Sea Harrier Airfix 1/48 First British Jet!

[TheTroyster]

Figure I'll get myself into this build - my first modern jet, and my first British Aircraft. Just an Out of Box Build, nothing special will be added.

[Avgas]

[Hackovsky]

Great choice! And I remember, that it went nicely together.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Hey, who are you??!!
I think we are gonna need to see some ID, sir

Good to see you back on ISM and at the bench.....been a while my friend
Good choice for a jet

[TheTroyster]

Hey, who are you??!!
I think we are gonna need to see some ID, sir

Good to see you back on ISM and at the bench.....been a while my friend
Good choice for a jet

You're funny Scott -

I'm all over this forum. I took off last summer to work on those other type of models, but have been back on the plastic ones since September (I even got third in the Heinz 161 SIG, Entered/finished my Stuka in Paul's build, and finished my British Mark 1 tank in the Winter is near or coming or whatever its called group build currently on-going. Hey, I even commented about your house).

So I am here, but more importantly, I am here for you...
Troy

[Twokidsnosleep]

......

[TommyKillander]

Great choice, that will be awesome!

Good luck with the build, Troy


Tommy

[Lysus]

I'm glad SOMEONE is here for Scott, he's been busy dropping paint on the new floors.

[TheTroyster]

Alright this kit does have some - well a lot - of flash. I don't think this is a negative aspect, rather it just means I have to spend some more time filing. Also the fit seems to be a little problematic. Kind of a sad since this is my first Airfix kit as well and was hoping for something less labor intensive.

Okay, these are all the parts and areas I need to prime on the plane before the build:

[TheTroyster]

I put this together. The build is taking longer than I think it normally would - everything has a ton of flash on it and noting seems to fit well - furthermore, I am totally blind about the Harrier Jet - so I am always searching images from different angles. However, all these issues are good for helping my skills in dealing with such problems. Get to practice all kinds of pointless crap - scribe panel lines, filling gaps, cleaning up parts. awesome.





got the wings set at the right degree angels.


What! Is that a 1/8" hole in the middle of the model - why yes, yes it is...

[Lysus]

Maybe I just haven't seen enough harrier builds to know, but it seems like they're all tricky in some way. Glad you're pushing through, it's coming together well.

That a hole for a base? A basehole?

[TheTroyster]

More sanding, and I am about done with the build - just one more page.





think I got those wing angels right...

[url=https://flic.kr/p/UcEFQQ]

[pourquoi61]

Wheels up then for you, in flight always looks good.

[TheTroyster]

so here is the final build:


Then I primed the model in a black (although I forgot to take a photo) then I applied a steel coat of paint as my base coat:


Once that dried up, I applied the main color:






One of the issues with this model are the panel lines. In this case, the lines are raised and not scribed into the plastic. Now I have heard of people who will sand down these lines, and then re-scribe them onto the plane - honestly that is way too much work in my book. So since the lines are raised on the model I thought rather than adding a dark color to "shade" those lines, I'd go with a lighter version of my original color (added in a 50% mixture of a lighter grey to it is all), and then highlighted the major lines. Here are the results:

[Lysus]

I pray I never encounter raised details...

I think your solution looks great. I'm with you; sanding and rescribing sounds to me like a special version of hell.

[TheTroyster]

gun metal and dark green - okay

[TheTroyster]

You see that rear engine area - that's what I painted today:





Going to need a little touch up with White in the in-take area:

[TheTroyster]

Funny 1/3 of all the decals of this kit go on the two Sidewinder missiles! Anyway, it's been three days doing these decals and I still have the top/bottom/ and the other side left to do.

And I just realized I painted the front "cone" the wrong color - so I guess we are going to have the one Harrier that had a metallic green nose - I like green anyway! I will not be repainted that nose, as the masking will take off the decals - oh well.

[/url

[url=https://flic.kr/p/UsBTVc]

[Lysus]

Funny 1/3 of all the decals of this kit go on the two Sidewinder missiles! Anyway, it's been three days doing these decals and I still have the top/bottom/ and the other side left to do.

Anyone asks me why I don't do more jets despite loving them, this. This is why

It goes on your shelf, if you like the green, keep it! Looks good to me...

[TheTroyster]

Approching the end here.

Had to take a week off from model building and it was hell on Earth....



Decals done:




oil paints:


The "magic station"


Paint rack:


All the underside hardware applied:



How to make a plane holder/display for under $2 US dollars (the price of a small size coffee).
Material needed - a bag of this ($13 US dollars (about 600 bases can be made from this), Water, and a small metal tube ($2.80 US for a meter long piece - makes 6 - 8 stands).


Step 2:


Step 3:
mix the two:


Step 4:
Pour into your mold - in my case an empty butter container, after a couple of hours you can pop that baby out:


You will know its dry when the mold is no longer cold to the touch (2-3 days).

Step 5:
Flatten the bottom:


Step 6: Prime, paint, and varnish:




Step 7: Drill a hole in the middle (or where ever you want):


Step 8: Be creative - here are some examples:
basic stand:


Bend the ole rod into the shape you want and throw a decal on there - even paint a pattern on the base:


You can go Art-see fart-see


The possibilities are endless...

[Lysus]

Approching the end here.

Had to take a week off from model building and it was hell on Earth....

Wow, you seem miserable...

Harrier looks perfect!

[TheTroyster]

Approching the end here.


Wow, you seem miserable...

Harrier looks perfect!

The Struggle is real...