AirfixModel Airplane Kit Gift Set - A04051A BAe Sea Harrier FRS.1, Plastic Plane Model Kits for Adults & Kids 14+, Skill Level 2, 1:72 Scale WW2 Military Aircraft Models - Real Aeroplane Models Gifts

There’s not a lot of choice out there if you wish to build a 1/72 Sea Harrier FRS.1. Currently, only Airfix and Hasegawa cover this aircraft, and both kits have been around a while. I went for the Airfix offering, originally released as a ‘new tool’ in 2010. This particular model is a Falklands War 40th anniversary re-box, released in 2022, with new decals. You can build an FAA Harrier from either HMS Hermes air-group, or alternatively, one which served onboard HMS Invincible.Being honest, I knew this model wouldn’t be quite up to the standard of more recent Airfix releases but decided to have a crack at it and see how it might turn out. My build was straight out of the box, other than a metal pitot tube.I found there’s more ‘cons’ than ‘pros’ to this model, so its ‘cons’ first!CONS:- The panel detail. Wow…. There’s nothing fine and subtle here, it’s extremely exaggerated. And, not particularly accurate in some areas.- The undercarriage outriggers on the wing-tips. These are dreadful and totally inaccurate.- Some of the parts were moulded short in my kit, for example over half the front undercarriage door was missing.- The transparent parts aren’t exactly crystal clear, and if you wanted the canopy posed closed, they don’t fit very well.- This is sold as a Falklands Sea Harrier, but there’s no 1,000 lb bombs, why?- The instructions have a complete section missing when it comes to positioning the half dozen blade antennas that are provided. You just have to look at the decal and colour scheme diagrams, or search photos on Google, to work out where they go.- The pilot figure is totally laughable. Badly moulded and appears to have 1940s-50s style helmet, goggles, and boots!- The pitot tube supplied with the kit is diabolical- There’s several shallow sink marks, on various parts, such as the nose, some of which are almost impossible to fill.- You’ll need some plastic putty and sanding sticks because parts-fit is far from perfect!PROS:- The fan and intake area works surprisingly well, once assembled, it blends into the fuselage and front wing rather nicely.- The Sidewinder missiles look fine, once painted and decals applied.- The decals are excellent and include plenty of airframe stencils. They give the model an authority it doesn’t really deserve.- It does look like a Sea Harrier, sitting with that pugnacious, high angle of attack.This is a kit review and not a build article, but I’d recommend buying a brass pitot tube, several available online for about £6.00, and it makes a big difference to the finished model. My other piece of advice is when fitting the landing gear, fit the nose-wheel and outriggers first, let them set. Then, fit the main gear. That way, you’ll prevent one of the outriggers sitting slightly in mid-air, a common fault on Harrier models.In conclusion, with a bit of elbow grease, you can make a passable FRS.1 from this kit. OK, it’s not going to win any prizes, but once finished, I placed mine in my display case next to some other FAA models and it looks fine.Normally, I’m a fairly generous reviewer, but I can’t give more than 3 stars for this kit.