This is the renowned kit from Hasegawa, and what a kit. I wanted to do this legendry aircraft justice, so I used the Eduard PE set, Aires resin seat and True detail resin undercarriage. I used my favourite paints:- Vallejo Air and for the thrusters and weathering Alclad metals and exhaust smoke.
It is a challenging build, especially if you want to display the mighty Pegasus fan through open air intakes. I found the fit really good, with only some minor cutting and sanding required. The only complaint was the brittle clear pieces, which caused some concern with minor warping and cracking, which involved a lot of sanding and polishing to get into any decent state for application.
I wanted to make the cockpit more authentic, so scratch built the map holder and some wiring over the main instrument ‘hud’.
I know that this is XX Squadrons display aircraft and normally would not carry such a heavy weapon load, but I wanted to show off the Harriers versatility and capability so I added flightpath weapons including CBL’s, Maverick, GBU and laser designator, finished off with a travel pod on the centre line.
I finished the model with Vallejo gloss varnish, washed with Vallejo washes and added some extra weathering and detail using pastels and watered down paint.
This is a must build for any Harrier enthusiast!
