Airfix Harrier GR.3

NEEEEEE-oowwwww!!!! 

Proving that I am actually incapable of thinking in a straight line - after I got home from work this morning I put these together.  I often have difficulty going straight to bed after a night shift and I find that doing something with my hands is the perfect antidote.  I found these while I was looking for something else in the War Room.  The side of the box side "One flying hour", so I thought I might at least make a start. 

A brace of birds

(and some basing going on behind) 

These were a gift from Mrs. Kinch a few Christmases ago, as I was going to use them for the "Hunting the Harriers" scenario in the Force on Force supplement "Cold War gone Hot". Now as it happens I have another plan for these, which meant that they needed to be assembled in their flight configuration.  As wargaming models, I've also done away with the internal detail and the pilot as I reckoned I would almost certainly make a hash of the canopy and end up painting it blue or silver. 

I am pleasantly astonished at how well this turned out. 

The kits actually went together quite quickly and cleanly despite my cack handedness. There were a few pieces that needed trimming and there was quite a bit of flash in parts, but mostly the fit wasn't too bad. 

The belly of the Harrier. 

Both of these planes were assembled in the wheels up configuration, so that I can eventually attach them to flight stands. A little bit of filling will be required. I plan to give these a quick blast of GW white spray and then mark out the camouflage with a pencil as instructed by no less a personage then Alfront. 

 There is of course the question of weaponry. I've heard tell of using magnets to allow different loadouts to be added to model planes. That might be something I look at, though I'll really need to get flying bases and probably paintwork sorted first. 

A galaxy of grim aerial doom. 

Left to right. 

( Two expensive bomb thingies, Slightly more expensive bomb thingies, Rocket Pod or possibly 20mm cannon whatsits, Very expensive bomb thingies. (rear) Whacking great big bomb or missile, though I don't see any sort of motor. )    

I'm not really au fait with aerial weaponry, what little I know about war in the Air was gleaned from a youthful interest in Biggles and that didn't really cover anything after 1918.  Most of the time, I'm hard pressed to tell the difference between a charleville and a brown bess. I note that unlike the Harriers in Battle comic (or was it Warlord?) this kit doesn't sport a laser.  I can't find any reference to that comic strip online, perhaps I dreamed it.

On the whole, not a bad output for just over an hours work.