Best British Harrier Kits 1/48 and 1/72

[delayar]

Hi!

 

A friend of mine started to build models recently, and I am looking for a birthday gift. He is interested in british aircraft subjects and mentioned he would like to build a Harrier.

As I am not really familiar with that type, I wanted to aks your opinions, which kits in scales 1/72 or 1/48 are the best ones, especially in regard to ease of build. Acuracy and details are not as important as an easy construction.

 

Thanks for your help,

Markus

[joeltc]

An early Harrier I would be Airfixl in 1/72 and Kinetic in 1/48. And the Harrier II would be either Hasegawa or Airfix in 1/72 and Hasegawa in 1/48.

[Quixote74]

Just to break it down a bit further, there are basically "first generation" and "second generation" Harriers, the latter occasionally referred to as Harrier II.  The second generation was co-produced between British Aerospace and McDonnell Douglas, and features a larger wing, uprated engines, and upgraded avionics of several varieties, though to a casual observer they all share the same basic configuration.

 

1st Gen RAF versions are the GR.1, and GR.3, plus corresponding trainers. The Royal Navy operated the Sea Harrier FRS.1. This was upgraded to FA.2 standard which included a new nose radome and a fuselage plug but technically the airframe is still a 1st Gen.

 

2nd Gen RAF variants include the GR.5, GR.7, and GR.9, plus again two-seater equivalents. The GR.7 was the first in UK service that included a FLIR fairing above the nose (known in US service as "night attack" variants).

 

I don't keep track of 1:48 options but for 1:72 Airfix is probably the current leader for quality, availability, and affordability with their GR.7/9 tooling.  Be aware that Airfix also did a GR.5/7/AV-8B tooling circa 1991 that isn't nearly as good (not a bad kit but far inferior). 

 

Hasegawa's Harrier IIs cover most of the single seat variants in type-specific boxings. I'd rate them as the best available kits for all but the GR.7/9.  Harrier II kits available from Italeri and ESCI/AMT should be avoided due to issues of fit, detail, and accuracy.

 

Scalemates Harrier II lineage chart

 

For 1:72 first generation UK types, there's a wider range of kit options available but the ESCI family is probably the best overall, covering all single seaters except the FA.2 Sea Harrier. Italeri is currently reboxing these molds, and they were also available from AMT.  Airfix's current offerings also cover the full range of UK and US single-seaters, and they also have the Sea Harrier in its original and FA.2 varieties.  These kits are close in quality to the ESCI tooling, so best price and specific type/operator would be the decision makers between the two. Just note there is also an obsolete Airfix tooling for the GR.1/3 to avoid.

 

Hasegawa did their first Harriers circa 1969, but in the mid-80s they produced all-new toolings of the GR.3 and Sea Harrier FRS.1 - both are quite good kits, however the SHAR has a misproportioned nose/forward fuselage (allegedly due to misreading the airframe length with or without the nose probe).

 

They've been OOP for quite some time and not the most detailed kits, but the Matchbox GR.1 and FRS.1 are decent replicas and probably as easy as a non-snap build can get.  For someone new to the hobby they may be worth consideration.

 

Scalemates 1st Generation Harrier Lineage

 

[delayar]

@Quixote74 Thank you for the detailed break down. that helps a lot.

 

Kind regards,

markus

[DarkKnight]

1/48 Airfix and Tamiya Harrier FRS.1 is crap, the Kinetic looks like a real kit, but I haven't built it, read Sharkey Wards book, its good

Edited February 5, 2023 by DarkKnight