Popular Post Jon Bryon Posted January 24 Popular Post Posted January 24 Good evening all, Here is my latest model: Kinetic's 1/48 Harrier GR.3. The decals are mostly from the kit but the scheme and relevant markings are from Xtradecals. The pitot is by Master and the inner pylons by Blackdog. The pylons have all been relocated as per information from the Harrier SIG and the fuselage fuel dump vent reshaped a little. The wing fuel dump pipes have been replaced with Albion Alloys brass tube and the APU intake and exhaust sections rebuilt. The guns have been modified, but not to the extent they could have been. I found the kit to be a pain, to be honest, but I still intend to make the Kinetic FA.2, T.2 and AV-8A I have in my stash. I became aware when taking the photos that one of the rear main gear wheels doesn't touch the ground. This is because Kinetic hubs don't fit in the tyres centrally. The leg is held in place with a pin, so I can try and pull it out tomorrow and sand the lower wheel down so both touch the ground. There are some strange mist-like deposits on the inside of the windscreen as well, and it was unfortunate the the airbrake didn't slot in easily at the end and fractured the plastic around the slots the arms fit into. Many thanks to Nick Greenall from the Harrier SIG for his input. There are still various errors and omissions, but it's more accurate than it otherwise would have been. An article on this should appear in SAM in due course. In the meantime, comments are welcome. Jon 59 2 14 2
Andrés S. Posted January 24 Posted January 24 You've done a spectacularly good job. Everything is perfect: the application of the paint, the decals, the subtle dirt dragged in and the colour variations. The smoke from the jet exhausts... A beauty !!! Congratulations. Andrés. 1
Mark Posted January 24 Posted January 24 Jon, a question if I may. Are you happy with it? Because you BLOOMING WELL SHOULD BE!!! Not only the very best Harrier I’ve seen here in these hallowed halls, but my favourite mark and in my favorite scheme too! Fantastic work Sir! 2
Jon Bryon Posted January 24 Author Posted January 24 25 minutes ago, Andrés S. said: You've done a spectacularly good job. Everything is perfect: the application of the paint, the decals, the subtle dirt dragged in and the colour variations. The smoke from the jet exhausts... A beauty !!! Congratulations. Andrés. Thanks Andrés. I appreciate you appreciating the details 21 minutes ago, Drakendk said: Really great work on such a harsh kit. Well done! Thanks Drakendk. Harsh is a good word for this kit! I hear the Sea Harrier is harsher still... 7 minutes ago, Mark said: Jon, a question if I may. Are you happy with it? Because you BLOOMING WELL SHOULD BE!!! Not only the very best Harrier I’ve seen here in these hallowed halls, but my favourite mark and in my favorite scheme too! Fantastic work Sir! Thank you Mark. At the risk of sounding rather Eeyorish, 'Yes and No.' I think the upper side camouflage came out really well and I'm very happy with my rescribing work, but that rear main gear really annoys me 🙂 Cheers Jon 1
Greg B Posted January 25 Posted January 25 You have wrestled that one into submission very nicely. Lovely build. 1
RMP2 Posted January 25 Posted January 25 That's both properly nice and interesting too. I hadn't realised that the early LAG underside Harriers got snow camo, only ever seen them in full wrap around. Top work all round. For what it's worth, I remember reading of folk fixing the nose and outrigger gear before the rear main, then lightly glueing the rear main gear and setting the model on its feet so the rear main gear finds its place by itself. If that makes sense. Lovely model regardless. 1
Jon Bryon Posted January 25 Author Posted January 25 7 hours ago, RMP2 said: That's both properly nice and interesting too. I hadn't realised that the early LAG underside Harriers got snow camo, only ever seen them in full wrap around. Top work all round. For what it's worth, I remember reading of folk fixing the nose and outrigger gear before the rear main, then lightly glueing the rear main gear and setting the model on its feet so the rear main gear finds its place by itself. If that makes sense. Lovely model regardless. Thanks RMP2. A surprising number did fly with the LAG undersides in the white camo scheme - the Harrier SIG has an excellent document covering them all if you are a member. Indeed that method of attaching the rear main gear is what was used. The gear leg is not glued into the bay - it's on a long brass pin and moves up and down. The problem is the wheel locating holes are not centred in the wheels, so they ended up at different heights on the axle. I can simply pull the gear out and try to sand a flat in the lower wheel, but it will be difficult to get it square. I'm going to try this morning... Jon 1
Bobby No Mac Posted January 25 Posted January 25 That's a wonderful finish. I've always thought the GR.3 looked much better in the winter camo 1
johnny akes Posted January 25 Posted January 25 Wow. Whatever issues the kit has you’ve more than just overcome them, that is a thing of beauty - faultless in every respect. 1
Jon Bryon Posted January 25 Author Posted January 25 Update. This morning I fixed the main wheels so they all touch the ground now. If you look closely at the wheel hub rims, you can see the cause of the problem. There is a large uneven gap between the rim and the tyre. Kinetic have moulded the hubs to be sandwiched between the tyre halves, and basically it means the hubs don’t sit central. This means the wheels sit on the axle at different heights. The port wheel has had a flat sanded on the bottom so the starboard wheel now touches the ground. The model looks better, but there's no way I'm taking all those photos again! Cheers Jon 5 6
Fatcawthorne Posted January 25 Posted January 25 Jon, @Pagey's superb build had me running billy big steps to eBay to emulate his superb build here! Now you have just done the same so I can have a go at a winter distemper scheme too!! You BMer's are costing me a fortune!! What a stunning build, capturing some wonderfully subtle weathering overall, but those intakes - that for me is another level! The dark green panels on the fin, are they aerials for instance and therefore why they were left in their original finish or am I barking up the wrong tree? In the real world how was the distemper applied around the stencils? Was there a LAC with an 00 paintbrush and an optivisor? 1
Booty003 Posted January 25 Posted January 25 Oh, be still, my beating heart.....!! As soon as I saw 'Norway' in the tag, I thought 'please be winter camo' and then clicked through to the images, Wow...!!! Absolutely stunning build, a complete beauty and superb photography as well. It looks flawless, perfect! Have a virtual pint on me....!!! 🍺 Phil 1
Jon Bryon Posted January 26 Author Posted January 26 14 hours ago, Fatcawthorne said: The dark green panels on the fin, are they aerials for instance and therefore why they were left in their original finish or am I barking up the wrong tree? In the real world how was the distemper applied around the stencils? Was there a LAC with an 00 paintbrush and an optivisor? I'm not sure what the green panels are for - I presume some kind of different material for aerials, as you say. I also don't know how the distemper was applied. In some cases, as with the aircraft I modelled, the finish is rather neat; in others, it looks a complete mess, down to the brush-painted serials over the top. Cheers Jon 1
Gordon J Posted January 26 Posted January 26 This is next level modelling. What a brilliant website you've got too. 1
modelling minion Posted January 26 Posted January 26 Superb result on your Harrier. Its not exactly a fun build is it but you have done a superb job on knocking it into shape. 1
Charles68 Posted January 27 Posted January 27 Never had a desire for a Harrier until seeing this...Yes, everything is master class, we'll done!! 1
corsaircorp Posted January 27 Posted January 27 Now that's a fine winter Harrier !! Congrats Sir !! Having done the SHAR from Kinetic, I know how frustrating these built can be.... But you tamed the kit into submission, and you did it greatly.... Sincerely. CC 1
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