Nikki's Katana

[nikkita katana]

Here's my latest effort. Just had to attempt one of these. Although I'm quite surprised it got finished since there were a few issues along the way.

 

Firstly, for some reason the frame really didn't like Alclads Gloss Black Base even with a coat of their grey primer underneath. All bits of it wanted to do was melt out of shape especially around the foot rests, main stand fixing points (which broke off completely) and the rear exhaust mounts. Luckily generous coatings of superglue hardened it up enough to carry on fixing the final bits.

The exhaust wasn't too keen on it either but instead of trying to melt the paint finish is wanting to stay tacky for like ever!!

And lastly, the intention to lightly coat the candy violet bits and then protect with Alclad Klear Kote failed to cos the clear lacquer made the enamel go all speckly. Good news is I'm getting lots of practice at cleaning off that sticky candy stuff.

 

Now the good bits.

Thanks to you guys here posting fab WIP stuff I'm getting motivated to try and improve things on models if I think I can. So thank you to everyone who's indirectly helping me make nicer models than I ever have before.

This has had drilled out brake discs, all those supplied screws replaced with 1.5mm brass rod so no unsightly screw heads. And the rear shock absorbers got quite a bit of attention. They had the tops cut off, centres of the springs drilled out with a 2mm drill, tidied around the coil with a metal nail file and then  replaced centres with more 1.5mm brass rod.

Also saw a tip somewhere regarding lining indicators with foil and had a go at that too. And wow, it really makes them nice and bright.

Oh and first ever go at trying some heat stains on the exhausts.

 

It's actually turned out quite a bit better than I was expecting a couple of days ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gorby]

I'm not into bikes, but even I can see that's a beautifully built and painted model. 

[Spiny]

You may have had paint issues, but they don't show and I don't think you can complain at the result. Looks great, and that's coming from another non-bike fan

[Nick Belbin]

And another non-bike fan - that heat staining is great!

 

Nick

[Fastcat]

Well for a change I actually like bikes! Nice work and the mods to the springs and discs look so much better than those supplied.

 

Regarding some of the problems - try not to mix paints, especially enamels and lacquers. You can usually put enamel over lacquer but not the other way round. Maybe Alclad Aqua Gloss would be better - can't say because I haven't tried it yet. 

Softening the plastic isn't usually a problem unless the paint goes on a bit too heavily. Maybe try lighter coats and building up a finish. Also try out the paint on some sprue or unused bit of the kit first. Some paints are a bit hot and the solvent in them bites the plastic even through primer.

Halfords car sprays can be useful but since you seem to be getting in some good practice with your airbrush maybe Zero paints from Hiroboy would be worth trying. Full size car sprays can be a bit heavy if you're not careful.

 

You don't seem fazed by any of the problems you've had - great attitude!

 

Dave 

 

Edited March 17, 2018 by Fastcat

[nikkita katana]

2 hours ago, Fastcat said:

You don't seem fazed by any of the problems you've had - great attitude!

I'm rarely fazed and never by likkle bits of plastic. Worst case scenario it's all wrecked beyond fixing and the only cure is buying a replacement kit to start again. And in the case of this kit that would have given me another go at working on those discs and springs all over again.  

 

Heavy paint could have been a possibility. And possibly putting other coats on a bit too soon.

I shall put some Aqua Gloss on the next shopping list along with some Zero Paint to try. Got a ferrari 288 gto to attempt sometime in the future which definitely won't be painted in an Alclad Candy finish. That would be too wrong even for me.

Thank you for the tips.

[harveyb258]

Excellent result, Nikkita!! Well done!

 

Cheers, H

[Vince1159]

Great job,i love the contrast between the forks and the rest of the bike...

[nikkita katana]

1 hour ago, harveyb258 said:

Excellent result, Nikkita!! Well done!

 

Cheers, H

Thank you, I'm in absolute awe of the scratchbuilding you guys do but also inspired a little by it (actually a lot). So thank you

 

50 minutes ago, Vince1159 said:

Great job,i love the contrast between the forks and the rest of the bike...

Glad you like it. The chrome plating on the forks just had to come off and I'd found some pictures of a heavily modified bike on Google that had gold forks that looked really nice. I used Alclads Pale Gold and the calipers were done with the gold mixed with a bit of Alclad white aluminium to add a subtle difference.

[harveyb258]

4 minutes ago, nikkita katana said:

but also inspired a little by it (actually a lot). So thank you

A bit of inspiration can go a long, long way......I'm glad we were of service!

[Natter]

That's a really kool Kat.

[mustang1989]

That's a good lookin' bike right there.

[Head in the clouds.]

I thought the Katana was ugly when it came out but now it looks OK...like me it is getting older and more mellow! Nice build by the way and an all round nice model.