Hasegawa 1/48 AV8B Harrier II Plus
Here is an example of a model that almost everything went in directions I did not intend. The model itself is not the best kit...fit's skeechy in some places and certian major things like landing gear wells are omitted but it's not malevolent. Cockpit detail is sparse and there are interference issues with the hood being open so I tossed in a salvaged pilot figure and posed it in flight to hide said deficencies.
Paint on the bottom of the AC is Tammy Light Grey and it has blue cast that I did not expect, and the upper surface is Tammy Dark Grey which I should have added some black to as it did not turn out dark enough. Things really went sideways at decal time; I used a Flying Leatherneck AM set and they did not want to cooperate...very thin carrier film that liked to curl up quickly, fold up and tear while attempting to adjust position. I lost so many of them while applying them the right side of the model does not have any on it much to my disgust. This probem probably stems more from poor technique on my part than these being bad decals.
In the end I at least got a left side display piece out of the deal it'll have to do.
Looks great from the pics, Mark. I’ve heard Hasegawa bought the tooling for that kit from Accurate Miniatures when they went out of business. Not sure if that’s true or if it’s modeler’s lore.
Thank you sir
This would not surprise me given other Hasegawa kits I've done have been much better in engineering
It still looks like a Harrier, Mark, most of my models have a good side and a not so good side.
Yes it does, I'm really not unhappy with it altho I guess the tone of the post might suggest otherwise. In my defense I posted this at 0400 this morning, must have not been quite awake yet
It looks great, Mark. Sorry to hear about the challenges you faced, but from experience i know that the area behind the cockpit certainly has fit issues, not helped by the complexity of the airframe design there. The fit on the rest of the kit was on par with Hasegawa, in my experience. All in all, it looks really cool posed, and i think the colors are well depicted. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thank you sir
Don't be sorry, challenges are what sharpen up skills and I won this one
From the pictures it looks great, Mark @markh
A pity the right side didn't turn out that nicely, at least the left side can be displayed without harm.
Thanks brother them's the breaks of modeling
Turned out nicely anyway! Well done.
Thanks Greg it was never so bad that the garbage bucket option was considered
Despite the setbacks you described, it still think the end result looks very good!
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you sir it could have been better but it's still acceptable
Looks like a good Harrier, Mark!
Thanks brother
A bad day at the office hey Mark (@markh)!
Well despite that, I think the effort you put into this has left you with a great looking model of an AV8B 🙂
Are there any aftermarket decals available on the tinterweb to complete the look of the aircraft? All may not be lost!
Could have been worse and thank you sir
I may just get another set of the same decals as they are readily available but where it's displayed the bad side is not visible at all. Perhaps down the road some
Very nice, Harrier. @michaelt
Thank you sir