Italeri 1/72 Harrier GR.7

ITALERI 1:72 HARRIER GR.7
'INBOX Review'

Reviewer: Geoff Goldfen (rec.models.scale)

Kit: No.1214 - Harrier GR.7

Aircraft: The Harrier GR.Mk 7 is a further development of the second generation of this unique fighter, which is also known in the USAF as the AV-8B Night Attack Harrier II. Designed to carry a vast amount of underwing ordnance on 9 stores points plus operate in all kinds of weather and at night makes the GR.7 one of the most versatile fighter aircraft around.

The Kit & Parts: This kit is based on Italeri's early 80's release of their AV-8B Harrier, which is well past its mold date now and also contains a number of inaccuracies. From the look inside this GR.7 box, it appears many components have been shared or fully based on that original release making this GR.7 also fairly inaccurate.

Inside the box are two main sprues in light grey plastic and the immediate disappointment is that the kit has raised panel lines. There are also a few sink marks and ejector pin marks around the place, immediately making one suspect that this is simply is an updated version of the original AV-8B kit.

Instructions: These are standard Italeri in large fold out type with brief history and model master paints being quoted for painting of the kit - each paint being labelled a letter and this is provided in the instructions during construction. The assembly steps are fairly easy to follow and with the locating pins should not present any problems. Reference material in my collection suggests the aircraft is two-tone grey whereas the instructions say one overall grey which I suspect is incorrect. I'd recommend researching these colour versions further during construction.

Versions: Two versions are contained on bottom of the box, an RAF GR.7 from No.3 Sqn in two tone Dark Green/Light Green and an example from No.4 Sqn in overall Pale Aircraft Grey. See comments above for accuracy. The third version is another RAF example with sharkmouth but too large roundels.

Decals: Produced by Italeri with colourful register. The decals are thin and should go onto the surface well, Italeri decals are generally pretty good in this regard. The real complaint here is that they are a bit blotchy and oversimplified with very little stencilling provided. Again, this suffers the same problems as the AV-8B kit which also had basic decals. The other concern is that the markings look oversize in scale.

Accuracy: Where do I start? Let's just say that if you want a decent and accurate GR.7 you are better off getting hold of the Airfix version even though that isn't perfect. Since Hasegawa have recently reissued their AV-8B kit there is talk a GR.7 is on the way from them and that may be a better option still. The Italeri AV-8B kit suffered a lot of small but annoying inaccuracies from wing profile to fin tip and nose canter, unfortunately they have not updated this kit to take out those errors. I suspect this kit will be only a basic GR.7 in profile only.

Impressions: On the sprue the parts look quite okay as far as detail is concerned, and obviously is indicative of early 80's Italeri engineering which wasn't that bad. But it has not been updated to today's standards so first impressions are poor. The parts breakdown is very logical with one sprue containing one fuselage half, plus upper wing halves along with the majority of underwing stores options including pylons, cockpit accessories and intake cowlings. Stores include bombs, sidewinders, rocket pods and gun pods. The cockpit detail is quite basic and again indicative of Italeri from nearly 20 years ago with a very bucket-like seat provided, completely unrealistic.

The second sprue contains the other fuselage half with the fin molded onto it plus all the engine accessories, tailplanes and lower wing halves. It appears that the thrust vector nozzles can be made moveable. Test fitting of a few components didn't reveal any major hassles but the fuselage halves did not affix flush together.

Conclusion: I will be frank and say that I am rather disappointed with this offering from Italeri - I expected better, least of which was either a new tooling or an updated mold with the corrections made. At this very point in time it is not a kit I intend to build, I am sure I will swap it with something better with some unfortunate soul (who will never read this review!) or sell it. I'll wait for the Hasegawa kit to come out and I recommend you do the same. I wouldn't recommend it if you are seriously after an accurate GR.7 or a kit that is hassle-free to build as this one will give you challenges!

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Airfix 1/72 Harrier GR.7

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