When this kit first arrived in 1982, it was a welcome sight - the Falklands War had just erupted and Matchbox's Sea Harrier was the only game in town. Now reissued as part of the Matchbox Kits programme under Revell's ownership, the kit is as much as before, with the same heavy recessed panel lines and basic mouldings, though with the bonus of a new decal sheet with options for two Royal Navy aircraft, one from 800 NAS aircraft in the original delivery scheme of extra dark sea grey and white, and an 809 NAS Sea Harrier in the Falklands finish of medium sea grey and barley grey.

The finishing instructions are clear but something has gone wrong at the printing stage - all the titles are in what appears to be a default Courier typeface while the starboard drawing of the 800 NAS aircraft is repeated on the views for the 809 SHAR (a similar error occurs with their 1/72 P-51B Mustang).

Like all the other Matchbox Harriers', their SHAR is low on finesse but scores well in it's simple construction and good fit. One can't help but think that if Matchbox were still producing new kits, then they may well have wrung one more variation out of the moulds by adding an FA2 to their range - maybe. For enthusiasts there are far better Sea Harrier kits out there, but for fledgling modellers, nothing can beat the Matchbox SHAR for overall value and ease of construction.