Matchbox 1/72 BAe Sea Harrier FRS.1

HELLER 1:72 SAAB J 21A

Reviewer: Carlos Giani (carlos_giani2002@yahoo.de)
Kit Review submitted: 16 May 2008

Kit Details:

Matchbox 1/72^nd scale Bae Sea Harrier (Kit N° 40064 ). Produced in Germany.

Aircraft History:

The single-seated Bae Sea Harrier FRS1 is a development of the land-based RAF Harrier GR3 for naval duty, and designed to operate in the VSTOL mode from the smaller British aircraft carriers. First flown on the 20^th August 1978, the Sea Harrier features an enlarged and raised cockpit with a redesigned canopy and a new nose containing the air interception Blue Fox radar. Other modifications included a Martin Baker Mk.10 ejection seat, upgraded structural components and avionics systems, and provision of two (later four) AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. During the Falklands conflict, the Sea Harriers clearly proved the viability of the VSTOL concept in combat.

The Kit:

Matchbox strikes again! In the usual reasonable sized top-opening box you get nearly 50 parts in medium grey styrene and one transparent part, plus instructions and the decals sheet (protected with wax paper). Nothing is bagged but, on the other hand, there is absolutely no place for the parts to move around. The surface quality of the parts is very good, and there is no flash to speak of, with the panel lines recessed, these being (for once not overly) heavy. Fit of parts is acceptable and will guarantee an easy and fun build, of course requiring some filling/sanding, which is normal for a kit of its era. No surprises for those used to Matchbox kits.

Instructions:

I wonder again why Revell cannot just re-print the original Matchbox instructions…. Maybe because this recommended Humbrol paints? J Instead of it, you get two A4 sheets folded into an 8 pages A3 “booklet”, uncomfortable to handle, imprecise in some areas and a bit confusing regarding the detail painting (of course related to Revell´s Institute of Chromatology). They include 4-view painting/decaling guides for two versions, and the usual blah in 100 languages.

Construction:

The cockpit is extremely sparse, as is usual for this kind of kit, but then being no real problem given the thickness of the canopy. All you get here is a very basic seat and a pilot. Since I never use the pilots, I added a simple “instruments panel” made from plasticard and substituted the seat with an Aeroclub EJ011 one (M.B. Mk.10). Further, I blanked off the area behind the pilot with more plasticard, to avoid a “lookin´-thru” effect. Each fuselage half gets a couple of rings glued from the inside, which will act as a guide to retain the nozzles (which can be mounted movable but are not linked). Fortunately, there is a basic representation of the engine’s fan which fills the whole width of the fuselage’s section.

Once the fuselage halves were glued, the intakes were added, which fit relatively good considering that intakes are mostly a problem area, even on modern offerings of jet fighters. The nose cone was also added and then the first sessions of filling/sanding were undertaken; special care must be taken at the sides of the intakes, to avoid the putty from falling within them. The wings and the tailplanes are one-piece each side, and permanent check against a frontal view taken from a book was needed to assure a correct anhedral. Next, more filling/sanding. Despite the instructions, I also added the pylons at this stage, which only needed a bit of trimming to fit well.

There are really no wheel wells to speak of, with just two small recesses allocated in the “belly” which will accept the ventral landing gears, these being basic but acceptable. Of course there are no well doors, and this is a real let down. As is obligatory for Harrier’s kits, the lateral landing gears are offered both in the lowered as in the raised position. For the weaponry you get a pair of bombs (inner pylons) and a pair of crude missiles (outer pylons). A couple of external “fittings” complete the job.

I painted my model with Humbrol H123 upper surfaces and H34 lower surfaces (two coats), plus a coat of Johnson’s Klear. The decals performed superb, only needing some softener were they covered panel lines. They show absolutely no silvering. Finally, everything was sealed with a coat of Humbrol H135 satin clear.

Of course it makes no sense to speak about accuracy, some areas looking rather suspect (e.g. the nose cone and the air intakes), but it was an easy and enjoyable build, and it don’t looks so bad at all. I just like Matchbox kits (specially as an intermission between more complex projects)!

Colour Schemes:

1) Sea Harrier FRS1, N°800 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Army, RNAS Yeovilton & HMS Invincible, 1980. Upper dark sea grey over white undersides.

2) Sea Harrier FRS1, N°809 Naval Air Squadron, RNAS Yeovilton April-May 1982 & HMS Hermes, South Atlantic mid-May to July 1982. The camouflage seems to be upper dark sea grey over medium grey undersides (of course realized with Revell mixes, uff!).

Decals:

Printed in Italy “by Revell”, they are absolutely superb and with a plethora of stencils. The red insignia dots are separate (good!).

Overall:

If you want an accurate, state of the art Sea Harrier, then Italeri´s offering seems to be the choice. But if a basic representation is enough to you, and you are looking for a quick, relaxing project, then I can recommend you this kit. I enjoyed it!

References:

Some reviews from other modelers.

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