James revisits a Sea Harrier

[59North]

Truly great modelling!
As soon as you speak of scribing straight lines off a tape edge and using foil to scratch parts, I realize you have a gentler hand than my potato mashers.

[iggie]

Great work; I'm really going to have to try some re-scribing one day!

[JamesPerrin]

Truly great modelling!

Thanks!

As soon as you speak of scribing straight lines off a tape edge and using foil to scratch parts, I realize you have a gentler hand than my potato mashers.

Which I then prompted knocked off while stupid tried filing down and then made a hash or reopening up the grove by using the wrong tool...

...don't do last minute modelling between brushing your teeth and heading to bed!

[JamesPerrin]

Upper fuselage details tonight.

I scribed and carved two rectangular vents of the shoulder of the fuselage, one of these is quite recessed. I replaced the two characteristic small intakes above the engine intakes, the vague kit blobs having been sanded off early in the build. Clear sprue sanded and polished to become the spine's large formation red light. Intake at fin base drilled out and finally end-plates added to the tailplanes.

[fredk]

sheesh, even more detailing.

[JamesPerrin]

Canopy, aerials and gun pods to jazz up yet then I might be ready to get some paint on.

[Old_Tonto]

That's great work James.

[JamesPerrin]

Final bout of details before the wet stuff.

The Sea Harrier canopy has a distinct pen nip rear, with some open areas either side. MB make a fair attempt for them with a recessed area (marked in blue) but the nib is a bit blunt.



I filed away the blue area and thin the edge to form the recesses and then added card to form the nib and blended it in. I also blocked of the rear part of the canopy from the inside:



The guns I robbed from the ol' GR3 got the guns ports reshaped and drilled, the gas vents drilled in and the missing bump of the bottom that contains the spent cartridge chute added.



The most noticeable missing external feature is a great big blade aerial below the front starboard exhaust, this will be added later from spare PE fret but is has a sizeable fairing at it's base. I've pre-cut the slot for the aerial.



Next job is to paint the pilot and the rest of exposed parts of the cockpit and try not to forget to add something to represent the HUD.

[iggie]

Nice work bringing this up to scratch!

[TobyC]

That's a lot of very nice attention to detail.

[Old_Tonto]

Excellent detailing work James. I Never new the gun pods had vents, will have to alter my Gr.1 now.

[DavidWomby]

Glad to see the tailplane endplates added. Their absence was beginning to worry me!! Seriously, James, you are adding wonderful detail to this. It's getting to be a textbook on how to accurize the old Mbox kit and show what can be done with it.

David

[fredk]

Nice detailing again.
That 'blade aerial' is actually the fuel dump spout
There is also a small blade under the front nozzle fairing; its the fuel tank vent

[JamesPerrin]

I spotted the other thin vent but didn't know that this was one too. How many fuel dump pipes does a SHAR there is one on each wing too, so one per tank?

[JamesPerrin]

Added the guns, these had gaps to fill all round having being prized off an Airfix. Again used Perfect putty as sanding wasn't an option.

Canopy just sat in place for a nice piccy. Meanwhile the pilot has had his base colours applied.