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Here's my offering - the 1972 release of the Harrier.

No instructions or decals, a couple of pieces missing, and some paint on a couple of parts, but nothing that can't be fettled.

 

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2 hours ago, stevej60 said:

Nice one JM, I'll have a check could be I have decals for both US and RAF versions from Airfix and altmark.

Thanks Steve,

I have some Modeldecal stuff that will fit the bill, though it would be nice to use the kit decals if anyone has either the RAF or Marines ones handy.

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1 hour ago, Jinxman said:

Thanks Steve,

I have some Modeldecal stuff that will fit the bill, though it would be nice to use the kit decals if anyone has either the RAF or Marines ones handy.

Try our wanted section JM someone might be sitting on spares.

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Great to see the PK-16 Harrier being built up and with an original box top @Jinxman. We often see Sea Harriers on here, however this old GR.1 kit always seems a little neglected in those those original two tone 70’s era brown sprues. This kit was a family favourite of ours and I recall my Dad making a pretty good rendition of the US Marines version when I was a wee lad. 

 

Cheers, welcome aboard and best of luck.. Dave 

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4 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said:

This kit was a family favourite of ours and I recall my Dad making a pretty good rendition of the US Marines version when I was a wee lad. 

I don't think it was the best regarded Harrier when it came out, but who cares, it's Matchbox!

Fingers are itching, ready for the start date. 😄

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4 minutes ago, Jinxman said:

… but who cares, it's Matchbox!

 

This should almost be the theme for this entire GB!! 

Nice line, I’ll pay you royalties if / when I use it. 

Cheers.. Dave 

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8 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said:

 

This should almost be the theme for this entire GB!! 

Nice line, I’ll pay you royalties if / when I use it. 

Cheers.. Dave 

Price - a long cool beer, (and don't mention the cricket... doh!)

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On 28/12/2021 at 16:50, Jinxman said:

Thanks Steve,

I have some Modeldecal stuff that will fit the bill, though it would be nice to use the kit decals if anyone has either the RAF or Marines ones handy.

I think I have a spare set of decals for PK-16. Let me check and I'll post here if I manage to locate them.

 

Mike

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13 hours ago, Mike Dean said:

I think I have a spare set of decals for PK-16. Let me check and I'll post here if I manage to locate them.

Hi Mike,

@Bungled has come up trumps and there is a set on the way to me as we speak - thanks for the offer.

 

Cheers,

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Really Nice sets of decals. Looks like Matchbox reissued the original blue background decals and added different squadron markings and stencils on the white background ones. Thats a nice touch and something I didn’t know about. Now the hard part, how do you choose which one of those four options for your kit? 

Cheers.. Dave 

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19 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Really Nice sets of decals. Looks like Matchbox reissued the original blue background decals and added different squadron markings and stencils on the white background ones. Thats a nice touch and something I didn’t know about. Now the hard part, how do you choose which one of those four options for your kit? 

Good question - I looked at the later release, PK-45, and the decals didn't seem to match. Then I noticed the F 273 bit on the decal sheet - it had to be Frog didn't it?

And it is, I'll probably go for a mix of Matchbox and Frog stencils - though the Marines version might get a look in. One thing that will get used is the Harrier decal on the stand - there are no u/c parts in the kit so this is definitely an in-flight build. 

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8 hours ago, Jinxman said:

Then I noticed the F 273 bit on the decal sheet - it had to be Frog didn't it?

 

So that's it?? I should have probably guessed that myself. A nice haul of decals all the same. 

Cheers.. Dave 

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Started early doors, couldn't wait. 😊 From 1973 this one, and decided to attempt using stretched sprue to help fill in some of the panel lines. The ones on the wings seem a lot deeper than the fuselage ones. Also blanked off the auxiliary doors so they can be filled in. There were no cockpit parts with the kit, so I've raided an Italeri Gr.5 for some bits, the seat is from spares, and the pilot is a Matchbox Bucc back-seater.

 

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Thats a very good start and toning down those panel line trenches will be a huge improvement to this kit. I’m glad you’re taking the extra steps to bring this up to higher standards. Looking great so far. 

Cheers.. Dave 

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Here's where we got to last night. Aux doors filled with scrap sprue, and then a decent dose of filler. Still struggling to make the cockpit work - it's not going to be accurate, but better than a gaping hole. The experiment with the stretched sprue would have worked better with a thicker gauge - the second wing looks like it might work better. Cyano was used on the tailplane as the panel lines were not too deep.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Repeated filling and sanding gets us here - it doesn't look great (yet?), and any detail that was there is long gone, and will have to be replaced - a shame as the vortex generators on the wings were quite nice. The outriggers were a terrible fit, but plenty of cyano is helping out. I quite fancy getting the wings and elevators on before fitting the sides together - it will allow some reinforcement internally as I think there might be a lot more filling/sanding to come. I can also try out the EBMA jig as well. 😄

 

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