MODEL

AIRCRAFT
EXTRA

No.5

BUILDING THE

Harrier
Compiled by Andy Evans
 1

The Harrier
MA PUBLICATIONS LTD

Model Aircraft Extra #5

Building the Harrier
Compiled by Andy Evans

Produced under licence by:

MA Publications Ltd
Contents
PO Box 1592, Bedford, MK40 9FD | UK First Generation - Harrier Duo – 1:48 Monogram AV-8As 10
Telephone: +44 (0) 1234 331431
Email: info@modelaircraftmag.com Arctic Harrier – 1:48 Eduard Harrier GR.7/9 16
Website: www.modelaircraftmag.com SHAR School – 1:48 Kinetic Harrier T.8 22
© 2020 MA Publications Ltd
So Long SHAR – 1:48 Kinetic Harrier F/A-2 30
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced or Vertical Reality - 1:48 Kinetic Harrier F/A-2 38
transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including
VSTOL Raider – 1:48 Harrier II Plus 46
photocopy, recording, or any other Falklands Fighter – 1:48 Sea Harrier FRS.1 50
information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the Arctic Training – 1:48 Kinetic Harrier T.4 54
publishers. Marines Mover – 1:72 Airfix AV-8A 60
ISBN: 978-1-9161005-4-1
Hover and Out – 1:48 Kinetic Sea Harrier F/A-2 64
Complied by: Andy Evans
Design & Layout: Andy Folds, Spanish Matador – 1:72 Airfix AV-8S 68
Jonathan Phillips Harrier in Helmand – 1:72 Airfix Harrier GR.7/9 72
Printed and bound in the United Kingdom
Step-by-Step SHAR – 1:48 Airfix Sea Harrier F/A-2 78
2
The Harrier
First Generation Harriers
T
he iconic Hawker Siddeley Harrier was
the first of the so-called Harrier ‘Jump
Jet’ series. It was developed in the
1960s as the first operational close-
support and reconnaissance fighter aircraft with vertical/
short take-off and landing (V/STOL) capabilities and the
only truly successful V/STOL design of the many that
arose in that era, and at its heart was the innovative
Rolls-Royce Pegasus engine with its thrust vectoring
nozzles. The Harrier was developed directly from
the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel prototype aircraft, following
the cancellation of a more advanced supersonic
aircraft, the Hawker Siddeley P.1154. Originally said
to be ‘unable to carry more than a matchbox over
INTRODUCTION – HARRIER
a football field’ the Harrier matured into one of the
most potent warplanes of its generation. The RAF
ordered the Harrier GR.1 and GR.3, and the T.2/2A
and T.4/4A two-seat trainer variants in the late 1960s,
and it was also exported to the United States as the
AV-8A, for use by the US Marine Corps as well as the
Spanish Navy in the 1970s. Spain sold seven single-
seat and two twin-seat Harriers to Thailand in 1998
for use on the aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Naruebet.
During the Harrier’s early service, the RAF positioned
the bulk its Harriers in West Germany to defend against
a potential invasion of Western Europe by the Warsaw
Pact forces, where the aircraft’s unique abilities allowed
the RAF to disperse their forces away from vulnerable
airbases. The USMC used their Harriers primarily
 3

for close air support, operating from amphibious

assault ships, and, if needed, forward operating bases.
The Harrier’s ability to operate with minimal ground
facilities and very short runways allowed it to be used
at locations unavailable to other fixed-wing aircraft.
The Sea Harrier was developed from the Harrier for
use by the Royal Navy on Invincible-class aircraft
carriers, and came to fame in the 1982 Falklands War,
where the aircraft proved to be crucial and versatile.
During the war the Sea Harriers provided fixed-wing
air defence while the RAF Harriers focused on ground-
attack missions in support of the advancing British
land force. The Harrier was later extensively redesigned
as the AV-8B Harrier II and BAe Harrier II by the team
of McDonnell Douglas and British Aerospace.
The first RAF squadron to be equipped with the
Harrier GR.1, No.1 Squadron, started to convert
to the aircraft at RAF Wittering in April 1969. An
early demonstration of the Harrier’s capabilities
was the participation of two aircraft in the Daily
Mail Transatlantic Air Race in May 1969, flying
between St Pancras railway station, London and
downtown Manhattan with the use of aerial
refuelling. Two Harrier squadrons were established
in 1970 at the RAF’s air base in Wildenrath to
be part of its air force in Germany, and another
squadron was formed there two years later.
In 1977, these three squadrons were moved forward
to the air base at Gütersloh, closer to the prospective
front line in the event of an outbreak of a European
war. However, one of these squadrons was disbanded
and its aircraft distributed between the other two.
Harriers were also deployed to bases in Norway
and Belize, a former British colony, and No.1 Squadron
was specifically earmarked for Norwegian operations
4
in the event of war, operating as part of Allied Forces
Northern Europe. In the aforementioned Falklands
War in 1982, ten Harrier GR.3s of No.1 Squadron
operated from the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes. As GR.3
had not been designed for naval service, the aircraft
had to be rapidly modified prior to the departure of
the task force. Special sealants against corrosion were
applied and a new deck-based inertial guidance aid was
devised to allow the RAF Harrier to land on a carrier as
easily as the Sea Harrier. Transponders to guide aircraft
back to the carriers during night-time operations were
also installed, along with flares and chaff dispensers
and a unique ‘Blue Eric’ ECM system was used by some
aircraft. The Harrier GR.3s focused on providing close
air support to the ground forces on the Falklands and
attacking Argentine positions, suppressing enemy
artillery was often a high priority, whereas the Sea
Harriers mainly used for fleet air defence and combat
air patrols against the threat of attacking Argentine
fighters. However, both Sea Harriers and Harrier GR.3s
were used in ground-attack missions against the
INTRODUCTION – HARRIER
main airfield and runway at Stanley. A total of twenty-
eight Sea Harriers and fourteen Harrier GR.3s were
deployed in the theatre. The Sea Harrier squadrons shot
down twenty Argentine aircraft in air-to-air combat with
no air-to-air losses, although two Sea Harriers were lost
to ground fire and four to accidents. One Sea Harrier
alone, flown by RAF Flight Lieutenant David Morgan,
shot down two Skyhawks in a single encounter.
The United States Marine Corps began showing a
significant interest in the aircraft around the time the
first RAF Harrier squadron was established in 1969, and
this motivated Hawker Siddeley to further develop
the aircraft to encourage a purchase. Thus, the AV-8A
entered service with the US Marine Corps in 1971 and
demonstrated their abilities to operate from both
amphibious assault ships and aircraft carriers. The
Harriers showed, amongst other things, that they were
capable of performing where conventional carrier
aircraft could not. The Marines Corps’ concept for
deploying the Harriers in a land-based expeditionary
role focused on aggressive speed. Harrier forward bases
and light maintenance facilities were to be set up in
under twenty-four hours on any prospective battle
area. The forward bases, containing one to four aircraft,
were to be located twenty-miles from the forward edge
of battle (FEBA), while a more established permanent
airbase would be located around fifty-miles from the
FEBA. The close proximity of forward bases allowed for
a far greater sortie rate and reduced fuel consumption.
The AV-8A’s abilities in air-to-air combat were tested
by the Marine Corps by conducting mock dogfights
with F-4 Phantoms, and these exercises trained pilots
to use the vectoring-in-forward-flight (VIFF) capability
to outmanoeuvre their opponents and showed that
the Harriers could act as effective air-to-air fighters at
close range. The success of Harrier operations countered
scepticism of V/STOL aircraft, which had been judged to
be expensive failures in the past, and the Corps became
convinced of the military advantages of the Harrier

and pursued extensive development of the aircraft.
As noted earlier, the Spanish Navy operated the AV-8S
Matador from their aircraft carrier Dédalo (formerly
the USS Cabot) to provide both air defence and strike
capabilities for the Spanish fleet. The Spanish Navy,
Thai Navy, Royal Air Force, and US Marine Corps
have all retired their first-generation Harriers, and
Thailand relinquished their small number in in 2006.
The Sea Harrier FRS.1 was designed to fill strike,
reconnaissance and fighter roles, and the innovative
use of a ‘ski jump’ allowed the aircraft to take off from a
short flight deck with a heavier loadout than otherwise
possible. However, it could still also take off like a
conventional loaded fighter without thrust vectoring
from a normal runway. The Sea Harrier was largely based
on the Harrier GR.3 but was modified to have a raised
cockpit with a ‘bubble’ canopy for greater visibility,
and an extended forward fuselage to accommodate
the Ferranti Blue Fox radar. Many parts were changed
to use corrosion resistant alloys or coatings were
added to protect against the marine environment.
After the Falklands War, the Sea Harrier was also fitted
with the anti-ship Sea Eagle missile. The Sea Harrier
was later upgraded to the F/A2 standard and featured
the Blue Vixen radar, which was described as one of
the most advanced pulse doppler radar systems in the
world. The aircraft also carrier the carried the AIM-120
AMRAAM missile, the first UK aircraft to be provided
with this capability, and featured the upgraded Pegasus
106 engine The Sea Harrier also saw action when
5
it was deployed in the 1992–1995 conflict in Bosnia,
part of the Yugoslav Wars, and again in the 1999
NATO campaign over Yugoslavia in Operation ‘Allied
Force’. They were also deployed to Sierra Leone on
board HMS Illustrious in 2000, which was itself part of
a Royal Navy convoy to supply and reinforce British
intervention forces in the region. The Sea Harrier
was withdrawn from service in 2006 and the last
remaining aircraft from No.801 Naval Air Squadron were
decommissioned on 29 March that year.  The Royal
Navy however, continued to operate the Harrier with
the GR.9 as part of Joint Force Harrier, but these were
retired prematurely a few years later due to budget cuts.
In 1977, the Indian government approved of plans
to acquire the Sea Harrier for the Indian Navy, and in
November 1979 they placed its first order for six Sea
Harrier FRS Mk.51 fighters and two T Mk.60 trainers. Ten
more Sea Harriers were purchased in November 1985,
and eventually a total of thirty Harriers were procured.
India has operated Sea Harriers from both the aircraft
carriers INS Vikrant and INS Viraat (ex-HMS Hermes),
and the Sea Harrier allowed several modern missiles
to be introduced into naval operations, such as the
Sea Eagle and the Matra Magic for air-to-air combat. In
2006, the Indian Navy started upgrading some of their
Sea Harriers in collaboration with Israel by installing
the Elta EL/M-2032 radar and the Rafael ‘Derby’ medium-
range air-to-air BVR missile. Sea Harriers operated from
INS Viraat for the last time on 6 March 2016, with the MiG
29K being introduced to replace their Sea Harrier fleet.
6

Second Generation Harriers

The Bae/McDonnell Douglas Harrier II was a second-
generation V/STOL jet aircraft used by the RAF
and the Royal Navy between 2006 and 2010 and
continues in service with the US Marine Corps and
the Spanish and Italian Navies. For the RAF initial
deliveries of the Harrier II were designated in service
as Harrier GR.5 and subsequent upgraded airframes
were redesignated accordingly as GR.7 and GR.9. The
Harrier II participated in numerous conflicts, making
significant contributions in combat theatres such as
Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. By the end of 1990, the
RAF’s Harrier IIs were approaching full operational
status with several squadrons, however, they were
considered to be too immature to be deployed in
the 1991 Gulf War. However, several aircraft were
dispatched to patrol no-fly zones over Iraq from 1993
onwards. In 1995, squadron of Harrier GR.7s was
stationed at Gioia del Colle in Italy, for operations over
Bosnia. More than 126 strike sorties were carried, often
assisted by Jaguars acting as designators for laser-
guided bombs. In June 1994, GR.7s were deployed
for trials on board the Navy’s Invincible class aircraft
carriers. Operational naval deployments began in 1997,
which led to the Joint Force Harrier (JFH) command
organisation, where RAF Harriers would routinely
operate alongside the Royal Navy’s Sea Harriers.
During Operation ‘Allied Force’ over Kosovo in 1999,
twelve Harrier GR7 flew some 870 sorties. In 2003, the
Harrier GR.7 played a prominent role during Operation
‘Telic’, the UK contribution to the second Gulf War. Prior
INTRODUCTION – HARRIER

to the conflict, the Harriers had been equipped with
a new armament, the AGM-65 Maverick missile, and
some thirty-eight were launched during the campaign.
RAF Harriers also became a regular element of Britain’s
contribution to the War in Afghanistan. In September
2004, six Harrier GR.7s were deployed to Kandahar,
Afghanistan, replacing a US detachment of AV-8Bs in
the region. In January 2007, the Harrier GR.9 began
its first operational deployment at Kandahar, and the
Harriers were withdrawn from the Afghan theatre
in June 2009. In 2006, the Sea Harrier was retired
from Fleet Air Arm service and the Harrier GR.7/9 fleet
was tasked with the missions that it used to share with
those aircraft. The former Sea Harrier squadron No.800
NAS reformed with ex-RAF Harrier GR.7/9s in April
2006 and joined by the re-formed No. 801 NAS in 2007.
These later expanded and become the Naval Strike
Wing.  The Harrier GR.9 was expected to stay in service
at least until 2018. However, on 19 October 2010 it
was announced in the Strategic Defence and Security
Review that the Harrier was to be retired by April
2011. On 24 November 2010, the Harrier made its last
ever flight from a carrier, and in November 2011, the
Ministry of Defence sold seventy-two Harriers to the
US Marine Corps for spares.
7
The US Marine Corps AV-8Bs have participated
in both the first and second Gulf Wars as well as
Operation ‘Enduring Freedom’ in Afghanistan since
2001 and were used in Operation ‘Odyssey Dawn’ in
Libya in 2011. Most of the original ‘day attack’ AV-8Bs
were upgraded to ‘Night Attack Harrier’ or ‘Harrier II
Plus’ standards, with the remainder being withdrawn
from service. The main attack avionics system in
original aircraft was the nose-mounted Hughes AN/
ASB-19 angle-rate bombing system. The combined
a TV imager and laser tracker to provide a highly
accurate targeting capability. Defensive equipment
included several AN/ALE-39 chaff-flare dispensers,
an AN/ALR-67 radar warning receiver, and an AN/
ALQ-126C jammer pod. The trainer version of
the AV-8B, the TAV-8B, has a 3ft 11in extension to
accommodate the second cockpit. Fielded in 1991,
the ‘Night Attack Harrier’ was the first upgrade of the
AV-8B. It differed from the original aircraft in having
a forward looking infrared (FLIR) camera added to
the top of the nose, a wide Smiths Industries head-
up display (HUD), provisions for night vision goggles,
and a Honeywell digital moving map system. The
FLIR uses thermal imaging to identify objects by their
heat signatures. This variant was powered by the
8
F402-RR-408 engine, which featured an electronic
control system and was more powerful and reliable.
The flare and chaff dispensers were moved, and
the ram air intake was lengthened at the fin’s base.
Initially known as the AV-8D, this variant was later
designated the AV-8B(NA). The ‘Harrier II Plus’ is
very similar to the Night Attack variant, with the
addition of an APG-65 multi-mode pulse-Doppler
radar in an extended nose, allowing it to launch
advanced beyond-visual-range missiles such as the
AIM-120 AMRAAM. To make additional space for the
radar, the angle-rate bombing system was removed.
The radar used was taken from early F/A-18 aircraft,
which had been upgraded to APG-73 standard. In
addition to the AIM-120, the AV-8B Plus can also
carry AGM-65 Maverick and AGM-84 Harpoon missiles.
During Operations ‘Desert Shield’ and ‘Desert Storm’,
eighty-six AV-8Bs amassed 3,380 flights, and in
INTRODUCTION – HARRIER
the aftermath of the war, USMC AV-8Bs and other
aircraft patrolled Iraqi skies in support of Operation
‘Southern Watch’. In 1999, the AV-8B participated
in NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia during Operation
‘Allied Force’. USMC AV-8Bs took part in Operation
‘Enduring Freedom’ in Afghanistan from 2001. The
aircraft also participated in the Iraq War in 2003,
acting primarily in support of USMC ground units.
On 20 March 2011, USMC AV-8Bs were launched from
USS Kearsarge in support of Operation ‘Odyssey
Dawn’, enforcing the UN no-fly zone over Libya, and in
addition to major conflicts, USMC AV-8Bs have been
deployed in support of contingency and humanitarian
operations, providing fixed-wing air cover and armed
reconnaissance. Following a lengthy evaluation
of the Sea Harrier and AV-8B, an order was placed
for two TAV-8Bs in May 1989. Soon, a contract for a
further sixteen AV-8B Plus aircraft was signed. In 1999,
Italian AV-8Bs were used for the first time in combat
missions when they were deployed aboard Giuseppe
Garibaldi, which was participating in Operation ‘Allied
Force’ in Kosovo. Italian pilots conducted more than
sixty sorties alongside other NATO aircraft. From
November 2001 to March 2002, eight AV-8Bs were
deployed in support of Operation ‘Enduring Freedom’,
and in 2011 Italian Harriers took part in Operation
‘Unified Protector’, part of the military intervention
in Libya. Spain, already user of the AV-8S ‘Matador’,
became the first international operator of the AV-
8B by signing an order for twelve aircraft in March
1983. Spanish EAV-8Bs later joined Operation ‘Deny
Flight’, enforcing the UN’s no-fly zone over Bosnia.
9
10

First Generation -
Harrier Duo
Andy Renshaw builds a pair of 1:48 USMC AV-8A Harriers using Monogram kits
with Caracal and Superscale Decals
AV-8A HARRIER

I
t’s curious how our interest can just change while
walking through the vendor’s section at a model MANUFACTURER:
show. A while ago just such an occurrence happened MONOGRAM
when I stumbled upon a really great deal on an old SCALE: 1:48
classic Monogram 1:48 Harrier kit. I actually passed KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
it by at first, until I spied some out-of-production
KIT NUMBER: 5420
Superscale decals for the same kit a few tables down
for a very paltry sum! Needless to say, I went home
with both. Then Caracal Decals released a fantastic
new decal sheet covering several Harriers, and then
shortly thereafter I managed to obtain a second kit for worn in the first years of the Harrier’s employment. This
another steal of a price! So what to do with two kits one would also have a more detailed cockpit and open
of the same aircraft? Why, a double-build of course! canopy, as well as Aden gun pods and refuelling probe
BUILD 1 – HARRIER

After looking over the Caracal Decals and Superscale
sheets, I opted to make both kits into AV-8A’s, yet use
different paint schemes, load-out options, and add
on components to make each very unique, as well as
showing the versatility of the aircraft. One was going to
be in the classic ‘hi-vis’ style with the full colour insignia
installed. The second would sport a very attractive
‘winter’ scheme of white over the green, with ‘low-vis’
black markings, a closed canopy, and have the strakes
instead of gun packs, and a full load of four Mk 77 ‘fire
bombs’ would make short work of any snow covered
target area! So construction on both airframes began.
 11
DECALS
CARACAL DECALS #48027 - US MARINES AV-8A/C HARRIER
AV-8A BUNO.158975, VMA-513 DET A, HIGH-VIS SCHEME, 1982
AV-8A BUNO.158702, VMA-231, TEMPORARY WINTER CAMOUFLAGE, NAS
FALLON, NEVADA, 1983
MASTER #AM48068 - HARRIER PITOT

The one thing these classic Monogram kits possess

is overall accuracy, with good shape, profile and
dimensions. The limits of technology at the time of
moulding betray the age, with some simplified detail,
overly thick detail parts, and a modest fit that requires
a bit of work to get right. Moving into construction
expecting the work that is required keeps the build
enjoyable, as the extra putty and replacing of details is
all part of the fun while working on these older kits. A
quick review of the kit parts and reference photographs
revealed areas that needed improvement. On the
fuselage, I opened the vents on the tail and added a
screen made from decorative ribbon running from the
inside, after thinning the interior plastic. The ‘puffers’
on the tail and nose, used to stabilise the aircraft while
The fuselage pairs
being detailed and
modified
in the hover, were opened and detailed with bits of
plastic to represent the vanes and ducting. On the
Harrier with the open cockpit, special attention was
given and I added extra switchology, throttle, and
other details. A resin seat replaced the kit item as
well. The cockpit in the closed canopy bird had some

The ejector Working on

seats were the ‘blow-in’
given doors
some extra
detailing

The ‘puffers’ and vents

detailed on the tail
12
Adding scale wing
fences and working on
the fuselage joins
Here we see the scratchbuilt
wiper fairing and the Master
pitot tubes
additional detail added, mainly what could be seen
in the upper half of the cockpit through the glass.
The kit seat was detailed with bits of plastic and wire,
and some spare etched belts. After both cockpits
were painted, they were installed in the fuselages,
fuselages closed up, and focus turned to the exterior.
Within one of my kits were some old ‘corrected’
resin intakes that were marginally better than the
assembled kit parts. Like most Monogram kits of the
era, the fuselage joints needed lots of putty, including
the joint on the underside of the wing. This was filled
with epoxy sculpt instead of my usual plastic putty.
The moulded-on beacon was removed, plus the
moulded-on leading edge fences were replaced with
sheet plastic. A cut was made in the wing the thickness
of the plastic sheet, sheet glued in, and then shaped
to the right size. Fire extinguisher access holes were
added, along with the missing wing root landing light.
Applying a pre-shade
BUILD 1 – HARRIER
A new HUD area was scratchbuilt
Masking off
the canopy
The fuel dump ports between each flap were cut off
and replaced with plastic tube and the outrigger bays
reworked to make the interior flush and the right width.
After getting the fuselage to an acceptable condition,
my attention returned to the cockpits. The kits’ HUD is
a poor representation, so I removed all the moulded-on
items and built both HUDs and surrounding equipment
from scratch. The HUD frames were etched items from
Technics, and after they were painted and glass installed,
the canopy was cleaned up, polished, and installed as
well. New wiper blades and motor fairings were added
from strip and sheet plastic, and then the canopies
were masked in preparation for painting. While on the
nose, a camera was added to the port side by cutting to
shape and fairing in a piece of clear sheet plastic. Before
gluing to the fuselage, the camera location was marked
The underside was
airbrushed in FS36440
Light Gull Grey

The upper surface camouflage was ModelMaster RAF Dark Sea Grey,
and after masking ModelMaster FS34079 Dark Green was added
on the fuselage side, and a recess was drilled out and
painted silver to replicate the camera lens. The camera
window itself was masked off on the new fairing. Finally
a new Master metal pitot topped off the detailing.
Painting began on both aircraft with the application
of a dark grey pre-shade and then the underside was
airbrushed in FS36440 Light Gull Grey. Once this was
dry, the underside was masked off using painters’
tape. Though there are Federal Standard numbers for
the grey and green, they are in fact British colours, so
I used ModelMaster RAF Dark Sea Grey to start with,
followed by a misting of thinned FS35237 to give it
a slightly weathered blue look. For the green I used
ModelMaster FS34079 Dark Green, and did my masking
with rolled ‘snakes’ of Silly Putty. The pattern was
applied freehand, but these early schemes were known
to be very tight on the edges, and the best way I have
found to replicate that is Silly Putty masking. At this
Adding the Superscale
Decals to the ‘high-vis’
Harrier
An impressive array of Silly
Putty was used to mask
the ‘winter’ Harrier!
13
Rescribing
the panel
lines
point the winter scheme aircraft was set to the side,
and attention was focused on finishing BuNo.158975.
Finishing continued with a quick rub with a very
fine sandpaper to make the raised panel lines return
to the pre-shade dark grey, or in the case of the dark
green areas, a little less will bring out the underlying
lighter grey. Any missing panel lines were drawn
in using a mechanical pencil and straight edge. As
mentioned, decals are from Caracal, and after the
decals a second coat of gloss was applied, followed
by the usual washes to dirty up the airframe. The
drop tanks were kindly donated by a fellow modeller,
whilst the Mk 82 Snakeye’s were from Hasegawa. The
bombs were weathered using dabs of various Vallejo
acrylic paints, and a final flat coat finished it off.
Returning to the winter scheme, I still had one more
Preparing the ‘winter’ Harrier with reference to the Caracal
Decals sheet
Close in on the ‘fire-bomb’ stores
14
colour to do! Some careful study of the reference photos
showed that the white was applied over the green,
and in some cases the green was still showing around
the edges. So, I left the masking on after the green
paint had been applied, and simply manipulated the
existing masking, plus added some additional Silly Putty
snakes along the edges. The white was then
sprayed and all masking removed to reveal
The end result – two very
detailed Harriers!
Photo Reference
US Marine Corps AV8A/C
BUILD 1 – HARRIER
the pattern. Finishing was much the same as the green/
grey jet, leading to the installment of four Mk 77 ‘fire
bombs’ from Aerobonus. As a final touch and to add a
splash of colour, RBF tags from Eduard were added.
Together they make a very attractive pair,
and show what can be done with an old classic
kit. So next time you spy one of these old
Monogram kits at a show, don’t be too quick to
pass up. It could be a diamond in the rough!
15
16

Arctic
Harrier
James Ashton adds a ‘cold winter’
finish to the 1:48 Eduard GR.7/9 kit

HARRIER GR.7/9

E
duard has a tradition of taking already excellent
kits from various manufacturers and boxing MANUFACTURER: EDUARD
them as a ‘Special Edition’. What makes them SCALE: 1:48
‘Special’ is the addition of resin and etched KIT TYPE: MULTI-MEDIA
parts from their superb aftermarket range. In this KIT NUMBER: 1166
instance they have taken the Hasegawa Harrier II
kit and bundled it with some aftermarket goodies
that raise an already excellent kit to a new level of
detail. One addition to this comprehensive package
was the addition of Eduard’s Brassin Harrier Exhaust engineering is crisp and makes for a relatively painless
Nozzles, which I feel are an absolute necessity on this experience. I would recommend special attention be
kit. This is not the first time I have built this kit as I given to the fit of the wings and the Intake cowlings, as
have done the USMC version in its original Hasegawa there is little room for error. A small spot of Mr Hobby
BUILD 2 – HARRIER

boxing. Armed with this previous experience under
my belt I already had an idea of what to expect
with regard to possible construction challenges.
As with many kits from Hasegawa, it is modular in
nature and this means careful test fitting and alignment
of the multiple parts are needed. Thankfully the
Putty was used to seal the upper wing to fuselage
join and also around the underside of the LERX. I
have always had mixed feeling when it comes to
using etched parts, this is usually connected with the
incredibly small fiddly bits which can test my patience
to the limit. On the other hand you cannot beat it for
 17

Nothing can compare to a coloured etch

instrument panel for detail and authenticity

Combine the etched parts with a resin ejection seat,

and the basic plastic cockpit is transformed into a
miniature replica of the Harriers office

such things as colour instrument panels and larger

parts that require the correct scale thickness. I think
it true to say that Eduard has set the benchmark for
‘etch excellence’ and certainly nobody does it better.
Couple this with the beautiful resin ejection seat and the
spartan plastic cockpit becomes a busy eye-catching
18
feature, which captures perfectly
the look of the Harrier’s compact
office. The second non-colour etched
fret contains the numerous antennae
and some panels which all make for a
more scale authentic appearance.
Alongside the ejection seat you
also get a superbly cast set of resin
wheels which are weighted. Hasegawa cast
the outrigger wheels as one piece, so the resin
replacements are a welcome detail with the wheels
separate from the leg oleo. One word of warning, these
parts are incredibly fragile so I would recommend
not attaching the outriggers until the very end of
the build. Even then be very careful when putting An invaluable
the model down on its undercarriage as too much of reference companion to
this model is Modellers Datafile
an impact will break them off. Although something 17. Despite the modular nature of
you will have to purchase separately the final resin this kit very little filler is needed if you are
careful when fitting the parts together
parts are a pure joy to behold and a must have on any
Harrier kit. Those who model jet aircraft are familiar
with the seamline problems that are inherent with
jet intakes and exhausts. The Harrier is a particularly
tricky one as it has the louvres in the way that make
it virtually impossible to get inside to remove seams.
The Eduard Brassin replacements are (insert your own

RAF Greys are

notoriously difficult
to find in model paint
ranges. However, I
found Alclad Mil Spec to
be a perfect match for
the Medium Sea Grey
BUILD 2 – HARRIER

I could not stop myself staring in wonder at the beautifully

cast resin parts, especially the Exhaust Nozzles. Just handle
the outrigger parts with the greatest of care
 19

To avoid silvering of the decals and also for

weathering with Hogwash, an acrylic gloss
coat is essential. Alclad Aqua Gloss dries
quickly and self-levels superbly
20
superlative) and I spent many minutes just admiring
the quality and craftsmanship of these parts.
Finally the model is together and the moment I
have been eagerly working toward arrives, that is
the painting weathering and markings of my chosen
subject. Although Eduard provide a brilliant selection of
options on the outstanding decal sheet, the only choice
for me was made as soon as I saw the NATO Winter
camouflage option. This is one scheme I have always
wanted to model but for some reason never have? The
Photo Reference
Arctic Harriers in Camera
BUILD 2 – HARRIER
decals are in perfect register, are very comprehensive
and have a fine carrier film, which when applied to
a gloss surface appear painted on and do not silver.
This for me has been a very satisfying project both
in the construction and finishing stages. Hasegawa’s
Harrier is a great starting point, Eduard has worked
their magic by adding those necessary aftermarket
upgrades along with an exciting choice of markings
and schemes. I highly recommend getting your hands
on this kit especially if you are a fan of the RAF Harrier.
21
22
SHAR School
Alan Kelley looks at the 1:48 Kinetic two-seat Harrier,
and builds and all-black Royal Navy T.8 version
T
he two-seat family of Harriers were developed
for training purposes, and while the RAF
used the T.2 and T.4 versions, the T.4N and
T.8 were used to train Sea Harrier pilots, the
T.4 being used for the FRS.1 and the T.8 for the F/A-
2. This new release from Kinetic includes all four of
the above listed variants, with options for a Spanish
and Thai TAV-8S, and a US Marines Corps TAV-8A.
The kit itself comprises of around 300 parts in light
grey plastic, with twenty clear pieces and a small
etched fret. The superb, all new decal sheet is huge,
designed by CrossDelta and printed by Cartograph.
So, onto the construction, and as usual I decided to
start with the cockpit. In this case I thought that the
detail on the instrument panels was a bit shallow, so
being who likes to add as much detail as possible, I
here decided to use my RP Toolz Punch and Die set to
create some new instruments from Evergreen sheet
styrene, to replace the instruments on the panel. I was
really pleased with how these looked, but at that stage
I realised I had corrected the wrong panels, as I had
BUILD 3 – HARRIER
been using the set intended for an earlier T.4N, based
on the for the FRS.1 cockpit, as opposed to the T.8 and
the F/A-2. However, I bit the bullet and progressed
anyway, painting the details in using Hataka Hobby
Blue Line acrylic paints. There were a couple of quite
noticeable ejector pin marks in the rear cockpit, so I
T-HARRIER
MANUFACTURER: KINETIC
SCALE: 1:48
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED WITH
ETCH
KIT NUMBER: 48040
covered these with a little Evergreen strip, and added
a little detail to the rear port side bulkhead. I then
painted the cockpit using Mr Hobby H317 Grey, and
weathered it using a homemade wash of Johnson’s
‘Klear’, water and Tamiya XF-1 Black. Highlights were
then added using the Hataka Blue line acrylics.
The kit ejector seats make up into a reasonable
representation of the Martin Baker Mk9E’s used in the
type, however, if you are making the US version, you
will need to use Stencel seats. The etched belts are
a little on the basic side, so I added some additional
straps using Tamiya tape. I painted the seats by spraying
a primer coat of Mr Surfacer Black 1500, then dry
brushing a coat of Dark Grey over the raised details, and
adding any final details with Hataka shades. The final
touches were added using Ammo by MIG Oilbrushers,
which blended beautifully. I then just needed to add a
couple of placards, and the decals on the headrests.
 23
I added a few more
details to the
cockpit…

…and the rear

bulkhead

I built up the well detailed wheel wells and airbrake

housing, and primed them primed them using Mr
Surfacer Grey 1200, and completed the look with a
coat of Hataka Hobby Orange Line White. I then added
the various details in and finished off with a black
wash to make the details ‘pop’ a bit more.
Some of the Kinetic moulding is really
clever, notably the one-piece nozzles
24

The main wheel

and airbrake
housing

The fuselage
now ready for
the wings

The ejector seats

with tape straps
added…..

which are all connected by a rotating mechanism. This

needs to be fitted prior to joining the fuselage halves
together. The intake is also very well moulded, and the
way Kinetic have designed it to fit in place, it actually
holds the fuselage sides together without any glue.
The fuselage was joined up, and I added the various
aerials and antennae at this stage, as I would not want
to risk the gloss Black paint by adding them at a later
stage. The wing fit is perfect, and this slotted neatly
into place with just a touch of glue along the edges.

…and suitably painted and detailed

I chose to use Mr Hobby

Aqueous Gloss Black for
the main colour
BUILD 3 – HARRIER
 25
The entire model was then primed using Alclad
Black Primer and Microfiller and followed this with
various grades of Micromesh Polishing Cloths, to buff
the surface up ready for the gloss black paint. For this
I chose to use Mr Hobby Aqueous Gloss Black, which
was thinned with Hataka Hobby Thinners. This, in my
honest opinion, is the best thinner on the market, and
the gloss Black coat went down perfectly. Once dry this
was set aside to harden prior to adding the decals. As
noted, the Kinetic decals are superb, and these went, on
using Micro Sol without any problems, with no silvering
whatsoever. I then set aside the model, and went
about building up the sub-assemblies. First up
were the wheels and landing gear. The wheels
were the usual Kinetic two-piece design;
however, they could perhaps have done
with a tread pattern or other surface
detail on the tyres. As I wanted to keep
this model as close to out of the box as

The competed look

of the cockpit……

….and glazing
26
The decals are designed
by CrossDelta…
….and printed by
Cartograph
T-BIRD TYPES:
HARRIER T.2 - LENGTHENED TWO-SEAT TRAINING VERSION FOR THE RAF,
POWERED BY PEGASUS MK 101 ENGINE AND WITH TALLER FIN
HARRIER T.2A - UPGRADED T.2, POWERED BY A PEGASUS MK 102.
HARRIER T.4 - TWO-SEAT TRAINING VERSION FOR THE ROYAL AIR FORCE,
EQUIVALENT TO THE GR.3, WITH PEGASUS MK 103 ENGINE, LASER SEEKER AND
RADAR WARNING RECEIVER. REVERTED TO SHORT FIN OF SINGLE SEATER.
HARRIER T.4A - T.4 WITHOUT LASER SEEKER OR RADAR WARNING RECEIVER
HARRIER T.4N - TWO-SEAT TRAINING VERSION OF THE T.4A FOR THE ROYAL
BUILD 3 – HARRIER
NAVY, WITH AVIONICS (EXCLUDING RADAR) BASED ON SEA HARRIER FRS.1
HARRIER T.4(I) - CONVERSION OF EX-RAF T.4 AIRFRAMES BY BAE SYSTEMS,
FOR THE INDIAN NAVY. ATTRITION REPLACEMENTS FOR INDIA’S HARRIER T.60.
DELIVERED FROM MAY 2003
HARRIER T.8 - NAVAL TRAINER MODIFIED FROM EARLY TRAINER VARIANTS
AND FITTED WITH SEA HARRIER F/A-2 AVIONICS.
possible I chose not to replace them.
The wing outriggers are neatly
moulded with ground-locks fitted, and I
painted the outriggers white and added red for
the ground-locks. The inner pylons provided were sadly
of the wrong type, and had a curved leading edge
as found on the Sea Harrier, however, the ones
used on the T-Birds had a straight edge. This was
relatively easy to fix with the aid of a razor saw
and a file. I also chose to fit the 190-gallon drop tanks,
although I have retrospectively been informed that
the T-series used the 100-gallon ones, also included
in the kit. The canopies are a little awkward to work
with. The inner framework of the front canopy come
as etched pieces and need to be glued onto a central
piece of styrene, which and I found it quite difficult to
glue into place. Perhaps the sides would be easier to
add first, rather than following the instructions. Before
all the sub-assemblies were brought together, I
gave the airframe a coat of Hataka Gloss, and
polished it up for a very shiny appearance.
All in all, this kit is superb and
I really enjoyed the challenge
of putting it all together.
HARRIER T.52 - TWO-SEAT COMPANY DEMONSTRATOR OF AN EXPORT
VARIANT OF THE T.2, ORIGINALLY PEGASUS 102 POWERED BUT UPRATED TO
PEGASUS 103 FOLLOWING AN ACCIDENT IN 1971, ONE BUILT FIRST FLOWN 15
SEPTEMBER 1971. REGISTERED G-VTOL
HARRIER T.60 - EXPORT VERSION OF THE T4N TWO-SEAT TRAINING VERSION
FOR THE INDIAN NAVY
TAV-8A HARRIER - TWO-SEATER TRAINING VERSION FOR THE USMC,
POWERED BY A PEGASUS MK 103. COMPANY DESIGNATION HARRIER MK 54.
EIGHT BUILT.
TAV-8S MATADOR - EXPORT VERSION OF THE TAV-8A HARRIER FOR THE
SPANISH NAVY. LATER SOLD TO THE ROYAL THAI NAVY. SPANISH NAVY
DESIGNATION VAE-1 MATADOR. COMPANY DESIGNATION HARRIER MK.54
 27

Photo Reference
Two-Seat Harriers
RAF Two-Seat Harrier

The LRMTS nose of the T.4

Crew exiting a T.4

Rear left view of the T.4

The Welsh Wildcat emblem of the Harrier OCU

Rear right view of the T.4

Nose section of a T.2A T.2 from No.3 Squadron

28

Royal Navy Two-Seat Harrier

Harrier T.8

Harrier T.4N nose T.8 tail

T.8 forward fuselage T.8 nose and boarding ladders

BUILD 3 – HARRIER

T.8 wing pylon and tank T.8 Canopy T.8 fairing behind the cockpit
 29

Harrier T.4N of No.899 Squadron

T.8 Intake and nose T.8 ejector seat T.8 front cockpit

USMC Two-Seat Harrier Company Demonstrator

TAV-8A of VMAT-203 Harrier T.52

Spanish Matador Indian Navy Two-Seat Harrier

TAV-8S Harrier T.60

30
So Long SHAR
Chris McDowell builds the 1:48 Kinetic Sea
Harrier FA2 in the retirement colours of
No.800 Squadron NAS
T
he British Aerospace Sea Harrier really needs
no introduction to these pages. Suffice to say
it was an iconic design that is sadly missed in
British service, but one that can be celebtrated
in plastic! Kinetic first released their FA2 version of the
Sea Harrier in 2015, and this only the second version of
this iconic aircraft available in 1:48. The other of course
being the old Airfix release from 1997, which in itself was
based on the original moulds of the FRS.1 which dates
back to the mid-1980s. The Kinetic kit is made up of
243 parts in a light grey plastic (104 parts are dedicated
to ordnance), sixteen parts in clear, a small etched fret
and a fairly comprehensive decal sheet consisting
of markings for twenty-eight different aircraft. The
beautifully printed decal sheet by Cartograph consists
of two commemorative schemes plus twenty-six
aircraft depicted at disbandment in 2004 and 2006.
As with most aircraft builds, work commences
with the cockpit. Although the details of the plastic
BUILD 4 – HARRIER
parts supplied is very good, there are no seat belts
included in the kit. There was a small etched fret
containing some smaller parts like the wing fences,
but no belts, so Eduard came to the rescue with an
interior set for the Harrier’s cockpit that not only
contained pre-painted seatbelts, but other details to
SEA HARRIER FA2
MANUFACTURER: KINETIC
SCALE: 1:48
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED WITH
ETCH
KIT NUMBER: 48041
liven up an already busy office. I had to follow both
the Eduard and the Kinetic instructions to be able to
complete the now quite complicated cockpit. This had
to be done in stages due to the fact that a lot of the
Eduard etch was pre-painted, and had to be attached
after I had airbrushed and weathered the rest of the
cockpit. For the main colour I used Mr Hobby 308,
then the rest of the details were picked out using
various Vallejo shades. Once the paint had dried and
the remaining etched pieces attached, everything was
given a light coat of matt varnish. The final touches
to the cockpit was to add some Micro Krystal Klear to
the dials using a cocktail stick to simulate the glass.
At the same time as painting and assembling the
cockpit, the lower wheel wells and engine intakes also
 31

I added and Eduard

etched harness to
the ejector seat

Painting and
weathering the
main gear well
32
The cockpit and fan The rear fuselage
assembly in-situ air brake and
wheel well being
detailed

The landing gear

benefited from some
extra work

had to be painted and assembled. These were quite

straight forward and once completed allowed me to
close up the two fuselage halves. I began the process
of closing up the fuselage by gluing the cockpit, engine
intake, front and rear wheel wells, and the inside of the
airbrake to one half of the fuselage. Once this had time
to dry I added the other half of the fuselage starting at
the nose and working backwards, giving each section
some time to set before moving on to the next. The
part that links all of the jet nozzles is also added at
this time. This is meant to be attached without any a copy of the sadly now out of print SAM Publications
glue to allow you to move all of the nozzles at the Datafile on the Sea Harrier. I have tell you, it was the
same time once the kit is finished. I found the fit of only piece of reference material I needed for this whole
these parts not great and this is definitely one of those project. The book was a fantastic help with everything
areas that I was very glad I dry fitted beforehand. from exploded engineering drawings to walk around
With all of the separate sub-assemblies in place and photographs of the different variants. So with my book
the fuselage halves together I turned my attention to on hand, I started to add the extra wire for brake and
the landing gear. Again the detail straight from the box hydraulic lines and using my RP punch set to cut out
is quite good, but I wanted to add that little bit extra.
First I needed some good reference material. Before
beginning any build I try and get as much reference
material for the subject as I feel I need. In this case I got
BUILD 4 – HARRIER
33
34

extra details from thin sheets of

plastic card to add all the extra
detail I could. After the glue
had set, the landing gear were
airbrushed and the details
were carefully picked out
with various Vallejo colours.
The next major step
in the process was to add the
wing assembly, which was fairly
straightforward, containing just three major
parts. I would recommend to dry fit the top and
bottom of the wings though, as I had to make several
small adjustments to ensure a good fit. Once the glue
had dried and I removed the clamps, I still had to add
some filler to the gap running along the length of
the leading edge of the wing. Once this had dried, I
sanded everything smooth leaving the wing assembly
ready to be joined to the fuselage.
This is where I had the biggest
I began with an overall fit issue with the kit so far. The wings
Black Primer coat…….. assembly just wouldn’t sit correctly
on the fuselage. After several attempts to
make it fit, it looked like my only option was
to remove the location tabs on the inside
of the fuselage. These were intended
to locate and support the wing section
once it was fitted, but was just getting in
the way of the wing assembly sitting flush
with the rest of the kit. So with a scalpel and a new
curved blade fitted, I proceeded to carefully remove
the tab from the fuselage section. I also ensured that
the mating surfaces between the two assemblies was
sanded clean and free of any molding imperfections

….and the I applied Mr Hobby 335

BUILD 4 – HARRIER

…..followed by a ‘marbling’
effect on all of the parts….

and seem lines. After several attempts I was finally able
to get the wings to sit in a position that I was happy
enough with to fix them. Once this had dried I applied
some Deluxe Materials Perfect Plastic Putty around the
joint as required.With the two larger assemblies joined
together it was time to add a lot of the smaller parts.
There are several antennas that have to be attached
to the outer surfaces, which in itself isn’t unusual. What
other manufactures do though in this situation is to
have a hole, or an indication on the inside of the part
that hasn’t been fully drilled through, and depending
on which version you are building you drill out the
….and painted above….
35
The large red
markings were then
masked off……
appropriate holes yourself. Either that, or the piece is
manufactured with the hole already in the part. Also in
this area the instructions aren’t the best, so you’ll need
to rely on your own reference material to identify exactly
where these go - Harrier Datafile to the rescue again. The
canopy was added next, and I decided to use Eduard’s
canopy masks due to their ease of use and to save a bit
of time. Once the canopy was glued in position using
canopy glue the remaining open section of cockpit was
masked up, using Tamiya tape and Humbrol Maskol.
Using the same products, the air intakes, the wheel
wells and the interior of the airbrake were also masked
off in preparation for the painting process to begin.
First t the model was primed using Stynylrez Black
Primer instead of my normal grey, as I wanted to try
the ‘Black Basing’ technique that a lot of modellers are
using these days. First I suppose I should explain the
idea behind the technique if you are unfamiliar with the
process. I’m not going to go into too much detail about
the technique here, but just give you an overview of the
steps involved and my humble opinion of how I got on
using this technique for the first time. There are three
stages to the process. The first stage is to prime in black,
this creates the basis for any shadows and any darker
……and below
the wings
36
patches of paintwork. The second stage is referred to as
the ‘marble coat’. This is when you add a lighter colour
than the final camouflage colour in a random pattern
keeping the airbrush very close to the surface of the
work. You can also add other colours at this stage to
highlight certain panels or areas of dirt depending on
your reference material. Again though, the airbrush
is held very close to the workpiece and sprayed in
a fairly tight random pattern. The last layer is a
highly diluted mix of the final colour, and is
added in light coats to build up the final
colour. You have to ensure that this The decals were
stage is done slowly, and that you then added……
frequently check to make sure that
all that hard work from the previous to be used for the markings. Once the white was dry,
stages is still noticeable, and I built the X-7 Gloss Red up slowly ensuring I got a
hasn’t just been covered over which is so easily done. solid colour. I decided not to weather the paint at
So with my model already primed in Black, I started this stage, as I wanted the markings to be fresh in
to add the ‘marble coat’. This didn’t take quite as long comparison to the rest of the aircraft. Seeing as this
as I was expecting, but it is important to take your time was a commemorative aircraft, I expected to find a
and to ensure you get the right look. I added some difference between the old and new painted surfaces.
Tamiya XF-64 Red Brown around the sides and along Once all of the masks had been removed and any
the belly of the aircraft to help create stains touch-ups were carried out, I proceeded to paint all
that are seen on the real aircraft. Once this
paint layer had dried I used Mr Hobby 335 for
the final coat. This was thinned with around
80% self-levelling lacquer thinner and added
over several passes slowly building up the
colour until I was happy with the final result.
The version I was wanting to model
required some very large decals. As
I’m not a fan of using large
decals, I decided to airbrush
as much of the markings
as possible. So using the
decal sheet provided as …and AK interactive 2072 Paneliner
a guide, I created some thin for Grey or Blue Camouflage was
used to add depth…..
cardboard templates that helped me mask
up the model where required. Once these
areas had been masked off, I airbrushed
some Matt White to help show off
the Gloss Red colour that was
BUILD 4 – HARRIER
 37
of the smaller details using various Tamiya and Vallejo
colours before giving everything a couple of light …to the entire airframe
coats of Alclad 2 Aqua Gloss. This produces a perfect
surface for decaling, especially if you give the surface
a light polish with a clean dry cloth in between each
layer. I used a combination of the kit decals and SAM
Publications ‘Sea Harrier - End of an Era’ Decals Sheet
printed by Fantasy Printshop. I used Microsol decal
solution to help the decals settle over the models
surface. Once the decals had dried, any access
decal solution was removed with some
water and a cotton bud. The decals
were then sealed with another
coat of gloss varnish to protect
them from the weathering
stage. The eagle eyed amongst
you will probably notice from the photographs that time to cure I started to add all of the smaller parts that
around this time I accidently broke the refuelling probe had been left off until now. I also took the time at this
off. During the construction stage I had wanted to stage to re-attach the refuelling probe. This required
leave this off until nearer the end of the build. I knew a bit of work to glue, sand and repaint but at least I
there would be trouble ahead if I attached it then, but would hopefully avoid breaking it off again. With the
unfortunately the fit was quite poor and once fitted, canopy masks removed the build was finally complete.
filler was needed around the mating surfaces. So with As usual with every Kinetic kit I’ve built, I’m glad I took
little choice I glued it in place, but as I predicted, it took the time to build it. Their FA2 looks very impressive
a knock through handling and broke off. I decided to sitting on my bench, the detail is nice and the colour
leave the broken piece unattached, and fit it again later. scheme is very eye catching. A sadly missed aircraft!
I then used AK interactive 2072 Paneliner for Grey
or Blue Camouflage as my main panel line wash. This
was left to dry before removing the excess with a dry
paper towel and cotton buds in those hard to reach
places. I added some exhaust stains along the rear
sides of the fuselage as all of my reference material
showed quite a bit of discolouration here. With the
finish line in sight, I matt coated everything using
Tamiya’s XF-86 to kill the glossy shine. When this had
38
Vertical Reality
James Ashton details the 1:48 Kinetic Sea Harrier F/A.2
A
lthough not the first kit of the SHAR available,
this is without a doubt the best on the
market and is for many a very welcome sight
indeed. Not only given the significance of
the Sea Harrier in aviation history, for many there
is the sentimental reason that this was the last all-
British Harrier built. Kinetic provide a comprehensive
selection of markings that present quite a daunting
prospect for the modeller. My choice was decided for
me when I read that 006 of No.800 Squadron ZH813
was in fact the last SHAR off the BAe production
line. Kinetic have certainly been progressively
upping their game with each new release and I was
immediately struck by the excellent surface detailing
and crisply moulded plastic, of which there is plenty.
From past experience some instruction sheets
BUILD 5 – HARRIER
can throw you a ‘wobbler’ every now and then, with
incorrect colour call-outs and numbering of parts.
The only time I found a problem here was with the
numbering of parts G15 as G5 on the weapons pylons.
Other than this very minor mistake if you follow the
clear instructions you cannot go wrong. The interior
SEA HARRIER F/A.2
MANUFACTURER: KINETIC
SCALE: 1:487
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED WITH
ETCH
KIT NUMBER: 48041
details of the cockpit, wheel wells and airbrake are
very good. However, with some seat belts the cockpit
would be outstanding as it is highly visible through
the large canopy. Not usually one for gimmicks I did
wonder about the clever mechanism for rotating
the exhaust nozzles, but surprisingly it does work
well, however I personally chose to fix them into
position. As with any Harrier build you do find yourself
wondering how well the fuselage will fit together
with all the modular sections that lie before you.
Happily it goes together very positively with some
minor adjustment of the airbrake section. I was
 39

The mechanism for the

exhaust nozzles actually
works very well indeed and is
not just a gimmick. However,
I chose to fix mine into
position

Attention needs to be given to the wing-

to-fuselage seam or it does not sit flush. A
mix of talc and cyanoacrylate is ideal for
giving a strong smooth finish

particularly impressed by the fact I did not have to

fight with seam line misalignments as they are as
good as invisible after a quick swipe with a sanding
stick. This is true of the entire build barring one area
that needed a little filling and fettling to get it right.
The wing section plastic is quite thick and did not sit
flush with the upper fuselage, the result being that
40

I used a variety of Tamiya shades

there is no problem here as Kinetic provide you with

an extensive array. As mentioned earlier there is a very
comprehensive decal sheet provided with this kit and
my confidence in these decals was boosted when the
name ‘Cartograf’ was spotted. They are in
perfect register with good colour
saturation and the stencils are all
legible, combine this with a fine
carrier film and quite simply they
are all we have come to expect from
this company. I used Tamiya paints throughout,
along with Alclad Metalizers and Abteilung oils
In conclusion, this kit is brilliant and certainly
outshines all other SHARs available. Kinetic have given
Weathering was achieved us a very comprehensive package and with a very
by post-shading with paint reasonable price tag. An invaluable reference guide
and then staining with high
quality oils. This is where that served me well throughout this build was the
good reference material such Modellers Datafile No.11, and if you wish to go further
as Modellers Datafile No.11 is
invaluable with it, this kit is a great foundation for super detailing.
A must-have for any fan of the Harrier, and ably fills a
the aft section sits noticeably proud which would gap in this scale with a true state-of-the-art model.
create a hump. After thinning the plastic as much as I
dared and shaving some more off the fuselage section
a small amount of filler was all that was required to
rectify this minor problem. Once the main airframe is
together you start to appreciate the accuracy of this
kit, in particular the lines and stance of the Harrier have
been captured superbly. Supplied with the kit are some
etched leading edge wing fences which the instructions
would have you attach at the end of the build. It is more
the fact that I was working to a time schedule for this
model than any fault with the kit. However, I would
recommend attaching these during construction of
the wing section in order to get the best fit, not as I
tried and failed to do, after painting was complete!
BUILD 5 – HARRIER

On this note of caution it is necessary to mention the

very fine and beautifully moulded static probe on the
tail. Like me you may find it virtually impossible not to
catch and bend it or even break it off - you have been
warned. Many manufacturers sadly give very little
choice when it comes to weapons load-outs, however
 41

The main airframe is only half the

model, and it is important to continue
the weathering on the ancillary parts
or they will look odd and out of place
42

Canopy and access ladder

The bulbous nose of the FA2

Photo Reference
Sea Harrier FA2
Wing root fire access panel and lamp
BUILD 5 – HARRIER

Nosewheel Windshield and wiper details

 43

Wing vortex generators Outrigger detail

Looking upwards under the nose

Looking behind the canopy and note the white GPS antennae

Mainwheel Blow-in doors

Front nozzle detail Tailplane, incidence marking and vents Airbrake and rear fuselage ‘plug’ detail
44
Sea Harrier FA2 Scale Plans 1:72 Scale
BUILD 5 – HARRIER
45
46

VSTOL Radar
Raider
Fabian Flemming details the 1:48 Hasegawa AV-8B Harrier II Plus
AV-8B Harrier II Plus

E
ver since I attended ILA 2000 in Berlin I have
been fascinated by the Harrier, and by its MANUFACTURER:
unusual shape, powerful look and aggressive HASEGAWA
stance. Fast forward to 2008, and while SCALE: 1:48
attending the Fleet Week in New York City, I visited KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
the USS Kearsarge with their next generation Harriers,
KIT NUMBER: 07228
and at the time I had just switched from 1:72 to 1:48
modelling and decided to build the Hasegawa 1:48 kit
BUILD 6 – HARRIER

in the markings of VMA-231 ‘Ace of Spades’ I noticed

early on that it this endeavour would not be as easy
as I initially expected, and decided to add some
extra details here and there. First, all four engine
nozzles are made from two pieces, and would need
some work to remove the seam lines, so I utilised a
resin set from Eduard. I replaced the cockpit with
another Eduard set and a Quickboost ejector seat. I
painted the cockpit with Model Master Medium Grey
and added further details to the consoles myself.
As a primer for Eduard nozzles I used Alclad II Grey,
47
BUILD 6 – HARRIER
48

and then painted them with a mix of Alclad II White
Aluminium as a base, and different shades for the
engines on top of that. The assembly of the fuselage
was less complicated, and I painted the engine
inlets before assembling them with Mr Paint White
Primer, which gave an excellent, opaque result. The
blades of the turbofan I painted with Alclad Steel
to create the appearance of depth. I also decided
to add some extra detailing on the fuselage by
applying additional rivet detail, which would also
bring the model closer to its real-life counterpart.
I now added the cockpit and the wings, and here
a little filler was needed to get the wings to sit flush
with the mid-section, and I also had to re-engrave
some panel lines. The rest of the assembly was
straightforward. I went on to prime the
Harrier with Alclad Grey Primer
49
and added some pre-shading to emphasize the panel
lines. I used the later version of the Harrier’s camouflage
scheme, and here I used Mr Paint Dark Ghost Grey (FS
36320), Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231), and Gunship Grey
(FS 36118) for the canopy. The gear bay doors and the
inside of the airbrake was painted White. Next, I added
multiple layers of Johnson’s ‘Future’ to create the
perfect surface for the decals, which settled well with
Micro Sol and Set. Afterwards, another layer of ‘Future’
was added to seal the decals and prepare the model
for the washes to come. I added more weathering
using Ammo by MIG products to further emphasise
these details, and I used pastels to add more effects.
I decided to add more ordnance from Hasegawa’s US
Aircraft Weapons Set, and finished the build with a coat
of Alclad Matt. After a final touch-up here and there, I
unmasked the canopy and the build was complete.
50
Falklands
Fighter
Angelo Picardo
builds the Kinetic Sea
Harrier FRS.1
W
hen Kinetic released the Sea Harrier FA2,
there were a lot of modellers hoping they
would also release the earlier FRS1 version,
and their wishes have come true as here we
have the first variant, which gained fame for its service in
the Falklands campaign of 1982. The plastic parts feature
some very fine details, with engraved panel lines, although
some parts have a little flash, prominent mould separation
lines and ejector pin marks, but nothing too drastic.
The assembly began with the nicely detailed cockpit.
The tub and instrument panel has raised detail, but the
instrument faces are plain, and no decals are provided for
them. The Martin Baker ejector seat is a six-piece assembly,
which builds up into a reasonable representation, however
BUILD 7 – HARRIER
Kinetic do not provide the harness, so I made this from
some thin strips of masking tape and some scrap pieces
of etch and plastic for the buckles. The cockpit’s rear
bulkhead forms the front wall of the nose gear and this
builds up next, with some nicely moulded details on the
interior. The front fan of the Rolls Royce Pegasus, along with
Sea Harrier FRS.1
MANUFACTURER: KINETIC
SCALE: 1:48
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC INJECTION MOULDED WITH ETCH
KIT NUMBER: 48041
the intake trunking was then attached onto the rear of the
whole assembly, ready to be inserted into the fuselage.
Next came the assembly of the rear undercarriage bay,
along with the airbrake compartment, and the mounting
points for the four engine exhausts. The fuselage halves
close neatly around the various modules, and don’t
forget to insert the clear lens for the starboard side strike
camera before closing the halves up. The external parts
of the intakes came next and were fitted to the fuselage.
These pieces have alternate inserts to allow you to fit the
pressure relief doors either open or closed, depending
on if you want to build a Harrier at rest, or in flying mode.
The four exhaust nozzles and two heat deflector plates
 51

are supposed to go on now, but I left them off

till the end to make painting and masking easier.
The kit supplies the upper wings as one piece with the
upper fuselage cover, and also includes the upper wing
for the later FA2 variant, so take care to use the correct
piece. The nose and rear undercarriage assembly was
left off until the end to help keep painting simple.
Now for the Harrier’s weapon load, which includes
Sidewinders, rocket and gun pods, two types of fuel
tanks, CBUs, anti-shipping missiles, and sway braces. So
depending on what version you are making you will need
to research what weapon load to add! The next phase was
the fitting of various air scoops, aerial, beacons, and the
separate rudder, and I also replaced the nose pitot with
one from Master. The canopy hood features the miniature
detonation cord moulded as raised lines on the inner
surface, and a decal is also included for this, but I found this
next to impossible to get it to sit on the detail, and placing
it externally just looked wrong, so I painted the MDC white.
The final assembly stage covers the fitting of the tailplanes,
wing control surfaces and etched leading edge fences.
The wing’s control surfaces may be attached raised or
lowered and the kit provides two different types of
hinges for this. The etched leading edge fences
are referred to as ‘PE’ in the instructions,
with two per wing, and each is different.
I could not get these pieces to fit
over the leading edge profile
of the wing, so I cut fine
52
slots into the wings to
accommodate them.
I was now ready to
paint and decal my Harrier,
and what a choice Kinetic
has provided as you get fourteen schemes, twelve Royal
Navy and two Indian Navy, and five of the Royal Navy
machines are from the Falklands conflict. In fact the decal
sheet allows you to build any of the Sea Harriers that
were used during the fighting so the modeller needs
to check their references. I opted to build XZ451 of 899
Naval Air Squadron, which flew from HMS Invincible
as ‘006’. This was painted overall Extra Dark Sea Grey
using Humbrol’ 134. The only makings carried were the
BUILD 7 – HARRIER
roundels, codes and stencil data.
The stencil decals are numerous
and are crammed in all over the sheet,
and for a kit with so many options it
would have been preferable if the decals for a particular
version were grouped together on one particular
part of the sheet, rather than spread out. Once I had
finished painting, decaling, and weathering, I added the
bits I had left off during the earlier stages, such as the
undercarriage, lights, weapons, and engine nozzles.
This is very nicely detailed kit, and goes together
reasonably well. There are a few issues here and
there, but nothing a reasonably able modeller could
not deal with, and comes highly recommended.
 53

Photo Reference
Falklands Harriers

Sea Harriers began their journey to the Falklands in their high visibility
colours Credit: Dave Morgan

Sea Harriers wrapped up aboard Atlantic Conveyor en-route to the Falklands

The Sea Harrier also had a secondary ground attack role as demonstrated
The Falklands Fighters - Harrier GR.3 and FRS.1 here Credit: Dave Morgan

A busy deck scene en route the Falklands. Credit: Dave Morgan

54
Arctic Training
Mario Serelle guides you step-by-step through building and painting the 1:48
Kinetic Harrier T.4 in winter plumage
W
hen I recieved this kit from Kinetic, my first
idea was to build something different from
RAF aircraft and was planning to build a
US Marines bird, but during my research
I came across some RAF T.4s wearing a temporary
White camouflage. This camouflage, mainly used on
various NATO cold weather exercises, was usually
applied following the green colour of the wraparound
BUILD 8 – HARRIER
Instrument panels and side consoles details were sanded off with a
file to be replaced with etched parts
T-Harrier
MANUFACTURER: KINETIC
SCALE: 1:48
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
KIT NUMBER: 48040
scheme, on both the upper and lower surfaces of the
aircraft. However, I found some pictures of ZB600
wearing the white camouflage only on the upper
side, and thought ‘that’s something we don’t see very
often on scale models’, and so this project started!
The cockpit was straight-from-the box and was
very nice and includes etched seat belts. But I decided
to improve the things a little using Eduard coloured
etched parts for both cockpit and ejection seats. My
first step was to remove all the raised details from
the instrument panels and side consoles and give
all the interior parts a Black primer coat. I found that
FS 36152 was a close match to the Grey shade used

on British aircraft and this was my base coat. After
attaching the etched panels, the cockpit received a
Black wash to accent all details and a Neutral Grey
dry-brushing to highlight the raised parts. The ejection
seats were painted in Black and again highlighted
with a Neutral Grey dry-brushing. The cushions were
brush painted in Olive Drab and faded with a Buff oil
paint, before receiving the coloured etched seat belts.
A Deep Brown wash gave it the final appearance.
With the cockpit done, I had to deal with
other internal components before closing the
fuselage. The wheel and airbrake wells were
airbrushed in FS 36440 and then all details
brush painted with various acrylic colours. A
Dark Wash from Ammo by MIG adds some
depth and dirt to the details. The interior of the
air intakes were painted in the same colours of
the exterior camouflage, and the engine fan
received a Gun Metal coat and a Black wash
for a depth effect. All these components
were easily secured in the fuselage as I
worked on other sub-assemblies, like
the nose cone section, wings and tail
planes. All these parts mated
together with only a little filler
needed on the wing roots.
A nice touch from Kinetic
Painting the ejector seat
components started with a
Black Primer coat
55
were the small etched wing fences, easy to attach
and in scale! I decided to depict my T.4 with only
the front cockpit open, so windscreen and the
rear canopy were glued in place at this stage.
After masking the canopy and
wheel wells I airbrushed the FS
36152 on the canopy frames to match
the interior colour, and then a coat
of One-Shot Black Primer was applied
to the entire model. Instead of using
a lighter shade of the camouflage
colour to create the ‘marbling’ base
coat, I used the FS 36118 Gunship
Grey to do the job. Then the colour was built
up slowly in thin layers to get the slightly weathered
effect I was looking for. Next the Dark Green pattern
was airbrushed freehand using Tamiya paint. I was not
so worried about getting a weathered look to the Dark
Green as it will be covered later with the temporary
White camouflage. The tail antennas were finally
masked and painted, and the model then received a
couple of Gloss coats in preparation to the decals.
Kinetic decals were printed by Cartograf and
that means I had no problem with them. Using
both Setter and Softener solutions from Mr.
Hobby all decals conformed perfectly to the
surfaces. The aircraft I choose to depict, ZB600,
was not featured in the instructions, but Kinetic
provides extra numbers and tail codes on the
sheet allowing you to build many more options.
Decals applied, another coat of Gloss varnish
followed and then I started working on the temporary
winter camouflage. My choice for this was Ammo
by MIG Washable White Camouflage paint. As the
name suggests, this paint can be ‘washed’ away when
moistened with water, and it’s very simple to deal with. I
thinned it a little with acrylic thinner to reduce
the overspray and started airbrushing it
over the Dark Green pattern, but only on
the upper surfaces and fuselage sides,
just like I saw in my references. Working
on a glossy surface as I did, you can clean
any overspray just rubbing a cotton swab
on the surface. The irregular border effect
was achieved using an old stiff brush and a
toothpick. I then let the model rest for a few
days to be sure the paint was completely
dry before applying a coat of Aqua Gloss
and move to the final weathering stage.
My model was loaded in a typical training
configuration with two drop tanks and two
rocket launchers, but I decided to paint these
in two different colours to represent the
‘new’ Dark Green and the ‘old’ natural metal
finishes. Kinetic made a mistake by representing
the rockets warheads visible in the front of the
pods as these are usually covered, but I took this
error to my advantage and decided to paint the
56

The seat cushions were carefully painted using a small brush I used a hobby knife to cut the etched parts from their sprue

The etched parts are a bit lighter than the paint used in the cockpit,
but weathering will tone down this effect A Black Wash was used to accent all the nice details in the cockpit

To add some fading effect to warheads in blue to represent training rounds and
the cushions I painted the add a bit more colour to the model. Weathering was
edges with Buff oil paint…..
kept minimal as seen in my reference images, with
some chipping on the edges of the wings and air
intakes being represented with Yellow Zinc Chromate
paint dabbed with a sponge. The tip of the fuel tanks
received the same effect, but with an extra application
of Aluminium colour to represent a heavier chipping.
Next, using washes from the Ammo by MIG range,
the Grey/Green camouflage received a Deep Brown
wash to accent all the nice details, and the White areas
were treated with a Neutral Wash. This process was
done very carefully to avoid each wash from going
over the wrong area. A Black wash was used to create a
better depth effect on small air vents and grilles around
the fuselage. After a thin coat of Matt varnish, I added

….and blended
this using a clean
and dry brush
BUILD 8 – HARRIER

The completed cockpit now

added into the fuselage
 57

Airframe complete, with some

putty required on the wing
roots and rear fuselage
Black basing starts
with a primer coat

Using a Light Grey colour, a marbling coat was The Green pattern was first outlined… ….and then filled with Tamiya Dark Green
applied to the airframe

The wraparound
camouflage now
complete

After a coat of Aqua

Gloss the model was
ready for the decals
58

Yellow Zinc Chromate acrylic was applied Applying the winter camouflage with Ammo Any overspray was easily cleaned with a
with a sponge to simulate some paint chips Washable White cotton bud
on selected areas

The painting was finally completed

with both wraparound and
temporary winter camouflage
finished…..

…..when applying washes on selected areas

….however, while working on the winter camouflage it is necessary

to use caution…..

The washes help to

correctly accent the
details
BUILD 8 – HARRIER
 59

a few fluid leakings on the airframe underside and

selected access panels. Finally, the exhaust soot was
represented with thinned Black paint, airbrushed in
various thin layers until I was satisfied with the effect.
Final assembly was pretty straightforward, except for
the open canopy and its etched internal frame, which
required some patience to get done. Honestly, I have
my doubts that the model would sit on all its wheels
without any adjustment but thumbs up to the
Kinetic engineers who designed the kit in
a way that all wheels touched the ground
perfectly with no need for adjustments.
The Harrier is a beautiful and peculiar
aircraft with many fans around the world,
the two-seater has an even more peculiar
appearance and a T.4 dressed for the
winter season is really more
interesting. Special thanks to
Kinetic for supporting
this project!
60

Marines Jumper
Vitor Costa builds the 1:72 Airfix American AV-8A Harrier
Hawker Siddeley AV-8A Harrier

T
he 1:72 Airfix Hawker Siddeley AV-8A Harrier is
the third boxing their ‘new-tool’ Harrier, with MANUFACTURER: AIRFIX
new parts added to the GR.1 kit to produce SCALE: 1:72
the American version. The kit presents some KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
nice details, even if it’s a little bit too simplified in INJECTION MOULDED
some areas. However, it still represents the best AV- KIT NUMBER: A04507
8A available, so a good base for a nice good-looking
project. As usual the building began with the cockpit,
and this is one of the weakest areas of the kit, so to
make it look better I decided to add a resin ejection coat of Gunze #332 Light Aircraft Grey, followed with
seat and the Eduard Zoom set dedicated to this some White highlights on the panel interiors, and this
version of the Harrier. With a dark wash the raised created the first weathering effects. A final coat
details were enhanced, and any excess removed of the base colour was then applied, trying
with a soft cloth, and once dry the etched pieces not to cover the work done before.
were fixed into place. The cockpit was then painted On the upper surfaces I decide
with acrylic colours and made to look ‘busy’. to do the same but here I
With the cockpit complete some cutting was needed gave more attention to
to improve the basic detail of the fuselage, with some the panels adding
etched parts. Once the cutting was done the cockpit
and the engine fan were put in place. The fan was
then painted Silver and received a wash of Tamiya
X-19 Smoke. The external fit of the air intakes is good,
but that can’t be said of the inside joints, which need
putty and some sanding to make them look good. I
also drilled a hole in the gun packs, to give them a
more realistic look. This was a very straightforward
build, and I was soon ready to paint!
Painting began on the undersides, and
here I decided to apply some pre-
shading. Once dry I applied a
BUILD 9 – HARRIER
 61

Here you can see the

painted up cockpit
and engine fan
I added a little pre-shading

Adding the camouflage and highlighting the panels The decals settled well on a Gloss coat

A little care is needed with the access panel decals A coat of Matt was then applied

Ready for final

assembly
62

Oil paint dots can

be used to show
weathering…..

both highlights and shadows to enhance the effect.

The camouflage was painted freehand using Gunze
#303 Dark Green and #331 Dark Sea Grey. To create
different shades of green I used Tamiya XF-4 on the
panels and hatches to simulate the faded paint and
crew maintenance! On the grey areas I did the same
but with White, and once happy with the amount of
weathering applied it was time to cover the model

…and they can be carefully blended

with a cotton bud
BUILD 9 – HARRIER

with several layers of very thinned amounts of the
original Green/Grey colours. Once dry I added a
coat of Tamiya Gloss in preparation for the decals.
The decals are really good and settled well, and once
dry another Gloss coat sealed them in ready for some
weathering. Here I began with a dark pin-wash and
any excess was removed with a cotton bud, trying to
clean it in the wind flow direction. I then applied some
small dots of oil paint strategically placed in order to
produce different effects, worn paint, faded paint,
damaged paint, everything is possible to reproduce.
Since we are working on a flat surface its necessary to
wet the area with White Spirit after the oil is applied.
The dots were then blended with a brush. Some dots
63
can be applied to simulate oils leaks or streaks, but this
is easier to achieve with washes, in this case aircraft
engine oil and shaft and grease washes. Also, pigments
can be used too to simulate specific dirt. To simulate the
paint scratches, I used Aquarelle pencils, but exercise
care otherwise you can damage the Matt finish.
This was a little gem from Airfix, and a flashback
to the times when it was pure
fun to build kits, thank
you Airfix for that!
64

Hover and Out

Jezz Coleman builds a missile armed SHAR Shooter
Sea Harrier FA2 with the 1:48 Kinetic kit
Sea Harrier FA2

B
efore I tell you how the build went, I have a
confession to make. In over thirty years of MANUFACTURER: KINETIC
modelling I had never before built as Sea SCALE: 1:48
Harrier! So, this was a first for me! The Kinetic KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
kit by now need little introduction, save that it builds INJECTION MOULDED
up well with few issues. I started by painting the KIT NUMBER: 48041
cockpit and picking out the raised instruments and
switches with a fine paintbrush. The bang-seat was
also painted and put aside to install later in the build.
The wheel bays were painted White and installed with For this build I used my preferred ‘black basing’
the turbine blades into one half of the fuselage, which method followed by a ‘marble coat’ of White.
was then brought together and glued into place. Next Once dry I applied a coat of Hataka Barley Grey
the wing section was glued into place, and there was HTK-C142 from their Hataka Orange line set. Then I
BUILD 10 – HARRIER

a small gap around the front area where it meets the modulated several lighter shades of the base colour
airframe just behind the cockpit, and this required to give a better effect. I really like this method as it
a small amount of filler. The outer engine cowlings breathes a little bit of life into a model and imparts
were then added, and these fitted almost perfectly.  the look of wear and tear to the paintwork. The
All of the seams were cleaned-up and any panel nose section was also masked-off and painted
missing lines were rescribed ready for the primer. up using Hataka Dark Sea Grey HTK-C144.       
65
BUILD 10 – HARRIER
66

I then added a Gloss coat, followed by
my own black-brown oil wash. This was
left overnight to dry and then excess
was cleaned up. Next, I applied the
decals, and these went down very well
and conformed to the details with little
decal solution. I then added a light coat
of MATT to protect the decals ready for
another round of weathering. This time I
tried something different. I ground up some
oil pastel chalks into a fine powder and used this to
fade the paintwork further, by working in some
of light grey and white powder using a stiff
brush, concentrating in the centres of
each panel, thus adding a further
to the worn look. I must admit
I was very pleased with the
outcome and I will be using this
67
method again! Another light Matt
coat was then added to seal all the
pastel weathering so as not to
damage it while being handled. 
A lot of the sub-assemblies
were then added such as the
undercarriage legs, wheels, fuel
tanks and such, and finally the
fragile parts were glued into place
like the refuelling probe and various
aerials and undercarriage doors. Finally, the
canopy was fixed into place using Deluxe Material
Glue and Glaze, and my first ever Harrier was in the
bag! I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed this
build, and this will not be my last Sea Harrier!
68

Spanish
Matador
Angel Expósito details the 1:72 Airfix kit as an AV-8S

Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.1

T
his is great little kit from Airfix,  full  of  excellent 
details  with  a  great  fit  in  all  areas. Plus you MANUFACTURER: AIRFIX
get colour schemes and markings for the US SCALE: 1:72
Marines and Spanish Navy, faithfully reproduced KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
by Cartograf, as well as some interesting underwing INJECTION MOULDED
stores. There are some nice details in the wheel wells KIT NUMBER: A03003
as well as on the intakes, with the Pegasus engine
fan blades well picked out. The kit suffers a little in
the cockpit area especially the seat, which benefited
from some extra detailing, and the Sidewinders close attention to the wheels and
included are the wrong type for the Spanish version. outriggers to ensure the model
Despite the unique design of sits flush on all four wheels. For the
the Harrier, assembly was cockpit I used Gunze H305, and
simple. However, you added some dry brushing to
do need to pay pick out the highlights. I then
added some pre-shading
along all of the panel lines
on the upper and lower
BUILD 11 – HARRIER

surfaces, and then I was ready to paint.

The undersides were sprayed white
and once dry masked off. The upper
surfaces were then sprayed with
Gunze H332. Some of the panel lines
were then lightened with a mix of grey
 69

Adding extra detailing

in the cockpit
70

All of the components ready for final painting and assembly

BUILD 11 – HARRIER
 71
to give a bit of chromatic variety. The engine nozzles
were painted separately with Alclad Jet Exhaust, and
the front of the windshield was also painted
translucent green. After a gloss coat the
decals settled well and a then a satin coat
sealed them in. Then I added some panel
line washes to pick out the details and added
some oil paint streaking to show leaking fluids.
A little work with some pigments here and there
finished the look and my little Matador was ready!
72

Harrier in
Helmand
Mario Serelle builds the
Airfix 1:72 GR.7 as seen
in Operation ‘Herrick’

BAe Harrier GR.7A/GR.9A

F
or those not familiar with the 1:72 Airfix GR.7/9
Harrier, all I can say is that it’s a great little kit, well MANUFACTURER: AIRFIX
engineered with just enough detail for a ‘straight- SCALE: 1:72
from-the box’ project, and with a number of build KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
options. The tiny cockpit has acceptable raised details INJECTION MOULDED
for the scale and size, and I only added some etched KIT NUMBER: A04050
seat belts. Following the Airfix instructions I painted the HASEGAWA #35011
AIRCRAFT WEAPONS SET #VI
interior using a Medium Sea Grey mix followed some - US SMART BOMBS
A.MIG-1617 Blue Black Wash. The details were then
brush painted using various
Ammo by MIG colours. Before a complicated grey/white pattern. Well, complicated
joining the fuselage halves, in this scale! As noted, Airfix gives you a number of
the engine fan and wheel assembly options such as an open or closed airbrake,
wells must be assembled and lowered or raised landing gear, retracted or extended
painted. The engine fan was flaps, and stored or deployed refuelling probe. Instead
painted silver and the edges of beginning the painting stage with my regular black
were dry brushed with a little pre-shading, I decided to try a reverse approach that I
light grey. The fan inlet and had seen done an AV-8B model. So, the entire airframe
wheel wells were painted in was first primed using A.MIG-2005 Black Primer
A.MIG-0047 White and all of the followed by A.MIG-0209 Light
parts weathered accordingly. Grey sprayed randomly
BUILD 12 – HARRIER

Getting away from the over the surface. A salt

instructions, I decided to attach
the air intakes before mating the
nose and rear fuselage section. This way A Blue Black Panel Line
I could deal with a small seam inside the Wash helped to highlight
the cockpit details
air intake and carefully paint its interior, which has
 73
mask was spread over the wings and fuselage before
airbrushing more Light Grey, creating some ‘hard edge’
spots. After painting all leading edges in A.MIG-0021
Tan, these areas were masked and the main camouflage
airbrushed using a Medium Grey and a Dark Sea Grey
mix. The goal here is to spray in various thin layers and
preserve the basecoat, and with practice you will be
able to finish your painting with a subtle uneven
covering, reproducing a worn and faded look.
After a few coats of Johnson’s ‘Future’
the model was ready for its Cartograf
decals, which were easy to apply,
and easily settled down well. I
chose to depict Harrier GR.7A ZD404
for just one reason – it had my mother’s name ‘Lucy’
under the cockpit. In November 2006 ZD404 received
a sexy nose art, but a few weeks later MoD requested
all ‘non politically correct’ nose art should be removed
from RAF aircraft. In the specific case of ZD404, it
seems the ground crew just replaced the access
panel on which the silhouette was painted. Images of
the real aircraft show that ‘Lucy’ and some small
part of the artwork remained, so to depict

The cockpit
components ready
for assembly

Painting and
detailing the
wheel wells
74

A Black Primer coat

was applied

A salt mask was then

applied, and a further
coat of Light Grey added

The salt was then

carefully removed

The fuselage
a ‘politically correct’ version of ‘Lucy’, the nose-art was then
masked off and
decal was placed over some masking tape, which was thin layers of
then cut around the access panel and removed. a darker grey
were added
I used Alclad Dark Aluminium and Jet to paint the
front and rear exhausts respectively. The rear parts were
dry brushed in Aluminium to highlight raised details
and add some wear. Then using A.MIG-1602 Deep Grey
Wash, this was applied to the entire airframe and the The original
external stores details. A.MIG-1617 Blue Black was used ‘risqué’ artwork…
on the landing gear and some of the other details that
needed a deeper look. A.MIG-1206 Streaking Grime
was used to simulate hydraulic leaks around the
bottom of the fuselage, and this same product
was used to apply some dirt around the
cockpit area and some streaking on
the external stores, especially
BUILD 12 – HARRIER

on the drop tanks. Areas of

A.MIG-7402 Engines and
Airplanes Exhaust
 75

…and how it looked after the ‘censor’ Preparing the smaller details

Adding the characteristic Harrier exhaust stains

A variety of underwing
stores were added
76

The nose with mission symbols

and ‘missing’ artwork

Set were airbrushed onto the rear fuselage to create

the exhaust soot, and a flat, stiff brush, moistened
with alcohol was used to create subtle vertical streaks
over the soot pattern. A.MIG-0089 Flat sealed all the
weathering work in, and final assembly followed
with no problems. I choose to finish my Harrier in an
‘everything down’ configuration, with an open canopy,
flaps down, refuelling probe extended and a lowered
speed brake. I know the flaps down position is not
commonly seen on parked Harriers, but it looks just
great on the model! What a great little kit and pleasant
build! The Harrier is a mighty and sturdy aircraft, and
Airfix perfectly captures that look with this model!
 77

Photo Reference
Harriers in ‘Herrick’

Harrier GR.9 with Paveway IV

I
n 2004, After the fall of Kabul in Afghanistan in
2001 Harriers of the Joint Force Harrier (JFH), which
comprised Nos.1(F) and IV(AC) Squadrons RAF, and the
Royal Navy’s No.800 Squadron (NAS), were deployed
to support Operation ‘Herrick’, fighting the Taliban and
other militant forces. In order to self-designate targets,
the Harriers initially used the BAe Systems TIALD pod,
but operations soon highlighted its shortfalls, especially
in the Urban Close Air Support role. So the AN/AAQ-
33 ‘Sniper’ Advanced Targeting Pod was procured.
The Harriers also used Paveway IIs and Enhanced
Paveway (EPW) II and II plus guided munitions, ‘dumb
bombs’, AGM-65G-2 Maverick missiles, CRV-7 unguided
rockets and AIM-9L Sidewinders. The Harrier GR.9 also
carried the Global Positioning System Aided Inertial
Navigation System (GAINS) Laser Guided Paveway IV. Things under wings – Paveway IV and CRV-7

This aircraft has a quartet of Paveway IVs and a ’Sniper’ pod

78

The canopy and cockpit are well

produced by Airfix

Step-by-Step

SHAR
Sea Harrier FA2
MANUFACTURER: KINETIC
SCALE: 1:48
KIT TYPE: PLASTIC
INJECTION MOULDED
George Roidis details the 1:48 Airfix Kit KIT NUMBER: 48041

M
uch has been written about the Airfix Sea
Harrier FA2, and after a painless build, and
the addition of one or two etched upgrades
to the basic kit I was soon ready to paint.
First I washed the model
with soapy water to remove
any grease and then
applied a coat of Ammo of
MIG Primer
BUILD 13 – HARRIER
 79
The next stage was to give
some shadow effect using the
pre- shade technique, and here
I used Ammo by MIG Tyre Black

For the main colours I used the Ammo by MIG UK Aircraft Set, and for
the nose I used a mix of Medium Gunship Grey A.MIG-204 and White
A.MIG-050 in a ratio of 90:10. Some tonal corrections were then
made by adding some drops Matt Black .For the rest of the fuselage I The fuel tanks were painted with the same mix of colours used and
used a mix of A.MIG 205 and A.MIG-050 in a ratio of 95:5 and did some the front section was painted with Tamiya XF-4
small touch ups with A.MIG-207

Chipping effects were done with Ammo by MIG Chipping Fluid A coat of Ammo by A.MIG-091 gloss prepared the surfces for the decals

After placing the decals weathering began using A.MIG-1602 Deep … and after a couple of hours any excess was removed with a cotton
Grey Panel Line wash…… bud and thinners
BUILD 13 – HARRIER
80
 PRINTED IN THE UK PRICE £14.99
MA PUBLICATIONS LTD