Publisher's Synopsis
This book contains detailed instructions on building the AV-8B II Plus Harrier 1/48 scale model aircraft from Hasegawa's kit 07228. A full color version is available as a PDF download on my website along with a grayscale spiral bound version. (glennhoovermodels.com) I take the model kit instructions from Hasegawa and break them up into individual steps. I reorder the steps so that the small pieces (antennas, etc.) are assembled last which reduces the risk of damage when building the model. The steps are organized to insert the paint and decal steps in the best spot. I also incorporate Eduard's Photo Etch kit 49271 and 49068 and Aires Cockpit kit 4199 and Wheel Well kit 4201 in with Hasegawa's instructions. As most modelers know, it can be tricky to go back and forth between the model kit instructions and the aftermarket kit instructions. I take out the guesswork and did that for you. The PE and the Aires steps are colored making them easy to skip if you just have the basic model. This book provides a little history of the Harrier, photos of the model kit contents including the photo etch frets, a detailed list of tools that I used to build this model, along with a list of paints. The actual instruction section contains 786 steps and 104 figures that tell you what to dry fit, glue, and/or paint for each individual piece. Each step instruction shows the source (i.e., either Hasegawa, Aires or Eduard's instruction) along with a block to mark that you completed the step. The major instruction sequence for this model is
1. Seat Assembly
2. Cockpit
3. Fuselage
4. Wheel Well (Aires Only)
5. Engine Exhaust and Intake
6. Wings
7. Tail
8. Gun Pod
9. Paint Major Sections
10. Exhaust Deflector
11. Landing Gear
12. Weapons
13. Bottom Antennas and Pitot Tubes
14. Major Section Assembly
15. Top Antennas
16. Heads-Up Display
17. Canopy
18. Remove Before Flight Tags and Covers
I provide an index of the individual sprue parts that show where in the book the part is mentioned. This index was a great way to make sure that no pieces were overlooked. Finally, there are several pages of in-process photos with assembly tips and the final photos of my build along with some photos of a real Harrier for reference. This book is a great checklist to make your build go smoothly. Of course, you can feel free to use different tools, paint, weathering, etc. or even add your own diorama. I did a lot of research and didn't see anything this detailed about a model build. Most articles or videos concentrate on parts of their build or just give a summary review. I wanted to go down to the piece level and take you thru the whole build. Anyway, I hope you find this book useful. See a 16 page sample along with photos of finished models and other books at glennhoovermodels.com.
