Reviewer: Les Venus (November 2009)
Model Dimensions: 443mm l x 290mm w
Price: £85.98 (or less)
Kit Parts: 423
Sprues: 19 X light grey plastic, I X clear sprue, 5 rubber tyres, I X small etch for the HUD, seat belts, and rear of cockpit coming
Decals: 2 x decal sheets
Thanks to Paul Mitchell at Mainly Military Models for helping to source the review sample
Check out the full In-Progress Review (IPR) by Les – coming soon
First Impression
I’ve always been a huge fan of Trumpeter models and have built a lot of them in this scale. On the whole I believe that Trumpeter not only give modellers what they want in the scale but also can on occasion give us spectacular results; the F-100 Super Sabre, P-47 Thunderbolt and Hind for me fall into this category, whereas the eagerly awaited Lightning F1/F3/F6 and Eurofighter Typhoon were huge disappointments on a number of levels.
With this in mind, it was with a little trepidation that I opened the box to this Harrier II after our illustrious editor threw, yep literally, the largish box of the AV-8B at me at IPMS Scale Model World last week and said “this one’s right up your street”.
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So what did I find, well unlike the Lightning I found a box full to the brim with light grey plastic, which at first sight looked great. Moreover someone has fired or moved to ships or tanks or something the dreaded riveter………not one in sight!!!! So first impressions were promising and the kit really does scream build me! Oh before I go further, a word about the box, it’s eye catching but I guess for me still looks like painting by numbers and very two dimensional. But hey, who cares if the contents are up to speed so let’s take a look.
Accuracy
This is the Harrier II version of the AV-8B or to put it into RAF parlance more GR5 than GR7. This means it has the shorter nose that’s missing what I think is the LRMTS (Laser Rangefinder Marked Target Seeker) and FLIR (Forwards Looking Infra-Red) and the sleeker longer nose of the AV-8B Harrier II Plus and the Night Attack versions of the mark. These I think are next up from Trumpeter so it seems Harrier fans are in for a treat. Let’s hope we get a GR-7 and GR-9 version of the Harrier too! On the upside the Harrier II was used in the first Gulf War and therefore if you’re predisposed to such things can get stuck into weathering your Harrier accordingly.
I used my trusty Air Data 3 book by Andy Evans as my prime reference and from this the kit looks largely accurate, at least it looks right. Indeed I was pleased to see John ‘Tigger’ Wilkes made up version at Telford this year and it looks every inch a Harrier.
Panel lines are finely engraved, the LERX are thin and look good for shape and size for this mark. I would say that the slime lights engraving is a little heavy but nothing a few swipes with a sanding block or replacement with brass from Eduard can’t fix.
The canopy is crystal clear and in two parts the only snag being the seam down the centre of the main canopy but its fine and should polish out easily. The cockpit that lay beneath this is nicely detailed and will look good under a coat of paint and a careful wash. The seat is nice and the belts are in the etched set. It’s a bit basic but the stencil seat isn’t as complex looking as a MB 7 so it’ll look ok with careful painting. No doubt the resin is being poured as I write on a multitude of upgrade sets as well as etched sets from all the usual sources. The etched set also included the HUD and it will look great and add a lot to what is a big cockpit with a lot of glass.
As you would expect from Trumpeter there’s an impressive array of weapons in the box including AGM-65 Mavericks, GBU-12 laser guided bombs with separate seeker heads, and a variety of bombs slick and retarded. In addition there are two large wing tanks and the most impressive Aim-9 Limas I’ve ever seen in plastic. Decals are supplied for all of these and the ejector racks again well detailed that you hang your chosen weapons from.
The unique undercarriage looks robust and well detailed but would respond with some wire and stuff to enhance it. Unfortunately it comes with those revolting rubber tyres! Please Trumpeter no more plastic or better still resin is what we want………………isn’t it?
Finally and goodness knows why, the kit comes with a nice representation of a Pegasus engine which can only be seen, slightly if you leave a panel off the underside of the fuselage. If detail like this is going to be included, and I love that it is, at least allow it to be seen properly. Or it’s just cost and as a businessman I see no point in that!
Read on about the Fit, Quality, Decals and Les’s verdict…
