Harrier GR Mk.7/9
Limited Edition

Eduard, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

Eduard's 1/48 scale Harreir GR.7/9 is available online from Squadron.com

The British Aerospace Harrier II was a second-generation vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) jet aircraft used previously by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and, between 2006 and 2010, the Royal Navy (RN).

The aircraft was the latest development of the Harrier Jump Jet family, and was derived from the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II. Initial deliveries of the Harrier II were designated in service as Harrier GR5; subsequently upgraded airframes were redesignated accordingly as GR7 and GR9.

Under the Joint Force Harrier organisation, both the RAF and RN operated the Harrier II, including routine operational deployments on board the navy's Invincible class aircraft carriers. The Harrier II participated in numerous conflicts, making significant contributions in combat theatres such as Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The type's main function was as a platform for air interdiction and close air support missions; the Harrier II was also used for presence projection and reconnaissance duties.

The Harrier II served alongside the Sea Harrier in Joint Force Harrier.

In December 2010, budgetary pressures led to the early retirement of all Harrier IIs from service, at which point it was the last of the Harrier derivatives remaining in British service. The decision to retire was controversial as there was no immediate fixed-wing replacement in its role or fixed-wing carrier-capable aircraft left in service

In the long term, the Harrier II is to be replaced by the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.*

Hasegawa's Harriers in 1/48 scale

Hasegawa released their first 1/48 scale Harrier, the AV-8B Harrier II Plus, in late 2003. This was followed by a series of variants including the British GR.5, GR.7, GR.9 and altetrnative boxings on the same themes with new decals.

The kit was well received upon release and is fairly typical of Hasegawa's kits of that era. Surface textures were up to Hasegawa's excellent standards with crisp but fine recessed panel lines, but cockpit detail was barely adequate and the use of inserts, while maximising the number of variants from a single set of moulds, complicated construction somewhat.

In recent years, Eduard has been supplementing their own original kits with limited edition packaging of other companies’ products plus BRASSIN resin, Eduard photo-etch, masks and colourful new decals.

The latest of these is Eduard's Harrier GR Mk.7/9 package based on Hasegawa's kit.

Hasegawa's plastic sprues are light grey. There are 157 plastic parts, and of these 14 are marked not for use.

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The 14 BRASSIN resin parts include the ejection seat, pilot's seat cushopn, back cushion, wheels plus outrigger undercarriage forks.

The inner hubs of the main wheels are provided as separate pieces. Casting quality and detail of all the BRASSIN parts is excellent.

Most of the coloured photo-etched parts are destined for the cockpit, including side consoles, instrument panel, screens, harness straps and other small details.

The brass fret adds yet more detail to the undercarriage legs, bays, exterior and interior.

In summary, the Eduard resin and photo-etch provide a much needed boost, especially to the sparse cockpit and undercarriage, bringing the kit up to 21st century standards.

The canopy is provided in two parts and they may be posed open or closed. The quality of the clear parts is good but there is a prominent centre seam that will need to be dealt with. Some careful scraping and polishing should rectify this problem. A nice touch is the inclusion of a pair of decals for the explosive cord in the top of the canopy.

Self-adhesive die-cut masks are provided for the canopies and the wheels.

Hasegawa's Plastic Parts

Hasegawa seems to have planned this model to ensure a minimum of ejector pin marks.

Blow-in doors are supplied as separate parts, so they can be positioned either open or closed. The nozzles are connected via internal axles (using the ever-present poly caps), and may be swivelled into different positions on the completed model. The nozzles themselves are cleverly designed with the splitter plates moulded onto one interior half.

A good selection of stores and options is supplied, including a pair of AIM-9L Sidewinders, 300 Gallon drop tanks, gun pods (or optional lateral strakes if these are not fitted) and an AN/AAQ-28 Litening II Pod. The all-flying horizontal stabilizers are each mounted via a single stout pin, so these parts may be positioned neutral, up or dropped.

The speed brake is moulded as a separate part that should be posed open when the Harrier is on the ground.

Hasegawa's kit was engineered to permit the later release of virtually any current Harrier, including British and two-seater versions. Thismeans that the fuselage in particular is quite a complex assembly. The nose is made up from two halves; followed by another pair of separate parts for the cockpit area; then the main fuselage with a left and right half but also requiring a separate belly part. The fin and fuselage strake adds another four parts. So that is a total of eleven parts just for the basic fuselage shape, not including the intakes and blow-in doors. Considering Hasegawa's erratic reputation for fit, extreme care should be taken when aligning and assembling these parts.

The wing is much simpler than the fuselage, and it is pleasing to see that both 70% and 100% LERX are included.

Bumps, lumps, antennae, scoops and chaff/flare are all supplied as individual parts

Markings

Markings are provided for six varied machines with colourful markings.

One large decal sheet is included, which also contains stencil markings.

The decals have been perfectly printed by Cartograf.

Hasegawa's kits are still the best mainstream late RAF Harriers / AV-8B Harrier IIs available in 1/48 scale, although they were always a bit sparse in detail.

Eduard's Limited Edition package adds meaningful resin and photo-etched parts to Hasegawa's sprues to deliver a best-of-both-worlds result.

If you want a late British Harrier with crisp, petite surface features AND a high level of detail, Eduard now gives you a solution in one box!

Highly Recommended.

* Historical summary courtesy of Wikipedia

Thanks to Eduard for the sample.

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2016 by Brett Green
Page Created 12 September, 2016
Last updated 13 September, 2016

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