I have used the aftermarket seat and bulkhead in this model build.

Parts C19 sit very close to the sidewall of the cockpit - incorrectly in my view - but are unlikely to be noticed once the model is built.

If the tab on Part C5 is supposed to sit entirely within the slot then the tabs are too high and need trimming. As long as you can get the seat over the top it's fine - not sure what value these parts add given they are entirely hidden by the seat.

Part C29 is a curiosity. If it's meant to be the throttle it is in the wrong place completely.No throttle is otherwise provided. Part C28 doesn't look much like the nozzle lever either.

I chose to do this model using the 3D decals for the cockpit and applied them with Parts B6, B12, C12 and C13 fitted in place and added Parts C28 and C29 when finished.

NOTE - If you replace Part B4 with the resin version from RocKit then I highly recommend test fitting it with the two nose halves joined and Part B25 fitting around the cockpit opening. I found various bits had to be trimmed, including the back of the bulkhead to get Part B25 to sit correctly. Keep dry fitting and trimming until you are happy as it would be very difficult to do this later. The kit part fits beautifully with no work required. In the end, I joined the nose together without the bulkhead in place and fitted that and Part B25 later.

For those of you unfamiliar with Harriers, they do not need any weight in the nose.

Harriers are almost always parked with the main gear doors closed unless they have been manually opened for maintenance reasons. They'll be closed prior to engine start up for sure.

There's a small indentation for the seating of Part C14, but again it could have been a tab and hole to make things easier. Be careful not to get glue in the two slots of Part D11 when fitting as this is where the front nose wheel oleo locates when fitted later.

LANTIRN (in fact it is a Litening II Pod) would only be fitted on the centre-line for the VMA-311 jet or the black tailed VMA-214 jet based on the scheme dates. (See Step52 for more information). The 1.3mm hole is for the correct location of the gun pod when fitting.

It will do no harm to press the two halves of the fuselage together whilst these inserts are drying to ensure they are at the correct angle for both sides.

The hole in Part L1 just behind the airbrake and next to the large panel of the avionics bay (as indicated above) has to be filled. Leave it open on the opposite side as moulded.

Part B14 to which the insert diagram refers already has a hole to receive the airbrake jack.

Part J3 when fitted does have a noticeable gap but again I think it's in keeping with the overall effect UMa have chosen.

The tailplanes naturally sit at the correct angle as moulded and the retainer Part R3 means you can leave them movable.

The "bacon slicers", Parts N23 and N27, have some ejector pin marks on the inside surfaces which you may want to clean up, but they will be very difficult to notice once on the aircraft. They fit flat, so just make sure they are vertical.

Parts G22 and G17 will need some filler around them as they are not a tight fit.

The rear nozzle looks distinctly under-sized. However, it's nice that they are one-piece mouldings.

Part G20 will need some filler around it as it is not a tight fit and can be fitted before J2.

The lower wing, part E2, requires a little bit of sanding on the front edge at the wing tips to get it to sit level with the upper wing leading edge. There is also a little bit of flash on the same part at the wing root which needs to be removed.

Note when gluing that the wing near the inner pylon position can be flatted below the wing leading edge - be careful not to do this. Work along the wing bit by bit to ensure the parts are flush and not sunken or raised.

During construction I added the nose to the intake section and then added the compressor blade, Part E3, once done. It can be done as shown, but I didn't want to run the risk of pinging the compressor blade off when inserting the nose section.

Although there's no problem joining the parts, the rear of the intakes are quite thin. A more secure mount with tabs would have been helpful.

And yes, the intakes do look odd and the compressor blade looks undersized - see the internet for more comments on that.

The inside of Parts F9 and F10 are red.

Trying to determine the outline of the navigation lights on Part T9 and Part T12 is quite difficult on clear plastic. Magnifiers will help!

I would recommend placing the gun pods on the fuselage before Part B13 has dried to confirm it is sat at the right angle and does not leave a gap at the front with the belly of the fuselage.

Part D7 just sits against the jack Part C17 despite all the holes for hinges, etc. There's something that just doesn't feel right here, aside from the lack of depth in the air dam bay.

When fitting Part D1, the airbrake, the jack should fit into the groove at the closest part of the slot to the front of the airbrake to set the correct angle when parked.

I did not try fitting the strakes.

A simple fitting process that seems to cure the nose to body angle problem that the Hasegawa kit can cause.

I would fit the photo-etch parts 4 at the last possible point in the build.

Paint the area black where Part T6 fits into.

Note Part D25 does not have the same central tab for mounting against the central IP display that is present on Part B21 but happily can only be fitted in one way anyway.

I'm not sure what value the insert diagram adds to the situation as the mirrors certainly do not sit that low in real life! The back of the mirrors have a small indentation to set the correct position on the canopy mount. The carpet monster will be looking expectant when you fit these.

The AOA pitot, Part C16, is located in the wrong place. It should be slightly higher and further forward.

Note the canopy has a curious mould line near the bottom where it will meet the frame. I decided to leave this rather than trying to fix it and draw more attention to it. It has the appearance of a varifocal lens! It's a shame as otherwise the canopy, detailing and fit is rather good.

It should also be noted that a Harrier can have a centre pylon and store fitted when using the gun pods - in fact the Litening II is more often than not now fitted to the centre pylon following an upgrade to the Harrier to allow it to do so. If you wish to do this on your jet you will need to cut a pylon width rectangle into part B13 at the front where it has a rectangular shape marked already, albeit the panel marked is slightly wider than a pylon.

If you plan to fit parts M1-2 and M2-13 (the AIM-9 launch rails) then do not fit Parts M2-3 (ejector units) to the outer pylons, instead mount the rails direct to the pylon.

A touch of GS-Hypo cement on the pins will keep them in place whilst you join the two pylon halves together - much easier that way. Interestingly UMa have only done the "removable" option for the Mavericks and then only on the rail to the missile instead of the rail to the pylon which would make more sense.

Note Mavericks can also be fitted to one of the inner pylons if you wish. In this instance the fuel tanks, if fitted, would be fitted to the middle pylons - the option I took for the final build.

Either choice fit just fine although on my build. On my build I had to glue the flaps in place - the ailerons were a tight enough fit not to require glue.

The plastic used is quite bendy so there's no issue in bending the forks slightly to insert the tyres.

There is a slight forward cant to the outriggers on the Harrier, but perhaps not as great as you might get with these parts if you push the front of the outrigger all the way down and forward.

I would fit these once you have the main undercarriage in place and then glue as required for the correct angle.

The Auxiliary tool is okay for the tails but it's too easy to get glue from the forward fins onto the jig when aligning these unless you are very careful. Perhaps better used slightly later when the glue has dried a little and you need to make any adjustments.

If used, the AIM-9s are fitted to the outer wing pylons with the adapter rails. Note the AV-8Bs did not have the UK fitted missile rail in front of the outriggers.

I didn't use them for my finished model.

The pins and the internal mounts for parts R2 need some trimming to allow the two halves to come together without a gap.

They've provided an option for live and inert AGM-64 Maverick missiles. In the overwhelming majority of cases the rear fins would be removed on the inert missiles. Simply trim the fins from part W3-1 and you are good to go, or leave them be and stay with the minority.

I've not seen any UK Harriers with rear fins on their inert Mavericks, but some US, Spanish and Italian jets have been photographed with them on.

The fit of the two halves is okay - the front mating pin is perhaps a little high. The sprue gates are on the flat mating surfaces and require careful clean-up to ensure a smooth join. Despite the 3 locating pins, there's still scope to mis-align the two halves.

I didn't use them for my finished model.

The fit is good, though there are some gaps around the pylon attachment points. The rear cone join might require re-scribing to bring it back to the same depth as the other vertical tank joints.

In comparison with the Hasegawa / Revell tanks, they are marginally longer and definitely a larger diameter.

Unless the pod is actively being used, the head is rotated so that none of the electro/optical and IR lenses are visible (Part T1). Be sure to mount the head with the correct orientation as shown in the diagram.

If building 165592 / WE02, the pod can only be mounted on the right wing's inner pylon. For the other two schemes, the pod is normally mounted on the centre pylon, but can still be used on the right wing's inner pylon.

In section 2, I would suggest that you hold Parts D20 and D21 together and then open slightly to allow Part C1 to be inserted. Hold this assembly at the top and then wiggle Part D26 into place. Glue Parts D20 and D21 but to not glue the other parts as it will simplify locating C1 in the bay and it is likely that you will need to adjust the angle of D26 when the model is on all its wheels as it will sit too low the way it has been moulded. [I think the reason for this is the shallow forward angle of the fork to which the wheel fork attaches].

Although the main landing light has been provided, Part C36, the second light has been omitted (Y3 in the Hasegawa kit). The rear bulge on Part C36 sits on the same side as the missing light (see image below).

Finally, note for painting that the tyre has a rim on one side that needs to be white.

The connecting pins don't have much depth on the front nosewheel oleo and could have been more sturdy. It's not as if the detail of them will be visible.

The undercarriage oleo, part D9, appears to be a POETS day design. The front torque link is moulded incorrectly to the hydraulic reservoir instead of the oleo and by implication the reservoir has been extended to the link for some reason. There's an insertion point near the top for a maintenance strut which is certainly not required for an operational jet (see also Step 8 regarding the wheel bay roof). There's no attachment points moulded on the oleo for the door jacks to part D8 nor the jacks themselves, but then again Hasegawa don't provide these either. Curious though they are provided for the front undercarriage. Finally, the fitting of D9 is a bit loose, which is odd considering the attention to fit elsewhere

Ultimately all of this is hidden by its location and most modellers viewing your model at a show can't bend low enough or get close enough to the table to see if you have made any fixes!

Note the tyres are slightly flattened so be sure to get the correct orientation - easier to fix once you are ready with all the undercarriage in place. However, the pins on the axle are small, thin and don't inspire confidence for a strong bond.

Finally, note for painting that the tyres have a rim on one side that needs to be white.

POETS day for those of you unfamiliar with the term traditionally meant Friday and stood for "Push Off Early, Tomorrow's Saturday" and thus the lack of attention to detail and quality as thoughts of the weekend imposed themselves on the worker!

As you have already fitted the rest of the undercarriage, it's worth checking the main oleo and wheels sit correctly before gluing firmly into place, although it does seem to be a better fit than previous 1/48 scale Harriers in this respect. You may also need to adjust where the tyre flat spot is, depending on how you fitting the outriggers and nose wheel angle.

Beware, the forward struts on Parts B18 and B19 are incredibly thin - I managed to break both in fitting, which makes the fitting of the doors more difficult than it perhaps needs to be.

Open doors are provided for the main gear, though these are usually closed. A closed option is available - part G9, but you will need to separate the door that attaches to the strut and draw a line down the remainder of G9 as this is not scribed on the part. Some trimming is also required to get it to fit. I didn't try using the two separate doors, but that remains an option of course. UMa nearly got there!

Some work with a razor saw may be required to help fit the wing fences as the slots are quite thin and may have some glue present, depending on how you glued the wings together.

If you've got this far, congratulations and thanks for staying the course.

Alternatively, read the back of the packet containing the decals. Essentially, bend the backing paper to remove the parts and then glue them to the plastic. They suggest Superglue. I'm sure PVA (or derivative) will work just fine as does GS-Hypo jeweller's cement that I use. Once fitted, you might want to touch in some of the edges with the cockpit paint you used.

If you wish to use the MDC in the canopy, I recommend you remove this section of the sheet with a scalpel as bending the sheet elsewhere may inadvertently break the MDC.

I've included the kit instructions and images of the assembled parts where appropriate. I will finish the kit in the HTPS scheme, but for a jet flying with VMA-542.

All construction comments are based on what I did - mistakes and all - and with my level of skills and experience. All opinions are my own. Yours will be different no doubt and it will be something to bear in mind as you read through the process.

Onwards and upwards, vertically of course!

There are some interesting translations from Chinese into English, but I think we can forgive them that considering our (British) typical approach to using second languages (yep, shout louder, write bigger).

The photo-etch part are pre-cut and are held on sticky-back plastic with a cover.

I'm guessing the carpet monster will be making a strong claim for the nose cone tip and air data probe (metal parts).

I did not use any of the scheme decals on the build and only a few stencils, notably the formation lights and for the Litening pod and Maverick. As such, I can't provide much comment, other than the formation lights on the top of the wing are incorrect - they need to be handed for each wing - and the pylon stencils should not be black. I would recommend careful study on them before committing to their use.

I get why artists like shadow marking for "accuracy" but when dealing with greys it only gets to confuse folks (see under nozzles area and underside of wingtip).

What's to like ....

• Level of detailing compared with Hasegawa kit

• Ease of assembly and very good fit of parts overall

• Sensible use of tabs and slots for angled items (e.g. airbrake, navigation lights, etc.)

• 3D decal / decal / paint options for cockpit with matching plastic

• One-piece intakes (although not accurate) for ease of assembly

• Nicely presented instructions and colour paint diagrams

• Dropped flap option

What's not so good ...

• Depth and width of panel lines and height of rivets / fasteners which can lead in some instances to confusion over what is a designed gap versus poor fit

• Shape and size inaccuracies which should have been noticed - Air dam bay, nozzles, etc

• Poor attention to detail on main undercarriage

• Canopy moulding

• Excessive parts breakdown which adds no value to the finished item - AIM-9, GBU-12, etc.

• Errors in paint diagrams

• There is not an all-open auxiliary door option to go with dropped flaps

In terms of representation of a Harrier I would say it's going to be close enough for those not overly familiar with the aircraft. However, there are a number of size and shape inconsistencies which hopefully can be fixed before the next iteration. Whilst it's nice to get aftermarket fixes for some of these items, it starts to make the cost of the build prohibitive for most model makers. These days expectations are high for any new kit and it only takes a few social media posts to make an adverse impact on the reputation of the kit. Given we've had to wait a very long time for a manufacturer to do a modern tooling in this scale, we should be grateful that it's a pretty good place to start from.

Personally an all doors fixed open would be sufficient given the two options provided in the kit. Yes the doors can vary a little when the aircraft is at rest, but I don't think most folks will be wanting to do this variation!

Ignore the wingtip light and sensor arrangement on the wing as the photo is of a Harrier GR7/9.

For each step I have listed the parts referenced (though some may not be used based on the options you choose) and noted any errors and omissions.

As you would expect these days, the level of detailing is quite extraordinary. They've added the second light on the front undercarriage and look to have more detail in the main oleo - which now has a spring so you can practice your Harrier bounce landings with your model. Ho, ho, ho.

The models was brush painted with Mig AMMO paints and finished with Tamiya weathering powders and Flory Model washes. Note that he main canopy is not cemented in place for these photos.