AIRFIX 1:72 HARRIER GR.MK 7
'INBOX Review'

 

Reviewer: Myself  (smakr@bigpond.com)
- A Built up review of this kit exists on this site - see links at bottom of page

Kit:  Airfix No.4039 1/72 BAe 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.

Parts: All the parts come together in one plastic bag, which annoyingly includes the clear parts. There are just under 100 light grey parts on a number of smallish sprues plus five clear parts.  No flash and the plastic is crisp and new tooling technology makes this a nice kit.  I also got a spare clear sprue in the, although only the canopy parts were included. This is a bonus, because the main canopy in the bag was a little scratched.  It is marketed as a Skill 3 kit so is for more advanced modellers and model dimensions, Humbrol paint numbers used and number of parts are also displayed on the box.

Instructions: Essentially its A3 sized folded to make a four page A4 booklett. The front page is devoted to the aircraft history in various languages, the middle section is the 7 step assembly process and the last page a four view markings diagram. A separate page is also provided for another version.  Easy to follow with their trademark arrows pointing to location points.  USMC and RAF symbols are also placed in the instruction sheet so you know which parts to use for whichever version you are building.  But again as always, only Humbrol numbers are provided for the painting of this model, so you will need a reference chart if you use another paint range.  

Versions:  The kit provides for two versions to be built, a RAF GR7 from No.4 Sqn, Gutersloh, Germany, 1991 in upper Dark Green and lower Light Green scheme.  The second version is a USMC AV-8B Night Attack Harrier from VMA-214 "Blacksheep", MCAS YUMA, Arizona, 1990 in USMC Green and US Dark Grey wraparound camouflage. In the Humbrol range H161 is USMC Green (and quoted in the instructions) but I have this down as a deleted paint from their range.  Perhaps its back on the shelves?  

Decals:  The decal sheet is quite good and provides a little bit of stencilling and since there is only a small amount of colouring (US insignia of course in the dark low vis grey) there is very little problems with register.  But where there is colour on the RAF unit badges, 'danger' arrows and the like, it is blurry and a little off centre - and since they are so small they look like blobs!  Otherwise the decal sheet looks good, is in matt register and is also split into two, essentially providing different decals for whichever version you like.

Detail & Options:  The kit contains raised panel lines in spite of it being a relatively recent release by todays tooling standards.  The cockpit is also reasonably sparse with seat, tub, pilot figure, stick and instrument panel the only parts to play with.  A decal is provided for the instrument panel console, which has an ugly ejector pin mark in the centre.  On the plus side the kit does provide a lot of stores options, with sidewinders, bombs, tanks and gun pods provided.  The canopy can also be displayed open while the turbine jets are moveable.

Impressions:  The kit looks like a typical Airfix offering and appears that it will go together reasonably well as one would expect it to.  As with the GR.5 reviewed elsewhere, one expects that parts have been taken from the older GR.3 kit.  The main parts are exactly the same as in the GR.5 kit (it indicates this on the sprue) and a dry fit of a couple of the major components reveals no problems.  There are surprisingly few ejector pin marks (a real problem with older Airfix kits) but a couple are present in annoying places, like the one on the instrument panel and side cockpit walls.  You will need to look at some extra aftermarket stuff for the cockpit because it is very sparse but otherwise the kit is well detailed, and I am pretty happy at finally getting my hands on a second generation Harrier, something on my want list for some time.

 

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