Tamiya | No. 61026 | 1:48 | BAe Sea Harrier FRS.1 (WIP)
Not particularly impressed with this old Tamiya kit and I haven't even got to the dreaded exhaust nozzles yet! I fell into the trap others seem to have also. Which is it's a Tamiya kit, therefore it must be good... It isn't.
Testing fit. It's a bit sh@t!
There's a lot of work gone on here just to get them this good (which isn't great!) Whoever came up with this idea of joining them as two halves? I assume it was cheap?
Keeping the engine relatively clean looking. Highlighted a few details.
It's loosely based on the instructions for colour, but with some added copper and red highlights.
You won't see any of this, but just in case.
Joined. This bit was ok.
They're getting better - it's been a lot of work to get them even this good. Seen here with some Vallejo gloss primer.
All stuck together - engine went in pretty sweet.
Ready for priming.
Primed and being wet & dry smoothed...
Testing fit for pylons. And more general rub downs!
Adding back in some destroyed raised panel line detail. Really not happy with the air intakes, it's like they're from a completely different scale and kit.
OK, so in the end I decided that I couldn't stand the ridiculously poor fitting air intakes, nor the exhaust nozzles. So back to the beginning, I'm rubbing everything down!
I've started on a path of filler/sand, filler/sand and finally a touch more filler/sanding, before some final sanding to get a shape more akin to something smooth.
Tried Revell (two part mix) filler. But it's too thick/heavy for this. I'm gonna go back to the Vallejo acrylic stuff and a lot of heavy primer paint passes in layers over time to build it up.
Getting better, it's long since stopped being accurate but at least it's looking nicer!
So now we have a better shape, I've got to add some of the detail (which is all raised panel line) back in.
This looks a lot worse under a macro lens than it does to the naked eye!
WORK IN PROGRESS. UPDATED: 14/2/23...
Коментарі
34 17 January 2022, 12:08
Arif SaeedBlimey Neil, how many projects you got on the go ?, defo watching this one bud !
17 January 2022, 19:06
NeilHello mate. Er, yeah you're right!... I may have gone a bit build crazy the end of last year 😜
18 January 2022, 13:01
NeilI'm nearing the end of/or have finished multiple projects. So I thought I'd revisit this dodgy old Tamiya kit that I'd started a couple of years ago (and shelved) to see if I could progress it into something halfway decent? Those exhaust nozzles... I mean really what were they thinking!? haha!
22 June 2023, 10:55
Mark SherwoodOh Man! I remember this kit, probably the worst Tamiya kit going. I gave up, still in the box half built. But, looking at your perseverance on the build it's looking good. Sterling work on the engine, cockpit and thrusters. 👍🥸🤟
22 June 2023, 12:45
DanielYeah I remember as well... I had restarted modelling and everyone was like "get Tamiya, they're amazing, build themself, hardly need glue..." And one day I saw this kit and thought "Oh, tamiya! I'm not really interested in Harriers but for that price I'll treat myself to a self-building-precision-engineered superkit!" - I was in for a disappointment😄 (Now I check with this site before I buy 👍)
Great work with this Neil, you're the true master of vintage models 🙂🤘🏻
22 June 2023, 16:43
NeilHiya mates 🙂 Thanks both for dropping by. You're both very kind to say such nice things 🙂 I'll try my best to wrestle it into some sorta Harrieresque shape 👍
I 100% agree with you both... I purchased it back in 2019 when I though I'd get back into modelling and (stupidly) assumed that this Tamiya kit would be an easy build - oh dear is all I can politely say! I too have 'parked it' in-between other builds many times, but rest assured in the longer-term It won't beat me! @Daniel - yeah good plan, I was foolish not to.
25 July 2023, 14:18
J35JGreat progress! Taking a chair.
Went in exactly the same trap as you, Back into modeling after 30years. Through I did a bargain buying a Tamiya kit for a fraction of the price comparing with the Kinetic kit. The kit is really a lemon but good for practicing your building skills.
Finalized one myself some months ago. The hatch behind the cockpit is a real challenge fixing into position.
21 October 2023, 18:56
NeilHi J35J 🙂 Thanks mate! And thanks for the tip. Yeah I'm getting there, slowly! I've added some more imagery it's a long hard slog on this one for sure.
5 December 2023, 09:44
NeilHello Jos 🙂👋 welcome. I apologise in advance as this won't be one of my best! But it will hopefully end up looking more (shaped) like a Sea Harrier than this kit did when it left the factory 👍
5 December 2023, 15:42
J35JThe SHAR is coming together in a great way Neil. You will prevail!👍🏻
How did you get the raised panel line back in?
5 December 2023, 19:08
CaptGPFI admire your tenacity! With all the work you did on the intakes and nozzles - this kit is definitely a labor of love. 😀. Can't wait to see you finish it!
J35J, you can restore panel lines using a pair of slightly thicker masking tapes, fill in the middle with puttly and sand it smooth before removing it. I think finescale had a YouTube video on how to do that.
19 December 2023, 06:51
