Trumpeter 1/32 AV-8B Harrier review - The beginning

[Barry]

Thanks for you 1st hand insite.

 

Looking forward to the remainder of you review.

 

Barry

[Dave Roof]

Gentlemen,

 

Just a quick update to further cover the nose area, which is what really throws the look of the kit off. I'll try to describe the notes in the photo as best I can.

 

OK, the distance from where the windscreen meets the fuselage to the nose cone hinge line on the real aircraft measures 13.5 inches. The angle of this small area should also run evenly with the windscreen itself. I used a small metal ruler and laid it on its edge along the centerline of the windsreen until it touched the nose of the kit (C in the photo). As luck would have it, the distance from where it touched the nose, to the forward edge of the windscreen measured 27/64ths of an inch.........that is 13.5 scale inches!

 

This means the nose cone hinge line needs to move forward 3/32nds of an inch (which is obviously 3 scale inches). This works out perfectly as the aft end of the nose fuselage piece extends too far back, and the forward end of the nose fuselage piece is too short in relation to the cockpit/canopy area.

 

The back portion of the fuselage piece, where it meets the compressor blades, should end where the Red line is placed. However, I am not 100% sure how this would affect the placement of the compressor blade piece (part G10) if it was changed.

 

The nose wheel well also sits too far aft, and the panels along the bottom don't match up to the real aircrafts measurements. Once the nose cone hinge line is moved forward, everything lines up when measured from that point moving back. Does that make sense or have I lost you yet?

 

For lack of the known term to describe the detail marked as 'A' in the photo, I'll simply call them 'slits' for now. First, the slits should be flush with the fuselage. They are also too far back. The Red lines show where they are on the kit and the Blue lines show where they should be.

 

I have some Renshape back at the house and will be home for Thanksgiving. I'll bring it back with me and make an attempt at a new nose piece to correct the profile forward of the windscreen. This coupled with repositioning of the panel lines will make the kit look much, much better. If I can't do it, I'll provide all necessary photos and measurements to someone else more skilled than I Unless of course Trumpeter takes me up on my offer to help and corrects the plastic.......like they did on their F4F.

 

If you have any questions, or if I need to clarify anything, please let me know.

 

[Ben Brown]

Good news! While they're at it, do you think they can correct the F-100C's tail, nose, and cockpit, too? I can provide reference material.

 

Dave, this is a fantastic review!

 

Ben

 

 

 

Whatever discrepancies noted in this kit will be corrected in the future kits.

 

Capt Dave Mason

IPMS Philippines

IPMS USA

[Dave Roof]

I got the modeling bug and decided to put it to good use before it went away...........'review' is on hold for a few hours while I work on a new cockpit.

 

All measurements taken from the 1/1 cockpit . Due to the width of the fuselage halves, the tub had to be narrowed by a scale half inch and each of the side consoles narrowed by one scale inch. Tonight I'm just going to get the rough shape done. I'll add details a little bit at a time over the next couple of weeks. The cockpit will also include a correct instrument panel for the Day Attack Harrier.

 

So far what I've done fits almost perfectly.......now to hope the rest of it does!

 

Here is my started master with the kit cockpit for comparison:

 

 

Installed in the kit:

 

 

Here is the template for the port side wall with the details drawn in with pencil:

[Barry]

Thanks, Dave

 

This is a "productive" review.

The way to address an issue is with a solution!

 

Barry

[Dave Roof]

One more shot of the cockpit before I call it a night for updates.

 

I imported the cockpit layout for the Day Attack Harrier into CorelDraw from the Natops Flight Manual, then resized it to match the measurements I took. The instrument panel is 25 inches across at its widest point.

 

I scaled Corel to 1/32 scale (3/8" = 1 foot), drew a 25 inch wide box (actually 25/32nds) and reduced the NFM layout until the instrument panel fit in the box. To my surprise again, the side consoles scaled down to the correct size!

 

As you can see in the image, they are a perfect fit. Now I'll use them as templates to add the details. The instrument panel will be built up in layers, again using the reduced drawing as a template.

 

I'm getting my joy back!

 

[Dave Roof]

Due to a request by Mr. Mason on behalf of Trumpeter, I am going to finish up the review in the next two posts. As time permits, I'll edit these replies with more detailed photos and descriptions.

 

 

1. An overall shot of the starboard main fuselage half. With the exception of a few minor errors, it is pretty accurate in outline. There is a mold break line approximately 3 inches from the end (at a panel line), suggesting another variant. All US Harriers (Day Attack, Night Attack, and II Plus) have the same tail, so it is possible this is for a British GR version. I apologize, but I have no knowledge of other Harriers, so don't know for sure.

 

 

2. This close up shows the aft end of the tail. The small oval vent, the U shaped fairing toward the bottom, the antenna's at the very aft end, and the mesh screens are all the wrong shape and size. The location point for the horizontal tails are also very small for 1/32 scale.

 

 

3. This photo shows the forward end of the main fuselage. The fairing marked with the measurements is slightly undersized and sits too far aft. There is a scribed line for the IFR probe on this side as well as the left side, but it should only be on the left side of the fuselage.

 

 

4. On both sides of the fuselage, there is a mold flaw. This area should blend more smoothly. However, a little bit of work with a sanding stick or pad should fix it.

 

 

5. An overall shot of the upper wing.

 

 

6. The small hole on the LERX is the Fire Access opening. Trumpeter has it going down, but it should go back (opening facing forward).

 

 

7. There is a GPS antenna (the square on the aft edge) on the kit, which is understandable as the wing may be used on other variants. However, it was not on the Day Attack Harrier and there is no mention in the instructions to remove it. Simply sand it off for this version.

 

 

8. The AV-8B has a peculiar 'kink' in its wing. Unfortunately, Trumpeter not only missed the kink, but added a strange 'pinch' to the wing. You can see in the shadows how the wing pinches at the small fence on the leading edge of the wing.

[Dave Roof]

1. An overall shot of the lower wing halves.

 

 

2. The wing tip has some detail that is simply not found on the real aircraft. First, the wing tip light is depicted in a way that make it stand out from the wing. It is actually flush and will need to be sanded down, then rescribed if necessary. Also, the raised portion around the vent should be sanded away.

 

 

3. The vertical tail is pretty accurate shape wise, but it is missing a few panel lines. Also, the small square panel with the oval inside should only be on the left side of the tail.

 

 

4. The main wheels are also in need of some help. As you can see in the photo, they are too concave and just do not capture the look of the real wheel very well.

[Dave Roof]

Sprue descriptions:

 

Sprue A: Left and right main fuselage halves.

 

- Fit is very good after cleanup and overall shape is pretty good.

- Panel lines range from very light to moderate, with some missing and others mistakingly added.

- Most of the vents and scoops are either the wrong size and shape, or are in the wrong location.

 

 

Sprue B: Upper and lower wing halves and aft exhaust shields (also includes upper fuselage chaff/flare bucket fairings for Night Attack [NA] and II Plus versions)

 

- Fit of the wings is also very good after cleanup and again, the overall shape is pretty good.

- Panel lines are pretty consistant throughout, but again, suffer from not being accurate.

- Mold break lines for the 100% LERX (NA and II Plus) and different wing tips (British version?) are very visible, but easily removed with light sanding.

- Wing tip navigation lights needs to be sanded flush

- Wing tip formation lights represented by depressions in plastic, should also be flush with surrounding plastic.

- Wing suffers from pinch at center of wing that may prove difficult to fix.

- Fire Access holes at LERX leading edge should go from front to back, instead of top to bottom as molded

- Square GPS dome needs to be removed for Day Attack version

- Do NOT use parts D24 and D25 shown in step 10 of the instructions. The Day Attack Harrier does not have these vents.

 

- Aft Exhaust shields are represented rather well, but would look better in photo-etch in this scale

 

- Upper fuselage chaff/flare bucket fairings (NOT USED) on this version. However, if the same parts are used in the NA and II Plus kits, they are way off and need to be replaced.

 

 

Sprue C: Vertical, Horizontal tails and trailing edge flaps

 

- Fit is good for all parts.

- Panel lines are consistant, but like the wings and fuselage, some are missing and some should not be where they are molded.

- Inboard trailing edge flaps unnecessarily molded in three pieces.

- Attachment pin for horizontal tail is small for this scale, but holds the part well to the fuselage.

 

 

Sprue D: Cockpit, seat, IFR probe, intake parts, lower part of canopy and some vents and scoops.

 

- Cockpit fit is good, but suffers from some inaccuracies.

- Kit includes instrument panel for NA and II Plus versions.

- Intake blow in doors are a little too big (they are 9 x 8 inches, but scale out to 10 x 9 inches) throwing off the look of the intakes from the outside.

- Detail on lower canopy part is very basic for the scale.

 

 

Sprue E: Wheel well, landing gear, LIDS fence and speed brake details

 

- Accuracy of parts is pretty good throughout when compared to photos.

- Main wheels suffer as described previously.

- LIDS fence is accurately shaped, but there are no provisions to add the small extensions used when the strakes are installed in place of the gun pods.

 

 

Sprues F and G: Engine and variable exhaust parts

 

- Variable exhaust parts are incorrectly shaped, but not that noticeable to those unfamiliar with the aircraft.

- Engine is too small and doesn't quite capture the look of the real item.

 

 

Sprue H: MK-82, M-117 and AGM-65

 

- Not very well done. See notes at beginning of review

 

 

Sprue M: Ordnance pylons and strakes

 

- See previous notes

 

 

Sprue N: Fuel tanks

 

- See previous notes

 

 

Sprue Q: Gun Pak

 

- See previous notes

 

 

Sprue R: Canopy and Windscreen

 

- The windscreen is accurate within a scale inch of the real item when compared to measurements.

- Canopy is also accurate and captures the look well.

- Canopy Detonation Cord is depicted by being molded into the canopy, which is unfortunate as it is incorrectly shaped.

 

 

Sprue S: Fuselage nose section

 

- See previous notes

 

 

Sprues WC, WN and WY: Ordnance

 

- See previous notes

 

 

Decal Sheets A and B

 

- Printing looks good with fairly thin carrier film and good registration.

- VMA-231 option compares well to known photos of subject aircraft.

- Lighter gray in VMA-223 option is too tranluscent with darker gray visible underneath.

- Stencils are very basic and in most cases inaccurate.

 

 

Photo-Etch

 

- Seatbelts are very basic and not accurate.

- HUD and rear view mirrors are passable.

- Deck area that is behind the seat is represented by PE. It is not very accurate and not convincing enough in this scale.

 

 

Rubber Tires

 

- Fairly accurate, but missing all details (text for brand name, etc.) In this scale, plastic tires with molded on detail would have been better

 

 

Instruction sheets

 

- Straight forward and easy to follow. No major omissions noted

- Ordnance load chart not entirely accurate though

 

 

 

Overall, my personal opinion of the kit is that it is OK. On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate it about a 5. It is great that we finally have a Harrier in 1/32 scale, but as this is by no means an obscure aircraft, the mistakes made are inexcuseable.

 

While many of the mistakes can easily be fixed with some basic modeling skills and the necessary references, some will be more difficult to fix or simply not worth the trouble to some modelers.

 

As can be read in an earlier post, I have been told the discrepencies noted have been passed on to Trumpeter. It has been suggested that they want to get the details right and may incorporate the changes into the next three releases. We can only hope they are sincere and do in fact make the corrections.

 

Perhaps they will be a little more pro-active in the future and seek the help of modelers knowledgeable on subjects they are going to cover. This would be a positive move for both the modeler and Trumpeter.

 

If you have any comments, questions or concerns about this review, please do not hesitate to email me at the following address:

 

orionmodels@aol.com

 

Dave

[DavidJMason]

Hi Dave and all LSP Harrier fans,

 

I met with Trumpeter Public Relations Director Jackson Xiao in Manila this past weekend and we went over Dave Root's comments on this forum regarding their recently released AV-8B Harrier early version.

 

Jackson will take these comments back to the factory this week and present them to the kit engineering team. They will assess the situation and come up with a plan. I know that the gun pod will be changed and the missing launch rails will be added. But I can't say what they might do about the other discrepancies. As soon as I hear something I will pass it on to you. Certainly there is sufficient time to make sure the next three Harrier versions receive these corrections.

 

By the way the next up 1/32 kits will be the Mig-23 series, the IL-2, the Bf-109G/K series, the A-4 Skyhawk series, and the long awaited A-6 series. We saw the IL-2 and Bf-109 test shots this weekend and they look pretty good.

 

By now you've all heard that Trumpeter will be doing a Bae Jaguar series. Both the French A model and the RAF GR-3 will be done. If you consider yoursef knowledgeable on the Jaguar please contact me and get involved in the development process. Don't wait till it comes out to complain that they didn't get it right. Help Trumpeter get it right.

 

Dave Mason

IPMS Philippines

IPMS USA

davidmasonmd11capt@yahoo.com

[Rob Colvin]

It is great that trumpeter will look into resolving these issues. My question is simply this; does trumpter plan on bringing out some correction kits for those of us who already have the kit?

 

I have 2 flankers (orig issue) you know the ones with the tanked nose, intakes, and clear parts. The newer issues have corrected parts. These parts have never been made available to the public. In short i have several hundred dollars in kits that will require a bunch of resin at a cost to repair.

 

The A 7 / f 100 could use some work, the f 105 too.

 

If can help in anyway by all means let me know.

 

Rob

[LSP_Kevin]

By the way the next up 1/32 kits will be the Mig-23 series, the IL-2, the Bf-109G/K series, the A-4 Skyhawk series, and the long awaited A-6 series. We saw the IL-2 and Bf-109 test shots this weekend and they look pretty good.

 

Thank you David for contributing so positively, both to LSP and to Trumpeter's endeavours to satisfy its customers. I have to wonder though about the need for yet more late-model 109s, given the availability and excellence of Hasegawa's extant kits (and I'm as big a fan of the 109 as anyone).

 

Kev

[Allok]

Great stuff.

I'll be lining up for an Il-2! (as long as it doesn't look like a P-51)

[Eli Raphael]

The A-6 is finally coming?

That's great news!

 

Thanks.

[jbrundt]

It is great that trumpeter will look into resolving these issues. My question is simply this; does trumpter plan on bringing out some correction kits for those of us who already have the kit?

 

It would be nice if Trumpeter would provide corrected replacement parts FOC to those that have already bought these kits and not yet built them but I fear this won't happen.

 

Basically we're stuck with what we've got and would have to buy a new kit to get anything that might be corrected. It would be nice too to be able to tell which Flanker boxing has the "fixed" parts. As of now I know of no way to tell the difference.

 

After seeing Dave's excellent presentation on what's wrong with the kit I'm going to wait and see what happens in the future releases. $120 is a lot to spend on something that needs fixing. I know a lot of folks will say "that looks about right" and for most that may be OK. For others the Harrier is too near and dear and just settling for what's in the box really isn't an option. especially knowing that each time we look at the completed model we'll know it's just not right. Hopefully the issues will be fixed. Right now I'm going to just wait and see. I've waited this long for a 32nd Harrier, another year won't kill me.

 

I know it's been touched on that the kit is relatively inexpensive if bought in Asia but that's comparing apples and oranges. The reality is we pay a higher price in the US due to the exchange rate on the dollar and importer fees/profits, etc. It would be nice to get the kit for what it sells for in HK but we still get stuck with the huge shipping costs. It's a wash really in terms of price. So, if I am going to spend $120 for a kit I tend to expect more. Other may not like the comparison but it's out there...if Tamiya can bring a kit like the new 1/32 Spitfire that is light years ahead in quality, scale fidelity, detail and engineering for $120 why can't Trumpeter? And they can get it right the first time without having to go back and re-tool or rework......

 

I hope that Trumpeter will stop and take the time to re-evaluate these future releases...especially the A-6. It does seem as if they are listening. It would be a shame for them to hurry up just to make a release date and sacrifice quality.

 

Jeff