AV-8B Harrier II USMC Edwards AFB 1985

[modelling minion]

I'm a bit late to the party here but I have been concentrating on finishing my builds for a couple of other GB's, now that they are safely out of the way I have a 2 week window before my next GB starts so I thought it was about time I joined in the fun here.

I had originally planned on doing something else (a Spanish AH-1G) but seeing as how I talked my model club into building things along the theme of test aircraft I thought that I had better start building some myself and what better way than to combine it with the In The Navy GB and I remembered some excellent pictures taken and shared by one of our members ( @Old Viper Tester ) in the aircraft photography section of a USMC Harrier II being used at Edwards AFB for spin and stability control tests which had varying amounts of extra white and red paint on the wings and tail and looks fantastic, well it does to me anyway, so that is what I am going to build in it's later scheme from 1985, there is a link to the pictures below;

 

As for what kit to use I decided to go with the old Monogram 1/48 kit. I built their AV-8A a few years ago and enjoyed it and it is a pretty good kit and accurate so I'm hoping for another enjoyable build here, we shall see.

Here are the usual box and contents shots;

 

 

I have made a very slight start but have only added a few small bits to the fuselage and put one coat of white on some parts so I think I am well below the 25% rule. I will be building her OOTB and using decals from the spares for the markings, not difficult as there are no visible unit markings. Hopefully I will be making a bit more of a start tomorrow.

 

Thanks for looking in and as usual any comments, criticisms and advice are always welcome.

 

Craig. 

[MarkSH]

I have the Hasegawa 1/48 AV-8B Harrier II Plus and it was a serious consideration for an entry into this GB, so I'll enjoy seeing a Marine machine being built vicariously through your build, good luck with it.

[modelling minion]

Thanks Mark, lets hope that we both enjoy it!

[Hewy]

Nice choice craig , its a lot more simple to build than the hase/revell harrier  especially around the lerx area, should be a breeze this , it'll  be a good watch

[modelling minion]

Cheers Glynn, though how much of a breeze she will be we will shall see.

[Col.]

Cool subject choice Craig  

[Alan P]

Very nice subject, looks really interesting in the late white/red/camo scheme. 

[modelling minion]

7 hours ago, Col. said:

Cool subject choice Craig  

 

6 hours ago, Alan P said:

Very nice subject, looks really interesting in the late white/red/camo scheme. 

Thanks Col and Alan, it really is quite an eye catching variation on the usual pretty drab scheme which is what drew me to it.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Very kool scheme Craig, looking forward to seeing this one come to life. Id love to do it myself, but the Harrier seems to be my Demon plane. Every time I build one its a nightmare and nothing quite goes right. Sadly I still need to build at least one more in Black sheep markings to fill out that collection.
 

Dennis 

[modelling minion]

1 hour ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Very kool scheme Craig, looking forward to seeing this one come to life. Id love to do it myself, but the Harrier seems to be my Demon plane. Every time I build one its a nightmare and nothing quite goes right. Sadly I still need to build at least one more in Black sheep markings to fill out that collection.
 

Dennis 

Thanks Dennis, the Harrier can be a bit of a tricky build as it is not always easy to get all the undercarriage to be in the right place at the right time but she is such an iconic aircraft that she really does deserve a place in your collection.

[Hockeyboy76]

Good luck Craig, love a Harrier and love some orange. Pink primer is what you need to make your orange pop out. 

[rob85]

Good luck Craig, great choice in subject.

 

Rob

[modelling minion]

9 hours ago, Hockeyboy76 said:

Good luck Craig, love a Harrier and love some orange. Pink primer is what you need to make your orange pop out. 

Cheers HB and thanks for the tip with the pink primer, good to know.

7 hours ago, rob85 said:

Good luck Craig, great choice in subject.

 

Rob

Thanks Rob, I shall make a start on the cockpit this evening so hopefully it won't be too long before update piccies!

[Jabba]

A good choice in aircraft and markings. With the U/C I usually add the nose and the outriggers, then get the main one to slide up and down, so it can set to these.

[Andwil]

1 hour ago, Jabba said:

A good choice in aircraft and markings. With the U/C I usually add the nose and the outriggers, then get the main one to slide up and down, so it can set to these.

I do the same, except I can’t with my current Italeri Sea Harrier as the kit is engineered such that the main gear leg has to be attached before the fuselage is closed up.

 

AW

[PlaStix]

Great to see you here Craig and I'm looking forward to seeing your build in progress.

Kind regards,

Stix

[modelling minion]

10 hours ago, Jabba said:

A good choice in aircraft and markings. With the U/C I usually add the nose and the outriggers, then get the main one to slide up and down, so it can set to these.

Thanks Jabba, a good idea but....

9 hours ago, Andwil said:

I do the same, except I can’t with my current Italeri Sea Harrier as the kit is engineered such that the main gear leg has to be attached before the fuselage is closed up.

 

AW

The Monogram kit is done exactly the same way so I cant adjust it afterwards.

19 minutes ago, PlaStix said:

Great to see you here Craig and I'm looking forward to seeing your build in progress.

Kind regards,

Stix

Thanks Stix, always good to have you onboard with a build.

[Col.]

Not sure how useful this will be for both you and @Andwil but for many ESCI Harrier projects I used to get the rear mainwheels fixed into place then support the nose on a lump of Plasticine, although nowadays Blu Tack might be more likely found on the bench for us modellers , that had enough give to set the nose-leg and outriggers at angles to achieve a four-point stance. 

[modelling minion]

Thanks for the advice Col, I will give that a try.

 

I have been making steady progress with my AV-8B and have some update piccies to share with you all, I am building this OOTB as far as possible but I have added a couple of straps to the ejector seat which are missing from the moulded on detail provided by Monogram but the rest of the cockpit is all Monogram's work as is the instrument panel and both have been painted and weathered and this is how they look now;

 

 

The interior of the intake and the front fan of the Pegasus have also been painted;

 

The main undercarriage has also had the same treatment but the tyres have yet to be weathered;

 

Next step now will be to get all these bits fitted so that the fuselage halves can be joined together.

Thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received.

 

Craig.

[Jabba]

Nice start Craig, and I see what you mean about the fitting of the main U/C.

[Col.]

Tidy detail work Craig. The cockpit looks good but the tyres in particular are impressive.

[modelling minion]

1 hour ago, Jabba said:

Nice start Craig, and I see what you mean about the fitting of the main U/C.

 

1 hour ago, Col. said:

Tidy detail work Craig. The cockpit looks good but the tyres in particular are impressive.

Thanks guys, hopefully I will get the fuselage halves together before too long.

[Hewy]

A fine job so far craig

[modelling minion]

13 hours ago, Hewy said:

A fine job so far craig

Cheers Glynn, making slow progress, more piccies tomorrow.

[modelling minion]

As promised here are some piccies of the Harrier as she stands at the minute.

The fuselage halves have been closed up after fitting the cockpit and engine intake and I have to say that they have gone together quite well and after a bit of sanding of the joint there are some areas that have needed a bit of filler but don't be put off by the pics as they show freshly applied filler that has yet to dry and be sanded back so the small bits that do need filler are not as bad as it would first seem.

 

 

 

The wing has also been assembled and had the outrigger wheels fitted, now it calls for them to be fitted near the end of the build but I had an inkling that they would not be the greatest of fits and unfortunately I was proved right as they are the worse fit I have found on the kit so far and have needed a fair bit of filing to achieve a reasonable fit and have also had some more filler applied to sort out the remaining flaws.

 

 

 

 

When the filler has dried I shall make a start on smoothing everything out and then getting some white paint on the under sides too.

 

Thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received.

 

Craig.