Popular Post Navy Bird Posted March 31, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted March 31, 2021 Hi mates, Raspberry Ripple time! This is the Sword kit of the Hawker Harrier T.4 in the scheme used by QinetiQ during some of the VAAC research. When I first saw photos of this aircraft I knew I had to make a model someday. So here she is! I won't go into the story of this research as it's widely available online. Some of it is highly technical (with graphs!) and it was beyond my classically trained brain. As usual, here's my summary: Project: QinetiQ Hawker Harrier T.4 Kit: Sword Kit No. SW72062 Scale: 1:72 Decals: Vingtor sheet 72-118 for Harrier Test & Demonstration Aircraft (thanks Nils!). Some stencils from the kit. Resin: Freightdog FDR72021 Harrier T.2/T.4/GR.3 and FRS.1 dropped door intakes; Pavla U72-118 Exhaust Nozzles Photoetch: Main fret included with kit; some parts from Eduard 73386 Harrier FA.2 Paint: Floquil 110015 Flat Finish; MRP-183 Oxford Blue, MRP-184 Signal Red; Testors Model Master 2143 Semi-gloss White; Hataka Light Admiralty Grey; GSI Creos GX112 UV Cut Gloss, H12 Flat Black, H11 Flat White, H331 Dark Sea Grey, H23 Shine Red, H90 Clear Red, H94 Clear Green, SM203 Super Iron II, SM206 Super Chrome 2; Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black Improvements/Corrections Made two underside instrument pods using drop tank bits Master AM-72-131 Pitot Tube and AOA Probe Added front canopy brace Added canopy retention cables Scratchbuilt front instrument panel coaming Tailplanes, main landing gear strut and tyres, and outriggers are leftovers from Hasegawa Sea Harrier kit WIP can be found here. Now for some pix: Some in-process shots - here is the belly of the beast: Raw materials - ejection seats: After a bit of tarting up: A bit of my famous red filler "here and there": But at the end of the day, she looks pretty good to me. Now it's off to review the stash and agonize for days over what to build next. Cheers, Bill 87 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortCummins Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 that's a super build, very nice indeed rgds John(shortCummins) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark4700 Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Excellent stuff. Your mods were definitely worth the trouble especially with the canopy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis_C Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 A great T.4, very colourful, interesting prototype! I assembled the same Sword kit and know it requires certain time and skill investment, so congrats with a great result!!! Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Gorgeous, just that! And from a Sword kit - that says a lot! Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForestFan Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 That’s a thing of beauty! Excellent job 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petetasker Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Superb - lovely paint job 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
binbrook87 Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 That's absolutely stunning....one of the best Harrier models I've seen. I love this scheme, managed to see this aircraft at Cosford before it was transferred. What a colour scheme, one of the best of the Raspberry Ripples. You've modelled a fine tribute there. 👍👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seamus Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Beautiful work Bill 👏 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Absolutely gorgeous model, great scheme and finish. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 A very well built ,colourful model, looks great 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinChipmunkfan Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 That is a great Raspberry Ripple- very tasty. Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Hello Navy Bird, Colorful and constructed/painted to the highest levels of perfection.👍 Regards, Orion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazza l Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Stunning build, very neat paintjob. gazza l 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Your work is most impressive and the color scheme is very distinctive, as Harriers go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEXANTOMCAT Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Excellent! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Superb build and paint job, really nice work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted April 1, 2021 Author Share Posted April 1, 2021 14 hours ago, Mark4700 said: Excellent stuff. Your mods were definitely worth the trouble especially with the canopy. Thanks Mark. Being a short run kit I figured there would be some aftermarket required. When I selected this scheme, I really hadn't looked closely to see what was required - like the two pods on the bottom of the fuselage. I was lucky that I could use bits of the drop tanks to make a reasonable facsimile. 9 hours ago, Dennis_C said: A great T.4, very colourful, interesting prototype! I assembled the same Sword kit and know it requires certain time and skill investment, so congrats with a great result!!! Thanks Dennis. This might be the first Sword kit I've ever built. It seemed a lot like the typical Special Hobby/MPM/AZ short run kits that I've assembled. You are right about what is required to do a good job with these kind of kits, but overall it wasn't too bad. The front coaming was the biggest goof that Sword made. It was wider than the fuselage! Luckily I had some leftover Hasegawa Sea Harrier parts so I could borrow and modify from there. 9 hours ago, giemme said: And from a Sword kit - that says a lot! Thanks Giorgio. As I said above, I didn't think it was too bad. I have other Sword kits in the stash - Kittyhawk III, Lightning F.3, F8F Bearcat, J2M5 Raiden, Spitfire Vc, Seafire XV - if those don't give me any more trouble than this Harrier I'll be happy. 8 hours ago, binbrook87 said: That's absolutely stunning....one of the best Harrier models I've seen. I love this scheme, managed to see this aircraft at Cosford before it was transferred. Thanks - you're a lucky guy to have seen the real thing. I wonder where (or if) it is now? I know it was sold at one point to Jet Art Aviation, but they listed it for sale this past May and it's now "no longer available." 6 hours ago, Homer said: A very well built ,colourful model, looks great 👍 Thanks Homer. Hey - are you that Iliad guy? Great poem, I've read all the translations. ***** Thanks for all the comments. I really appreciate them. Cheers, Bill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Lovely job Bill,..... yet another stunner mate,.... and I`ve even dug out my part built kit. Here is the real thing seen at Yeovilton; 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Beauty, Bill. And you've put my mind at ease seeing the beautiful blue from that MRP bottle. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head in the clouds. Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Looks right to me too, you have done a cracking job and the paint scheme looks superb. I have a Heritage resin and white metal version of this on the shelf of doom, the only occupant now, waiting for a canopy. After looking at yours I may revisit it and remove all the paint and try and sort the canopy issue. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Wow. That’s a bit special! Unbelievable paintwork, so neat. Outstanding skills, that’s amazing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted April 1, 2021 Author Share Posted April 1, 2021 41 minutes ago, tonyot said: Here is the real thing seen at Yeovilton; Hey, that looks just like my model! Thanks Tony! 30 minutes ago, alt-92 said: And you've put my mind at ease seeing the beautiful blue from that MRP bottle. Thanks. I used the "airbrush ready" MRP acrylic lacquer. It has a viscosity about the same as water, so you have to build it up slowly. That's OK with me as I like paint that is highly thinned. In a case like this scheme, where you have hard edges between the colours, I find that several coats of highly thinned paint don't leave as much of a ridge when you remove the masking tape as a thicker paint will. 14 minutes ago, Head in the clouds. said: Looks right to me too, you have done a cracking job and the paint scheme looks superb. I have a Heritage resin and white metal version of this on the shelf of doom, the only occupant now, waiting for a canopy. After looking at yours I may revisit it and remove all the paint and try and sort the canopy issue. Thanks. I've never seen any of the Heritage Harrier kits. How are they? Cheers, Bill 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Superb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head in the clouds. Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 11 hours ago, Navy Bird said: How are they? Middle of the road, they need considerable clean up and a good amount of work to polish up, also plenty of white metal which I have always found to be of poor quality and zero detail in the cockpit and wheel bays. BUT not as bad as Magna, for instance, of which I have several.....😬 I will finish it one day because I hate to be beaten.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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