AV-8B Harrier II

Trumpeter, 1/32 scale

Reviewed by Andrew Judson

Trumpeter's 1/32 scale AV-8B Harrier II is available online from Squadron

I was delighted when I heard that Trumpeter was releasing a 1/32 scale kit of the AV-8B Harrier II, but also a little nervous about what it would be like.

Now that I have it, I am very happy indeed, not with just having the kit but with what is inside the box.

There are 423 parts in total, made up from 19 sprues of grey plastic, 1 sprue of clear parts, five vinyl tyres, a small sheet of nine photo etched parts, two decal sheets, a 16 page instruction book with well drawn diagrams, and two colour paint guide sheets. One of the guide sheets covers markings for all the ordinance and the other a double sided sheet with paint and marking guides for the two options you have to choose from, being, VMA-231 "Ace of Spades" USMC and VMA-223 "Bulldogs" USMC.

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Thumbnail panels:

There is a lot in this box. I have to say I was impressed. Surface details are very nice, with crisp minimal rivet detail and large smooth surface areas like on the real aircraft. Panel lines are well done and not over the top with depth and width, and with a coat of paint and a wash should look to scale.

Clear parts are very thin.

Looking at the instructions, you can see that the assembly process is not too complex and well thought out.
Throughout the construction, there are some photo-etched parts included that are used mainly in the cockpit, these being the framework for the HUD and the seat harnesses. These should be easy to use and add some nice detail. I would recommend using a CA glue or Gator Glue when applying these. The final etched part is used at the rear of the cockpit on the fuselage.

There is also an engine in this kit, which at first I thought you might be able to have on display out of the plane, but looking at the instructions, it is needed inside as that large intake fan needs to be there and also the fact that some parts are connected to the motor, such as the jet nozzles on each side. I guess if you really wanted you could do some surgical cutting and open up the inspection panels, but I have to admit this is not something I want to tackle.

This kit as a whole seems to be pretty accurate, although one concern is the weapons pods. The left side pod is for the plane’s machine gun, and the instructions also show this for the right hand side, but it is actually for ammunition. Fortunately this is a small and easy-to-fix issue.

Six sprues of the different ordinance and two long range fuel tanks are also offered. Ordinance included is, MK-117, AGM-65, AIM-9L, MK-82 Snake Eye, MK-82 500lb and GUB-12 rockets and bombs. The instructions also have a diagram showing you where and how many of these this plane will carry. Quite a deadly payload.

Decals offer two marking options, and these look to be of high quality, and good register.

One sheet is for the aircraft markings, while a second sheet is provided for ordnance.

Now which version will I choose?

I guess its pretty obvious that I like this kit, and I do have to say, that it appears that Trumpeter has researched and got this one pretty well done. I am sure that there are other aspects that could be improved on or corrected, but as an out of the box build, Trumpeter’s big 1/32 scale AV-8B Harrier II will still look very. It also appears from the parts breakdown, that other variants of this plane will likely be released in the future. Cool!

I highly recommend this kit to all.

Text Copyright © 2010 by Andrew Judson
Images Copyright © 2010 by Brett Green
Page Created 15 March, 2010
Last updated 15 March, 2010

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