The Unofficial Airfix Modellers' Forum

Did you carve out the auxiliary intake doors Shaun?
Looking good!

David

You've obviously a domestic dab hand with a duster ... Cos I can't spot any dust on this one now that it has come back off the shelf

skypirate wrote:Did you carve out the auxiliary intake doors Shaun?
Looking good!

David

Cheers, David. I cut them out and made replacement (open) doors from plastic card - I printed off an article from the Harrier SIG which proved invaluable in the quest to add extra detail to this kit as OOB it is quite basic.

chrism wrote:You've obviously a domestic dab hand with a duster ... Cos I can't spot any dust on this one now that it has come back off the shelf

I have received a long and thorough training in domestic skills, Chris

Bloody cobblers to it! the decals in my Sea Harrier are rubbish. I wasn't 100% sure about the kit decals on the sheet - they "feature" a white backing of decal film that I hoped would turn clear on contact with water and look OK on the model. Oh dear. The first roundel that I tried ended up with a non too neat white border to it. I duly trimmed off the whiteness and tried again, whereupon the decal decided to break up. I stubbornly tried a second roundel, this time trimming the excess film off close to the decal before soaking in water. The roundel broke up. I gave up at that point and now, unfortunately, as I was getting back into it, the SHar is back on the Shelf of Shame until I can source some replacement decals. My boxing of the kit is from the late 80's/early 90's which I believe were not a good time for quality decals in the Airfix stable!

OK, let's steady the ship! I wanted to finish the year with a nice build and the Sea Harrier would have fitted the bill but as that isn't an option right now let's open a new box of plastic.

In my experience Tamiya can usually be counted on to give building pleasure so, ladeez and gennerlmen, I give you this as my end of year build:




Yes, a Messerschmitt 109, don't see many of these built on the forum ( ) and you can blame Ralph Softscience for this one as it is his ongoing 109 build that inspired me Although I have a 1/72nd option in the stash (Heller '109K but the decals look pants in that as well!!) I haven't built a quarter scale '109 for years so I thought I'd make amends. This is a nice kit of the aircraft that has been around for a few years now and I picked up this example in the Kitswap at SMW last month for the sum of £9.00, which I thought was a good price.

The parts are crisply moulded and nicely detailed with no flash that I can detect:





As standard the kit provides separate leading edge slats and also the main flaps, which can be posed in the down position and there is also a nice drop tank. A reasonable looking pilot figure is provided but I never fit them so he will head straight into the spares box - might come in handy for someone on the forum! The sharp eyed might have noticed one of the tailplanes is missing - worry ye not, it fell off the sprue whilst I was taking the pic and is now safely in the box.

The decals are typical Tamiya - slightly thick but good looking colour density and register and I've yet to have a problem with their decals, please don't let this be the first (see above for decal issues )



Three options are provided, two European schemes, 7/JG26 (featured in the box art), the well known JG2 machine flown by Maj Helmut Wick and the third option is a tropical scheme for 2/JG27 in North Africa and that is what I intend to aim for. The scheme is a little challenging as it involves considerable mottling:



That'll be good for upping my airbrushing skills I imagine - I'm trying not to picture the hassles with overspray and I'll cross that bridge when I get to it

I'll make a start shortly.
Thanks for looking.

Bad luck with the decals Shaun Whose kit is the Harrier? Airfix?

Good to see you building and not stashing these kits. I have a really small stash now and plan anf buy each year with the safe sure vow to myself of building it

I will get my decal box out later .... who knows what lies therein. There are some harrier items - no idea from memory what though

Thanks for the interest folks.

The Sea Harrier in question is the 1/48th Airfix kit. I'll start having a look for some replacement decs over the hols but if any of you do have some suitable spares from aftermarket sets or other kit manufacturer's ranges, particularly for a SHar in the Falklands campaign, then they would be gratefully received!

Can't say I've ever heard of Airfix decals breaking up before (more like a Novo issue), but the register problem was well publicised before Hornby moved the process to Cartograf

Sorry to hear about the decal woes Shaun - The SHAR was looking great.

I could have found you something in 1/72 ...the full monty and a set stencils ...

Glad I've inspired you to take on this subject That's a lovely kit, and I think painting the mottle should be pretty fun in 1/48. The African 109s have always been my favorites. Good luck!

chrism wrote:I could have found you something in 1/72 ...the full monty and a set stencils ...

Thanks for looking, Chris. Hopefully the aftermarket manufacturers will have something suitable.

Softscience wrote:Glad I've inspired you to take on this subject That's a lovely kit, and I think painting the mottle should be pretty fun in 1/48. The African 109s have always been my favorites. Good luck!

Thanks, Ralph. That's the way I find inspiration sometimes, other times I'll see a documentary, film or a photo in a book - that's all it takes if I have a space on the workbench that needs filling with plastic

Not good news about the SHAR decals! I hope you'll be able to find some replacements and get it over the line!
The 109 looks to be a nice kit