1/12 Tamiya Ducati Desmosedici

[Ian T]

Here goes with my second project after returning to modelling recently. My first kit (a Tamiya Ducati 916), was to see if I wanted to carry on modelling, with this second kit I want to try a lot harder to include some of the techniques that I’ve learnt since my last go at modelling some 50 years ago. Some of those techniques will appear obvious, but I’ve never tried before, such as thinning the paint (yes really), de-seaming after joining parts etc.

 

So here is the progress so far, starting with the box lid.

 

 

The following picture shows most of the engine components ready for assembly.

 

 

Here are to two main “sides” of the engine with attachments.

 

 

This is the completed engine assembly.

 

 

Next is my first real attempt at de-seaming, the air-box painted semi-gloss black. I’m quite pleased with the results, there are still a couple of very minor “seams” in the corners, but I was concerned with accidentally removing the detail, so I left it at a stage I was happy with.

 

 

And finally two pictures of the engine complete with the air-box.

 

 

 

I’d appreciate any suggestions to improve (except “buy an airbrush”, which I can’t afford at the moment), thanks.

[JeroenS]

Improve? Just carry on sir! Your painting looks quite flawless. Maybe add a little filler here and there (that last pic shows a little gap but then again it will probably not be visible in the completed model), and a bit of a wash, depending on how used you want it to look. 

[Ian T]

1 hour ago, JeroenS said:

Improve? Just carry on sir! Your painting looks quite flawless. Maybe add a little filler here and there (that last pic show a little gap but then again it will probably not be visible in the completed model), and a bit of a wash, depending on how used you want it to look. 

Thanks for the comments Jeroen, I really appreciate it. I saw the gap that can be seen in the last picture, I’m sure that it is covered by the swing arm assembly, but I’ll try and cover this type of gap in future in case it can been seen when the model is complete.

I’ve not really considered trying wash and weathering yet, by doing bike kits like this it is easy to finish it as being new from the showroom. Otherwise I’d need to show some “blue” on the exhaust pipes etc. and I don’t think I have the knowhow to try that yet. 

[Ian T]

The next instalment of this build is the frame, the first picture shows the major components of the frame.

 

 

It took me some time to get the nuts to sit in the frame correctly, but model building does teach you patience.

 

 

Here is the assembled frame.

 

 

And finally two pictures of the frame a engine assemblies mounted together.

 

 

 

See you next time.

[kpnuts]

Looking sharp.

[spoly]

what are the nuts for?

[Ian T]

3 hours ago, spoly said:

what are the nuts for?

Hi Spoly, the nuts fit between the back parts of the frame. You can see them right at the back of the completed frame and just by the chrome pegs (third picture from the end). The side fairing, tail fairing and seat assembly then screw to the nuts in the rear of the frame later in the build.

[spoly]

thanks for that. I haven't built a Tamiya bike in a while and I've only ever screwed the fairing directly into the plastic.

[heloman1]

Looking good. I think you need some AM nuts to replace the Tamiya screws in the frame. Alternatively hex plastic rod from EMA Models in the UK, various sizes and cheap too. A dot of chrome paint and the jobs done.

 

Colin

[Ian T]

1 hour ago, heloman1 said:

Looking good. I think you need some AM nuts to replace the Tamiya screws in the frame. Alternatively hex plastic rod from EMA Models in the UK, various sizes and cheap too. A dot of chrome paint and the jobs done.

 

Colin

Hi Colin, sorry I’m not sure I understand what you mean?? I think that you mean to “hide” the Tamiya supplied screws that fix the engine to the frame, so that it appears to be a nut there rather than a huge (when scaled up) screw head, is that right?? I’m not familiar with the term AM nut, sorry if this appears a bit basic. If you replace the screws how would you hold the engine in place?

I’ve looked at the EMA Models website, interesting, lots of useful bits, thanks for the info on them.

Look forward to learning a bit more about your proposal if you don’t mind. Thanks and regards Ian.

[mbdesignart]

I think Colin means 'After Market'. Good to see another bike build in the section, you're doing a cracking job. 

Here's a link to a supplier of all sorts of goodies for modellers https://prime-miniatures.co.uk

[Ian T]

9 hours ago, mbdesignart said:

I think Colin means 'After Market'. Good to see another bike build in the section, you're doing a cracking job. 

Here's a link to a supplier of all sorts of goodies for modellers https://prime-miniatures.co.uk

OK, thanks for that, yes AM makes sense now. Also thanks for the link, I’ve had a look, some great stuff there!! I’m still a bit unsure of how the nuts would work in place of the screws unless the fairings were glued in place, I like the idea of being able to remove the fairings and covers.

I have a completed Ducati 916 on the “Ready for Inspection” section of the non-military vehicles forum, if you haven’t come across it. The 916 was my first attempt at modelling after almost 50 years away from the hobby, so I’m using that as my benchmark to gauge my improvement (if any). The main thing is that I’m thoroughly enjoying the hobby and I also enjoy the help and advice available on the forum.

[Ian T]

Lessons learnt session .... (and to think that I retired to get away from the fluff that was stopping real engineering), by the way I’ve no problem with lessons learnt, but they need to be carried through, anyway back to the topic, sorry.

 

1. No matter how long I try a sand/polish out the join lines, they come back looming large when the paint goes on!! I think that more putty (I hardly use any) is required.

 

2. Paint retarder works a treat with my hand brushed Tamiya paints, just got to wait longer before you get your fingers on it .... idiot that I am.

 

A couple of pictures to show the next stage (the handlebars) in progress, here are a couple of bits part way through painting.

 

 

 

 

[Bozothenutter]

try automotive putty and/or filler primer

[Ian T]

10 minutes ago, Bozothenutter said:

try automotive putty and/or filler primer

Do you find this better than modelling putty? I’ve got some Tamiya putty which seems to work OK, but I don’t think that I’m allowing enough got shrinkage as it goes off. But thanks for the tip anyway, I appreciate your interest.

[Bozothenutter]

I have a 15 yr (at least!) old tube that does a better job of grabbing styrene than modelling primers do, even Tamiya

 

http://m.products.axaltacs.com/mcat/us/en/sx/product/16159.html?mobile=true

 

[Ian T]

27 minutes ago, Bozothenutter said:

I have a 15 yr (at least!) old tube that does a better job of grabbing styrene than modelling primers do, even Tamiya

 

http://m.products.axaltacs.com/mcat/us/en/sx/product/16159.html?mobile=true

 

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly, I’ll certainly look into this an option.

[Ian T]

The handlebar assemblies are now complete and fixed to the frame. Overall I’m pleased with the progress, but two things have let it down for me.

1. The flat paint (grey and red) used on the handlebar grips (centre left of the first picture below) have both turned out gloss, or at least semi-gloss. There are at least 5 reasons given for this on the internet, so I’m not sure which one I’m guilty of. But it was disappointing as I was quite pleased with the detail painting work.

2. The steering damper (bottom left in the first picture below) comprises of two parts, the two “tubes” that run horizontally and the fixing boss that that sticks out at the lower centre of the “tubes”. I was having great difficulty in holding these two bits in the correct position for glueing, so I put the “tubes” in a pair of spring closed tweezers while I glued the other part in place. Unfortunately (but obvious once it happened) the glued run between the “tubes” and the tweezers and melted the shape of the tweezers into the body of the tubes. After many hours of filling and filing I got to the position shown below, which was a good as I was going to get I’m afraid.

 

So here are a few pictures, the first shows the individual components and the next two show the complete assemblies. Any constructive comments are welcome, particularly with respect to the two issues noted above. Also, and referencing good advice from Colin in a comment earlier in this thread, how would the forum go about hiding those screw heads?? Thanks for you time.

 

 

 

 

 

[Ian T]

 

Hello to all, there is a saying about elderly dogs and tricks, well this old dog is certainly learning since his return to modelling. This means that some of my offerings show some obvious beginners mistakes, but that’s OK, I’m enjoying myself and hopefully the mistake won’t happen again. This time it’s priming (or the lack of it) that’s given me a problem, earlier in this build I commented on being able to see the join lines even after lots of filing, sanding and a bit of filling. I’ve got around that by using a bit more filler, this covers any shrinkage and also gives me a larger area to get flat/smooth with its surroundings. That worked, however I didn’t anticipate that the white (do’oh) filler would show through the red paint quite so much. I ended up doing a few coats, which means the paint finish on the petrol tanks isn’t where I’d like it to be, also near the petrol filler cap (photo tactfully omitted to protect the guilty) there is an area where the filler is still slightly visible. So I’ve left it, it isn’t too bad and I didn’t want to lose any of the panel lines. Next time it’s primer I reckon, anyway if you’re still awake, the following pictures show the fuel tank, before and after mating it to the seat and foot peg assembly, then a before and after shot to the exhaust pipes prior to and after sanding, they’re now ready for paint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ian T]

HELP!! I’ve got a problem with this build. I need to fix the petrol tank/seat arrangement to the frame (pictures above in previous posts). The 1.2mm screws won’t tighten in the nuts that we’re trapped in the frame earlier in the build. The “nuts” have a cylindrical outside, not hex, so when I tighten the screws the threaded insert (nut) is spinning in the frame. Obviously, I should have used CA to fit the nut into one half of the frame before assembling them.

So I first tried some extra thin Tamiya glue to fix the nuts in place. This worked for three nuts but the other one still span around. So (and here’s the big mistake) I carefully used CA to try and get the nut fixed to the frame. Unfortunately some of the CA found its way into the treads. I wouldn’t be able to use a tap to clear out the threads as the nut will spin in the frame.

My solution would be to glue some rod into the nut and then glue the petrol tank to the rod, unless somebody can offer a better (easier) solution.

Thanks for reading and for any suggestions.

Regards Ian

[gamblor916]

You can break CA glue bonds by putting it in the freezer. Or so I've heard.

[Ian T]

16 hours ago, gamblor916 said:

You can break CA glue bonds by putting it in the freezer. Or so I've heard.

I’d never heard that before, I’ll look into it, but I don’t think that it would help in this circumstance as the glue may loosen in the thread but I’d need to run a 1.2mm tap down to clean the loosened glue out. And the threaded insert is rotating ..... so the tap probably wouldn’t go in.

i somehow need to be able to hold (by glue) the threaded insert into the frame to stop it rotating.

But thanks very much for reading and replying.

[gamblor916]

I'd drill into it from the inside where it won't be seen then flood it with thin cement then CA. That should hold it then fix up the hole with putty and repaint.

[Ian T]

5 hours ago, gamblor916 said:

I'd drill into it from the inside where it won't be seen then flood it with thin cement then CA. That should hold it then fix up the hole with putty and repaint.

Now that seems like a good idea, I’ll have a look and let you know.

[Ian T]

Back with a bit more progress, I got really hung up over the screws and the threaded insert problem referred to above. I thought about gamblor916’s suggestion which would probably of worked, but I wasn’t sure enough of my skills yet to give it a try. So in the end I took the easy way out and glued the seat/petrol tank assembly to the frame. Which means that I can’t remove later, but I doubt that would happen anyway. The trouble now is that I need to find a way of covering the holes where the screws should have gone. I tried cutting down some dressmaking pins leaving just the head and a short piece of pin, but after trying for a considerable time to get it to sit properly I gave up as I was touching the paintwork too much. I hope that polishing compound will restore a bit of the shine.

 

The exhaust pipes have have now been painted with my new Iwata Neo CN airbrush, this is my first go ever with an airbrush and I have to say that I’m really quite pleased. I probably need to thin the paint just a touch more, the finish is a little bit “rough” but since it was the exhaust pipes I left it and to my eye it looks quite acceptable.

 

 

And finally the the first two pipes fitting to the engine and frame. There is a line on the bottom edge of the bottom pipe that looks horribly like a joint line, but I’m glad to say that it is just light reflecting off the lid of the box that it is resting on (honestly!!). That’s it for today, constructive comments happily received and welcome.