Airfix 1/48 BAe Warrior Op Herrick

[Pappy]

G'day people,

 

I was able to pick this kit up cheaply and I also have tyeh PE set for it but I was dissappointe d to find that the PE does not include the 'picket fence' (sorry, I mainly build jets so dunno what the exact terminology is!) extension beyond the exterior armor. This is a real shame as PE would seem the perfect medium to depict this delicate and quite distinctive feature. The kit depiction is massively overscale. This is not a crack at Airfix in any way as there are limitations to what can be done. From what I understand this stuff makes incoming shaped charge projectiles deteonate before the ideal stand-off distance so that their penetrating power is diminished/defeated?

 

My questions for the experten are:

 

Does anyone produce a 1/48 PE set for the 'picket fence'

 

If I were to leave the 'picket fence' parts off, would I need to modify/back-date the kit Or was there an inetrim period when the up-armored warrior did not have the additional 'picket fence' bits?

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

Edited May 12, 2020 by Pappy

[John Tapsell]

No-one offers aftermarket bar armour for the Airfix Warrior and without a fair amount of backdating work, it would be difficult to complete the vehicle as anything other than the configuration provided in the kit. By going for the TES(H) configuration, Airfix restricted the options available because it's a signicant upgrade over previous versions - logical choice for Airfix as the kit was primarily designed as a supporting piece for their Operation Herrick helicopter kits (as were the other Op Herrick vehicles) and not as a stand-alone vehicle range.

 

Like most 1/48 armour kits, the Airfix Warrior is very poorly served with aftermarket options. Photo-etch would work for the bar armour but so would 3d printing as it's a relatively simple profile to replicate.

 

The armour blocks on the side of the kit are shorter than earlier uparmoured Warriors so you can't just leave off the bar armour. 

 

An earlier iteration of the bar armour was fitted to Warriors that still had the longer hull panels. The rear-mounted air-con and electronic suites would also need to go, as would the cabling to plugs them into the roof (the sockets for the wiring are actually periscope mounts so you need to find/build suitable replacements). The belly armour plate will also need to go and be replaced with a plainer panel as do some of the other parts.

 

You could leave all the additional armour off (bar armour, side armour and belly plate) and do a standard vehicle but even then there's a fair bit of work to be done to reinstate the earlier periscope and hatch details. The driver's hatch has multiple perscopes fitted which is rarer on earlier vehicles not on active duty. That said, I've seen photos of range safety Warriors at BATUS with this style of driver's hatch (if you fancy a bright red Warrior).

 

I've looked at backdating it myself which is why I've mentioned all of the above. I even made a start but haven't got very far with it.

 

John

[junglierating]

Not being picky but.....having been on a number of herrick holidays between 2007  & 2010 i think you will find its Op Herrick ....an ope is some old English word for something that escapes me atm...example Church ope cove on Portland (manor and royal borough no less) but i digress 😃looking forward to seeing the warrior tho.

Oh picket fence ...bar armour i think its called but dont worry ....i fixed helicopters etc so Meh defo no expert

Edited May 12, 2020 by junglierating

[Pappy]

G'day fellas,

 

Jungli, thanks for pointing out my typo. 

 

John, although not what I wanted to hear that was a great response, concise and it answered the questions perfectly, thanks. I have the PE set which does add some useful details but the kit's bar armor just looks so out of scale,

 

cheers,

 

 

Pappy

 

 

[viper-30]

I’ve seen somewhere that this was built and they filed the bar Armour to give it a more scale effect..

[exdraken]

Nice, although a little complicated project!

Will follow you... as I have something similar in mind.