I love Sea Harriers.
To me they represent an irrefutable solution to Labour Government cutbacks
that was hard to ignore. The Sea Harrier was eminently capable in its niche
role, and was a defininitive piece of hardware in the Falklands
conflict. The SHAR's service life is testament to its ability, and it's taken us
until now to develop anything that could do the job the Harrier was intended for
(JSF). Graceful in its appearance, the Sea Harrier is the embodiment of a
golden era of British aviation history and aeronautical innovation that is key
to present developments and idealogy. To me, the Sea Harrier has a very well
defined position in aviation history.
In terms of build,
this kit has it's nuances. There is of course, the option to open up the back of
the Harrier to display the Rolls Royce Pegasus engine, with the suggestion that
you can choose to leave the panel unsecured - so that you can lift the panel to
reveal the engine... achieving harmony between the adjoing panel lines proved to
be challenging - so I glued the whole thing shut and applied a fair amount of
filler (as per the rest of the kit) to achieve the desired lines of the
fuselage. The jet nozzles were also problematic, and needed to be literally
'shoe-horned' into position. Overall though, I enjoyed building this kit and
initial effort is rewarded by clean, graceful lines. Watch those decals
though... go glossy. Mine silvered badly, my only regret with this build.