Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.1

Christian Bruer
First look confirmed what all the reviews promised. Very nice details all a long and a good layout of all the components to get a good and easy fit. Nothing seems to be to complex to make sure that even beginners will get a good result at the end.

I start with the cockpit. I use the Eduard detail set to add some more details mostly because of the instrument panel. I choose a new seat from Pavla, because it looks much more like a Martin Baker then the kit part. Last I add some small bits and pieces to simulate electrical wire and electrical boxes.

There are a lot of ejector pins on the core side of the tool and so they left their marks inside of the parts. Some are in visible areas and they need to be filled and sanded. It is a bit tricky to fill the marks inside of the air intakes, but with some patience and small pieces of sanding paper it worked well at the end.

Fit of the parts is quite nice, but there is some over flush along the edges which had to be removed. This is quite easy to do because the plastic is soft. All parts are cleaned and some sub assemblies are ready for a first coat of paint.

I'm a bit confused of the cockpit colour because Eduard uses a gray blue colour for their pre painted parts. According to my references the interior should be dark gray, but I will paint it in the same blue gray colour as the Eduard parts are to make it similar. Vallejo Model Colour no. 904+905 fit very well.

So far I had a lot of fun with this project and It took me just three days to get the current status with the kit.

Cheers, Christian

Stephan Ryll
Ei Christian - so was "großes" von dir
I'm in 🙂

Choppa Nutta
... What a monster !!
I am surprised it can fit on your bench such is the size of this beast !!😉 😄

Michael Hickey
Very convincing start, looks great.

Christian Bruer
Thank you mates🙂

Yep Stephan, a bit unusual for me but this is what I like and understand with modelmaking. Do whatever you want but have fun – and I have😄

Hehe Choppa, sad you were not here to heave the monster on top of my bench. First I thought about to ask for a crane but luckily it worked well at the end. I ordered some more bottles of Vallejo paint to be sure I will not run short painting the monster😄

Cheers, Christian

Choppa Nutta
lol ! 😄
it's gonna need gallons of paint mate😉

Christian Bruer
Indeed, I should calculate how many scale 144 and scale 350 planes I could paint with it😄

Cesar Muniz
Hi Cristian, very nice job! I love the added details to the cabin, and the flaps down, I would love to assemble also one Harrier to my colection, I´ll be folowing.

Christian Bruer
Thank you very much Cesar. I was inspired by you nice Scooter.
I have the Airfix Dogfight Set including a Sea Harrier and a Skahawk, one of the next on my schedule🙂

Cheers, Christian

Sven Schönyan
Hey Christian, a new scale? I´m downsclaing from 48 A/C to 72 AFV and you do the other way going upscale! So should we arrange a small display area together on the next ISSC?

Christian Bruer
For sure we should Sven!

Marcel Klemmer
Das ist doch gar nicht Dein Maßstab 🙂 viel zu groß

Łukasz Gliński
That's an interesting project, I always wondered what's in that box, thx for sharing

Ekki
Me too.

Stefan Schacht
Hi Chris, bin dabei. Viele Gruesse Stefan

Christian Lehmann
I'll stay tuned.

Christian Bruer
Ups, nice to see you all hang around here. Seems to me I do not only have to expand my modelling bench but also the seats😄

Glad to have you here to follow🙂 Got some new decals today and a new Martin Baker. The one form PJ Productions I've ordered first, does not fit well to me. The new one from Pavla looks much better to my eyes.

@Łukasz, you're welcome. I can highly recommend the new Airfix kits. A clever part design, fair price and nice details promise much modelling fun.

No update so far because of the very nice weekend weather. Guess I will be back at the bench at the coming weekend.

Cheers, Christian

Christian Bruer
I thought to find more information about the interior arrangement in RAF Harrier Modellers Datafile, but I don't. The book lacks of any photo of GR. 1 and 3 interior🙁

So I filled the less detailed spaces with some scratch build parts. Now the interior is ready for a first coat of paint as well as the Tiger Moth and Hurricane.

I will be back soon.

Cheers, Christian

berni
Good start 👍

Christian Bruer
Thx Berni🙂

Dave Jones
Looks fantastic, a great start keep it up. Looking forward to seeing it finished.

Christian Ristits
Great Start , pass me the Popcorn!

Christian Bruer
Thx Dave and Christian, glad to have you here following this WIP🙂

Cesar Muniz
Christian, just some questions: what putty are you using to fill the ejector pin marks? and this buttons in for the cockpit? how do you make it? scratch build in this tube looks fantastic!

Christian Bruer
Hi Cesar, thank you very much, glad you like it🙂

About the putty, I use one component plastic filler, named Albrecht Kunststoff-Spachtel. Albrecht is the name of the company. The filler is quite nice for such work and dries hard after approx. 12 hrs. But better to wait 24 hrs. You can buy this stuff in DIY stores.

lack-albrecht.de/men..tstoff-spachtel.html

All the knobs are made of styrene rod. I cut them in small pieces, glued in place I sand them down a little bit once the glue dries completely.

Hope that answer your questions.

Cheers, Christian

Christian Bruer
I cut out the vents on top of the fuselage and add a grille on the starboard and an air duct on the port side according to reference photos. Some more progress was made on the landing gear and extra parts. The interior parts and some small parts are ready to pint. Some more progress and photos are coming soon.

Cheers, Christian

Christian Bruer
The landing gear need a little bit attention. I ass some oil pipes and electric cables made of copper wire. The leverage for the landing gear door was made of brass rod.

I modified the flaps hinges because of information from reference photos. The hinges are smaller now – compare photo no. 18 and photo no. 31.

I use the Pavla Aden gun pod instead of the kits part. The resin parts are very nice and sharp and represent the pods much better than the kit parts. For a good fit some sanding was necessary. Two self made pins will later help to hold the pod in place.

Cheers, Christian

Choppa Nutta
.... "I ass some oil pipes" ..... 😮 !!
really Christian !
... this is no place to discuss your love life !! haha 😄
anyhow, this is shaping up super sweet, this is going to put more than a few 1/24 Harriers to shame ! 🙂

Jesse
Man, this is going to be a very nice mean machine! Love the details. Brings back found memories...

Norbert Steffens
Hi Christian, though i don't like the 72nd scale, I'll follow beacuase this is going to be a great model. Could it be that the panel lines are a little bit to big(deep)?

Christian Bruer
Hehe,what a funny flaw I have made!? Well watched Choppa. You forgot to mention the electrical cable - for a good vibration 😄 Ok, better to stop that now😉

Apart from that - many thx Choppa, Jesse and Norbert for your very kind comments. I much appreciate it 🙂

Yep Norbert, the panel lines are a bit deep, but all in all this is a very nice kit which represent the GR.1 very well. Airfix gets better an better in their overall kit design also with the depth of the panel lines.

Cheers, Christian

Stephan Ryll
Very nice so far 🙂 like the Harrier

Christian Bruer
Thx Stephan🙂

Soeren R.
Really nice work Christian.
And Airfix is indeed getting better and better.
Probably one of the best kit manufactures for planes in 72 / 48 at the moment - in my opinion.

Bart Goesaert
looks very good... looks promising for when I start my Gr.7/9.... Will take a peak here then 😉

Christian Bruer
Thank you Lode, Sören and Bart for your kind comments and to join in to my WIP. Hope you have enough patience to follow.

Cheers, Christian

Christian Bruer
Basic and detail painting in the cockpit area, undercarriage and some small parts is done. Now a slightly wash and highlighting the details before I can assemble the fuselage halves and go on with the build.

Cheers, Christian

Christian Bruer
A slightly wash and a light dry brush, all with oils, was applied. I much like the subtle effect you can achieve using oils. I used oils for the first time instead of the basic colour to add highlights and it worked pretty well. I was impressed by Pavla ejection seat. A lot of fine and nice details, much better than the kit part.
Next I can fix the cockpit and the air inlets before I can close the fuselage halves.

Cheers, Christian

Spanjaard
excellent work Christian, beautiful details.

Christian Bruer
Thank you Spanjaard 🙂

Alec K
Wow, great work Christian! I like your mention regarding oil paints, as I was experimenting with them for weathering during my last few builds. They just dry with more even shade transitions, with only downside being the drying time IMO. Do you have a "rule of thumb" regarding drying time (prior to applying top coat, drybrushing etc)? Also, what thinner do you use for oils? Thank you 👍

Christian Bruer
Thank you Lode and Alec for your kind comments🙂

@Alec, I use lighter fluid to thin the oils. That works perfect and does not effect the basic colour. You can controll the drying time using more or less thinner. The more thinner you use, the lesser thr drying time. But this will have an effect to the transparnecy of the wash, it will be more subtle. If you want more contrast you should use less thinner, but that need a longer drying time.
If you work with more contrast, you should leave the model for a few days beside. With more thinner the drying time will be just a few minutes. I case of the parts I worked on yesterday I add the wash and the highlights during the afternoon.
Hope that helps

Cheers, Christian

Alec K
Thank you Christian. Curious about the lighter fluid as a thinner, why use it vs. other options? Does it dry/evaporate faster than turpentine or mineral/white spirits?

Christian Bruer
Alex, the main reason, it does not affect the basic colour. I use acrylics and before Xtracolor ant both brands are a little prone to react with more agressive thinners like white spirit etc. Next, lighter fluid evaporate realy fast and help the oils to dry. I tried special thinners for oils, but did not get the effect as I get with lighter fluid. So for me it is the best thinner for oils at the moment.

Cheers, Christian

Choppa Nutta
.... I take it you don't smoke cigarettes Christian ? 😄😎

Spanjaard
i have to remember this trick 🙂 thanks Christian

Alec K
Got it. Thank you for the advice Christian.

George Bacon
Wow, hard to believe that much detail can be in 1/72! Definitely want to see more 👍

Erik Leijdens
Very good work Christian. Very impressive 👍

Christian Ristits
Very impressive work so far Christian, I am struggling with all the wires on 1:48 wheels...but you are doing this on 1:72...my fully respect for your work!

Christian Bruer
A resounding big thank you to you all for your very kind words 🙂

@Coppa, luckily I stopped😉

Cheers, and Happy Easter

Christian

Christian Bruer
The fuselage halves are assembled and seamlines are filled and sanded. Although the fit is good there are some areas where some extra work is necessary to the a good fit. The outer and inner air inlets has to be aligned, here is just some sanding required. There is a larger hole at the end of the cockpit tub, I don't know at the moment what will be the best to solve this problem?!

The nose sections need some attention, I have to add an extra piece of flat styrene to get a good shape of the part.

The tailplain and horizontal stabilizer was easy to assemble, it hold just snapping the parts into the mounts. To get the correct angle of the horizontal stabilizer I add a piece of flat styrene inside of the retainer and make a cutout in the axis. So the part is held in place and can easily glued once assembled completely.

Cheers, Christian

Alec K
The build is coming along nicely, Christian. I just love how clean your builds are - no fingerprints, scratches, nothing. Very inspirational 👍

Michael Phillips
Looking good so far Christian, looking forward to seeing more progress!

Ferry Dierckxsens
Wow, another great build in progress. I will follow this one too Christian, still got one in my stash 😉

Bart Goesaert
Nice work, maybe some dissolved sprue in a bit of tamiyacement to fill the gaps?

Bryn Crandell
Very nice so far! Not a bad kit for 1/72. Lots of detail.

Christian Bruer
Thank you very much Alec, Michael, Lode, Bart and Ferry. I'm pleased that you like my work 🙂

Well Ferry, I can highly recommend the kit. I have the GR. 3 as well and this one will not be the last one I want to build.

Bart, thank you for the hint. I decide to add a piece of flat styrene to hide the gap. There was just a little scribbing to do to get a got fit of the styrene. Once dry I have to cut and sand it a little bit - done🙂

As mentioned before, he overall fit of the kit is good, but some filling along the outer air inlet is required. I used my usual one component filler from the DIY store. It dries fast and is easy to handle, so I can sand it tomorrow.

Cheers, Christian

Christian Bruer
Hi Lode, it is Albrecht Kunststoff-Spachtel (plastic filler). You can buy it in Germany in DIY stores. Here is a link to the companies product site.
lack-albrecht.de/men..tstoff-spachtel.html

The filler is also in the www. available😉

Hope that helps

Cheers, Christian

Dave Flitton
Awesome build!

Christian Bruer
Thx Dave 🙂

Lode, let me know how it works if you plan to buy the filler.

Cheers, Christian

Christian Bruer
A few PE parts behind the cockpit are in place now, was well as some minor details here and there. Some more filling and sanding was required to get a smooth surface without any scratches.
The Pavla cannon pods are in place, I glued them from inside of the fuselage. The seam line along the pods was sealed with acrylic gel diluted with water.

This evening I glued the wing section – the last photo shows the wing only dry fitted! I don't know if I made a mistake or does not took enough attention to a proper fit, but there is some filling and sanding necessary. This is already done and I wait until the filler is dry to work out the final step before I can add a first coat of paint.

Cheers, Christian

Choppa Nutta
so many nice wee touches, getting the inlet flaps in the right position looks just just right on the ground, makes you wonder why the kit makers don't do it ? 😄

Thomas Bischoff
very nice work!

Christian Bruer
Thank you Thomas abd Choppa🙂

Well Choppa, I guess they don't do it to leave room for the aftermarket 😎

Cheers, Christian

Choppa Nutta
haha, how very considerate of them😉

Bart Goesaert
looking really good so far... Hope that the Gr7/9 builds as good as this one..

Martien Lourens
Wonderful. I am pleased to see your step by step.

Christian Bruer
Thank you Lode, Bart and Martien🙂

Progress is going on, but I did not expect that the filling and sanding between the fuselage and wing section need that much time and attention. The first step of filling and sanding is done, but there are some corrections to do.
Meanwhile I go back to my Scooter to do the necessary filling, sanding and rescribbing on the fuselage.

It is a little bit dusty on the bench at the moment 😄

Cheers, Christian

Cristian Bordina
I follow with great interest. A really professional job so far😉

Alec K
Progressing nicely Christian. I am so glad you picked 1:72 scale 🙂 👍

Christian Bruer
Thank you Cristian and Alec 🙂

Yep me too Alec. I don't know why I missed this interesting scale for so long. But it is never to late😉

Cheers, Christian

Stephan Ryll
Christian, it´s never to late for 1:48😉

Choppa Nutta
... pr 1/24th😉 😄

Christian Bruer
as well as for scale 1/72 and smaller😉 😎

Łukasz Gliński
Nah, why only 350? 😉 -> HMS Starling | Album by Christian Bruer (1:1250)

Christian Bruer
Yep, as I mentioned - and smaller, much smaller😄

Choppa Nutta
haha, yes we know, we've seen, all of them jewels Christian 👍 😄
however ....
as a fan of your work it would be nice to see what you could do in 1/48th scale😉 😄
.... seeing as we never have seen you do 1/48th..
..... and seeing as you have 80 1/48th scale kits in your stash😉 😄 😄 😄

Christian Bruer
Hehe, Choppa, I feel honored by your kind words🙂 🙂 🙂

Yep I know about the remains of my quarterscale period, but I cannot seperate myself of most of the kits😄

By the way, I placed most of my quarterscales on Modellversium, the side is German, but the photos.....well take a look😉

modellversium.de/gal..rate-miniatures.html

modellversium.de/gal..n-grand-phoenix.html

Cheers, Christian

Michael Phillips
Christian's Demon was the inspiration for building my Demon last year. It is really an amazing build (his).

Stephan Ryll
Yes you can 🙂 1:48 Christian, most impressive 👍

Choppa Nutta
yeah really lovely work !! 🙂

Christian Bruer
Your Demon too Michael 👍

Thx mates🙂

Choppa Nutta
... if you added a 1/35th figure to some of your dioramas you would have an instant model of modeller diorama .... 😄
Would be a cute dio to do hey, a 1/35th figure sitting at the bench, paint brush in hand putting the final touches on a 1/350 Skyhawk 🙂

just been browsing through your albums, lots of great work Christian

Clifford Keesler
Nice.

Markus Kutsch The Plastic Bench
Top work...as always 🙂

Christian Bruer
Many thx mates 🙂

@Choppa, hehe yes good idea! I've seen a similar diorama at SMW in Telford for a couple of years, displaying a ship modeler and his radio controlled ship model. I guess figure was scale 1/35 and ship model 1/2400.

Cheers, Christian

Choppa Nutta
Sounds cool, I'd like to see that 🙂
I have a few 1/24th figures and I've thought about getting a couple of 1/144 Spits etc. for a
"Day at the RC Club" dio,
perhaps with them laughing at someone just having crashed,
RC accidents can often be very amusing, if a tad expensive 🙂

Christian Bruer
no problem Choppa😉

scalemixes | Album by Christian Bruer

Cheers, Christian

Clifford Keesler
yes R/C crashes can be very expensive, I know. I would not want to lose one of the modern Turbine powered jets. LOL.

Choppa Nutta
my most expensive RC crash cost me at least £400, at least, if not more .... I was gutted !
aside from the expense of it all, my heli was flying so sweet and super smooth, looped and rolled great,
was never quite the same afterwards 🙁
Glad I wasn't flying a turbine that day .... 🙂

Clifford Keesler
My most expensive R/C crash was a twin ducted fan F-4J, that one cost me almost 900.00 As a mater of fact it was the last time I ever flew an R/c airplane, though I have like 6 of them hanging in the basement. I fly electric R/c Helio's and drones now. I have 4 Helio's and 2 drones. One of my R/c planes is a EDF F-104C Starfighter, built but never flown. LOL.

Choppa Nutta
it's a money pit alright😉 😄
but has been rather rewarding overall, I must get back into but recently I've been getting into paragliding 🙂

Clifford Keesler
Now that is an expensive sport. But very fun. I do not think I have the vision or good enough coordination to fly R/C aircraft anymore, but I will admit I sure do miss it.

Choppa Nutta
actually I got all my paragliding gear including checks etc. for less than a single helicopter lesson !
less than my big crash, but I did buy second hand😉
If you've got access to some nice hills slope soaring combat gliders is great fun as you can crash all day and carry on flying 🙂

Clifford Keesler
I have to go about 2 hrs south and there are some nice bluff,s and foothills to the Ozark mountains, my son lives there. I will have to think about giving that a try. I have a couple of regular sailplane kits buried in the basement, I am sure I could still handle them. LOL.

Choppa Nutta
I like all RC aviation but gliding is particularly nice as you can flt for hours at a time 🙂
Combat gliding is great fun, especially if you have an opponent to knock out of the sky

Some videos of us all having some fun on our local hills
Youtube Video

Youtube Video

Christian Bruer
Looks like The Red Baron and his Flying Circus😄 Interesting hobby, nice landscape and thx for sharing this cool videos 👍

I*m not with R/C modeling, but my father was for a long time ago. I have so many interests in static scale modeling, so there is no time for another time consumting hobby.
Anyhow, back to static modelmaking and a Harrier that just stand on four legs. I wasn't sure if everything will went well, so I made a dry fit of the undercarriage. The Airfix team made a very well job, everything fit perfect and all four wheels touch the ground 👍
The fuselage and wing section is finaly sanded and the pylons are in place. There is some filling and sanding on the inside of the pylons required. Filling is already done and need some time to dry.

Cheers, Christian

Markus Kutsch The Plastic Bench
@choppa
Thanks Mate.Looks indeed like lots of fun.Got to get such an Airplane.Looks like they are nearly undestroyable 🙂
Perfect for my Son and me.
Where to get such plane?
@Christian
You are a Master at your work.Top,Mate!👍👍👍

Christian Bruer
Many thx Markus 🙂

Choppa Nutta
@Markus.. PM me and I'll chuck some info your way if you'd like 🙂
Yeah Danny and Andy made a couple of nice videos of days out on the hill 🙂

Anyhow back to the Harrier, nice to see it on its legs Christian, more detailed than a 1/48th Harrier 🙂

Daniel Mysak
Really nice work on your Harrier so far, will get an impressiv model when finished. I got the kit in my stash too, will make an AV-8S out of it, your album will be a good guide for some extra detailing. 👍

Alec K
Looks like the gun pods "hug" the fuselage very well. Was a lot of fitting/sanding required?

Clifford Keesler
Looking most Impressive Christian, your skills amaze me. @ Choppa, those are some awesome videos. It looks like a pure blast.

Christian Bruer
Thank you very much mates🙂

@Alec, yep there was some sanding required to make them proper fit. I used a round scalpel blade to remove the material and to get them in shape. That works much better than sanding, bacause you have to remove some material inside because of the fuselage profile.

Cheers, Christian

Alec K
Got it 👍 It's amazing how much work one can do with just a scalpel blade. It's a much under-appreciated tool in our arsenal 🙂

Roland Sachsenhofer
Christian, you are not only just using a scalpel but you also have the skills of a surgeon....
I joy to study all that precision-work!

Cesar Muniz
Great Christian! looking amazing! I have this one now on my stash, looking forward to see how your´s turns out! keep it up.

Christian Bruer
Thx Alec, Roland and Cesar🙂

I hate sanding solid resin to get a proper fit, and wherever possible I try to trim it with a scalpel. I use sanding paper only for the final alignment. To me it works perfect😉

Cheers, Christian

Choppa Nutta
I use the scalpel a lot too, great for trimming burrs and flash etc.