Next out of the stash - Trumpeters Harrier Gr7 - Office and canopy.

[Stokey Pete]

I feel I’m on a roll at the moment so the above kit has come down from the high shelf stash. I’ve no shelf of doom builds or almost finished builds to get done. 
It was a coin flip between the Harrier, or an A-10. Both come with fairly poor rep’s, but I’m ready to give them a fair crack of the whip to create a couple of good lookers.

To the Harrier first,

I’m utilising some Wolfpack-D Extras. Cockpit, external parts, and using the model alliance decal sheets for ZD433 of No1 Squadron. I’ll be adding some AM weaponry too, later down the line. 

I know about the poor shapes of the nose, and won’t be correcting them. I’m simply not that good a modeller. I tend to make do with what I have at hand in terms of plastic. If it looks like a Harrier at the end, is good enough for me. 

All that said, I’ve made a start on trimming and dry fitting the office into the nose section. That’s nearly done. So I set about the canopy, polishing the seam from the outside, and sanding polishing the dry’ cord from inside. I’ve had a go at making my own from wire, using a drawn template. 

Not bad for a first go, but improvements needed for subsequent attempts. The only problem now is that during the lengthy polishing session, I’ve cracked the canopy a little. I’m gonna see if a dip in future and adding the new det’ cord will distract the eyes from the crack. If not, I’ll source another from somewhere. 

Edited July 28, 2020 by Stokey Pete

[phantomdriver]

There is, of course a det cord decal..

Either Flying Leathernecks or Phase Hanger I think..

[Stokey Pete]

2 hours ago, phantomdriver said:

There is, of course a det cord decal..

Either Flying Leathernecks or Phase Hanger I think..

I did consider that but thought I’d make it more difficult for myself 

[SimonCornes]

Hi Pete,

Don't forget that the real det chord is a pale grey colour.

 

[Nic C.D.]

Hi Pete,

I'm building a Trumpeter Harrier too and I was looking at the detonation cord problem for some time. I was talking about it with my friend François and while trying to find a solution, he asked me: "Is it engraved from the inside?" We we did a little check and it is! So, I did a wash with light grey gouache paint and the result was great! Problem solved ! And the advantage is, you can give it a few tries, because the paint can be washed out with water if you don't like the colour (my first try was with pure white gouache, which was too bright).

 

I'll try to make a photo of it and post it here!

 

Nic

[Stokey Pete]

10 minutes ago, Nic C.D. said:

Hi Pete,

I'm building a Trumpeter Harrier too and I was looking at the detonation cord problem for some time. I was talking about it with my friend François and while trying to find a solution, he asked me: "Is it engraved from the inside?" We we did a little check and it is! So, I did a wash with light grey gouache paint and the result was great! Problem solved ! And the advantage is, you can give it a few tries, because the paint can be washed out with water if you don't like the colour (my first try was with pure white gouache, which was too bright).

 

I'll try to make a photo of it and post it here!

 

Nic

I’m committed to making one from wire now as I’ve already sanded and polished the original recessed detail off the canopy. I’ve never got on with det’ cord detail on any canopy I’ve had over the years so I fancies trying something new. 
I tried decals with a Hawk, ended up with a shabby mess. 
Tried to paint raised detail versions in a Tornado, ended up junking the canopy.

i think I’ve got the technique to produce a satisfactory wire version. I just need some smooth wire to work with rather than twisted wire I’ve been practicing with.