SoftScience Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 I did most of my growing up in Chicago in the 1980s. My first few years were in Poland and later West Germany, but I didn't really build models at that very young age. We had a great hobby shop in my part of town, and I would go there with my uncle and we'd both get Tamiya and Italeri (italierie back then) tanks. They were about $5-10 back then. I remember when my uncle got a Tamiya churchill that was over $20 and it seemed like a fortune. Time permitting, I'll revisit one of these early tanks, bit first some unfinished business... Around 1990 I became interested in aircraft models, and suddenly it became easier to find models for sale, because almost every toy store, department store, corner five & dime, and junk shop carried Monogram and Revell kits. They were our equivalent of Airfix and Matchbox in 1970s UK. My first airplane was a Testors (ex Hawk) P-51D. That model is best left to nostalgia, as even back then I remember thinking it was a dud. Shortly afterwards came a Monogram P-40 and Harrier. I actually remember my mom getting me the harrier at the Toys R Us at the Brickyard Mall. And I may be conflating memories here, but I think when we came home that day, my dad was watching Hammer's "You Can't Touch This" on TV. I think it was late summer, shortly before the start of the school year, because I recall feeling anxious. I don't know, it was 30 years ago, and I was 12... Anyhow, one reason the harrier kit stands out is because it was the first kit i never finished. I remember trying to paint it with whatever colors I had, and that meant a a set of gooey, clumpy, ultra glossy Testors enamels from the little square jars. I had some random shade of gray and green, and the result was junk! This kit was the first one to die on my shelf of doom. Today I'm determined to reverse this, and maybe close the loop on unfinished kits. I was able to find the same boxing of this kit as I had in 1990. I actually bought it about five years ago. I had grand designs to upgrade and tweak things, but I kept putting it aside. This GB will be my chance to finally build it. I think I'll build it largely the way Monogram intended. I'll probably need new decals, and I might try to hunt down fuel tanks, as the snakeye and sidewinder load seems unusual. But maybe I'll leave it. Who knows? Here are the pieces. It looks like I painted a few sometime in the last five years. I glued a few together as well. But we'll under the allotted limit. Yes? Wish me luck, boys and girls. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 What a great choice, and a great kit. I built one of these about 10 years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, it went together without too much trouble and is a very accurate representation of the real thing, mine is still sitting in the display cabinet and hasn't been relegated to a box upstairs as it still looks good. I'm actually building the Monogram AV-8B for the In The Navy GB (albeit very slowly) at the minute and that is pretty good too, but not as good as their AV-8A, so i'm very interested to see how you get on with this one. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 This kit can still hold its own as craig mentioned, a superb choice ss 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoftScience Posted May 13, 2020 Author Share Posted May 13, 2020 2 hours ago, modelling minion said: I'm actually building the Monogram AV-8B for the In The Navy GB (albeit very slowly) at the minute and that is pretty good too, but not as good as their AV-8A, so i'm very interested to see how you get on with this one. I've been following your build there. It's actually what inspired me to pull this kit out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoftScience Posted May 13, 2020 Author Share Posted May 13, 2020 Crud! I hope these decals work. I couldn't find ANY aftermarket sets save for the Spanish Navy harrier by Aztec decals, and I've already got a Spanish Navy harrier in 1/72. No luck with drop tanks either. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 2 hours ago, SoftScience said: I've been following your build there. It's actually what inspired me to pull this kit out. That is very kind of you to say so, I've actually just done a long overdue update for my AV-8B. 6 minutes ago, SoftScience said: I hope these decals work I've given my Monogram decal a test and they seem to be working well so hopefully yours will too, if not I will have a look in the "stash" and see if I have anything you can use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 Hope you don't mind me posting this, here is a picture of my AV-8A; I will happily remove it if you like. Craig. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoftScience Posted May 13, 2020 Author Share Posted May 13, 2020 22 minutes ago, modelling minion said: I will happily remove it if you like. Craig. No way! This gives me something to strive towards! That looks fantastic. Where did you source those decals? And those rocket launchers? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dansk Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 Great backstory, thanks for sharing your memories and if i’m not mistaken the only thread ever to open mentioning MC Hammer 🤣 That alone promises this will be a fun build to follow. 👍 Wishing you luck! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 1 hour ago, SoftScience said: No way! This gives me something to strive towards! That looks fantastic. Where did you source those decals? And those rocket launchers? You are way too kind. I got the decals from an old Microscale/Superscale sheet, I think I still have the rest of it. The rocket launchers I am less sure of, not sure if they are from a Hasegawa weapons set or if I nabbed them from another kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoftScience Posted May 13, 2020 Author Share Posted May 13, 2020 49 minutes ago, Dansk said: Great backstory, thanks for sharing your memories and if i’m not mistaken the only thread ever to open mentioning MC Hammer 🤣 That alone promises this will be a fun build to follow. 👍 Wishing you luck! I'll make sure to sprinkle my updates with early 90s references. Wurd to your mother! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 My old gaffers son came to work with me back in the early 2000s , he could not stop greeting any one with wurd , followed by your name ,😁 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 7 hours ago, SoftScience said: Crud! I hope these decals work. I couldn't find ANY aftermarket sets save for the Spanish Navy harrier by Aztec decals, and I've already got a Spanish Navy harrier in 1/72. No luck with drop tanks either. You aint kidding brother I just looked around and nothing for the “A”. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoftScience Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 Some cockpit work. Accurate? Not really. But I'm going for area effect. Besides, I'm having lots of fun. And this is bringing back lots.of great memories of childhood. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 4 hours ago, SoftScience said: Besides, I'm having lots of fun. And this is bringing back lots.of great memories of childhood. Thats the best part of this build. I may even hand paint a build after my Jug. To really jog the memory. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 Great work on the cockpit painting, Monogram cockpits were pretty damn good OOTB. Glad that you're having fun, that is the point of this GB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoftScience Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 (edited) 5 hours ago, modelling minion said: Monogram cockpits were pretty damn good OOTB. They sure were. As a kid, I always loved doing the cockpits. I learned how to drybrush, and that was my one modeling trick. I always knew that even if I blew it on the rest of the model (which I typically did), at least the cockpit would look good. At least by my standards during those times. But those standards also held these guys to be the coolest looking dudes in rock (along with the boys from GnR and Sonic Youth). Bez looks like he just inhaled a whole tube of Testors tube glue. Edited May 15, 2020 by SoftScience 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 3 hours ago, SoftScience said: Bez looks like he just inhaled a whole tube of Testors tube glue. He must have been having a slow day if he only used one tube! Don't thing I've ever seen him not stoned, what a way to make a living though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoftScience Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, modelling minion said: what a way to make a living though. "Shawn Ryder's friend" may be the easiest job in the world. I used to make fun of Bez for being a useless chump, But here I am am going gray from stressing out dealing with regulatory parties, about making deliverables go in on time, and making sure I have enough billable tasks to keep my staff busy. All this while having to stay sober (at least until sundown). Who's the chump. now? Edited May 15, 2020 by SoftScience 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 4 hours ago, SoftScience said: Bez looks like he just inhaled a whole tube of Testors tube glue. Apart from maracas and dancing he didn't have much else to do, cushy, nice job on the office btw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 Now that's not a kit you see every day. I wonder why it hasn't seen the light of day for so long? As one of the best of the first generation Harrier kits you would assume it would get fairly regular reissues. Watching with considerable interest. John 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 18 minutes ago, John said: Now that's not a kit you see every day. I wonder why it hasn't seen the light of day for so long? As one of the best of the first generation Harrier kits you would assume it would get fairly regular reissues. IIRC the mould got modified to make the AV-8B. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted May 16, 2020 Share Posted May 16, 2020 10 hours ago, Troy Smith said: IIRC the mould got modified to make the AV-8B. No, quite separate moulds Troy. For some reason Monogram didn't release the A after the early 90's, maybe because the B was in service and they thought nobody would want an A, they are very wrong as I would like a few more of them myself. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoftScience Posted May 16, 2020 Author Share Posted May 16, 2020 If ever there was a tooling to revive, it's this one. So far the kit is going together very nicely. Unlike most Monogram's kits I've built, the fuselage halves do not require any filler. There is a bit of seam to sand down, but no biggie. No steps, no gaps, no warping. I should say too much more; there are still plenty of parts that might fit poorly. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoftScience Posted May 17, 2020 Author Share Posted May 17, 2020 Bah! I knew that wouldn't last. Quite a big step at the back of the wing assembly, where they meet the fuselage. And some up front too. Hopefully these fare in smoothly. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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