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My interpretation of Tamiya's epic 1/6th scale Harley, the ancient decals were quite a problem with some having to be airbrushed!

Hi guys, This will be a gamble if I can finish it, But I wanted to build this model for a special friend. She loves Motorcycles and specially a Harley Davidson. So here are the pcitures of the box content. As I pulled it out of the stash I noticed that there were some parts already from the sprue and the wheels were made up. I bought it this way. If not mistaken for 20 quid. So we will see if I can manage this one as well. Cheers,

Hi! I recently decided to rebuild my Tamiya Harley Davidson Fat Boy. It is the kit from 1996, and I built it around 2000. It wasn't the cleanest build to begin with (my skill wasn't sufficient). It was sitting in an open cabinet for some time and even fell to the floor during cleaning, so it was dusty and had some not so clean repairs. It doesn't look so bad on the pictures 😉 However, I decided to try to tear it appart and rebuild it. The plan is to rebuild it in the paint scheme of the first year, which is an all-silver paint scheme, even the frame is painted silver. Some yellow trims add a tittle colour. The engine covers will have to be altered. As it wasn't built very thoroughly, it came appart quite well: Many of the parts are already stripped of their old paint. The oil tank and the rear fender brakets will be painted in the body colour, therefore I striped the chrome. The exhaust pipes will be chromed with alclad to get rid of the seams. Maybe I will 3D print the heat covers of the exhaust, which are missing in the kit. I didn't manage to sparate the front brake disc from the wheels without damage, but the brake discs are not very beautiful anyhow. I plan to create replacement parts with a laser cutter. I will also make the engine covers with a laser cutter. That's it so far. Cheers, Markus

US Motorcycle Repair Crew (35284) 1:35 MiniArt via Creative Models During any of the mechanised wars of the 20th and 21st century, motorcycles have been an important tool for messengers, reconnaissance, and even agile light attack behind enemy lines. During WWII the motorcycle was a more reliable vehicle than it had been in WWI, and saw extensive use by all sides. The US Army made frequent and widespread use of them, one of which was the Harley Davidson WLA, which was the military version of the WL and appeared in 1940. These machines required frequent maintenance to keep them running, and when they broke down, to get them back to the front line again. The Kit The title of the kit is slightly misleading, as it implies you're getting the crew only, when in fact you also receive a pair of the aforementioned Harley Davidson motorcycles. The box art shows the contents, and while it is figure-sized, it is a top-opener with four sprues of grey styrene, a pair of small clear sprues, three frets of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, a decal sheet, and an instruction booklet. Each of the large sprues contains all the parts for a motorcycle (plus the clear and PE parts), with the three figures on the next largest, and the smallest sprue holding the basic parts for the toolbox. The instructions begin with the bikes, and have you bending the PE spokes around a dished jig, and some supports for the front mudguard are also bent to shape on another jig, held in place by the pins that fit into the holes on each part. The tyres are each made from three layers to achieve the detail of the tread pattern, with the spokes fitted into the centre with the styrene hub parts added to the middle. Then the frame and engine are constructed over several steps, incorporating the rear wheel and exhaust, and later the air box and the wide fuel tank that has dual filler caps. Underneath, a shaped sump guard is installed with a kick-stand, plus pannier bags on the rear, twin rear lights, instrument binnacle with clear lens and a decal, front fork and wheel with a long mudguard keeping the dirt off the rider. With the wheel in place on the front forks, the PE parts that were bent to shape earlier are added, and the Thompson-equipped scabbard with additional ammo are hung off these parts. The handlebars and windscreen with clear top are the final parts, along with a front headlight with clear lens. The toolboxes have a base of styrene parts, with the thinner parts such as the stays and lid made from PE. You can build one in the open position and another in the closed pose. The open box has the most incredibly detailed, tiny nuts, bolts and washers moulded into the compartments, which are quite a sight to behold. There is also a set of tools supplied to be placed into the box or around the work area, some of which are PE, others styrene, and a few with styrene handles and PE blades. The three figures have separate arms, legs, heads, caps, and one chap even has a separate hand in order to maximise detail, with various poses as seen on the front of the box. One is sitting, another kneeling down fixing something, while the third gentleman is leaning over, probably watching someone else work, which sounds about right! Markings The decal sheet is small and has some rather neat shoulder patches for the figures, which is very nice to see. The rest of the decals include white stars, stencils, data plates and instrument dials for the bikes, which are almost universally olive drab in military service, with colours for the engine and ancillary parts called out along the way in a variety of paint manufacturer's codes. Conclusion More typically excellent figures from MiniArt, and a pair of highly detailed motorbikes into the bargain. Perfect for a vignette, or the backdrop of a more involved diorama. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

This is the Italeri 1/9 scale WLA, It's a nice enough kit, but handle it gently, I found it to be a bit fragile, even for a model!

Hi I am hoping for some advice. I recently bought a 1/9th scale Testors Harley Davidson FXSTC softail from Ebay. Unfortunately the tyres are missing. I've contacted Testors and Italeri but neither has any replacement tyres. Does anyone know where I might be able to get some 1/9th scale tyres for this model or how I might be able to replace them? Many thanks if anyone can offer any advice Danyel