Tamiya 1/6 Harley-Davidson FLH Classic

[Leon]

Excellent work Prof,she's a real beauty.

[wbill76]

Nice work as usual Mence, glad to hear you won the battle with the exhausts!

[Mence]

Thanks to all.

Unfortunately due to family commitments there will be a fairly long delay until my next update. On the home stretch though!

[fightnjoe]

i am truely sorry i havent looked in more regularly. this is an absolutely fantastic build.




joe

[Mence]

Hey Joe, don't apologise fella, this is a very busy forum, it's hard to keep up wit all the good things going on.

Right, as mentioned, this is a family intensive part of the year for me where modelling rightly takes a back seat. The other issue I have is that the fairly large order of supplies still hasn't arrived meaning painting with my AB simply isn't possible.

So here is the very last thing I can do until my supplies arrive, the seat.

Not much to look at, laid up in red brown and given a coat of semi gloss clear. Might need flattening back a bit, see how it looks when installed before I make a final decision.

[thug626]

Mence,
The saddle looks great. I do think you may be correct in flattening out the color a bit. A gloss like that and, your backside would be sliding around a fair bit.

Dave

[Leon]

Looking loverly Prof,Just like real leather.

[bullardino]

Yep, more real than reality, Prof

Lovely leather on the seat

[imatanker]

Mence, you may be right about the shine on the seat

Here's a '77 .......

[Mence]

Thank you gents

On reflection and looking at Jeff's pic, thanks buddy, I do need to flat it back.

Must be something wrong with my semi gloss clear, maybe time for a new bottle? Probably more down to me laying it on a touch heavy as is the norm.

It will be sorted.

[Keith Christie]

Hi Mence,

Cracking job on the seat, I'm with Mark, a satin finish will really set it off, the edges may need to have a little more shine though as they get "polished" by the riders legs over time.

Look forward to seeing some more soon, but family does come first mate.

Best Regards

Keith

[Mence]

Cheers buddy, be back as soon as time allows.

[WigWag Workshop]

Good Day Folks!

Great looking build. your work is amazing! I wish I could afford a copy of this kit, this one is truly on the top of my wish list. For me to get this kit, would mean 2 years modeling budget

-Steven

[bbd468]

Sept 28, 2013 14:15:11 GMT -5 Mence said:

Not much to look at, laid up in red brown and given a coat of semi gloss clear. Might need flattening back a bit, see how it looks when installed before I make a final decision.

I tell ya what Prof, ya might want to tone the shine a wee bit, but your real close to looking like a brand new seat from that period and material. Looks freakin awesome to my eye Mence. Well done my friend!

Edit: Unless you were goin for a look that an arse has been planted many a time on the seat. Then the new would be worn off.

[Mence]

Chaps.

Steven, welcome aboard buddy and thank you for the kind words. They are expensive kits but for me, they are still good value!

Brother Gary, thanks for your input buddy. I will tone it down a touch but still want to retain some of the sheen.

New supplies have arrived coupled with a little more spare time so I hope to post an update very soon...

[Deleted]

I think you've found your forte in these 1/6 bike builds   Fantastic stuff buddy 

[Deleted]

This is magnificient!

Leave the seat alone. From the factory they were quite shiny as they were not leather in those years. It ws a composite material akin to naugahyde.

Mine was a really pretty saddle brown which had mellowed with age. It remained intact for years after I sold it.

G

[Mence]

Hi chaps.

Apologies for long periods of no-show, the mist is clearing and things are slowly returning to normal.

Dicky, you always make sense mate and I only wish I knew half as much about this hobby as you do!

Steve, cheers buddy, they're quite fun but all of them are so old now, can't wait for their new release in December

Hi G, thanks for the kind words, unfortunately I have been waving the airbrush round like a mad thing prior to reading your post, hopefully when you see it you will agree its come out ok...

Update inbound a little later today.

[Mence]

Right, here we go.

Very brief post to cover progress.

Clear coat(s) laid on the panniers and top box. Everything slots into its respective positions beautifully, as only Tamiya knows how.

It all might need to come off again for further polishing but it's not looking too bad so far. Number plate took a while to get right but by using the old blue enamel over a yellow base plan, it comes up good, just needs decals.





Hope you like...

[Deleted]

Coming along very nicely,Prof!!!

[robbo]

Corrr, this is looking sweet Mence

[deafpanzer]

DAMN! It just looks like the real stuff... leather seat looks great... I'd sit on it all day modeling!

[Deleted]

That's a mighty fine paint and chrome jobby there Prof   Small update but perfectly formed 

[wbill76]

Prof's back in business! Nice progress Mence, looking good.

[Keith Christie]

Hi Mence,

The progess looks superb and the finish of the clear coat looks good.
A quick question if I may? when you spray the clear coat, how far away do you have your airbrush from the surface of the model?

Looking forward to more.

Best Regards

Keith

[bullardino]

Shiny like a diamond, Mence

[imatanker]

Hope you like?......HOPE YOU LIKE? Did you even have to ask Mence?

[Mence]

Hello chaps.

Firstly, huge thanks for all the awesome feedback, as always, I'm humbled by your very kind words.

Secondly, apologies for not responding sooner, home life a tad more complicated but I'm pretty sure we're getting there now.

Keith, about 5 inches mate, that figure varies by about 1 inch either way.

Small update planned for tomorrow, fingers crossed.

[`Boots`]

Pure class mate..........stunning!!

[Keith Christie]

Hi Mence,
The following information is just a thought mate and in no way detracts from the superb job you are making of this build so far.

Are you using Zero 2K clear coat for this build?
If so, you may find that spraying a little closer (ie 2-3 inches) and keeping a wet edge right across the work piece, you should not have to polish so much once the Clear coat has hardened off.
I normally spray a light "dust" coat then allow this to flash for a couple of minutes, then spray medium wet coats from 2-3 inches at 15-18 psi, I let these flash over again for a few minutes in between then finally spray a heavier coat to finish off. in doing this it stops the "orange peel" effect forming and leaves a glass like finish. remember that once the 2k is mixed you only have 20 minutes to get it on the model as it hardens rapidly after this time and will not level out correctly.

When you next have some clear coat mixed up, give it a try on a test piece and see what you think.

Best Regards

Keith.