Mike Posted September 6, 2008 Posted September 6, 2008 (edited) I decided it was time for something with two wheels. I fell in love with the paint scheme on this (yeah I've got wierd taste) and ordered the kit from my LHS. Here's where I'm at now. If you haven't built a Tamiya motorcycle kit, this one anyway, is an absolute gem. Edited September 13, 2008 by Mike
lizardlust Posted September 6, 2008 Posted September 6, 2008 (yeah I've got wierd taste) Gee, Mike - NO one said anything about your choices of 2A.M. truckstop cuisine!!! Super sanitary craftsmanship on your bike - looks spectacular!!!
Willy Survive Posted September 7, 2008 Posted September 7, 2008 (edited) Mike that looks great. I bought the same kit about 6 months ago for the same reason as you, wanted to do something on two wheels. I worked on it a little but I'm pretty intimidated by a step on this bike and maybe you can help me. The wheels... They call for some crazy fluorecent orange color which is cool with me. The problem is I can't figure out how to spray the wheels to get an even coverage. Being a car guy when I spray a wheel I only have to do the part you can see... the front. I was thinking about maybe a dowl rod and some white glue but I'm not sure. Any help would be greatly appreciated. BTW In my opinion one of the coolest things on this kit are the molded in weld seams on the frame. Wow does it look good. It doesn't take much to make me happy. Again nice work Mike. -Will Edited September 7, 2008 by Willy Survive
Mike Posted September 7, 2008 Author Posted September 7, 2008 (edited) Mike that looks great. I bought the same kit about 6 months ago for the same reason as you, wanted to do something on two wheels. I worked on it a little but I'm pretty intimidated by a step on this bike and maybe you can help me. The wheels... They call for some crazy fluorecent orange color which is cool with me. The problem is I can't figure out how to spray the wheels to get an even coverage. Being a car guy when I spray a wheel I only have to do the part you can see... the front. I was thinking about maybe a dowl rod and some white glue but I'm not sure. Any help would be greatly appreciated. BTW In my opinion one of the coolest things on this kit are the molded in weld seams on the frame. Wow does it look good. It doesn't take much to make me happy. Again nice work Mike. -Will Hey Willy - The wheels are a snap. The hard part is removing the seam lines (minimal) but if you have a flexi-file, it'll be a snap (I didn't at the time). Painting the wheels is easy. I used an airbrush, and standard Tamiya orange (x-6 I believe)over white primer as it turned out very close to the right color, and the flourescent yellow, I'm using Tamiya Lemon Yellow (stock paint at your LHS) and it turns out as bright. Anyway, back to the wheels. I clamped the ridge on the outside where the wheels mount as you won't see them anyway. From there, I just misted orange around it from all angles and got even coverage. Do the same if you have a rattle can. Another small challenge is putting the decals on the wheels. Any more questions, give me a shout! Edited September 7, 2008 by Mike
Mike Posted September 8, 2008 Author Posted September 8, 2008 Here's a quick update. The chassis is complete, lines run, and the body ferrings are next. Man this kit's an absolute gem.
Mike Posted September 11, 2008 Author Posted September 11, 2008 The bike's done. Now it's on to decals....
Brett Barrow Posted September 11, 2008 Posted September 11, 2008 (edited) Hey Willy - The wheels are a snap. The hard part is removing the seam lines You could have left the line - the wheels are forged magnesium and have a parting line on the real things - but not all contest judges would know that They're also powder-coated in real life, so I like to give them a super-heavy coat of paint to get that same look on the model. You've nailed it on this model. I think your paint choices will look great, as the Tamiya decals aren't as flourescent as some of the aftermarket versions of this paint job. Flourescents don't come across in photography anyway so I think your colors will better represent the way the bike looked on TV and in print. I think Tamiya bike kits are great - large-scale detail and engineering at a fraction of the cost of their large-scale car kits - easier to display, too! Did you use some sort of carbon-fiber effect on the gas tank and seat support? It looks spot-on! Edited September 11, 2008 by Brett Barrow
Willy Survive Posted September 11, 2008 Posted September 11, 2008 Mike it looks great. Thanks for the tips with the wheels. I started digging into mine again yesterday. Not that I don't have about a dozen other projects going on right now. Awesome work. Can't wait to see it decaled. -Will
Mike Posted September 11, 2008 Author Posted September 11, 2008 You could have left the line - the wheels are forged magnesium and have a parting line on the real things - but not all contest judges would know that They're also powder-coated in real life, so I like to give them a super-heavy coat of paint to get that same look on the model. You've nailed it on this model. I think your paint choices will look great, as the Tamiya decals aren't as flourescent as some of the aftermarket versions of this paint job. Flourescents don't come across in photography anyway so I think your colors will better represent the way the bike looked on TV and in print. I think Tamiya bike kits are great - large-scale detail and engineering at a fraction of the cost of their large-scale car kits - easier to display, too! Did you use some sort of carbon-fiber effect on the gas tank and seat support? It looks spot-on! Thanks for the tips. This is a box-stock build, so nothing other than what came with the kit is on it. No CF decals. You've obviously build a couple of these by the sounds of it.
lizardlust Posted September 11, 2008 Posted September 11, 2008 It's almost a shame to lay on the graphics now, Mike - one can better appreciate the model unadorned!! Looks razor-sharp!!
Mike Posted September 12, 2008 Author Posted September 12, 2008 It's almost a shame to lay on the graphics now, Mike - one can better appreciate the model unadorned!! Looks razor-sharp!! yeah, but I like bright colors and the decals will help cover the flaws not shown in the pictures! LMAO!
Mike Posted September 13, 2008 Author Posted September 13, 2008 The decals are a little over 1/2 done. I'm going to let these set up overnight before tackling the other side.
gary westervelt Posted September 13, 2008 Posted September 13, 2008 Looks great Mike!Between this build and your nsx you are becoming a decal pro aren't ya
Willy Survive Posted September 13, 2008 Posted September 13, 2008 Good googely moogely. Thats awesome. I can't wait to get to this point on mine. Turns out I need like 15 bottles of Tamiya paint for this build. The colors it calls for aren't even close to anything I have. But it looks like its gonna be worth it to me Mike. Great job man. Can't wait to see little Valentino climb on her and hit 200 mph. Great build. -Will
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