Hawker Siddeley Kestrel FGA.1

[gengriz]

I've wanted to build one of these for a long time and the reissue of the ancient Airfix P.1127 rekindled my aspirations over the Xmas period !   The Kestrel had a lot of differences from the P.1127 and from the later P.1127(RAF) or Harrier; it's kind of a half-way house between the two.

 

 

So, my first major project of 2025 is a conversion of the Fujimi AV-8A into a Kestrel FGA.1 of the Tripartite Evaluation Sqn at RAF West Raynham, by altering the nose, intakes, undercarriage and air brake, wings, fin, nozzles & nozzle fairings (amongst other things).  Decals are home-made inkjet printed. The rocket powered Martin Baker Mk.6 ejection seat (a first) is from Aeroclub.

 

 

 

I was quite pleased with the way the conversion turned out, but the metallic finish and the decals gave me a lot of trouble.  I went for the very first Kestrel, XS688, because it initially carried the rubber intake lips plus the original un-cranked tailplanes (albeit with anhedral). Athough it eventually wore side number "8" along with the TES markings, I've done it as it first appeared, with Hawker Siddeley P.1127 titles on the nose.

 

 

I hacked out the main gear bay and filled the Harrier air-brake on the donor kit as well as adding the Ram Air Turbine that always seemed to be extended when the Kestrels were on the ground.

 

 

 

Next up, the Airfix P.1127 with a set of Harrier wings to represent XP984, the last P.1127 !

[Jonners]

Great conversion! 

[wellsprop]

Very nice indeed! 

[neilspen]

Lovely conversion, which looks super. The annotated image is a good idea to add to your detailed explanation. Looking forward to your planned follow ons 😀

[russ c]

Great job on that old kit, really nice work

[F-32]

Excellent work 

[junglierating]

Strange that the intake at the base of the fin was removed since on subsequent Harriers it was back again to provide cooling for the rear electronics bay.

Intresting and BZ to you

[CT Modeller]

That's really nice. An aircraft we could do with a decent kit of. I did a similar thing myself years ago using an the old Airfix Harrier GR.1 kit and a P.1127. As you said, getting an authentic finish wasn't easy - I used a various mixtures of Xtracolour Aluminium with Light Aircraft Grey to get the panel effect. My decals came from an old Resin conversion kit which was supposed to convert the Airtfix kit into a Kestrel but from what I remember it was next to unusable. Can't remember the manufacturer of the resin kit but I'm sure somebody out there will! Anyway very well done