1/12 Aoshima 1973 Kawasaki 900 Z1

[Lee Chambers]

I bought this kit last year however looking at the exhaust downpipes, the way they were attached to the sprue gate it was obvious that the chrome finish would be ruined. So I decided to wait until I could get hold of some Alclad chrome. I have never used Alclad before and so I had to experiment a few times to get a decent finish, also the petrol cap had been plated with a silver aluminium type finish instead of chrome, so I had to redo that with Alclad as well and also the rear grab rail. The wheels had chrome rims which were ok but also had the spokes chromed which was wrong for the look of the model as they should be zinc plated so I brushed painted Stynylrez black primer over the spokes followed with some Vallejo metallic semi matte aluminium to give the effect of zinc spokes. Also the box art showed a real bike not any images of the model, I knew the model would not look as realistic unless I super detailed it. I used a 2K clear lacquer over the paint work, the paint is actually mixed by myself from a match that I sprayed a few years ago on a Z1A which was very similar. The tail decal went on ok however the tank decal required cutting to conform to the shape of the tank. I was not happy with this so I did put the decals on but they wrinkled a little so I 2K clear coated them then flatted the tank and resprayed the colours on with my airbrush using Tamiya 2mm curved masking tape which was perfect for this job. I was just finishing the build when I had major problems fitting the headlight shell and the front mudguard, basically both seemed a little too wide for the forks. Then I found that the headlamp bottom bracket that clamps around the forks just started to brake as well as the fork tubes broke so I had a major rebuild to perform but I got there in the end. Also the center stand broke so I left it on the side stand. It's a great kit but the plastic is a bit brittle.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2017 by Lee Chambers

[vontrips]

Cracking job on what looks like a great kit! Can't understand why they've used tyres that are 3-4 decades later though!? I'd want to see some nice, ill handling, square profile tyres on there!

[Natter]

Lovely model of a truly classic motorcycle.

[Billydick]

Cracking job on what looks like a great kit! Can't understand why they've used tyres that are 3-4 decades later though!? I'd want to see some nice, ill handling, square profile tyres on there!

Ahh .. the nylon Yokohamas/Bridgestones of the era !

Got this kit in the stash, but getting the metallic green for the tank has been a quandary for me. You seem to have cracked it Lee. Great job !

BillyD