1/48 Tamiya Sea Harrier (SHAR)

INDIAN NAVY No. 300 Sqdn 'White Tigers'

by Shekar K Rao

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  India Republic Day 2004 

 

The Indian Navy is one of the few forces in the world flying the Sea Harrier (SHAR) FRS Mk 51 as a part of its naval capability. Deliveries of the aircraft started in the second half of 1984, and as of date, 15 Mk 51's and four T-Mk 60s dual seat trainers are in operation. They fly with the No. 300 White Tigers Squadron, operating out of INS Hansa at Dabolim in sunny, beautiful Goa. 

Sadly, these aircraft might be mothballed with the recent signing of a deal between India and Russia for the 'Admiral Gorshkov' carrier, which will reportedly use the sea variant of the Mig-29, called the Mig-29K. 

The model I built is the IN 613, delivered on 24 July 1990. Indian Navy Sea Harriers use Magic-IIs for air defense. In the anti-ship role, the Sea Harrier can carry two Sea Eagle AShMs. The drop tanks are also different from normal British SHARs, in that they have fins on the rear.

 

Modeling the Tamiya SHAR

Modeling the Cockpit

I used the Neomega resin cockpit set for the SHAR, since the existing cockpit tub is simply awful. The set comes out superbly, and the cockpit inner details were painted with some artistic licence. Quite a bit of surgery was required on the cockpit areas of the kit to accommodate the kit in the end, and it came out beautifully.

 

 

The fuselage and undercarriage

The fuselage and undercarriage areas were developed next. I added framing to the wheel well covers. I scratchbuilt the front nose wheel light by heating the tip of a piece of clear styrene, and drilling a small hole at its rear to insert a small bit of wire. This was then attached to the nose wheel by drilling a hole clear through it and pulling the wire through. The resin side walls were stuck to the fuselage sides in the cockpit and painted. The Pegasus engine and other wheel assemblies were made and kept aside.

 

Click on images below to see larger images

 

Re-Paneling and Inlet vane carving

The model came with raised panel lines, so I decided to rebuild the whole by scratching all lines with a needle in a pin vise. Also, at this time, the inlet vanes on the engine inlets were carved out with a #11 knife, since these are open when the SHAR is on the ground. Wing tip lights were carved out, and replaced with clear styrene (having a drop of paint in a small hole in them). A needle was also added to the nose to simulate the probe.

Click on image below to see larger image

 

Click on images below on left to see larger image

 

Painting and Decaling

The model was then painted with a home-brewed acrylic paint in the appropriate colors of Extra Dark Sea Grey, White undersides and black nose. I made the decals for the plane myself, which included the roundels and Hindi lettering, on an inkjet printer. The decals were sprayed with a coat of Future, and allowed to dry for a full week before application onto the model. Finally, a coat of Future followed by a coat of acrylic matt finish completed the model

Note : The roundels were applied on the under wing surfaces later. This is why they are not visible in the picture below.

Click on image below to see larger image

 

Click on images below to see larger images

 

Some Final notes 

1. I  have not loaded this plane with any goodies like the drop tanks and missiles, for the simple reason that I didn't have them . The kit does come with a set of drop tanks, but I ran into problems while trying to add the fins. 

2. Also, I had made the sensor on the nose, but it broke off at the time of the photo shoot

3. The leaping tiger decal on the nose didn't come out as well as I expected, so I have to reprint and get it done. Oh well, guess I still have some more work to do.....

Otherwise, I found this kit quite challenging, and not as problematic as a lot of other people have found it to be. I enjoyed the experience, and this being my first kit in 1/48, it made it doubly so.

All the best, and Happy Modeling in 2004!!!

Shekar

Photos and text © by Shekar K. Rao