RAF Harrier GR.7

[mikeew]

Righto.... I have heard a lot about the relative merits and/or pitfalls of this kit, but I wil be objective about it. I have read lots of reviews and builds around the 'net on this kit and will draw on all of these as regards fit of fuselage, wings and LERX.

These are cockpit shots, lots of pieces to make up a rudimentary cockpit and MB Mk.12 ejection seat. Its OOB with the exception of the seatbelts that I made from foil.

Unassembled pieces...

and painted and assembled...

I made a start with that fabled fuselage. I started by glueing the main halves together followed by that lower belly piece thus achieveing a nice neat fit. I will dry fit everything else before committing to glue to see what is the best way to go. Any pointers anyone?

(btw, anyone know what SEMI GROSS BLACK is ???)

Edited December 6, 2008 by mikeew

[periklis_sale]

nice work mate so far!

keep the photos coming mate!

[daz greenwood]

does it mean it's nearly yuk mate lol

Oh! nice build so far by the way

[Woodbeck3]

Took me a while to get past your Avatar to realize you were also showing a model

I have looked at this kit myself a few times so I will be watching and learning from you as well.

Jeff

[buccymad]

(btw, anyone know what SEMI GROSS BLACK is ???)

simple ! dont wash behind your foreskin for a week !!!when u check ,you should have something close

[Osher]

Very crisp build.

[Mike]

I've been waiting for someone to build one of these puppies, so I can see what all the fuss is about. Nige told me he'd launched one against the wall in frustration & put the other one back up in the loft, so I guessed it was challenging, but now I'm going to find out.

Where did I put my deckchair?

[AnthonyWan]

Hey Mike,

On mine, I fitted the bottom parts of the wings to the fuselage first.

Then took the large upper piece and fit that.

Fitting the bottom parts first makes sure that you don't have really big gaps/non-fitting wings

-Anthony

[Mentalguru]

There IS something not quite right about the nose of this kit- and it all starts wit hte piece you have yet to fit in at the forward top end of the fuselage- imagine this piece as as sort of "keystone" that defines the sit of the nose- and that the nose itself is such a complex collection of subtle curves, it will be extremely worthwhile time and again eyeballing the complete thing BEFORE commiting and glue.

I happen to be a member of the "wing isn't quite right- the kink is too pronounced" club- someone a while back posted a cure for this- but again, serious geometry issues will arise if not proceeded with the utmost caution.

I also have issues with the two main engine intake parts, they are basically wrong, but the research resources needed to correct them aren't so easily com by.. The inner wall of the intake parts should continue quite a bit further inside the "mouth." I have issues with the slope/rearward rake of the intake front top to bottom, when viewed from the side. IIRC the kit is too pronounced- BUT- one has to include my starting statement with the "keystone" part, and also keep careful track of the upward sweep of the lower fuselage up to the tip of the radome.

I have seen some extremely nice models made from this kit- I take my hat off to the modelers concerned.

[mikeew]

Next up I added the lower wings parts (E2 & E3) as this gave me the opportunity to get a good underside joint without the need for awkward filling and sanding.

I simply slotted them in and sealed the joints with MekPak.

I Painted the fan with Alcald Jet Exhaust and the intake sides Tanmiya XF-2 Flat White, this part slotted into the relevant recesses either side of the fuselage, again I used MekPak to secure it in place.

I put the two nose sections together trappng the cockpit tub in between, and installed this with some slight filing need on the lower portion to get a neat fit around the nose undercarriage bay.

Now for the tricky bit...

The rear part of the foward fuselage (Part # B3) that adjoins the LERX with the back of the cockpit. This fitted OK, but needed some sanding on the top upper sides where they meet the upper sides of the fusleage intake areas.This allowed it to slot in between the fuselage sides and will need a bit of filler, nothing too major though.

I taped this down whilst glue was drying.

I then added the upper wing part which fitted easily. I am not going to try and remedy the wing kink, as I feel this is beyond my capabilities and don't want to risk mucking it up!

Next is the LERX which fits well with dry fitting. Time will tell how all this pans out once I've cleaned up all the joints and added filler where needed.

[GrahamEM]

OOOhhh....i've got this kit and too scared to attempt a build on it seems like there's over 200 bits to it.

shall be watching along nice one

[Notdoneyet]

Mike,

Excellent "How to" build article - following this one closely.

Perhaps Mike could start a "Tricky Builds and how to tackle them" forum and your GR7 build plus Jonathon's Airfix Buccaneer, Ian Lanc's FM Halifax build ( plus others I'm sure) could be pinned there?

Ian

[Jelly]

She's looking good Mike!

I did mine slightly differently, with building the wings up before attaching to the main fuse. I think you had the right idea because fitting them was a bit of a pain. The LERX needed filling, especially on the underside where the wing routes are. Wasn't too bad other than that.

Looking forward to seeing her progress.

Marcus

[mikeew]

LERX added.

Needed a bit 'o filling and sanding, plus some rescribing of some lost detail, all in all though realtively easy. After a quick coat of grey primer to check for seams and blemishes, it all looks good, so I can continue with the rest of the build which looks to be relatively straightforward.

To be honest, after reading lots of if and buts about the LERX and fuselage to wing fit, I was prepared for the worst, as it turned out it was no real headache at all, just required some modelling skills. Afer all, we are modellers and not just kit assemblers eh?

[Woodbeck3]

Looks wonderful Mike. Can't wait to see some paint on this bad boy...

Jeff

[periklis_sale]

looking great mate!

[Nev]

Afer all, we are modellers and not just kit assemblers eh?

Speak for yourself!

[Julien]

Looking good there my man.

I take it a lot of the "stories" about this kit are not true then?

Julien

[mikeew]

Cheers guys.

Julien, It does need some work, don't get me wrong. Lots of dryfitting until you are happy with the sequence to assemble it is the order of the day. The instructions are best ignored to be honest, work out your own way of doing things. I needed to add a smidge of filler to blend the underside of the LERX with the fuselage joint and also what you can see in the pic below , other wise its relatively easy. Its just overengineered on Hasegawa's part due to he various marks of Harrier that can be built from this kit I think.

[Mike]

Top job! What's the joint like underneath the LERX? That's the one I've heard people complain about the most....

[mikeew]

Top job! What's the joint like underneath the LERX? That's the one I've heard people complain about the most....

The joint under the LERX is not as bad as it seams(sorry!)

I simply held the LERX piece in place, then flooded the joint with MekPak and held it until set (approx 3mins), easy peasy. Difficult area to photograph unfortunately, but trust me, it is a good joint under primer.

Edited April 17, 2008 by mikeew

[mikeew]

Right, after some comflab as to whether the Harrier can carry GBU-24 Paveway III (they can) I have pinched a pair from my Typhhon kit and they are built and waiting for paint etc. I have now managed to source a 1/48 TIALD pod and have this in my sweaty little hands as I speak. So I needed to create a TIALD pylon in place of the port lateral strake. I opted to modify the supplied strake using a razor saw and sanding sticks with a couple of clips of plasticard. I wrenched off the previous glued strake, filled and sanded the damage and affixed the suitably modified piece ready for the TIALD. Its now ready for painting with the exception of having to mask and fit the forward canopy piece.

Edited December 6, 2008 by mikeew

[mikeew]

I have finally got around to painting and Klearing the main airframe.

I used Xtracrylix Dark Camo Grey for the undersides and Tamiya dark

grey lightened with a tad of white for the upper surfaces, plus

two coats of klear via airbrush and she is now sealed and ready for decalling and weathering.

The canopy seams were removed, sanded and polished and dipped in Klear before masking and painting.

The AIM9's were sprayed white and metallic black and also Klear coated ready for decals.

Undercarriage is ready for matt coat and silver bits of oleos to be added they can then be installed.

I assembled and cleaned up the dreadful exhauast nozzles. The plastic ducts on the "hot" exhausts were cut out

and replaced with sheet aluminum for a more scale thickness.

[AndyL]

Great work Mike - I'm following this one ready for me to do my Harrier.

[daz greenwood]

Looking good Mike.