La Muerta Negra *Finished*

[Andwil]

My entry will be a Sea Harrier using one of the kits from this Hasegawa twin boxing:

 

 

I’ll be doing the overall EDSG one. (The other kit is reserved for a future Indian Navy build).

 

 

Mostly it will be out of the box, but I will have to do something about the cockpit as the one provided by a Hasegawa is fairly naff.  I also have a Master turned brass pitot for it, and some better sidewinders from the spares box.

 

AW

Edited April 18, 2022 by Andwil

[Andwil]

2 April and I’ve made a start.  First things, the cockpit.  This is what a Hasegawa provide:

 

 

One piece tub and seat, very basic.  There is also a pilot that looks like some kind of alien.  So I have started to scratch my own, using a spare Airfix seat:

 

 

Another quirk of this kit is that Hasegawa have moulded the nose gear doors closed, which implies that the engine is running.  However it is not possible to build it in flight as retracted outriggers are not provided!  So, I have cut out the doors and started to box in the nose wheel bay:

 

 

 

The cockpit in situ:

 

 

I’ll be able to use the kit instrument panel and control stick.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

[Andwil]

Today I spent time getting most of the small components that will be painted prior to assembly ready for priming.  But I did also get the main airframe parts together:

 

Unusually for a Hasegawa kit, there was a reasonable amount of flash around the extremities of the larger parts.  I think overall this kit is not one of their better efforts.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

[heloman1]

Hi, from what I remember, it's a nice enough kit although it is showing its age. I think I built one about twenty years ago.

Good luck with your build.

 

Colin

[Andwil]

A little bit of painting has been started on some of the smaller components and the cockpit.

 

 

 

I still have to add some belts to the seat and of course some instruments.

 

Also been adding some structure to the otherwise empty air brake cavity.

 

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

[Andwil]

I made up some belts from tape and painted them a tan colour and also used the kit instrument decals:

 

 

 

The front fan of the Pegasus was painted aluminium and given a black wash:

 

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

[Ozzy]

Nice job on the fan, I’ll have a go on my build to get the same effect.

[arfa1983]

The fan looks fan-tastic (🥁)

 

Is it photoetch or just kit part?

[Andwil]

9 hours ago, arfa1983 said:

The fan looks fan-tastic (🥁)

 

Is it photoetch or just kit part?

It’s the kit part.  I must admit I am surprised, and pleased, at how it turned out seeing as how it is moulded as one piece with the intake ducting.

 

AW

[arfa1983]

1 minute ago, Andwil said:

It’s the kit part.  I must admit I am surprised, and pleased, at how it turned out seeing as how it is moulded as one piece with the intake ducting.

 

AW

Wow, nice. But will anyone be able to see it on the finished model?

[Andwil]

1 minute ago, arfa1983 said:

Wow, nice. But will anyone be able to see it on the finished model?

Yes, Harrier intakes are quite large and the fan can be seen if you look down them.

 

AW

[Pappy]

Nice job. SHAR intakes were painted EDSG up to the fan, not white

 

Pappy

[Andwil]

Cockpit stuck into the front fuselage:

 

 

Which was then closed up and attached to the rest of the aircraft:

 

 

3 hours ago, Pappy said:

Nice job. SHAR intakes were painted EDSG up to the fan, not white

 

Pappy

 

Now he tells me:

 

 

     I asked about this in the chat thread but got no replies.  Too bad, I’ll just have to live with it now.  Still, it is only really visible from this angle.  And the fan is visible.  I wonder whether I could get some kind of masking over the fan....

 

Undercarriage painted and made up:

 

 

Sidewinders:

 

 

and tanks:

 

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

[Pappy]

 G'day AW,

 

I think we are both wrong!

 

The intake interiors  are EDSG as you have done, but the inner bell mouth  up to the inlet compressor fan should be Light Aircraft Grey (not EDSG or white) so on balance you should be okay, apologies for the confusion. I would leave it alone

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

[Andwil]

4 hours ago, Pappy said:

 G'day AW,

 

I think we are both wrong!

 

The intake interiors  are EDSG as you have done, but the inner bell mouth  up to the inlet compressor fan should be Light Aircraft Grey (not EDSG or white) so on balance you should be okay, apologies for the confusion. I would leave it alone

 

cheers,

 

Pappy

Thanks Pappy, that’s a relief!  I think that without a light shining down the intake white can pass off as light aircraft grey!

 

AW

[Andwil]

I added some semblance of detail to the turtle deck and the other scoops and antennae:

 

 

The small blade antennae behind the cockpit are but joints and I’ve ready managed to knock one off and re-glue it.

 

I added the small bulkhead to the rear of the canopy:

 

 

About ready to move it to the paint shop.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

[Andwil]

Primer:

 

 

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

 

[Andwil]

The primer revealed a seam and small step at the port wing to fuselage join and a small gap on the other side that I was not happy with, so it was sanded down

 

re-primed and then, EDSG:

 

If all goes well I will have this finished by the end of the weekend.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

[exdraken]

Wow, very nice!

You are quick!

 

[Andwil]

12 hours ago, exdraken said:

 

You are quick!

This kit goes together very quickly, low parts count and no major problems.  Once I had scratched a replacement cockpit it kind of just fell together.

 

Paintwork finished:

 

 

 

The eagle eyed will notice that the twin blade antennas behind the cockpit have been removed.  Apart from the fact that I kept knocking them off, I want  to pose the canopy in the open position and found that the canopy will not fit over them.  As they are not visible with the canopy open, off they came.

 

One nice thing about this kit is that Hasegawa give you a boarding ladder.

 

 

I used the hairspray technique and scratched at the red with the sharp end of a cocktail stick to show the aluminium underneath.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

[Andwil]

Decals done today:

 

 

 

Family engagements tomorrow, completion on Monday.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

[Cummulus]

Looks great!

[Andwil]

Final assembly done.  I came across the first real problem with this kit.  The main gear leg required drastic shortening in order for the plane to sit square on all four points.  As with all my other Harrier builds I attached the nose wheel and outriggers first and once set put the main gear in position.  With the Airfix, Esci and Sword Harriers this allowed the main gear leg to be set at the correct depth, but the engineering of this kit did not allow for any adjustment other than brutally cutting down and sanding the gear leg.

 

 

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

[CliffB]

Very nice indeed! 

[exdraken]

Great job!

The ladder gives it its touch of excellence!