dmthamade Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Finally decided on the Trumpeter Harrier II Plus as my build. I've built the Night Attack version of this kit, was pretty straightforward. This build i'll be using some aftermarket, still haven't decided on weapons loadout yet. Aftermarket i will use are from Wolfpack, SJU-4/A ejection seat, AN/AAQ-28Litening Targeting pod, AV-8B+ correct Airscoop set and possibly GBU-38 500lb bombs. Decals are from Zotz, ZTZ032/047 Harriers at Sea sheet. Few pics of previous build. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TaiidanTomcat Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Great job on the previous model! Are you going to go with the newer dark scheme for this kit? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 I was thinking about the new scheme but the only markings I could find were for the Blacksheep color bird, I would prefer a line bird. The italian birds use a two tone scheme and very weathered. Lots of references on line showing well used birds. Almost have the loadout settled, Sidewinders, Maverick, Litening, GBU-12, GBU-38 and maybe no gun pods. Will start in tomorrow. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Gorgeous job on the previous build. Looking forward to seeing this one. ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geedubelyer Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 I can't remember seeing a 1/32nd scale Italian Harrier before so this should be a treat, especially with all of that aftermarket. Cool. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Don, Your previous Harrier build looks very formidable .. Stunning I am looking forward to this new one..good luck with the build. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mynameismatt Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 I have this kit in the stash but haven't done anything but look through it. Looking forward to seeing how it goes together! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted January 19, 2013 Author Share Posted January 19, 2013 Hello all!! Sorry i haven't been doing much, hopefully will be able to spend more time this weekend on the build with updates. have some parts glued together but nothing worth noting. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted January 20, 2013 Author Share Posted January 20, 2013 I really enjoyed the previous build was fairly straight forward. I haven't seen any builds in Italian Marina markings so it should be unique. I have started assembling the main fuselage. The engine is supposed to go in before closing up the halves but i'm leaving it out. The exhaust nozzles are supposed to locate off the engine as well, but instead i glued the locator rings F35/37/11/12 to the inside of the fuuselage. I previously assembled the nozzles and used these to locate the rings. If they are off a bit i can either elongate the locator slots in the rings or even cut the tabs off the nozzles. I will be painting the inside flat black so you can't see bare plastic. If i had installed the engine the only thing you could see is a bit of the rear fan, not a concern to me. Doing it this way leaves me with a lot of extra parts, something common with Trumpeter kits. The only things i will install inside the fuselage will be the airbrake well and the rear main gear well. The front face of the engine is supposed to be installed on the engne as well but i will install it on the rear of the front fuselage halves. This should help with slight alignment issues i had with the previous build. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 Been a looonng time for updates. I've glued the fuselage halves together and glued in some reinforcing strips. Will paint this area flat black. Didn't need any fill, just a little Mr. Surfacer. For some reason, Trumpeter has an outline on the right side of the fuselage that needed to be filled. There were also sink marks on the bottom that needed to be filled with the surfacer, too. Also been doing subassemblies, will build all before starting to sand them. The forward fuselage/nose assembly dryfitted looks OK til you see the bottom. There is a HUGE gap here that i have to figure out how to fill. Too bad, as the rest of the join looks good. Should be able to spend more time at the bench so i should make more progress. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Wow - that is one major gap. It looks like you have a choice - close up the gap, leaving you with a big step between the nose cone and fuselage sides (very bad), or leave it the way you have it, and fill the gap with plastic card (bad, but not so bad). Good luck! ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share Posted February 10, 2013 Wow - that is one major gap. It looks like you have a choice - close up the gap, leaving you with a big step between the nose cone and fuselage sides (very bad), or leave it the way you have it, and fill the gap with plastic card (bad, but not so bad). Good luck! ALF Been a while for an update, spent a little time today. I think i'll fix the gap by filling with styrene and Mr. Surfacer, hopefully won't be too bad. Today i worked on the intakes, painting the insides white then masking and painting the front front inner intake and the fuselage around them. Easier to mask with the intakes this way, masking for the overall colors will be easier when the time comes. The suck in doors were a bit of a problem on the last build, this time i used some Evergreen .010" round stock to build a framework to help support the doors. The top three wern't a problem, just installed them according to instructions. The bottom three were installed closed, the framework helped to support them. The stock is thin enough that i could tweak the fit a bit as needed, made for a solid assembly. Tomorrow i'll do the other side then start on the pit so i can seal up the forward fuselage and work on the gap. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Exhausted Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 (edited) I would cut out the sensor and the antenna. Then I would fill the gap and reglue those to the newly sanded fuselage bottom. Edited February 10, 2013 by Exhausted Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 I would cut out the sensor and the antenna. Then I would fill the gap and reglue those to the newly sanded fuselage bottom. Hello Exhausted!! Yup, basically that's what I'll be doing. Going to cut off both parts, fill and smooth, then scratch build replacements. I may also try scratch building a ALQ-164 ECM pod to go on centerline. I did manage to paint the pit and seat and gloss coat everything, will start to weather it tomorrow Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Exhausted Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 (edited) Awesome, and just as a reference, check this video. Jump to 2:04 see the vent. You will see that the lines and paint on this jet are anything but straight and pretty. Often times the panels are filled with putty and look crooked, and new paint layers don't always match the original tint. Reference: I hung out on them for four years ;) Edited February 16, 2013 by Exhausted Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geedubelyer Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 I'm looking forward to see how you deal with that gaping chasm :blink: The auxiliary door mods look good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Don, If anyone can make that gap never existed you can.. Good strategy about how you are going to tackle that problem. Good to see you on this one.. ...and Exhausted pretty COOL video. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted February 17, 2013 Author Share Posted February 17, 2013 Awesome, and just as a reference, check this video. Jump to 2:04 see the vent. You will see that the lines and paint on this jet are anything but straight and pretty. Often times the panels are filled with putty and look crooked, and new paint layers don't always match the original tint. Reference: I hung out on them for four years ;)/> Excellent vid!! Does show how beat they can get. I took another route to close the gap, i used a big pair of forceps to clamp the sides using the antenna. Then i applied Tenax and let dry for a few days. The result is The remaining gap should be much easier to close up using plasstic and Mr. Surfacer. What i have now is a complete subassembly of the nose that "should" attach to the main fuselage easily. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Good approach! Much easier than the alternative. Sometimes a "bigger hammer" is the required tool - in this case, a good clamp. ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Ooh that is looking so much better Dom. Neat idea using the forceps... Great job. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted February 24, 2013 Author Share Posted February 24, 2013 Another long time between updates. Haven't had the time or desire to spend time at the bench, did do some stuff this weekend. Fixing the gap this way does seem to give good results. I filled the rest of the gap with styrene and Mr. Surfacer. Results look good so far, just need some final finishing. Getting the fuselage finished, i glued on the nose subassembly. The join needed a bit of work as there was a lot of mismatch here. The main problems were the suck in doors alighnment wasn't the greatest on the closed doors. To fit the wing, i added some expander bars in the fuselage opening to help close the gap between the wing bottom and the fuselage. Something Trumpeter should have done is include filler parts for the area under the LERX. I did my own using "0.015 sheet styrene. Will have more time now so hopefully will have more time on the build. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share Posted February 26, 2013 Assembled the wing onto the fuselage, lot of rubber bands to clamp them up. Have more time now for models, progress will be faster now. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigasshammm Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 This is another must get kit. I've seen the things saying everything that's wrong but based on your last build this is an amazing kit. Looking good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted March 1, 2013 Author Share Posted March 1, 2013 This is another must get kit. I've seen the things saying everything that's wrong but based on your last build this is an amazing kit. Looking good. Speaking of "wrong", i was at the point that i could add the Wolfpack correct airscoop set. No big deal, cut them off the casting blocks, fit/adjust/install..... YEAH RIGHT!!! The rear scoops were OK, simply gluing them in the spot where the kit ones went. The front scoops could be fitted to outlined area provided you had a closed canopy, if you had an open canopy they would not work at the proper location. The scoops are OK, but the canopy base and canopy are the WRONG SHAPE!! no big suprise!! I don't want a closed cockpit so i reluctantly glued them in a spot close to where they should be. Comparing canopy shapes to reference pics show it should be narrower and more pointed at the end. Geez, thanks Trumpeter!! Pic of the rear scoops. will fill the small area around the base with Mr. Surfacer. Pic of the front scoops with canopy open. Look "OK", but definitly off. Pic with canopy closed. You might be able to see the outline where they should be. Nothing i can do to fix this, someone else with better skills/patience/attitude might be able to. I guess this is might be why Trumpeter didn't include them. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dmthamade Posted March 11, 2013 Author Share Posted March 11, 2013 My build has come to a halt. I can't seem to get paint to stay put on the fuselage, i used Tamiya primer then MM Acryl then masked and painted. Paint stayed on all but the main fuselage parts, when i pulled up tape it took the color and primer coats. Stripped/sanded/primed/colorcoat/mask...still took off paint. Had trouble with a Trumpeter A-7E a while back that couldn't be glued together, now this. Don Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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