Scale-Master

Fork assembly… ready for installation.

I also applied the kit decals to a handful of other small parts and then decided (thanks to Wolf for drawing my attention to this omission in the kit) to make the decals for the switches and controls on the handlebars. I made over a dozen decals for these two parts.

This is the main assembly so far. It's gaining mass at this point.

I figured I should apply all the decals to the fairings so I could shoot clear on them together.

The exhaust system is ready to be installed. Since the rest of the build is closer to showroom stock I decided not to heat stain the pipes.

The kit provided masks for the tank work well. They aren't die cut; they have to be hand cut by the builder. I airbrushed the LP equivalent of the TS Pearl Blue called out in the instructions. The tank decals fit fine, but be prepared to spend a good 30 minutes applying each one of these two.

I applied the decals to the front fender.

Yes, I built a Jägermeister 934 and mixed a translucent paint to hide the seams on the tank and also used it on all the fiberglass parts for continuity. Sorry, I don't have photos of it handy.

The forks are mostly metal and functional; they have springs in them too.

I thought I should get some of the six "body" panels painted so they could be drying while I build other parts. (I'm going to need the front fender soon.) TS-45 Pearl White over TS-26 Pure White. I shot a coat of TS-13 Clear too. Can't hurt before the decals…

There's a good amount of time invested in the radiators and fans, but I suspect they won't be seen when the model is done.

It builds up pretty quickly, if you do a lot of paint work ahead of time…

I wear reading glasses when I build, no matter the scale. And Thank You Everyone for the compliments!!

Swing arm.

A little fiddley to put together in the end, but it wasn't as difficult as I expected. It's done.

SMTS 1/43rd white metal kit. I made new decals because the ones in the kit were poorly done and damaged. WIP Thread:

A bit of clear… And some of the black detail painting. Time for final assembly.

Since I did a lot of painting before assembly, it built up pretty quickly and is getting to be a good size already.

The main body decals I made have been applied.

Thanks, I am enjoying this too Wolf. Mono shock.

The frame has been built up and painted. I used the recommended colors and was pleasantly surprised at how the color, sheen and texture came out. The engine is a tight fit, but the instructions are clear on how to easily to twist it into place.

The yellow is the new line of LP bottled lacquers, the red is a TS spray lacquer. I don't think there was a fluorescent red in the X acrylic line.

That would have been cast in the early to mid 1980s. If you haven't figured it out yet, the material is White Metal. An alloy of mostly lead with some tin and antimony. FDS tended to use an alloy heavy on the lead and sometimes not the cleanest at that. The porosity and dirt are the by products of that. I used to cast white metal car kits starting in 1980. FDS was in business then and while one of the early "mainstream" manufacturers, their quality was surpassed by many in that same era. You're doing a great job with it!

The body was painted TS-36 Fluorescent Red with an undercoat of LP-8 yellow.

The shoulder winglets in my kit were both for the left side. Since the kit provides PE wing tips and supports for "extra detailing" I used them to convert one to a right side and then made the left to match.