircraft.
I consider them superior even to those of Aires both for the fineness of the inner fins and for the exterior detail and especially for the shape of the pieces themselves. The front ones, called cold nozzles, appear in the upper color of the camouflage and I will paint them when their time comes. The rear ones are observed in metal, without the painting.
After applying Alclad aluminum, I sprayed Tamiya black satin X-18 filters. To highlight the details I used black oil. I finish it with matt varnish Marabu enamel.

 

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This is all for now. When I have any more progress here it will be.

 

Thank you all for having endured such a long post.

 

Andrés S.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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8 hours ago, neil5208 said:

Been looking for one of Hasegawa's  AV8b plus but no luck so far, will follow

Hi Neil5208.

 

I see you like Harrier. Well, this is not my first Harrier, nor will it be the last.
I already made an spanish AV-8S, which as you know was the AV-8A manufactured under license by the US. Also a Gr.3
For the AV-8S I used the airfix kit and although at first I was a little scared because the Airfix kits are not my favorites I have to admit that it was very nice to build and had really good details.
For Gr.3 I used the Italeri kit, which I guess you will also know is ESCI mold. It is a very good kit with incredibly good panel lines for the date of manufacture of the mold and that makes me wonder how there are models brands that 36 years after them launch models with a much worse paneling.
I also have an original Italeri (ex ESCI) FRS.1 and a Sword TAV-8S, although none of them I have started.

I leave a couple of photos of those made. I hope you like them.

 

Andrés S.

 

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Some fine detailing going on here Andres, I am impressed by your painting of the canopy detonating cord, something I would be very wary of doing.

 

I am currently building a Sword T2 and finding it not very enjoyable, the fit is poor and some of the construction is unnecessarily fiddly.

 

AW

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15 hours ago, Andrés S. said:

Spanish modelers call the camouflage schemes of low visibility "sosogrís", which would be translated into English as unattractive or unimpressive, because of their lack of color. However, I really like these schemes.

 

I share your appreciation for the beauty of low visibility camouflage schemes, particularly when the design uses varied shades of gray or other subdued colors to represent motifs better known for their full-color versions. Guess we are both in the minority ☺

 

I don't know how "sosogris" would translate literally, but it reminds me of the term quoted in one of my reference books for an early F-14A when the markings transitioned from high visibility to gray on gray. The crews nicknamed the all-gray scheme "yuck and double yuck."

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Thanks all guys !!

 

 

 

8 hours ago, Andwil said:

Some fine detailing going on here Andres, I am impressed by your painting of the canopy detonating cord, something I would be very wary of doing.

 

I am currently building a Sword T2 and finding it not very enjoyable, the fit is poor and some of the construction is unnecessarily fiddly.

 

AW

 

It is somewhat complicated, but not impossible.
Because of the shape of the piece it is impossible to place the brush tilted transversely to paint the cord, it must be done vertically which causes the paint to be out of place. But it has a solution. With a sharp wooden stick you can remove the paint that is out of place since the detonating cord is out of the surface and Vallejo's paintings do not have good grip. In addition, the wooden stick is not hard enough to cause damage to the plastic.

 

6 hours ago, CT7567 said:

I don't know how "sosogris" would translate literally, but it reminds me of the term quoted in one of my reference books for an early F-14A when the markings transitioned from high visibility to gray on gray. The crews nicknamed the all-gray scheme "yuck and double yuck."

"Sosogrís" is really the union of two words. Bland and gray.
Soso, or sosa in its feminine version, is a Spanish word to describe that food that has no flavor, especially for lack of salt. But in the Spanish language there are plenty of words that, based on a starting point, can have different meanings although related to the origin. In this case "soso" is used when something is not attractive or is not funny, such as a show or even referred to a person. Yes, I think now is a good explanation:  little funny, little visual or unattractive camouflage.
But I repeat that it is not my opinion regarding these camouflages. In addition, in fact the models that I have made and that I have had more satisfaction with them, and recognition as a modeler, have been with an spanish RF-4C Phantom and a Mirage F.1 both painted "sosogrís". Mysteries of life ...:rolleyes:

 

 

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8 hours ago, neil5208 said:

Hi Andres, do you have a template for the large antenna on the spine of your AV8S?

Neil 

Hi neil5208.

No.
I was  wrong when I said I did the AV-8S with the Airfix kit. I meant that I did it with the Gr.1 of Airfix, which is equal to A and A is equal to S externally except for the antennas at the top of the fuselage.
I made the antennas with 0.2 mm plastic sheet and it was really just looking at photographs of the real airplane and trying to calculate the dimensions.
Sorry.

 

6 hours ago, Courageous said:

Isn't life weird. We don't have soso in the English language but we do use 'so-so' to describe something about average.

 

Stuart

Hi Corageous.

They are certainly similar words that mean something similar but in opposite directions.
This reminds me of what I read once about the affirmative or negative gesture made with the head. Well, if you are ever having a beer in a Bulgarian pub and an attractive girl approaches you and makes a proposal in a low voice do not affirm with your head with a movement from top to bottom or you will have lost your chance. It turns out that in Bulgaria moving the head from top to bottom means no and moving it from left to right means yes. :blink:

 

Andrés S.

 

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On 7/28/2019 at 6:19 PM, Andrés S. said:

I already made an spanish AV-8S, which as you know was the AV-8A manufactured under license by the US. Also a Gr.3

I've always been partial to the iconic green and grey camo on the British Harriers, but I have to admit that light grey paint scheme on the Spanish Harrier is really beautiful.  I think it may be due to your subtle weathering, combined with the contrast of the overall grey and the bright red and yellow roundels.  Really beautiful!

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On 30/07/2019 at 00:32, Terry1954 said:

Fine looking Harrier builds (the Spanish and the RAF models) and equally fine one developing here.

 

Will follow with interest.

 

Terry

Hi Terry1954.

Thank you for your kind words, I'm glad you like my previous Harrier. I hope to be able to battle the resins of Aires this time and finish this beautiful plane.

Andrés S.

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On 30/07/2019 at 15:45, mdauben said:

I've always been partial to the iconic green and grey camo on the British Harriers, but I have to admit that light grey paint scheme on the Spanish Harrier is really beautiful.  I think it may be due to your subtle weathering, combined with the contrast of the overall grey and the bright red and yellow roundels.  Really beautiful!

Hi mdauben.

 

I like Harrier so much that unless they paint it fluorescent green I like to wear the paint scheme that is.
It is scheme that had the AV-8S were the same as the NAVY had in the 70s, which was when they entered service in Spain. It was logical that some planes that were manufactured in the USA and that would also operate at sea would carry similar paintings. Also in those years it was the time of "high visibility". Large and colorful shields, large letters and supposedly great nationality badges. All this makes it a very colorful decoration. In addition the Spanish badges with red and yellow so highly visible. But this is an other history...

 

Thank you for your words, I'm glad you like them.

 

Andrés S.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi all.

 

The landing gear kit offered by Attack Squadron consists of different resin parts to replace certain parts of the front leg, the center and the Hasegawa wing skates.


The front leg should be cut with a mini-saw exactly below the landing light. The resin wheel detail is much better. It includes, like all of A.Sq., the effect of weight, as well as the tread channels. Also the fork that holds the wheel has better detail than that of the Hasegawa kit.

 

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To the front leg I add a second focus of ligth that I do by cutting with the cutter a portion of plastic and with stretched plastic I make the cables. I also remove the small cover that brings in the back and I will replace with a resin provided by Attack Squadron.


To the central leg I add its photogravures and a pair of cables made with stretched plastic.


For wing skates A.Sq. It provides very well detailed small wheels and their corresponding forks. Also add some photogravures. To place the resin parts and replace the plastic ones, the base of the shock absorber must be cut in the Hasegawa parts. I add two small details to them: the rings for fastening to the flight deck that I made with copper wire, and the hydraulic cable to drive the folding of the skate that I made with stretched plastic.

 

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Regards.

 

Andrés S.

 

 

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On 11/08/2019 at 22:58, Courageous said:

Looks like a nice set of legs and wheels.

 

Stuart

Certainly Stuard, I think they bring nice details.

Thanks.

 

 

Well, Slowly slowly we will reach the end of the road. So here a little photo ...

 

Air intake to the engine.

 

First I applied Alclad Titanium, previously Tamiya's gloss black base. Then I applied a brush of Tamiya enamel smoke quite diluted and once dry I hit the recesses with Vallejo MC black very diluted to darken the most hidden parts. I ended up giving a light dry brush by mixing Aluminum plus a metal black tip of Vallejo Model Air to obtain some reflection in the most prominent parts of the blades as well as the ring that joins them.

I will mask with a circle of Tamiya tape and airbrush the Gunze H-316.

 

Andrés S.

 

 

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Hi, Andrés!

 

Nice to see your progress in this Spanish bird.

 

As usual, you improve a lot each model with the additions you made. I don't mean just photo etched and resin but the scratch parts. I love how you use the plastic to make cables instead of tin or electric wire as other modeller do 🙂

 

The painting of the engine air intake is superb! Dry brush is a technique that some people say is obsolete, but I think it is still very useful sometimes. Your engine air intake is a very good example.

 

And how can I say about the canopy? The mold line in the middle of the transparent piece is really a headache. You have sanded it perfectly. The result has been fantastic. How can you paint the DET cord using a brush? It is an impossible task for me!

 

Congratulations! 

 

Cheers

 

Miguel

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16 hours ago, Andwil said:

Very nice fan.

 

AW

Thanks Andwil.

Andrés S.

 

5 hours ago, Mihajlo said:

Hi, Andrés!

 

Nice to see your progress in this Spanish bird.

 

As usual, you improve a lot each model with the additions you made. I don't mean just photo etched and resin but the scratch parts. I love how you use the plastic to make cables instead of tin or electric wire as other modeller do 🙂

 

The painting of the engine air intake is superb! Dry brush is a technique that some people say is obsolete, but I think it is still very useful sometimes. Your engine air intake is a very good example.

 

And how can I say about the canopy? The mold line in the middle of the transparent piece is really a headache. You have sanded it perfectly. The result has been fantastic. How can you paint the DET cord using a brush? It is an impossible task for me!

 

Congratulations! 

 

Cheers

 

Miguel

 

Hola Miguel.

 

I'm glad to greet you.
It is a pleasure that you like my work.


Stretched plastic I like to use it because it is easier, more controllable and cleaner when it sticks to another plastic. It is really easy to use, you can also build the stretched plastic of the thickness you need. But be careful, the extra-liquid glue must be used in a very small amount or it disappears.


The dry brush I don't think is a technique that is obsolete. In fact, I don't think there is anything obsolete about the subject of painting. There is only the fact that if a technique is adequate for the purpose we want to achieve then that technique is the one that we should use, regardless of whether it is recent or old.
I also believe that you should not use all the techniques that are known at the same time. We must use only those with which we will achieve the effect we seek. And if one of them is old then perfect.

 

Certainly the detonating cord is fine, I think about 0.2 mm, and that it is in a place of the piece that does not facilitate its painting. But with a little patience it can be done.
I used a very light gray from Vallejo MC. Because of the location of the cord I could not apply the paint with the brush inclined transversely to the relief in the plastic that is the cord. I had to do it longitudinally with what frequently due to the little thickness of the cord the brush came out of where I had to apply the paint. But there is not nothing to worry. You can use a toothpick.


The tips of these chopsticks are sharp, but we can improve them by cutting at an angle a small portion of the tip with a sharp cutter which will make the tip even sharper, ceasing to be a conical tip to have a flat face.
Well, with the flat face of the stick resting on the plastic, the detonating cord being embossed, having little adhesion of the Vallejo MC paint and the wood not being able to scratch the plastic we can gradually remove it with the tip of the stick scraping the paint which has been inevitably applied to the sides of the cord, in addition to a small dose of patience. If it is necessary to touch up the cord with new paint due to unintentionally detached, the light gray is applied again and the operation is repeated once it dries.

 

Abrazos.

 

Andrés S.

 

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