Italeri 1/9 Triumph 3HW

[handiabled]

The engine looks wonderful cradled in the frame!

[kyledehart5]

Beautiful Paddy. This is looking so good!!

[paddy]

strange colour but i think it will work, this is Tamiya TS-11 red/maroon







I have been trying to think of a way to do pin stripes but in this scale they would need top be no more than .75mm I dont think even tamiya tape would have a good enough edge at that width and they would appear 3D , i wonder if i could make a decal.....

[kyledehart5]

Excellent color choice. I think a decal is a great idea.

[handiabled]

Great color choice with a glass finish!

[406 Silverado]

Aug 28, 2024 7:54:23 GMT -5 paddy said:

I got ahead of myself a bit to get the chrome on the tank so it has loads of time to dry. This is Revell rattle can chrome

   That rattle can chrome from Revell really is the "bee's knees" and you've shown here just how good it really is. Is this stuff as sensitive to touch after drying as Alclad and Molotow are? Progress is looking rather stellar on this paddy.

[paddy]

Unfortunately i gave the chrome 5 days to dry but you still couldn't handle it. Its dead dry but being a mirror finish it shows every mark so you cant really pick it up as once you have a smudge on the surface from griping it enough to just pick it up you cant then clean it. Any attempt to wipe it turns the finish to gloss grey. it will work for detail like a kick start thats shiny but not reflecting an image but its not going to work on a petrol tank.
Basically it wants sealing but all the std methods of clear coat kill the finish.




No problem, a 1937 motorcycle like this would not have had a chrome tank anyway.

[kyledehart5]

Chrome is the bane of my modeling existence. I don’t like any of the products or methods. You’re exactly right though, it’s going to look great even without being a bright chrome tank.

[paddy]

A bit of surgery to the rear of the frame. The military version as supplied comes with panniers and a rack which i dont want on the civvy street version.




So after a bit of cutting and making a small bracket to join the 2 halves of the rear mud guard ( which would normally be held by the parts i cut off) we have this





I think i got away with that

[kyledehart5]

I’d say that’s about spot on! That looks wonderful!!

[handiabled]

That's a great looking modification!

[paddy]

The primary drive cover which will fit over the green side here would normally be polished alloy on later engines however i have just discovered on these bikes it was pressed steel which throws my build a bit off course.

Here you can clearly see its gone rusty so not alloy at all.





Those that are shiny on closer examination are actually Chrome so definitely not original/1937





Most likely they were painted either Gloss black or the colour of the petrol tank/mudguards like the military version





so i need to decide what to do. this is where i am now.

[406 Silverado]

When in doubt......chrome it I say Paddy!! It'll go with the brilliant work that you've pulled off so far on this bike man!!

[kyledehart5]

Well the chrome surely does stand out so I could see the attraction in going that route. Beautiful work continues!

[paddy]

Sorry guys i will be going black as thats original. I also found with the fuel tank the chrome option is not really practical as durability is zero, even wiping dust off it with a soft lens cloth is enough to mark it it.

[handiabled]

I think black works for the cover just fine. This is coming together wonderfully!

[paddy]

you can decided but i feel this is period, chrome plate in 1937 probably not

[keavdog]

Man that is looking nice.

[handiabled]

Looks great! I agree for the time period it was function over form.

[kyledehart5]

The black looks great. This is coming along very nicely.

[paddy]

Thanks Chaps
Front forks are a kit in themselves. I wondered why Triumph made them like this and not the modern sliding stanchion and fork leg then realised that this way there is virtually no machining. A modern fork needs machined and bushed legs and hard chromed and cylindrically ground stanchions. Motorcycles in the UK in those days were a cheap alternative transport for the working man. Cars were out of reach. There were dozens of manafactureres churning out dozens of almost identical machines and competition was cut throat. Most of the manufacturers would have merged or disapeared by the mid 1950's so this fork design was cheap to produce

`




The kit supplied nuts are plastic and the sprue is moulded with the front and back out of register so all the small parts are sort of "stepped", for this reason i have used real nuts where practical, in this case 1.2mm. Eventually i will tone them down as they are a bit shiny .

Of course building this whole bike in olive drab covers a multitude of sins but start adding shiny bits and the work load goes up sky high. next job will be the exhaust with a seam that will stick out like a sore thumb unless i can do something with it

[handiabled]

The use of real nuts is a great addition to the look of the forks!

[paddy]

The tail of the tank

the petrol tank started out as chrome with Revell spray




Even after a week, wiping it with a lens cloth dulled it






I needed to think of a way of doing this so i went with chrome silver paint (tamiya) masked with tamiya paper tape.....







As you can se it was a disaster so back to bare plastic and another coat of Tamiya chrome silver. This time i used Tamiya's vinyl stretchy tape :-)









Taking the tape off is always a worry, you never know if it worked.....







So far so good still another panel on the top to do but no more tight curves....getting there

[406 Silverado]

I can never get over all of the detailing that you put into your work and the convincing outcomes that happens as a result of it paddy.

The black cover was a good choice and goes with the rest of the well and that fuel tank looks GREAT!!

[kyledehart5]

That is excellent!! Awesome job

[handiabled]

Terrific custom paint job on the tank!

[paddy]

Not done anything like this before as i am not a painter. Your average chimpanzee with a bottle brush has more artistic flair than me

I should have made the top panel wider and thus reduced the width of the siler but i am learning for next time....I know it sounds silly but i usually forget the width of the tape, especially when doing camo on aircraft.

[Steve Zuleski]

Sheesh, this is looking great, Paddy. Funny, you mention all the extra work when painting a bike; "Of course building this whole bike in olive drab covers a multitude of sins but start adding shiny bits and the workload goes up sky high." Exactly why I'm not a car guy, can't handle the pressure, HA! We all have our weaknesses.

It's a shame the chrome spray didn't work as you wished, that would have been awesome. But I recon someday someone will figure it out and this will be an issue long past. We can only hope.

Awesome work, Ruck On!

[kyledehart5]

I think that’s looking really excellent!

[handiabled]

That gas tank looks pretty sweet from here!