Hasegawa 1/48 scale AV-8B Harrier II Plus

Kit: No. PT 28
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Hasegawa, imported by Dragon Models USA, 1315 John Reed Court, City of Industry, CA 91745, 866-365-8721, www.dragonmodelsusa.com
Price: $29.95
Comments: Injection-molded, 170 parts (4 vinyl), decals
Pros: Good exterior details, proper canopy shape, good decals
Cons: Some fit problems, no harness detail on seat, color recommendations are inaccurate

Following its fine 1/72 scale family of Harrier IIs is Hasegawa's new 1/48 scale "jump jet." The first is the U.S. Marines radar-equipped "plus" version. The kit features Hasegawa's usual fine recessed panel lines. The clear parts showed some blemishes, and the more-than-hemispherical canopy has a mold parting line down the middle that must be polished away. Hasegawa chose to represent the ejection system's canopy-shattering detonation cord with decals instead of trying to mold it.

Options include positionable engine nozzles (mounted on poly caps inside the fuselage), cannon fairings or ventral strakes, drop tanks, a Litening II targeting pod, Sidewinder missiles, and openable speed brakes.

The well-printed decal sheet has markings for two aircraft: VMA-231 "Ace of Spades" and VMA-223 "Bulldogs."

The Harrier has an odd shape, so the breakdown of the parts is equally unusual. Various scoops, fairings, and antennas are molded separately. The breakdown suggests that Hasegawa will be able to release all the different variants of the Harrier II, including two-seat and British versions.

Cockpit detail is sparse for this scale; the ejection seat is OK, but you'll have to add a harness to improve its appearance.

The only assembly wrinkle I encountered was the critical attachment of the wing to the fuselage. Add the lower wing surfaces to the fuselage first, then add the upper surface. If you glue the lowers to the upper first, you'll have to bend the wing quite a bit to get it to fit over the fuselage. Also, the leading edge extension assembly doesn't fit cleanly and filler is required at the rear seam on top and underneath the extension. Careful trimming and dry-fitting the intakes to the forward fuselage will result in a good fit without filler.

After painting the model and applying the decals, I discovered the color recommendations were wrong. The top color should be FS 36118 gunship gray. My topside insignias and stencils just about disappeared on the incorrect blue gray. The decals went on fine with Gunze Sangyo Mr. Mark Softer.

The finished model looks great, but I found a couple of problems. There's a noticeable kink in the top surfaces of the wings about mid-span, and I haven't been able to document this on the real aircraft. Also, the two air scoops at the top of the intakes restrict the movement of the sliding canopy. It seems that the nose should droop a bit more, too.

Nevertheless, it looks like a Harrier with all its odd shapes and the bug-eyed canopy. I put 25 hours into it, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the Harrier family!

- Jon Hergenrother