Motoholic

I've spent the last few days on the bodywork. Firstly joining the two halves of the tank/seat unit leaves a very obvious seam that needs a good amount of filling, sanding and then priming. Once ready it was pained in the Gravity Titanium White and then masked in preparation for the Rothmans Blue. I found the Gravity paints to be super thin but also easy to use. Not the best masking job, left a little bit of overspray to be rectified. The colour transition will be covered by a decal so I'm not too concerned. Into a little delay now as I await the new decals to arrive. Cheers Andy

Mate I threw everything I had at those decals. Microsol, Tamiya Mark Fit Strong and Mr Mark Softer. I haven't done much decaling but I can just tell the sharper curves just aren't going to work, they are too thick. Cheers for the comments, I appreciate it!

Hi all. Apart from a few PE nuts and bits the chassis is now done. Unfortunately my fears about the MSM Creations decals were correct. They are naff.. This simple little Rothmans decal took an eternity to conform with the simple curve of the fender, even with the strongest solutions. There are some much sharper curves and vents on the bodywork that just aren't going to work. I've managed to find some form Decalpool which I hope will be better. I've never used Decalpool before so fingers crossed. Front end fitted into the chassis. super happy with the progress so far. The aim has been to keep it as clean and sharp as I can, hopefully this will also carry over to the bodywork. Couldn't help but to include a shot with a better backdrop. Cheers Andy

I think that they are perfect for this type of application, highlighting bolt heads, small raised details, and window trim. I've also seen them used to good effect on taillight/headlight recesses prior to the 'glass' being placed over. The main issue, like any 'chrome' finish in model applications, is durability. This stuff takes forever to dry and tarnishes very easily, touch it once and a re-application is required. All of these things make their use limited in my opinion. The are very easy to use though, just touch the tip onto the bolt head, the longer you leave it the more it pools. Will Pattison does an in depth test of these pens on his YouTube channel. He even opens one up and sprays it through his airbrush. Here is the link if you are interested https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4nF6AxmhzE&t=1043s Cheers Andy

Well thats the front wheel done. Chrome bolts courtesy of a fine tipped Molotow chrome pen. Cheers, Andy

It's radiator day! Gave it some panel line wash to give it more depth. It slotted in nicely along with a bit more plumbing, steering dampner, footpegs and dash. This only leaves the front end on the mechanical side of things before I tackle the bodywork. Cheers Andy

Haha, Big brother is watching.... The motojig comes in very handy at times. I've had this one for a few years. The new ones are very flash with carbon rails and anodised adjusters, bling!

No no, not at all, I was a little bummed but not disappointed. No kit is perfect and this is no exception. You can only work with what you have. For the record I'm super happy with the way this is progressing, my best work by a long way.

Next up for the NSR is the 4 expansion chambers/silencers. These took a lot of work to get looking right, lots of seam lines, gaps and ejector pins to be corrected. There were then 4 different colours to be sprayed and masked. I was also very concerned with how they would fit. I tried to dry fit all 4 but it was impossible to get them to stay in place without another 2 sets of arms. Here they are finished and ready to fit. Looking at them here, its deceiving just how much work these took to get looking right. The 2 on the right side go in first and they were pretty easy to get lined up. The angle isn't perfect but otherwise look symmetrical. There are minimal tolerances everywhere, they run very close to each other and the engine and frame. The 2 on the left however were a different story and sit too close to the swingarm. Due to the shape and congestion there is just no room to move so you are left with no choice. They also touch at the silencers which isn't ideal. I'd be interested to know if others have had the same problem, especially with the later re-release of this kit - the Factory Colour NSR500 Advice here for anyone building this: The last chamber to go in is by far the trickiest (Closest to rear wheel). It is a super snug fit, whilst dry fitting it snapped into place in such a way that I dare not remove it, it sits so tightly that no glue is needed. You can also see here where they touch the swingarm. Getting these suckers in place without damaging paint or breaking anything was the crux of the build so far. I'm a little bummed but it comes down to kit limitations, not much more I could do. I'm glad this step is over, onto the radiator/plumbing next. Cheers Andy

Gents, thank you for the advice, and kind words, its great to see people looking out for each other! I should have mentioned that I always wear a 3M 1/2 face vapour respirator when airbrushing, the 2K smell was noticed after I had cleaned up. Pretty nasty stuff.

Next step is the rear wheel/swingarm/shock assembly. This all went together nicely. The rear wheel was finished in Gravity Titanium White and cleared with their 2k. It was my first time using the 2k, it is super, super sticky stuff and has a bit of a smell to it but otherwise is fantastic. Its a bit hard to see in the photo but the gloss looks great, very shiny! Swingarm was then screwed into the frame/engine. At this stage it all looks a bit out of proportion with the massive rear wheel making the engine look tiny. The four expansion chambers/exhausts are next which is making me sweat as they are complex shapes. Fingers crossed they can be mounted without too many dramas. Cheers Andy

More progress on the NSR today. Plumbing and heatshield added to the engine. The frame took a bit of filling/sanding to get all the gaps filled. Then sprayed up in Tamiya LP Gloss Aluminium. I've had this motojig for while and thought it isn't suited to this stage of the build I may use it later. Engine mounted into the frame and HT leads added. Really enjoying this one so far. Cheers Andy

Hi all, So this will be my first proper attempt at a bike kit. I had this way back when it first came out, back then my style of modelling was to glue it together and whack the decals on, no paint was involved. Being an Aussie racing mad kid in the 80's meant one guy - Wayne Gardner. He finished second in the 500 World Championship in 1986 and went one better the following year. Big fan of the NSR too and I think it looks great in the iconic Rothmans livery. The plan is to build it mostly out of the box with the addition of intake mesh and some PE fastners/nuts. This kit is probably circa late 80's so the kit decals are shot. I managed to find some by MSM but I'm not overly confident about them, I've read mixed reviews. Here is the box along with some Gravity Spain Rothmans Blue and Titanium White for the bodywork. Gonna have a go at a 2K finish too, not tried this before. Also aforementioned MSM decals, which I am hoping won't be too pesky. First up is the compact little V4 two stroke, added some mesh over the intakes for a bit more realism. all painted with Tamiya LP paints through an Iwata Eclipse 3.5. All good fun so far. Cheers Andy

Gents, thank you for all the replies and advice, especially about the tub join/seam. This is only my second model so I'm well deep into the learning curve and the weathering angle comes more from trying to learn new techniques rather than historical or contemporary accuracy. I'm not trying to offend any passionate fans of the M23 and @Flemming does make a good point, I'll ease it back a bit and leave the weathering for a rally car or plane build. @Vicarage Vee @Coors54 exactly! I am certain that this chassis is right now more pristine and clean than it was in 1974 when such attention to detail wasn't such a priority. Now on to tackling that seam... Cheers, Andy

Unfortunately I'm not getting as much time as I'd like to spend on the M23 build, I'm not alone there I'm sure 😊 The front bulkhead/suspension has been completed. This bit took some time as there are quite a few parts in this section. Used a combo of Tamiya/ Vallejo Metal Color. Staying on my aged weathering theme for the old girl I've tried to dirty it up a bit using Tamiya panel line colour and some Mig Ammo Oilbrushers. The master cylinders came out a bit too dirty though! All part of the learning process! I also added in some extra detail with the hoses/connectors coming from behind the master cylinder mounts. This was done with some 1.2mm Top Studio hose joints and some .6mm fishing braid. This kit has been spot on so far, everything is fitting really well. Onto the top part of the monocoque next. Cheers, Andy