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After seeing so many inspiring builds on this forum, I decided to re-visit my childhood admiration for the Harrier and got my hands on the Kinetic kit. I was quite impressed with the overall quality, and thanks to the information available here, I avoided some of the kit’s pitfalls.

 

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No aftermarket parts were used, but a modified Hasegawa F-14 pilot was added, and the Matra pods are from a Hobby Boss Hawk, since I didn’t feel like re-sculpting the kit parts (I can live with the uncovered openings).

 

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I usually build my aircraft kits gears up, but since the Harrier has such a fascinating silhouette with the outrigger gears, I wanted to depict it in a hovering state. This meant opening all the intake doors, and of course some surgery on the landing gear for the uncompressed state. I eyeballed the configuration from reference photos and added some hydraulic wires and stuff in the process. The oleo strut pistons on the outrigger gear were replaced with wire, since the kit parts have some arresting insets molded here.

 

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Other detail work was adding some bits in the cockpit and opening the APU exhaust on the back.

 

Painted with Tamiya acrylics, with the panel centers airbrushed to a lighter shade and very light gouache panel line accentuation.

 

Harrier enthusiasts here will hopefully forgive some glaring errors on the build. C&C very much welcome. And thanks for the Harrier energy.

 

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One of the best Harriers I've seen! First of all, I really like the idea to display it in hovering modes, since that's basically its raison d'être, n'est ce pas?

 

And I'm impressed by your handling of the panel joints – just a hint of a darker shade, not that unatural dead black that we sometimes see.

 

Congrats to a magnificent Harrier!

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

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4 hours ago, BleedingBlue said:

Really nice clean build.  One suggestion, maybe put it on a clear acrylic rod, that would sell the hovering idea a bit more.

 

I agree that it's a beautifully built and painted model, well done for that. But to be really true to life you need it to be balanced on a wobbling tower of smoke, dust and noise!😄

 

Did you extend the oleos? It's hard to be sure from your photographs but the undercarriage looks a bit compressed for an aircraft with no weight on the wheels?

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Thanks @ all for the appreciation!

 

@Bertie Psmith It's not to noticable in the photos, but I did extend the oleos. On the aft gear, the end of the fitting sits just above the rim in the compressed state, now it's above the tire. Getting the tiny torque links back on and aligned properly was kinda nerve-wrecking. The visible part of the front gear piston is half the size in it's compressed state. I should have taken before and after shots. The outrigger legs don't seem to have much action and were left as they came.

 

I'll think about the tower of smoke & noise.

 

@Spitfire31 Same here – I guess it's a matter of personal taste, but I don't want the model to look like a technical drawing, so I'm very restrained with the panel line accents. I also dust the decals with a hint of grey to bring down the saturation and tie them into the overall paintjob.

 

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99 % of the time the rocket pod tubes were open, They were only fitted with the frangible covers when HE rockets were loaded, which wasn't very often!

 

As a old Harrier GR3 hand, the one essential thing missing from this diorama  is THE NOISE!

 

Selwyn

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1 hour ago, Electric Indigo said:

I did extend the oleos.

 

Brilliant. Because the photos are slightly oblique it was hard to tell. I've never extended oleos but I once lowered some and that was a very fiddly job so I understand how difficult it is!

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There is so much about this that is brilliant. The aspect that blows me away is the painting and the precision of the camouflage scheme. I’d never get myself in a fight with modifying oleos or anything of the like (it would end badly) but I do aspire to paint like that one day. You have to have a dream!

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@Filler I find masking with blu tac or comparable products quite convenient.

 

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Use thicker "worms" for a softer edge.

 

All airbrushing was done with a Badger 350 single-action and Tamiya acrylics thinned 2:1 for the basic coat and 1:1 for the panel highlights.

 

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Edited by Electric Indigo
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