Subject: Re: Hasegawa Hovering Harrier GR MK7 by Andy Harsanto
From: "Submissions for ARC" <[email-masked]>
To: "Andy Harsanto" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:37:14 -0700

Hi,
I just wanted to let you know your article went on ARC today.  Thanks again for sending it in.

Steve Bamford
Aircraft Resource Center
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com

Live like there is no tomorrow;
Love like you've never been hurt.
Work like you don't need the money.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Andy Harsanto 
  To: [email-masked] 
  Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 8:40 AM
  Subject: Hasegawa Hovering Harrier GR MK7 by Andy Harsanto

  "1/48 Hasegawa "Hovering" Harrier GR MK.7" 

  by Andy Harsanto
  --------------------

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  "The Hovering Harrier".

  The aircraft it self is already famous so I don't want to drill down into historical and specification which you guys could find in many websites. This Hasegawa kit has been available for long time so it's not new and comes with Hasegawa trade mark of an accurate and quality material. What make a bit different from the others basically is the pose that I made for this kit. After thinking for quite sometimes and looking for ideas it struck me. Harrier best feature is the ability to hover, but so far no kit or after market resin or mods which provide this pose. Rather than a normal sitting on the ground pose or the flying pose, I choose to set the kit into the hovering pose, which is the best feature of Harrier. 

  Research

  To do so, I've done lot's of reasearch from reference books, magazines, and photos from websites also from the Harrier video. Searching if anyone have done this pose with some instruction on how to do it. I found minimal information on this. One of the key challenge is to pose the flaps to lowered position. Photos around the books and websites do not show details, especially on how it move and how the mechanics on this flaps. With this photos and some other references showing the lowered flaps and with some guessing. I embark with this project.

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  Construction

  For more details of the mods made during the project, you could find in the "Project" section of my website (it's in Bahasa Indonesia). It's started with cutting all the flaps and aileron. I did this while it's unglued, so it need to be cut from upper and lower portion. See picture #3 above. Once cut I reconstruct the whole flap using styrene sheet (0.3 and 0.1), by looking at the photos trying to imitate the figures, closing any gaps with styrine pieces and later on with some putty.  See picture #4 showing the completed piece. It's done for both side. 

  Another modification is done to the air intake area on the additional air intake cover. In the kit only the upper half which is sloted open, a usual condition for static pose on the ground (no air flowing). However when it's hovering all the additional air intake cover is fully open. This is quite a challenge with a little room to play, I use the Hasegawa trytool to saw loose the remaining closed air intake cover. Refer to picture #5 below, once it's open then I add styrene 0.1mm sheet imitating the open cover. Done it for both side.

  Actually after this steps I plan to move to normal construction steps. However observing the picture another facts struck me, where all the undercarriege are hanging low due to gravity. Thus all undercarriage pieces are longer in length. I decided to go all the way, started with modifying the undercarriege pieces by adding a similar size cylindrical plastics using heated unused sprues (streched it to the diameter similar to the shock absorber cylinder size). Cut it, glue it, doing it several times until satisfy with the results. Picture #6 above shows the difference before and after the mods (using the new pieces from the AV-8B II kits). Don't forget to cut and re-glue the retracting joints or just try bending it (careful here or you endup with quite a mess).

  Once all the major mods done. I went to the normal construction steps. Which start with the cockpit. Here I end up with another major overhaul of the cockpit. Saw the ejection seat is wrong version for GR MK7 (supposed to be Martin Baker 12A). The kit provide the ejection seat for AV-8B (Hasegawa you could have done better or probably some version do have this one?). Rather than buying the resin version, I already in a rush to start the kit, I decided to DIY the seat by using the unused ejection from the F-18 hasegawa kit which to me much more resembling the Martin Baker structure. As it will be posed with the canopy closed then the details of the seat will not be noticeable enough from outside. The mods is done on the head rest portion, reconstructed using styerene and some unused pieces from other kits. (it's not real but looked realistic enough to me). Painted black, adding some decals to show similarity with the real photos, numbering of the seat is totally random but looked cool when finished. Refer to Picture #7. Another cockpit mods is done to the MFD/radar screen using reflective material which looks asthonishing (sparkling materials for wedding gown) The green hue and reflection is dramatic like the real screen even when there is light it's also reflected to the helmet visor. wow. It's not so apparent in the photos, but you should try this. Adding details by replacing the HUD bracket with aftermarket PE set (only use the HUD pieces, other are saved for open cockpit pose, got two PE set, actually thinking of using the kit transparant, but the Canopy is so huge and transparant all details are apparent. To be more realistic in GR MK7, pilot used to put a map or mission paper in the right side of the instrument cover, so there it is, and another small reflective small sensor on the left side also re-created. For the pilot I displaced the oxy hose to the left side of the masker, and add the safety jacket (used by the harrier pilot) using a tack glue (easier to mold) and paint it. Glued, painted with base coat, details and such. the final one can be seen in several Picture #8, #9, #10.

  After this cockpit construction all the steps are following the guide. Only for glueing the lowered flap and aileron which is done after all body construction is completed. I choose to glue it before it's painted to have stronger bonding. One issue is on the hot jet exhause protection plate where it's too thick. Thus I grind it to make it thin. So it can be attached last when all things has been painted (this will be painted rusty exhaust colors later on). Small modification are done to the small exhaust in the nose area as it's wide open without any details I add some fins in the small exhaust (bottom part of nose area). To add good looking colored IR nose (blue color), I put a small plate inside the nose and put a cut a round type misile head of some unused kit (to imitate IR camera lens) and luckily in the right size to be put inside the nose and painted Tamiya clear blue (this is done at the last stage before putting the clear nose). I also put a small pitot tube inside the left side of air intake.  Oh one more thing rather than carrying a life missile I mod the sidewinder to be the practice mode often carried by the RAF Navy for practice (though I think I colored it wrong, later part).

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  Painting

  It's started with the white color of the air intake and all undercarriege area. (paint the compressor blade with chrome silver of model master (MM), and cover it with masking tape once dried). The air intake area is quite unrealistic as it's having all the joints open. Thus I put Tamiya white putty to cover all the joints. The outer most air intake pieces (with additional air intake cover) is glued before painting white inside to have seamless cover). Masking the wihite color air intake with Tamiya tapes leaving the outer most edges for body color (grey) later on.  Put the masked canopy and glued it firm. All ready for base coat painting. As I don't have RAF ref paints. I use the lower grey of Dark ghost gray (MM) and the upper portion Dark Gull Gray (MM). It's look quite similar to the ref photos that I've got. 
  Once the base coat finished, all decals is put into the body, as I don't have any aftermarket decals for more options I used the kit's provided decal but not using the fancy color option, instead using minimal decals for operation mode. So I leave all those celebration markings.  I cannot recreate a round white decal supposed to be in the vertical fin for this squadron.

  After all decals completed I cover with clear spray from Tamiya can (faster) making all decals lying flat (also using the Mr. Hobby decal fix solution when applying decal and wait to dry completely, if not decal would shrink when clear spray applied horrible experience). After clear coating the pastel dark grey slimy solution (added liquid soap pastel powder) is applied to fill up all the recessed panel. Wiped clean after dry leaving a nice panel accents. Rather than putting directly the flat clear final coat, first I air brush a neutral gray extra thinned to even the decal color, the upper and lower grey color, so it's looked natural (a bit washed out). Finally a semi flat clear final coating is applied. For dirty looks especially in the area of jet exhaust, tail, a bit in air intake area and bottom part of the plane, I used a thinned flat black (I'm actually using thinned automotive paints this time to have quicker dry time). I air brush several stained color to the tail area, bottom area and several air intake area to make it look dirty. Also the moveable nozzle is dirtied or accented using this black flat (of course after painted with alcad jet exhaust for hot exhaust nozzle and alcad magnessium color for the front compressed air nozzle). 

  Final construction

  I put all the detailing components including undercarriage parts, extra fuel tanks, practice missile, pitot tubes, transparat parts, etc, into it's intended places. Create a 3mm steel wire and wooden base to hang the aircraft in hovering mode. All the 2 months (every weekend construction) works is completed. Giving lot's of satisfcation to complete "The hovering Harrier". Please find several pose (edited with software) to show the hovering acts.

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  Photos and text © by Andy Harsanto