BMW HP4 Race, Meng, 1/9

[Matt Bacon]

Some of you may remember I built Meng's Ninja in 1/9 a couple of years ago, and very much enjoyed it. This is the latest in the same series, and also the pre-coloured version. The quality of finish has moved along significantly, with the carbon fibre and livery being incredibly crisp and the  variety of shades and tones on the other parts much wider than the Ninja. It's a very sophisticated snap kit with a few screws here and there, usually where the real thing has fasteners. Like all of Meng's snap kits, they've thought very long and hard about what can be seen and what can't, and where to put joints and sprue gates to minimise any rectification after assembly. So without further ado, Day 1 of this build:

The usual classy satin Meng box which is completely packed with plastic. All ABS, so no glue required. Note the beautifully printed cowl parts in the foam lined box to the right.

Engine block is a flat pack built up around an invisible (but still press-fit) frame in the middle. The fit is very good, but keep a wary eye out for the odd raised ejector pin mark on a hidden surface before pushing it all together. The detail is fabulous, but I'm in two minds about using a wash, because in all the pictures of these things I can find, they are very well looked after and pristine.

Airbox and throttle bodies. That pipework is one multibranched part that just pops perfectly into place.

Engine taking shape.

The first use of carbon parts warrants a closer look at the textre. I really don't know how it's done. They aren't decals, and there's a "ghost" pattern on the other side. If it's a mask, it's a very clever one, and if's some sort of printing it's equally impressive.

Rear shock absorber: there are 9 parts in there, and it's fully functional...

Steel etch for brake discs -- very detailed and surprisingly hefty. The holes are even slightly chamfered on the "good" side.

I did apply wash on the chain: Citadel "Nuln Oil"

Carbon fibre rear "mudguard" in place. Three parts that snap together cleanly and the CF weave even continues across the joins...

And this is where I got to at the end of the first building session. Next, we begin the frame.

best,

M.

[Matt Bacon]

Back to the workbench instead of dining table for today's session!

Frame half with a few small detail parts attached.

And this is (I think) the rear brake pedal assembly the siver cylinder, pedal, carbon shield and reservoir are all separate parts.

The swing arm going into position. There are a lot of pivot points to line up, but they all fit very precisely. The brake line from the rear calliper on the swing arm attaches to the silver cylinder in on the brake pedal assembly.

Note the carbon cover over the chain drive sprocket above. Don't forget to put it on before closing up the frame!

Frame together. It's fixed to the engine with three screws on each side, and then a long one runs through the front end.

Silencer assembly. I've touched in the bolt heads with a Molotow pen.... there'll be more of that to do before we've finished...

Exhaust on. There are three pipe parts from the cylinder head -- a twin and two more convoluted outers -- 2 2-into-1 unions and the silencer part. The joints between sections are a little loose, which helps get the whole run snapped into position, but they are pretty solidly fixed now everything is in place. I used a little AK Extreme Metal Brass, Copper and Blue to give some low key heat effects (again, it's not too obvious on the real thing.)

And that's the end of Day Two.

best,

M.

 

[bisc63]

The engineering on this is fantastic! Beautiful model.

[peteski]

Looks like a nice kit (or since it needs no glue,  should it be called a "puzzle")?
So the 1:1 bike has wheels made form carbon fiber?  Interesting.

[Matt Bacon]

Oh… I think I’ve figured out how the carbon is done. I think it must be using the “hydro-dipping” technique, where you float ink printed on a carrier film on a tank of water, dissolve the film with “activator”, and dip the sprue in, picking up the ink in the pattern on the water. That would explain the “flow” of the weave pattern, and the ink ghost marks on the back of the parts.

best,

M.

[Matt Bacon]

5 hours ago, peteski said:

Looks like a nice kit (or since it needs no glue,  should it be called a "puzzle")?
So the 1:1 bike has wheels made form carbon fiber?  Interesting.

Gordon Murray is very scathing about cf for car wheels on the basis that if you curb or pothole one, it’s probably a write-off. I guess for a dedicated racing bike with a neat stand, that risk is pretty minimal!

Best,

M.

[jaymcminn]

9 hours ago, Matt Bacon said:

Oh… I think I’ve figured out how the carbon is done. I think it must be using the “hydro-dipping” technique, where you float ink printed on a carrier film on a tank of water, dissolve the film with “activator”, and dip the sprue in, picking up the ink in the pattern on the water. That would explain the “flow” of the weave pattern, and the ink ghost marks on the back of the parts.

best,

M.

Exactly what I was thinking. I wonder how long before Tamiya and Aoshima start doing this on their carbon fiber-intensive supercar models. Looks amazing, both the kit and your build!

[Matt Bacon]

OK... very bad news. I think I'm going to have to declare this kit unbuildable. I've discovered some.... flash

In case you're having trouble spotting it, I've circled the offending area. That leakage around the sprue gate is... unacceptable. ? Seriously, this is the only sign of a moulding issue anywhere in the kit.

I forgot to take any pictures of the radiator built but off the bike. There's a water and oil radiator, a four part frame, and a couple of hoses. I washed the radiator matrix to reveal the texture, but goodness knows where you'll be able to see it from with the fairing on!

More of those nice etched parts for the front wheel. Those discs are in a different league from the one at the back!

Shorter session today, so that's the end of Day 3.

Forks are next on the agenda, with some rather nice slide moulding on show...

best,

M.

[bisc63]

Wow. Every sub-assembly of this is a stand-alone model in itself. Would make an interesting display; one of these "blown apart" to showcase features.

[Matt Bacon]

As promised, time to start on the front end:

Basic parts. As you can see, the main tubes are slide moulded in one piece, which eliminates one of the few issues with the Ninja.... the seams between the front and back H-shaped pieces they used instead back then.The colours are very accurate, if a bit weird!

The single piece wheel carrier is beautifullly detailed and crisp. At the far right, you'll see a tiny cylinder with what look like crenellations, which is the reservoir on the wheel carrier at the left. Just like the golden inner damper tubes, the sprue gates for the part actually only go into the flat mounting face, so you can remove them without affecting the visible surface colour at all. Just another example of really thoughtful tooling design.

And together. This image exaggerates the mould parting line on the tubes: it's not that visible at all.

As you can see. I decided that putting the detail decals on now would be a lot easier than after the whole thing was assembled!

Control levers -- five parts each, including a teeny-tiny handgrip end cap on the assembled one above. These will get some detailing on the bolts etc.

Ready to fit. Do not put them on backwards ?

Another subassembly completed. That's the end of Day 4. Tomorrow the fuel tank and seat bring some colour to the proceedings.

Oh, and one last thing...

 

Hard to resist a test fit!

best,

M.

 

 

[Matt Bacon]

On to the coloured parts...

Fuel tank is two nice silver parts and a black filler cap with pre-printed bolt detail...

These are most of the pre-decalled detail parts based on white plastic. Very crisp, I'd say.

First, the seat is attached to the tank (pull the towers on the rubber seat through the base part from the bottom while they are easily accessible), and then....

I've put this in because the white tank top and sides have big ejector towers that need cutting off. I'd also suggest that the screws that hold the sides on can be part screwed into the pillars on the top piece before you position the sides and torque them up for a permanent join. This is what the whole assembly should look like just before you try to fit it.

And you end up with this...

Make sure the top centreline hole for the screw that holds the front of the tank down is clear before trying to snug it into place.

Although it's actually the last stage in the instructions, I figured that wheel stand would come in handy to hold the beast upright while the rest of construction was completed, so here it is...

Don't forget the steering damper (two parts) or the single teeny tiny decal on the top fork yoke before progressing to the build of the fairing!

...which begins tomorrow. This is two days of work, thanks to the garden and holiday weekend, so this is where we are at the end of Days 5 and 6,

best,

M.

[Matt Bacon]

Just some pipework today, but it's more complicated than it might first look!

The long pipe from the left lever goes to the fitting on top of the radiator, left of the filler cap in the picture above. The short pipe from the white reservoir goes to the fitting on the top front of the right lever assembly. The pipe connecting the right lever to the splitter pipe on the fork which then goes to the front brake callipers goes to a fitting underneath the right lever which points backwards. It is not easy to wiggle into place! The balancing cradle is earning its keep tonight...

best,

M.

 

[Matt Bacon]

Not the best picture, but three parts, two decals:

And then you put these bits together:

And finally...

Then here:

So this is where we're at at the end of Day 8:

All the best,

M.

[Matt Bacon]

The last few parts together. The shiny BMW badges are beautifully printed metallised decals, so I'm leaving them until tomorrow to thoroughly set before attempting to fix the fairing parts to the bike.

Final assembly and the last few decals tomorrow.

best,

M.

[Matt Bacon]

Fairing and final decals on:

Going to pick out some detail painted bits and then it's time for beauty shots for Under Glass.

best,

M.

 

[PatW]

Superb build! Very impressed to see the carbon moulded finish, the first kit I've ever seen that used.

[NYLIBUD]

Incredible work.Wow