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The Harrier is such a unique aircraft it's a wonder
that more model companies don't offer them. Monogram is the only manufacturer I am aware of that produces
the AV8B in a larger scale like 1/48th. I purchased this model several years ago at our company gift shop
(formely McDonnel Douglas) with every intent of building it. However, it got put aside until last year
when I decided to finally assemble it. Once again this was to be a display model for my desk at work, so no
need for landing gear but during fuse assembly I installed a hardwood block for the stand. That doesn't
mean there's not any work involved. The out-rigger gear needs to be displayed in the stowed position so
some work is involved here as the strut door is part of the outrigger gear strut itself. It
would seem a simple matter of just gluing it in place but the strut is molded in the
compressed position and when the gear retracts it's actually extended since the weight is
off. So, you need to cut the strut with the wheel portion then glue that in place after the
door is glued closed.
The fit between the wing and fuse is so-so. There are
no recessed panel lines. Like so many Monogram kits all the panel lines are raised. So these are lost when
sanding the seams smooth. Not a big problem. Besides I wasn't going to rescribe this kit. I really don't go
in for that personally. It's interesting to note that Monogram chose to only open the sucker doors on the
top portion of the nacelle inlet. These doors are spring loaded in the closed
position and only open as needed when the engine requires more air. I thought about closing them but when I tried to
fit them closed the fit was terrible so I built it per the kit. I had intended to finish the cockpit but when I was gluing
the canopy I really messed it up with CA. I was really kicking myself and I ended up painting it blue after I
sanded out my mistakes. This was before I learned of micro-mesh. Oh well. If you were
ever to remove the canopy you'd find a painted and detailed cockpit with a nicely
done MB ejection seat. But I'm the only one that knows it's there. (sigh)
Monogram is nice enough to include drop tanks,
sidewinders and Mk 82 bombs. You need ordanance with a Harrier, right? They also give you the option of gun
and ammo pods as well as strakes. I opted to install the strakes. Overall the kit went together very well.
The pylons, armament, tanks and exhaust nozzles were left off for paint. I gave the whole model an overall
coat of Haze Grey from a Tamiya spray. It was a pretty close match. The instructions show the grey/green camo
scheme but I like the newer 2 tone grey. The false shilouette on the upper wing was done with Testors
gunship grey. I used a template cut from manilla folder and held above the surface a few centimeters
and sprayed the gunship grey through that. It gave a softer edge than probably should be but I like it.
The decals were next. Monogram gives a pretty good decal sheet with markings for VMA-331, ":BumbleBees"
out of MCAS Cherry Point. I'm not sure that VMA-331 sported the 2 tone grey but it's possible. The decals
silvered badly, however. Even though the model had a nice gloss coat on it. I was a bit disappointed. It
takes a while to apply all the data (and there's a good amount of it) but the effect is well worth it. I
then installed the pylons, nozzles and weapons (after they had been painted, of course) and gave the model a
final coat of clear. The model sits on one of my 'famous' stands and looks good sitting on my desk at
work.
Jeff
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