Falkland Islands Conflict Harrier GR.3

Hi All!

In the early 1980s, the Argentine Junta looked for a way to divert the populace's attention from the economic woes and the secret war against the population. The Junta focused on the Falklands and South Georgia Island. It was thought that the islands over 7,000 miles from the UK would give the UK a reason for giving them up. Well, it did not work out that way. They did not count on the “Iron Lady”, Margaret Thatcher. She assembled a “task force ” to take the islands back. And the Royal Navy, an antisubmarine force, traveled 7,000 miles, launched a successful amphibious landing, and took back the islands.

The Royal Navy would not have been successful in the operation without the Harrier. The FAA fielded the Sea Harrier, but they realized they were too important for fleet defense to undertake “mud moving” tasks. The RAF introduced the Harrier GR.3 dedicated to ground attack to the fray, which freed up the Sea Harrier for fleet defense. The Harrier used RN 2” rocket pods, BL755 cluster bombs, 1000 lb. “dumb bombs”, and Paveway I LGBs.

The Harrier GR.3 combined all of the improvements made to the Harrier fleet, including an "LRMTS" (Laser Range Finder and Marked Target Seeker) in a “dolphin” nose. Several kit manufacturers have produced Harrier GR.3 kits, but most are lacking, mainly due to shape errors. The overall best kit I have seen and built is the ESCI/AMT/Italeri kit of the GR.3. The kit does have its flaws, including a sparse cockpit, decals for the side consoles and instrument panel, a "bang" seat from someone's imagination, and the blow-in doors require improvement. I left the interior stock as it would not be visible, and I cut each of the upper four blow-in doors and repositioned them into the open position. The remainder of the kit assembles easily, and I used only a bit of filler here and there (it was an original issue kit). I let the 3-M Acryl-White filler cure for a couple of days before sanding. After the seams were finished to my liking, I wiped the kit off with Isopropyl Alcohol.

I decided to model a Falklands Harrier. These had the wrap-around grey and green camo, and Vallejo paints were used. The Harriers came from operational squadrons, so a particular aircraft needed to be chosen. I chose XV778 from HMS Hermes. Vallejo and Hataka paints were used. After the wrap-around camouflage was applied and the paint cured, Future was used as a gloss coat. The ESCI decal sheet had the numbers required to assemble the serials (including the under-wing serials). A quick check of the Harrier decals in the spares box yeilded the red "14". The serials were pieced together, and the remainder of the decals applied (including those tiny yellow ones!) when I made a discovery. The Superscale sheet I got the "14" from had the correct serials! Lesson: If you have a decal spares box, check it.

I added the BL755 cluster bombs, drop tanks, antennas, and other bits to finish the model.

The model represents a BAe Harrier GR.3 Serial No. XV778, from No.1 Squadron RAF, flying from HMS Hermes during the Falklands Conflict.

The ESCI/AMT/Italeri first-generation Harriers are some of the best on the market. Try to find ESCI and AMT issues as they are more affordable. With some modeling skills, the faults in these kits are readily corrected. I need to acquire the new Airfix Harrier kits, as these show some promise to be the best. Until then, the ESCI/AMT/Italeri 1st Generation kits are worth the effort to build them. Highly recommended.

Bruce

3 additional images. Click to enlarge.