Esci 1/72 Sea Harrier

[langy71]

ooo a Shar, mind if i squeeze in ?

I'm sure Mr Race will put down his pyrotechnic supplies and squash up a bit for me..

[stillp]

Fuse halves are joined, and the pointy bit on the front added.

I didn't quite get the halves aligned, and sanding the join has shown up a couple of sink marks, so there's some Mr Dissolved Putty drying now. I see sanding in my future... Can't decide whether to fit and mask the canopy now, or leave the pit open so I can blow the dust out.
I might need to find a scriber for the panel lines too.
Pete

[JR]

They used to based at Wittering at one point, we got so used to seeing them flying in the end you hardly bothered to look up. The best view of them was along the side of the A1 , there you could see the vertical take off's and landings, now that was good.

[stillp]

The wings and the underwing pylons are on, but I've reached the first real fit issue - the Aden gun pods have no location points at all. They need to fit either side of that central pylon, on an area of the fuselage that curves in two directions. I'd expected there would be a position where the fit was good enough to show they were in the correct place, but no, they slide around wherever they are. As a result I have to hold them in a place that 'looks about right' with tape and rubber bands, then add a little Extra Thin.

The instructions would have you fit the jet nozzles and heat shields at this point, but I'm, leaving them off until after painting, to save a bit of masking. The undercarriage will also go on later to avoid breakage!
That central pylon looks a bit odd, ESCI haven't provided anything to be fitted to it. There are a couple of decals which seem to be "Explosive Release" warnings, which will probably be impossible to fit because of the Aden pods. Looking at online walkarounds, some Harriers seemed to fly with an empty centre pylon and some with a missile fitted, but I can't find anything suitable in my spares box so I'll leave it empty.
Getting close to paint now!
Pete

[Guest]

All good progress!

[Tim Marlow]

Looking good. Nice work on an old ‘un.

[langy71]

Looking at online walkarounds, some Harriers seemed to fly with an empty centre pylon and some with a missile fitted, but I can't find anything suitable in my spares box so I'll leave it empty.

Pete

maybe you could add a 1000lb bomb, as some of the Harriers during the Falkland's did carry a bomb on the centreline pylon..

(only until the GR.3'S took over all the bombing missions, and the Shar was then used more frequently for air superiority)

[JR]

Looks like your winning Pete , nothing like a challenge is there ! :smiling3:

[langy71]

Not sure if you've seen this but there's a multitude of info about the Sea Harrier on this site.

http://www.harriersig.org.uk/

http://www.harriersig.org.uk/models/ordv1.pdf

[stillp]

There are a lot of awkward shapes on the Harrier. One is at the rear of the canopy, where there are two quadrants cut out of the clear part (just dry fitted here):

This shape is correct, but I'm sure the 1:1 doesn't have a big gap each side of the rear canopy. I'll need to fill that space at the back of the canopy somehow. I think I need to make a sort of bulkhead just behind the framing and use filler behind that. That's going to be 'fun'.
Pete

[langy71]

There are a lot of awkward shapes on the Harrier. One is at the rear of the canopy, where there are two quadrants cut out of the clear part (just dry fitted here):
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1145102[/ATTACH]
This shape is correct, but I'm sure the 1:1 doesn't have a big gap each side of the rear canopy. I'll need to fill that space at the back of the canopy somehow. I think I need to make a sort of bulkhead just behind the framing and use filler behind that. That's going to be 'fun'.
Pete

No need to 'fill' the gaps as the real Harrier has these cut-outs in the canopy frame..

[Guest]

Yeah, those notches avoid those fins you can see.

I think Pete was referring to the bulkhead and rail runners you can also see in the picture. Most harrier kits at this scale are missing these.

[stillp]

Thanks Chris (and Chris!). I hadn't found a photo as clear as that one, and I was thinking that those cut-outs would be closed off, but it seems they're open as far as the bulkhead. Glad you posted as I would have filled the space behind the bulkhead.
Speaking of which:

I'll cut it down to size when the glue's dried.
I haven't fitted those 'fins' (I think they're aerials) yet as I'll only knock them off.

Thanks again chaps, the forum has helped out again!
Pete

[langy71]

Peter, not sure if this will help, but here's my 1/48 Sea Harrier I completed last year...

https://www.scale-models.co.uk/threads/1-48-kinetic-bae-sea-harrier-frs-1-operation-corporate-the-falkland-islands-1982.35533/

[stillp]

Cut that canopy bulkhead down to size and fitted it - forgot to take photos, sorry. Fitted loads of little aerials and the pitot. Canopy and some other bits now masked, so out with the crayons and start colouring!
The scheme (899th RNAS Yeovilton) has the underside horizontal surfaces in light grey. Possibly too light, but that's what I had. The rest of the airframe will be Dark Sea Grey.

That can have a day or two to harden up before I mask off and spray the DSG.
The jet nozzles (and the heat shields) have had a dose of Mr Metal Colour Burnt Iron:

Cheers
Pete