The point of this trip down memory lane is that military aviation can throw up plenty of variations in scheme and detail, even when looking at the same aircraft.
6th June 2025
Yesterday I discussed my ongoing struggles with my Jaguar, so it feels only right to finish the week off with another day of utter confusion, as I try to wrestle the thing over the finish line!
Many years ago, Dick Ward, erstwhile creator of all things Modeldecal, wrote a number of articles in Scale Models magazine, detailing all of the changes that the Royal Navy’s Sea Harrier feel went through during their operations in the South Atlantic. Despite there being a very small number of Harriers, there were dozens of variations as the machines made their way south. Latterly, we have seen a wonderful monograph being published that offers information on all of these machines, more of which you can find here:
https://www.mortonsbooks.co.uk/book/sea-harrier-falklands-40th-anniversary
The point of this trip down memory lane is that military aviation can throw up plenty of variations in scheme and detail, even when looking at the same aircraft.
Never has that been so true in my own career in this hobby, than this week as I’m trying to complete my replica of ZX118. Yesterday, I mentioned that I’d found a picture of it with what looked like camouflage in place on the flaps. Today, I found another, showing those flaps, albeit on the other side of the aircraft, painted over. Some images I have show one aerial behind the cockpit, others show two. Some show ‘FF’ on the tail, but in different positions, despite it being the same aircraft. Black edges to the pylons, or plain sand? Different images, different results. And on it goes…
It is, to put it bluntly, a nightmare.
So at the moment, I’m having to decide how best to approach my model. Though I painted the camouflage over those flaps yesterday to match the first image I was using, I’m now convinced that that will have to be resprayed again to match the later pictures that showed the aircraft with a small ‘Y’ on the tail, as offered in the kit. The aerials are more of an issue, because I have images showing both, so I may go with the single aerial that seems to have been a standard fit in the Gulf, despite one picture in World Air Power, showing two in place. In essence, my model will most likely be a slight fudge, because I cannot pin any of the images down to a time and a location accurately enough to be entirely sure everything is correct.
Though frustrating at times, this is part and parcel of the hobby we all love and perhaps what drives some of its to build the things we do. I want this Jaguar to be as accurate as I can, but I’m not going to go insane chasing details that I won’t be able to find. And I’m okay with that. So long as it looks correct and there aren’t too many egregious errors, I should be able to show it off with my head held high. At least that’s the plan.
Thinking about Dick Ward has now pressed the Sea Harrier button once more as well, making me want to build one of these aircraft, properly, for the first time. I have plenty of information of them, so finding references shouldn’t be too difficult, I just have to pick an aircraft, a colour scheme and a particular day on which it was photographed. Who said modelling was meant to be easy?
See you tomorrow.
SPENCER POLLARD'S KIT BOX 
Nice summary Spencer. I recently picked up that Harrier pub and it is pretty cool considering they are all of the same aircraft. I like that this was for a specific mission.
As for the info you are finding on the Jag, a friend once told me that references have both been a god send to our modelling but at the same time a bane to finishing the model. More pictures and you are never sure.
Looking forward to more of this wonderful project
Cheers
Chris
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The multiple paint schemes, coding sizes and colors have always been a confusing subject when dealing with a combat aircraft. Kill markings while in combat sometimes get deleted on the trip home. Battle damage repair, or a complete or partial repaint sometimes happens. There were several F14 bombcats from VF101 that were repainted losing their mission tallies upon return from combat fortunately the decal supplier provided photos of the aircraft at different stages of combat. From beginning to end of deployment, new to extremely weathered and back to new. A confusing prospect, that’s where artistic license comes in. It’s even harder when dealing with b and w photos from WW2.
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