RAF Harrier GR.3 diorama in 1/72

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A RAF Harrier GR.3 diorama in 1/72 has been one of those ideas that are bubbling away in the back of my mind for quite some time.

The story

Somewhere in West Germany, circa 1980. A RAF Harrier GR.3 pilot is getting his new orders from a British Army officer for his next exercise sortie. Also in the scene is a NATO umpire watching the exchange of orders, a couple of RAF Regiment figures, one having a brew, plus an erk trying to keep out of the way by looking busy. It’s early days of the exercise, as they are not yet in an NBC state.

So when I finally had all the components in my stash, I decided to give it a go. These included:

Italeria 1/72 Harrier GR.3

Picked this kit up at Taunton Hobbycraft. It was the Falklands War edition, but luckily for me, I had some spare decals from an old Airfix Harrier to fit better for a Harrier based in West Germany during the Cold War. I’ll post a link at the end of the blog if you want to purchase a Italeria Harrier.

Airfix 1/76 LWB Land Rover

I always try to keep a stash of useful vehicle kits, including the Airfix (originally JB Models) and 1/76 Land Rovers. I’m not too worried about mixing 1/76 with 1/72 for dioramas (see my Oxford diecast blog post). I’ll post a link at the end of the blog to the Airix site to purchase the LWB Landy.

Airfix 1/72 NATO Ground Crew

Picked up the Airfix NATO Ground Crew many years ago. It would be nice for Airfix to re-release them at some point. But they are ideal for this diorama.

Elhiem 1/72 British Army figures

Getting British Cold War figures in 1/72 scale is quite a challenge. Lucky for us Cold War builders, Elhiem do a nice range of war gaming figures from the Cold War era.

Building the RAF Harrier GR.3 diorama in 1/72 (pictures).

Completed Harrier GR.3 diorama

Image 13 of 17

The finished diorama. Somewhere in West Germany circa 1980's an RAF pilot is getting his next mission orders from the British Army.