Whats on your bench? This is what I got...

The Doktor

Everytime I build a model, I promise meself that I will take pictures all the way through the build. A lot of stuff I build, I give away and it would be nice to have some sort of picture. I always end up takin bout two pics, and forget to do any more. Not this time!
Here is the result so far. It is a 2003 Honda RCV211 (Rossis bike).
First night took everything out of the box and started planning how I was gonna go about building.
Start.jpg

First thing I did was a bit of remodeling. Some of the parts were a bit chunky, so I made up a few photo etch parts to replace the kit parts. For example, footrests and gear lever and brake lever etc. Here is the gear lever.

Foot rest-Gear.jpg

Next I move on to the swing arm. The first thing is the chain adjusters look a bit crap on the kit arm, so these were removed and replaced with photo etched ones. They look way better.

Chain Adjusters1.jpg

Because I did a little filling and cutting on these, I had to make them look like they were metal again. So I painted them gloss black as a base first, then used alclad chrome to finish.

Swingarm Painted.jpg

I then finished the Swingarm off, with a few small photo etch parts like a small plate which protects it against the chain. Also from the pictures I had it was way too shiny, so I dulled it down a bit with Alclad Aluminium paint.

Swingarm complete.jpg

Also the Carbon fibre mudguard was given a coat of black, the was covered with a fine mesh and sprayed lightly with gold, then clear gloss to make it look like CF. Hard to see in the picture, but you can see it better in another one later on.

The Doktor

Next I assembled and filled the main engine parts. The main engine was painted with a mix of Alclad Aluminium and Black enamel. The valve covers and sump was painted with Alclad Pale burnt metal. Im not sure what metal they are made from (some alloy I suppose), but from pictures, it looks exactly right.

Engine bits.jpg

It was then assembled and parts of it was airbrushed with a very thin matt black. This was because from all the photos of the real engine, it was not a uniform colour, and looks quite roughly cast/machined. The engine was then completed, with clutch, air intake, oilfilter etc. I have not used any washes on it yet, but will later.

Engine clutch.jpg

Next the frame was assembled, and some of the photo etched parts were put on, I then painted it gloss black, with a few other parts including radiator and some fork parts.

Frame Rad parts.jpg

I painted the frame with Alclad chrome, and a few details were painted black. The foot protector was made look CF.

Frame complete.jpg

The Rad was also done this way, however before I painted it black the sides were rubbed with 400 paper to roughen it, as from picutres of various RCVs it always seems to look as though it was not too well looked after. Note the photo etched protective grille.

Rad complete.jpg

The Doktor

Next I did the wheels.. just to see some nice bright colours. Also it would give me a chance to let the paint harden for a few days. I find that if you don’t you always end up with a finger print on them when you put the tires on. These were painted with Tamiya Bright orange paint. It was decanted into a jar, and airbrushed on. As the airbrish gives a way nicer finish than an aerosol can.

Wheels painted.jpg

I also painted the fuel tank which was made to look CF. You can see it a bit better in this pic. Looks quite convincing if ya ask me.

Fuel tank black.jpg

That’s it so far. Gonna look at doing the forks next, and maybe all the cowling parts to give them a few days to harden.

coolwings

Keep the pics coming Doktor ! :-)

Manic Moran

"Made up" photoetch?

I'm impressed. They look good.

NTM

The Doktor

Manic Moran wrote:

"Made up" photoetch?

I'm impressed. They look good.

NTM

Well, I mean made from a photoetch kit... I dont do the etchin meself...

BFassassin

Looks good mate. How do you do your painting. Im currently building a model lorry trailer and i have painted a few parts that im not completly happy with the look off

The Doktor

BFassassin wrote:

Looks good mate. How do you do your painting. Im currently building a model lorry trailer and i have painted a few parts that im not completly happy with the look off

I use an airbrush as much as possible. Even for small, one off colour parts. If I can mask somthing and airbrush it I will. I always think its worth the effort.

BFassassin

Yeah you are probably right. I have an airbrush kit that came with an air crompressor we have so i might try that the next time i do a kit. All i have left to paint is the little side-lights.

Cmar-Ireland

Hey!!!!!! Next time take pics of the kit, not a real bike!!!

The Doktor

Got a bit done this weekend. I have painted a fair few bits, but mainly stuff thats not worth takin pics of. Mainly primed parts etc.
But I have finished the wheels and front forks, and am real happy with the result.
It ment painting the front mudgard with one of the body colours. I first filled, sanded and primed it. I painted it with one of the tamiya aerosols, which i decanted and then airbrushed on.
I then put on the couple of decals and put Microsol on them to soften them. This is great stuff! It makes a decal really adhere to the surface. You place your decal, and smooth it out with a light brush or cotton bud, getting as many creases and bubbles out as you can. You then apply the microsol and DONT TOUCH the decal. The next day you will end up with perfect decals.
I then coated the whole thing with clear laquer (halfords stuff), decanted and then airbrushed.

The tyres were put on after sanding, and the "michelin" tyre decal applied..
I used the Tamiya fork set for this kit, but doubt id bother with one again. You can get the same results with a small bit of paitence.
I was real happy with the front disks. It can be hard to get carbon disks to look right, but I used a mix of Alclad Aluminium and humbrol black, and they turned out great.
Anyways.. have a look at the pics, and see what ya think..

Wheels and Forks.jpg
forks.jpg

Tonight.. I want to finish the handle bars, and add a few more details to em.

The Doktor

Got a few more bits done this week.
First the chain was painted a similar colour to the engine. Each link was then painted titanium gold. This picture doesnt have the rivets painted yet but this has been done with gun metal.
chain.jpg

I also have the instruments half done. I used a photo etch part over the original plastic part. This ment I could make the LCD screen look better. I first painted the whole thing black. I then did the screen silver, and than did a few layers of clear green over it.
I cut out the rev counter part of the decal and put it on with Micro sol and clear laqured the whole thing. Also one thing I found was all instructions said to put the warning lights on the left hand side of the panel, but all pictures I found of 2003 bikes had it below the screen. So in this picture I have a photo etch part put in what I think is the right place.
There is a cotton bud beside it to give you an idea of size.
Instruments.jpg

I then assembled the frame and swing arm, I didnt use the screw that comes with the kit to hold in the wheel, as this covers the photoetch nuts, so I used an old blunt drill bit that was just the right size.

Frame and Swingarm.jpg

Cmar-Ireland

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Plug

Looks very nice;)

BFassassin

I dont know how you manage to do the fine detail so good. Im very messy when i paint. BTW that last pic looks so real, fair play

The Doktor

BFassassin wrote:

I dont know how you manage to do the fine detail so good. Im very messy when i paint. BTW that last pic looks so real, fair play

The trick is.. if you make a mistake.. STOP. Wait til the paint is dry, and start again.
For the fine detail, I use a Tamiya High grade 000 brush. I have found that all the windsor newton and various fancy artist brushes are just not good enough for fine detail with acrylic, Enamel and cellulose based paints.
You put the paint on the brush and wipe it on a bit of paper, not the side of the container as the paint on the side of the container is drying and gunks up your brush. If you are doing a good bit of detail, clean your brush every few mins.

Right, the other half is gone out.. im off to finish the pipes! woo hoo!

BFassassin

Cheers man. I just had a look on ebay for the brush and it is quite expensive around €15.
Can you tell me how this photo etching works.Ive never heard of it before this thread.

The Doktor

Right, next thing to do is the pipes. First thing I did was shave any mould lines off them and give them a light sanding. I then coated them lightly with white primer so I could see where there was bad spots.

Pipes1.jpg

They were then sanded again with 600 and then 1200 paper. Then primed properly, and sanded again. I then assembled them, and filled any joins with glue. The joints were sanded, and the 3 separate parts were primed. I rubbed them with 8000 and then 12000 micromesh sand paper.

pipes2.jpg

Next a nice shiny coat of gloss black was decanted from the Aerosol can and airbrushed on.

pipes3.jpg

Then they were painted with Alclad Chrome.

pipes4.jpg

Next Looking at pictures, I airbrushed Clear Blue onto certain areas. Then Clear Orange over other areas. Then over the areas that get particularly hot I airbrushed a mix of Clear Black and matt black. Also a light haze of this was put over a lot of the blue and orange areas to darken them up, and make them look like the real thing.
This was all done over a few nights, to allow each coat to harden so it could be handled or sanded.
Also before each coat of paint the parts were rubbed with a Tack cloth to ensure no dust was on them.
Quite happy with the result.

pipes 5.jpg

The Doktor

oh yeah, and I finished the Instruments.

instruments finished.jpg

The Doktor

BFassassin wrote:

Cheers man. I just had a look on ebay for the brush and it is quite expensive around €15.
Can you tell me how this photo etching works.Ive never heard of it before this thread.

The brush should be cheaper than that. Have a look here.
http://www.modelsinmotion.co.uk/product.asp?productid=207&catCode=84&tamiya=273
In the drop down box it is part number 87048 and is only £3.

Photo etch is where you etch out parts on a thin bit of metal. You can do it youself, but its messy and to be honest it works out cheaper to buy a pre made set. Here is a pic of the set I used on this honda.
The parts are cut out, and folded and bent to suit.
I often use these kits for armour models as you can do really fine detail with them. I have a Tiger 1 where all the tool straps are made from photo etch, and the actually work (1/35 scale)
photoetch.jpg

The Doktor

Got a few bits done tonight. More the little pain in the ass things, that I need to do now before I can get much more done (like putting on pipes and forks).

I did the steering head, which was painted with a mix of metallic brown and dark copper paint. I then coated it with a laquer that would react a little with the paint to give a tarnished look. Turned out looking pretty acurate.
I also did the handle grips and controls. They still need a bit of a touch up before they`re complete.
Bits.jpg

Also all rubber pipes got hose clamps put on em. Made out of self adhesive silver foil. I think it makes it look a lot better.
Thing is.. its all gonna get covered up!!:D
Ye can see the completed chain in this pic, and the Carbon fibre effect on the foot protector.

Bike1.jpg

syl77

God damit Dokter, I reckon you could put some fuel in it when its finshed and start it..... Where do you get your models from?
very nice work....

The Doktor

Had one of those very productive evenings.
First I got the pipes and radiator on. The part that holds the silencer in place was removed from the silencer before painting, and also the bracket on the bike was removed, and the whole thing replaced with a photoetch part. It looks way more realistic and detailed.

I also got the front wheel/forks on with the handle bars. I did a bit of extra detailing here. There are 2 pipes comming from the brake and clutch fluid resevoirs and connecting to the lever areas. I drilled small holes where the pipe was to go, and put a small bit of copper wire in. I then painted the copper wire the correct colour (gunmetal and white). I then cut them short, as these would both support the clear plastic pipe, and look like the real thing. You can see this in the second pic.
Bike2.jpg
Brake&Clutch.jpg

I also put the instrument panel on, and drilled a few small holes in it so that i can add a bit of wiring detail, as this isnt included with the kit, and can actually be seen on the finished model. This is tomorrow nights work!!:D
You can see the added pipes in this pic a bit better.
Handlebars.jpg

Plug

What scale is it?

The Doktor

scale is 1/12

The Doktor

Didnt get much done tonight.. But did the wiring around the instruments. Using a couple of different guage copper wire for the cables. For the connector blocks I cut small bits of plastic card, and drilled small holes into it so the wire would look like it was going into the connectors.
I took a couple of pics, but I reckon I need a better camera..
I will paint the cables black, and the connectors orange, grey and green tomorrow when the glue is set.
Wiring.jpg

I also took the bike out on of the garage and got a few pics on the tarmac:D
Bike4.jpg
bike7.jpg

BFassassin

Looks great man but you are going into a lot of detail with the wiring etc. Imo i wouldnt do it but then again my models dont turn out as nice as yours.

Note to self-next time but a bit more effort in

The Doktor

BFassassin wrote:

Looks great man but you are going into a lot of detail with the wiring etc. Imo i wouldnt do it but then again my models dont turn out as nice as yours.

Note to self-next time but a bit more effort in

But doing things right is worth it, cos the eye is drawn to the mistakes.
But as far as im concerned, doing stuff like the wiring behind the dash is well worth it, because you can see behind the dash through the windscreen. If there is nothing there, the void will be noticable (well to me anyway, and anyone who knows about bikes) so fill the void. Ok, so I could get away with not doing the best job around the carbs cos there is no way you can see it. But what if someone dropped the model, and it broke into little bits?? theyd say.."didnt do a great job on the carbs, did ya":D
It doesnt have to be exactly like the real thing either. Like those wires arent exact, as I could only get a couple of pics of this area, so you gotta use "modelers licence":D


Also for me, I want a challenge. I can build a tiger tank from the box and paint, and weather it pretty well in an evening... no point in that.
I would rather spend a few weeks at it going over the top. Thats the fun for me.

coolwings

That's turning out really nice.
Keep streaming the construction pics.

BFassassin

Yeah i know what your saying and fair play to ya for doing it. The end (or near end result) looks really good.

The Doktor

Good bit to go yet.. Theres a fair bit of work in the fairings. A serious heap of decals to go on, at least 2 nights work.. and thats after painting em.