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1/48 Harrier II AV8B Plus


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Parts & decals right out of the box. Paints are Xtracolours & are the correct colours for this machine, rather than the incorrect call-outs on the Hasegawa instructions. No real problems apart from the awful fit of the LERX where a little filler, card & PVA was called for. I had wanted to fit the gun pods but the fit of those was TRULY awful - like they came from a different kit!!

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Parts & decals right out of the box. Paints are Xtracolours & are the correct colours for this machine, rather than the incorrect call-outs on the Hasegawa instructions. No real problems apart from the awful fit of the LERX where a little filler, card & PVA was called for. I had wanted to fit the gun pods but the fit of those was TRULY awful - like they came from a different kit!!

Nice model Graham. But where did you have trouble with the LERX? I have just completed the fuselages for an AV-8B and AV-8B+ (both 1/48 Hasegawa) and the only gaps I have had are a small gap between the upper and lower LERX halves on the B+ (and no gaps at all on the B, with its 65% LERX). I have read that a lot of people had trouble with the fit of these kits, but in my opinion the fit is better than the Hasegawa Hornets and Tomcats, about the same as their Crusaders, and not quite as good as their Skyhawks or Starfighters. On the other hand, I did completely ignore the instructions and dry fit the entire airframe before deciding how to stick it all together (and using a completely different method that Hasegawa suggest).

Nobody should be put off this kit - it fits great if you take your time!

cheers

Jon

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Nice model Graham. But where did you have trouble with the LERX?

cheers

Jon

Jon, I think I got away quite lightly with this one. There was a slight step "fore & aft" once the LERX was fitted which simply required a bit of sanding, but there were quite large gaps underneath which are very awkward to treat effectively with filler - I simply ran in some PVA on the end of a cocktail stick; not perfect but acceptable.

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Nice model Graham. But where did you have trouble with the LERX?

cheers

Jon

Jon, I think I got away quite lightly with this one. There was a slight step "fore & aft" once the LERX was fitted which simply required a bit of sanding, but there were quite large gaps underneath which are very awkward to treat effectively with filler - I simply ran in some PVA on the end of a cocktail stick; not perfect but acceptable.

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Jon, I think I got away quite lightly with this one. There was a slight step "fore & aft" once the LERX was fitted which simply required a bit of sanding, but there were quite large gaps underneath which are very awkward to treat effectively with filler - I simply ran in some PVA on the end of a cocktail stick; not perfect but acceptable.

Ahh, I see. I did have some slight gaps on the underside of the LERX. I used superglue and sandpaper wrapped round some photo-etched saws to get rid of them, followed by Mr Surfacer. But honestly, some people seem to think this is a poorly-fitting kit! Having just built two CA Vampires (which you can see at www.jonbryon.com/model_index.html) with the Aeroclub mods, these Harriers are a complete doddle to put together (IMHO of course)!

Cheers

Jon

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Ahh, I see. I did have some slight gaps on the underside of the LERX. I used superglue and sandpaper wrapped round some photo-etched saws to get rid of them, followed by Mr Surfacer. But honestly, some people seem to think this is a poorly-fitting kit! Having just built two CA Vampires (which you can see at www.jonbryon.com/model_index.html) with the Aeroclub mods, these Harriers are a complete doddle to put together (IMHO of course)!

Cheers

Jon

Ah, the CA Vampire....what a disappointment to me that was; fit-wise, one of the worst kits I've built & like you, I used the Seroclub parts. Nice site by the way (but my stash is bigger than yours!)

Graham

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Ah, the CA Vampire....what a disappointment to me that was; fit-wise, one of the worst kits I've built & like you, I used the Seroclub parts. Nice site by the way (but my stash is bigger than yours!)

Graham

Yeah, they were a challenge, but I am sorely tempted by the NF version, and will hopefully get a couple of the coming Venoms as well. I have to admit I did enjoy building them!

My stash is rather anaemic, but I'm a poor English teacher and they're expensive to ship to China. Kind of a good way of limiting what gets bought these days!

Cheers

Jon

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