Pappy Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) G'day people, It has been a little while since I have had the opportunity to play with plastic and I was feeling a little rusty. Rather than trying to pick up where I left off on an already started projo, I pulled this kit out of the stash. I have always loved the crazy geometry of the Tesi and Tamiya have done a great job with all the details (as usual) so this looks like a lot of fun. First up naturally was the donk, which in the case of the Tesi happens to be a Ducati mill. All stock so far. I have also started working on various other bits out of sequence. I tend to work on bike parts according to colour groups, which is a little weird but it works for me. The main thing to remember when working out of sequence is to make sure you don't snooker yourself by doing something which will interfere with the assembly sequence later - like I did! I attached the silver cooling pipe to the left outer crankcase half before the motor is installed into the left sub frame. I solved my (self induced!) problem by modifying the left sub frame. The left sub frame is the lower item with the front shock unit already attached. The cooling pipe fits into the slot after the engine is installed between the sub frames, which are suspended from the tubular upper frame. The end of the slot was originally closed off and there is a hole that the cooling pipe passes through. I cut off the end of the slot to make it open ended. I don't think it will be too noticeable as the closed end was underneath the cooling hose to begin with so fingers crossed.... Wheels are always good to work on because they are completely separate units so even I shouldn't stuff these up, hopefully. I have started to drill out the lightening/cooling holes in the disc units. I think it makes a big difference for only about 20 mins work. Compare the two front discs for example, Well, that is all for now, cheers, Pappy Edited January 20, 2015 by Pappy 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Looking forward to seeing this one finished! Great work so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Rogers Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Great start Pappy, these Tamiya bike kits are great aren't they. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1fuN0 Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Excellent Pappy!!!!! The Tesi is a fantastic kit... Welcome to the mad bike builders club... Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mencie Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Very nice work, love the donk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Hey Pappy, welcome back, it's been a while. Nice choice of kit, I'l follow your build with interest. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted January 20, 2015 Author Share Posted January 20, 2015 Great start Pappy, these Tamiya bike kits are great aren't they. Excellent Pappy!!!!! The Tesi is a fantastic kit... Welcome to the mad bike builders club... Steve Thanks fellas, there seems to be a rise in the popularity of bike builds of late! Tamiya bike kits are great, as a base for a super detail job or just OOB, Very nice work, love the donk. Who could resist such a pretty lump of metal Hey Pappy, welcome back, it's been a while. Nice choice of kit, I'l follow your build with interest. Colin Glad to be back Colin, I will try not to bore you too much. Well a little more progress, as a few more sub assemblies are now complete. First up, the engine sub frames, All the steering linkages and rear shock unit Final drive chain And the bit wot keeps the motor cool, I have moved onto the cowls. The side and main cowls are one piece items and apart from a few ejector pin holes and mould seams, require no more work than to rub back their mould lines. The front cowl on the other hand is a little more work. Comprising two main parts, the fit is a little lacking. I have applied thick 'sprue glue' as the cowls are basically white and using (Tamiya grey) putty would require the use of a primer coat. I am hoping that I can get away with a matt white coat followed by gloss white. Grey putty tends to show through these lighter colours. Sprue glue sands readily and will be fairly colourless when it it is dry. That's the theory anyway. I hate glosses.... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 G'day folks, A little more progress today. The hard graft was begun today which involved filling the large voids in both the front and rear swing arm units. To be honest, the voids are not really noticeable unless you look underneath or get very close and look at the right angle, but I knew it would bother me so.... The rear swing arm was filled using a combination of plastic styrene sections and 2-part epoxy putty, The front was a bit gappy and this was shimmed with plastic card The front unit was filled with a combination of styrene stock and standard putty, The exhaust units also had their voids filled with the epoxy putty, These will still need some more work before they are ready fro priming. Meanwhile, the mudguard unit has been assembled and painted and now awaits its license plate decal. cheers, Pappy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Looking good Pappy, yes one of those things that needs attention gaping swing arms. They do look much better filled. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1fuN0 Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Hiya Pappy... Excellento man!!! I love the Bimota and such a pity that all that excellent detail is hidden under the bodywork. 100's Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) Looking good Pappy, yes one of those things that needs attention gaping swing arms. They do look much better filled. Colin G'day Colin, Preaching to the choir but I couldn't let these go. It does add extra time and difficulty to a build. It is a little disappointing that Tamiya don't include blanking parts for these areas in their newer kits. Perhaps with Hasegawa and Fujimi now taking an interest in 1/12 bikes, Tamiya may up the ante again? Hiya Pappy... Excellento man!!! I love the Bimota and such a pity that all that excellent detail is hidden under the bodywork. 100's Steve G'day Steve Thanks very much. I plan on adding the main and front cowlings, but the side cowls will most likely stay off, the internals are too pretty to stay hidden. I wish that the airbox and engine management computer were included though as these would be visible if you were to peek under the main cowl, but I am being a little picky now I suppose, cheers, Pappy Edited January 21, 2015 by Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Noble Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Looks excellent. All the work you're putting into it is paying off. That drilling the front disc makes a massive difference..!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caution Wake Turbulence Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I like your finishes, really nice work! Cheers, Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 (edited) Looks excellent. All the work you're putting into it is paying off. That drilling the front disc makes a massive difference..!! Cheers Steve, I have to agree. It only took about 10 minutes a disc, so not a bad return for the time spent. I have finally got the (upper) tubular frame together. The parts fit reasonably well but it will need a little cleaning up around the steering head where the two halves meet. There are lots of little nooks and crannies where mould seams like to hide so it was a bit time consuming (not to mention fiddly!) cleaning them all up so I was glad to get this task out of the way. Meanwhile the two swing arms were sanded and primed. Most of the seams/filling were good but there are still a few small blemishes that need attention. Whilst the filler was drying, I sprayed the front brake assembly mounts and picked out the brake details. The front mudguard and rear hugger were also sprayed up. There are a few bits of dust that have found their way into the mudguard and will need to be buffed out (sigh) I hate glosses! cheers, Pappy Edited January 22, 2015 by Pappy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Noble Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 The gloss looks good, it will polish up beautifully. What paint are you using..?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jockster Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Nice detail work, especially the linkages! Always had a soft spot for Bimotas and Spondons! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowler0000 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Nice work Pappy! I picked this kit up about 2 years ago, & keep meaning to start a build log (BuLog?!?!) here on BM, but i'm just too lazy in all honesty, & there a FAR more on here with FAR more talent than i flying the flag for Bike building.... What colour you thinkin' of for the bodywork? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 Nice work Pappy! I picked this kit up about 2 years ago, & keep meaning to start a build log (BuLog?!?!) here on BM, but i'm just too lazy in all honesty, & there a FAR more on here with FAR more talent than i flying the flag for Bike building.... What colour you thinkin' of for the bodywork? G'day prowler, I wouldn't let that stop you, the more the merrier! There seem to be few instances of multiple builds of the same subject in quite a few forums Nice detail work, especially the linkages! Always had a soft spot for Bimotas and Spondons! cheers Jockster The gloss looks good, it will polish up beautifully. What paint are you using..?? G'day Steve, I am using Tamiya rattle can lacquers decanted and sprayed via airbrush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 G'day people, I worked on the frame and swing arms today. The frame was given two coats of gloss red, buffing gently between coats, And the front and rear swing arms were given their top coats, Finally, the rear swing arm with the rear hugger temp fitted, cheers, Pappy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draz87 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Great job so far Pappy, looking really good. How is the kit? I cant decide wether I like the actual bike or not haha Draz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mencie Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Fine progress, really enjoying this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Cracking work going on here. Inspiring stuff. Always wanted to convert this kit into the reshaped Special Edition but never yet plucked up the courage to mould a new fairing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 Great job so far Pappy, looking really good. How is the kit? I cant decide wether I like the actual bike or not haha Draz G'day Draz, Thanks very much. the kit is going together very easily (as is to be expected of the big 'T'), with only a few niggly points. The fit of the two front cowling parts is not the best, and the motor halves needed a little bit of filler and sanding, but that is our hobby after all. If you stick to the instruction sequence you should have no problems at all. Tamiya have done a great job of reproducing what is in reality a very complicated machine. The steering linkages are designed to actually in a similar way to the real machine and have included a metal front axle/hub and two metal steering linkage rods. The looks of anything are always a subjective choice, and this machine has a very unconventional appearance. Personally I like the complicated look of this machine, especially with the cowls removed. With the cowls on, most of the complexity is hidden away and the bike looks a little porkish, which belies the lightweight structure underneath. Fine progress, really enjoying this! G'day Mencie, thanks, I am enjoying myself as well, cheers, Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 G'day people. Well the sub assemblies are beginning to come together. The frame details were picked out and then set aside to dry. Meanwhile, the handlebars and clip-ons were assembled and painted. Followed by a quick test fit to ensure there would be no surprises later on when it came time to fitting them. The front wheel was then assembled. Take note that the disc brake carriers are handed, and they will only attach to the centre hub if all the right parts are mated. I struggled to get the disc brake carriers to fit despite being super careful to ensure the left and right bits were all correct. These parts have a bit of 'spring' and getting them to fit was a real bugger as I did not want to force them or damage the fragile metallic paint. After checking and double, triple and quadruple checking, I was sure the right parts had been mated so I just used a bit of force in the end and it seemed to work out, though it was heart in mouth stuff! The rear swing arm by comparison was a complete doddle. cheers, Pappy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Noble Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Nice progress, you're making a really nice job of this one, it looks fiddly to assemble but your patience is paying off with the assembly.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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