Tamiya 1/6 Harley-Davidson FLH Classic

[Mence]

Chaps.

Keith, thank you, early days but its going ok.

Boo, yep, frame is pretty cool, it's only when you build in 1/6 that you realise how simplified some 1/12 are. Appreciate the heads up on the Protar kit buddy, that's now defo near the top of my next shopping list.

Jeff, thanks fella. Yes, Tamiya pretty much have got it sorted, providing you deal with the seams, the end result can be pretty good, even for me!

Robmeister, yes mate, Halfords grey primer for plastic. It's easy to get hold of, goes on really well and is reasonably priced. I use it a lot, it gives a great base.

Since posting I have laid on some black and flatted it back ready for another coat, update later maybe...

[Leon]

Looking good in primer Prof.Keep up the awesome work.

[Mence]

Cheers Leon, will do fella!

[Mence]

Chaps.

Back in black...



In case your wondering, four coats of Halfords Gloss Black straight from the rattle can...warmed first. Each coat was flatted back with 2000 wet and dry before the next coat went on.

While that properly cures, instructions call for the chain and sprockets to be sorted next. Chain comes in two halves and should look pretty neat once primed and painted...



Back soon...

[robbo]

four coats eh? wow

[Mence]

Hi mate.

To be honest, the first coat went on really badly, don't know if I had a duff can but when it went on i knew that it would need at least one more coat. The secret is smoothing the paint between coats, it really helps so much.
I have achieved what I set out for, a black, fairly shiny frame as they were never really shiny regardless of manufacturer.

[imatanker]

Prof, I love AC/DC  

[Mence]

Chaps, thanks for dropping by.

Hi Dicky, thanks for joining me fella, hope you enjoyed your break.

Jeff, too right mate, seen them a few times, always good value!

Boo, I think Dicky is spot on, having owned and restored many Japanese machines, the frames on them get the very lightest of primer coats and the top coat isn't much thicker! Straight paint is the way to go if mass production is your thing!

Started cleaning up the gearbox parts, a few mould seams again...

[Deleted]

Aug 18, 2013 15:39:34 GMT -5 @dickyf said:

Pretty sure HD Like most manufacturers simply paint and lacquer the frames from the factory Boo ....for this reason many get stripped and powder coated after as a result

Darn it!!! I gotta agree with Dicky,Again!!!!!Most manufacturers,car and bike etc,will go for the cheapest way of laying paint down.Most car manufacturers stopped laying lacquer on the under bonnet(hood)panels years ago,because it saves Millions of Spondies a year!!

[thug626]

That gloss looks fantastic! It sounds like mould seams are going to be the order of business.

Dave

[wbill76]

Nice progress Proff, black is the new theme it seems!

[Keith Christie]

Nice job on the paint Mence.

Keith

[Mence]

Chaps, many thanks.

A sort of update for you.

Frame now properly stuck together trapping the centre stand in place. Seat post installed, as mentioned, this has a spring inside so it's workable. A few parts added to the swing arm and the chrome rails added to the back of the frame. Still need to address the sprue attachment points on the chrome parts, that will be touched in with BMF. Finally, the main gearbox parts assembled, de-seamed, primed and dry fitted, all appears good at the moment!

[imatanker]

Nice swinging, gearboxy, chromie bits Prof. Looking more and more like a tractor with every post

[fightnjoe]

looking very sharp. you folks are a bad influence. never thought of building a bike kit before nosing around this site. now they are actually on my wish list.



joe

[Mence]

Chaps.

Thanks Jeff, it's a slow old process mate, it's paint a bit, stick a bit and so on.

Joe, hello buddy, have a crack at a bike mate, you've already shown us you can turn out a great four wheeler, this will complete your journey to the dark side!

Boo, hi mate, yes, the chrome stays for two reasons. First, there's such a lot of it and second, as you rightly point out, it's very good chrome, worth saving if at all possible. When it comes to sprue attachment points, I generally clean a small area round the point and work it as smooth as I can without damaging any more of the plating, masking tape helps at this point. Then lay on a piece of BMF, aiming for a 2mm ish extra bit all round then just burnish it down. It's not totally invisible but then it can't be really, it's certainly better than paint though.
To a degree it depends on where the attachment point is in relation to the part once fitted, on the two rails in the previous pic, the points face down so no probs really.

Back tomorrow I hope, it's really time consuming at the moment, four hours last night and very little to show for my efforts!

[Mence]

No worries fella.

There is a third reason, I'm still getting mixed results with Alclad, it's me, not the product, just need more practice!

[Deleted]

Hi Prof,  great start on the HD, if this turns out half as good as your Monkey bike it'll be stunning 

[Mence]

Chaps.

Dicky, thanks mate, so far, so good.

Steve, good to have you along, I'm hoping it turns out ok.

Update time.

Right, transmission painted and installed. I have gone for a dull aluminium finish for the main cases rather than a bright one. It's probably not 100% accurate but I thought it looked a bit like a refurbished one that had been blast cleaned? My daft idea I know but I think it may add visual interest. Chain painted in a base of gunmetal followed by Mr Color burnt iron with rivet heads picked out in titanium silver. Engine crank cases placed in position, the fit of those parts leaves something to be desired...



While I try to make the engine barrels look like they were designed to fit together I assembled and painted the sprung saddle base. A mini kit in its own right, 16 parts result in a beautiful little assembly that is fully workable.



While I'm making progress, looking further into the destructions tells me the rear fender is soon to make an appearance. No worries I thought....wrong! In true Tamiya style, the fender comes in four parts , front, back and a couple of small bits that could easily have been moulded as part of the fender. So now the delightful task of sticking it together and making good the join lines, oh fun!
Pic follows showing I'm making progress but its taken over two hours to get this far!



That's ya lot for now...

[`Boots`]

Brill stuff matey...........soz i`m a bit late out the blocks on this one!!!

[Keith Christie]

Hi Mence, Great progress,

The seat base looks like a work of art mate, very nicely done.
The older Tamiya kits are a bit of a mixture, the fit of some parts is spot on where others need a lot of work, strange really, you'd think that they could get all parts fit to the same standard, I guess that each sprue/ sub assembly could have had a different designer.

Looking forward to the next update.

Best Regards

Keith.

[Mence]

Thanks guys.

Boots, no worries mate, I appreciate you Armour builders are waaay up the forum and miss what's going on down here!

Keith, you're right, it's a bit hit and miss and I put a lot of it down to the age although I'm not aware of as many issues on their 1/12 cars.

Back soon I hope...

[`Boots`]

Ta mate......s`ok i`ll be home soon , i keep getting ferkin` nosebleeds that high up

[Mence]

ya doing fine up there mate, lookin good.

[wbill76]

Have to agree with the others Mence, that seat base looks real! The multi-part fender would drive me nuts as well, but looks like you've got it well in hand so far.

[Mence]

Thank you chaps, it continues to go fairly well although I'm fast reaching a stage where I will need to slow down until some paint arrives from Hong Kong. As I go on holiday soon until 02/09 it probably ties in fairly well, until I go, I will try to sort some small sub assemblies.

Boo, chrome is good on all Tamiya kits, never seen a dodgy one yet, go on, treat yaself!

[Keith Christie]

Mence, Mark,

if you're in the market for another big Tamiya Bike kit it may be worth waiting for THIS in November.

Best Regards

Keith

[Mence]

Jeez Keith, that missed my radar completely! Nice one, thank you so much!

She looks stunning, oh Lordy I'm all excited now.

Right, letter to the Bank Manager....

[Mence]

Preordered, many thanks again Keith

[Keith Christie]

Haha I thought you may be interested in that,
on another note tamiya are releasing a 1/24 version of the new "la Ferrari"

Best Regards

Keith.