Hasegawa 1/72nd Scale AV-8B+

Hi All!
In addition to Spitfires, Allison Mustangs, and Zippers I also like Harriers. It does not matter if they are prototypes, 1st Generation or 2nd Generation Harriers, I like them all. And I hope to build all of the types and countries which use them.

At the 2024 Modelpalooza Show here in Orlando Fl. area I managed to acquire several Hasegawa Gen 2 aircraft, two AV-8B+ and an AV-8B. This build is of one of the AV-8B+s. I decided on a USMC aircraft, even though the Spanish and Italian Navies also use Gen 2 Harriers.

 I pre-painted as much as I could and found the cockpit sparse, with black and white decals used to represent the side console and instrument panel. The bang seat is nowhere near accurate. The radar nose was close to fitting but, no such luck. If you aligned the upper seam, the lower seam was off. The tailpiece was too large for the tail. I fitted the fuselage as best I could and then added the wing and 100% LERX. I had to file, trim, and sand the parts to fit reasonably well. The gun pods did not fit at all. The problem was the way Hasegawa designed the locating pins. Try as I might I could not get the pods to align correctly. So I cut the pins off and drilled out the locating pins and slots and used a fine metal rod for the pins. The pods then aligned perfectly. Finally, the attachment points for the wheels on the main gear are very anemic, and it is difficult to align the wheels correctly.  Thickened crazy glue came to the rescue.  

        The tails would not fit until I trimmed most of their mounting pegs. The front air dam would not fit because of the gun pods, and I wound up cutting and trimming the rear of the gun pods so the main gear would fit. After the filler (applied to just about every seam!) was sanded to my liking, the entire model was wiped off with Isopropyl Alcohol to clean the surfaces. Vallejo Air paint was used for the camouflage. 

      The model represents a McDonnell-Douglas AV-8B+ Harrier II BuAer 165312, N0.10 of VMA-542 the "Flying Tigers".

The model was finally done. I had built the old mold Airfix Harrier T.10 and Harrier GR.5 which were a much easier build as they fit MUCH better. I was disappointed with this kit because I expected Hasegawa to do better. This was a difficult kit, and I do not intend to buy another. The old mold Airfix Gen 2 Harriers fit better and with some careful assembly look very much the part. I need to get a hold of one of the new mold Airfix kits and compare them to the Hasegawa kits. Just do not go out of your way to get one of these kits, as there are easier kits to build that look just as good if not better.

Bruce

2 additional images. Click to enlarge.