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AIRframe Decals 1/72 Harrier Retirement

By Matt Bittner

AIRframe Decals – part of The Aviation Workshop and Model Alliance Decals – has released a set of decals for all of the BAe Harriers that took part in the Harrier retirement ceremony, 15 Dec 2010. Yes, for those not in the know, the British have decided to retire all of their BAe Harriers. Such a shame as these were some of the most unique, and well liked, aircraft in the world. The decals come in 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32 – I take a look at the 1/72 set. There are three kits suggested in 1/72, from Revell, Hasegawa and Airfix, with the new-tool Airfix kit being recommended.

I won't go into all seventeen aircraft catered for on the decal sheet, but you do receive decals for all seventeen. Nice. There were four flights of four with the 17th aircraft being the T.12 taking photos. Not only are their decals for the GR.9 and GR.9a, but there are also decals for the T.12s and single T.12a two-seaters as well. Unfortunately the only available two-seater is from Airfix, but it's one of their older kits – a T.10 and needs to be converted - and not one recently released (maybe Airfix is working on a new-tool T.12 now).

Not only is the decal sheet awesome in its depth – covering all seventeen aircraft – but also its breadth, with textual details on each and every airframe, and what changes need to be done to your model to make it accurate for the 15 Dec 2010 retirement flight. Plus, the instructions list what aftermarket is available to better detail your model. Nice!

It's a shame the Harriers are retired, but if you want to model one of the retirement schemes, then this is the decal sheet you need.

Many, many thanks to The Aviation Workshop for allowing us to review these excellent decals. Now I need to build one. Or two...