1/12 Tamiya Ducati Desmosedici

[Ian T]

Continuing the seemingly never ending saga of the screw threads, the “glue” fix above didn’t really work. The surface areas was too small to get a good bond and I was also left with the problem of filling the holes. So I got some 1mm (or possibly 1.1mm, I’m not sure now) plastic rod and glued it into the threaded holes with CA, then I fitted the bodywork over the plastic rod and glued it all in place with Tamiya extra thin glue, as per the first picture below. 

 

 

After this had set overnight, I used a new blade and cut the rods down to a stub as shown in the next picture.

 

 

And finally I used a 1mm Molotow liquid chrome pen to cover the stub. I now need to touch up a few spots of chrome which got onto the red. The end result (prior to fixing up the red) is shown below.

 

 

The result suits me, it’s not ideal but I’m happy to hear any helpful suggestions.

[spoly]

looks good, seems odd that Tamiya wouldn't have used hex nuts to begin with.

[Ian T]

3 hours ago, spoly said:

looks good, seems odd that Tamiya wouldn't have used hex nuts to begin with.

Hi Spoly, yes I agree, earlier in this thread, Colin came up with a couple of good suggestions that I could probably have used. Some rod with a hex cross section would have been good, but my local hobby shop didn’t carry anything like that and I wanted to get on. All in all I’m quite happy with the result, but obviously it doesn’t really represent any real world fixing solution, never mind, I won’t fall into this trap again. Regards Ian

[Ian T]

Next up is the radiator assembly, it all fitted very well and doesn’t look too bad, in my opinion. The first picture shows most of the components ready for painting.

 

 

Next are the painted components ready for fixing in place

 

 

And finally everything fixed in place.

 

 

As ever, any comments are gratefully received, thanks.

 

 

[Ian T]

Next up is the front wheel and the front forks. I decided to get an airbrush recently (my first one ever) and have been practising on odd bits (like the exhausts in an earlier part of this thread), and decided to do the black on the forks. Also the titanium gold on the brake calipers and the orangey/silver on the dampers was airbrushed. I am very pleased with the way that it worked out. I took the plunge and added thinners to all of my pots of Tamiya paint to make them ready for airbrushing. I’m not sure if I read it here on Britmodellers but it is certainly a regular theme on the internet. It worked really well and has the benefit that my hand brushing seems to be a bit better as well.

 

So back to the model, the first picture shows most of the components, mostly painted and ready to fix.

 

 

The next picture shows the forks and wheel mostly assembled.

 

 

And a couple of pictures of the final assembly to the rest of the bike.

 

 

 

I need to look at using clear coats now, but I need to do some research on the finish. By that I mean would a matt clear coat over a gloss colour make it a matt colour? Also do fellow modellers clear coat each component as part of the painting process or should I look at doing an “overall” clear coat at various stages of assembly?

 

All comments read with much appreciation, I still have a lot to learn. Thanks for reading.

Edited July 29, 2018 by Ian T

[gamblor916]

What are you trying to clear coat? For me the body panels tend to be very glossy, the carbon fibre bits semi-gloss and the metallic bits like the engine either matt or semi gloss. Metallics when clear coated lose their shine so bear that in mind. References are important so referring to pics of the 1:1 is also important.

And yes a matt coat over a gloss coat will result in a matt finish.

[Ian T]

That’s a good point, I don’t really think that the engine (for example) needs anything, I’m happy as it is. But the petrol tank is getting a bit of finger damage (loosing the gloss) simply from me handling the model as I progress. I then use finishing compound and that works but it must be wearing a bit of the paint away. Also I probably need to coat the decals once they are finished in stuck in place.

 

I’ll have a look at some original photographs as I go. I just got the impression that some people use a clear coat on everything regardless, maybe I’ve just misunderstood. Or maybe with something like a military vehicle you could use a matt clear coat on everything without a problem.

 

Thanks for your comments.

[Ian T]

The next stage is the rear swing arm and damper, nothing particularly difficult here, but the yellow on the spring proved a bit fiddly. The first two pictures show the separate components.

 

 

 

Next up is the completed sub-assemblies.

 

 

And finally the complete swing arm unit.

 

 

 

Thanks for looking, Regards Ian

[noeyedears]

i do like a tamiya bike, lovely things.

[Ian T]

When I first started on the Britmodellers Forum a couple of months back, several members wisely said that model making is for yourself and only you have to be happy. But when I view some of the masterpieces on the forum, I realise that for me to be happy I have a long way to go. The source of my frustration is the front mudguard and I’ll try to keep the saga brief.

 

Having painted the guard red with not a seam in sight I was off, but then found out that curved decals (the white stripe along the length of the guard) don’t automatically jump into place and line up with their other half. And after we had a little fight and the two halves lay flat and nicely aligned with each other I found that they had deliberately moved off to one side of the guard and totally dried in place. It was too obvious to leave so I scraped them off with aim of painting replacement stripes. So I first painted the white wide central stripe but had no chance of lining up the masking for the two narrow side stripes. So this was abandoned and I then sprayed the whole of the top of the guard white, then put some 5mm masking tape along the centre with some really narrow strips that I cut from some 3mm masking tape on either side. Then I sprayed red, it all looked good until it took the tape off, the white under the tape was horrible, and because the tape wasn’t laying completely flat there were little red bits here and there. Of course in the mean while I had split the two halves of the guard which had to be re-glued and sanded etc. again. Eventually I tried some clear coat to see if it would shine a bit, I then touched it before it was dry. In the end I gave up and this will probably upset the purists, but I have left it. I can look back and hopefully learn from this.

 

In the mean while the back wheel has been completed as shown below and then there are two overall pictures showing the current state of the build. A happier story next time hopefully.

 

 

 

 

 

[JeroenS]

Don't let it bring you down Ian... I too have found that sometimes that 100% is just out of reach for us mere mortals 😎

 

You're still going strong with this one, the back wheel assembly looks great. 

[Ian T]

4 minutes ago, JeroenS said:

Don't let it bring you down Ian... I too have found that sometimes that 100% is just out of reach for use mere mortals 😎

 

You're still going strong with this one, the back wheel assembly looks great. 

Thanks Jeroen, overall I’m still quite pleased with the way that it going. Somethings you can get away with, but not the front mudguard, never mind, the next one will be better 😬🏍

[spoly]

16 hours ago, Ian T said:

When I first started on the Britmodellers Forum a couple of months back, several members wisely said that model making is for yourself and only you have to be happy. But when I view some of the masterpieces on the forum, I realise that for me to be happy I have a long way to go. The source of my frustration is the front mudguard and I’ll try to keep the saga brief.

 

Having painted the guard red with not a seam in sight I was off, but then found out that curved decals (the white stripe along the length of the guard) don’t automatically jump into place and line up with their other half. And after we had a little fight and the two halves lay flat and nicely aligned with each other I found that they had deliberately moved off to one side of the guard and totally dried in place. It was too obvious to leave so I scraped them off with aim of painting replacement stripes. So I first painted the white wide central stripe but had no chance of lining up the masking for the two narrow side stripes. So this was abandoned and I then sprayed the whole of the top of the guard white, then put some 5mm masking tape along the centre with some really narrow strips that I cut from some 3mm masking tape on either side. Then I sprayed red, it all looked good until it took the tape off, the white under the tape was horrible, and because the tape wasn’t laying completely flat there were little red bits here and there. Of course in the mean while I had split the two halves of the guard which had to be re-glued and sanded etc. again. Eventually I tried some clear coat to see if it would shine a bit, I then touched it before it was dry. In the end I gave up and this will probably upset the purists, but I have left it. I can look back and hopefully learn from this.

 

In the mean while the back wheel has been completed as shown below and then there are two overall pictures showing the current state of the build. A happier story next time hopefully.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

from this angle i can't see any problem with the front guard. looks perfect.

[Ian T]

And from another angle ..... 

 

 

 

The white was looking good before I put the masking tape on (5 or maybe 6mm Tamiya tape) then I sprayed the red which in turn looked good. It wasn’t until I took the tape off that it went wrong. I’m guessing that a) the tape stuck too well and damaged the white b) the tape didn’t stick well enough along the edges and let the red creep in and c) I didn’t let the red dry enough before I took the tape off. Never mind, I’ve moved on, the tail cowling is going to look good!!

[mbdesignart]

Shame to see this as Tamiya are usually pretty good with their decal shaping. I have heard that first spraying the base coat over the masking seals the edge before spraying the top coat, although I wish I'd found this tip before doing my last build. Also try thinner tape for the edge on curves then infill between with wider tape.  I'm sure you'll get it sorted.

[Ian T]

10 hours ago, mbdesignart said:

Shame to see this as Tamiya are usually pretty good with their decal shaping. I have heard that first spraying the base coat over the masking seals the edge before spraying the top coat, although I wish I'd found this tip before doing my last build. Also try thinner tape for the edge on curves then infill between with wider tape.  I'm sure you'll get it sorted.

I don’t think that there is anything wrong with the Tamiya decals, just my technique unfortunately. I should have got one half fixed correctly and dry before attempting the other half. But I tried to do both halves at the same time. So I was trying to line them up with each other and also in the correct position on the guard.

 

As for the painting, that again was my inexperience. This is only my second kit back after about 50 years away from modelling, and I (hopefully) will learn from these mistakes. I’ve played with the narrower tape and, yes, that would have worked, I also need to let the paint dry for longer.

 

I’m very happy to take any and all hints and constructive comments.

[kpnuts]

Well apart from the mud guard that's looking great

[Ian T]

51 minutes ago, kpnuts said:

Well apart from the mud guard that's looking great

Thanks Kpnuts, yes, overall I’m quite pleased with the result, I’ll just look from the back so that I don’t see the mudguard!! I’m still enjoying myself and still learning, so all’s we’ll really.

[willie fixit]

Morning all, Ian here's a trick an old painter told me that i use, first put a line of 1mm tape down each outside edge, then a second line of 2mm overlaping the first line, then a third line overlaping the second and so on until all white is covered then spray the red coat, ,just make sure all tapes are pressed down tight so as no paint creeps under, hope this helps

                               willie

[Ian T]

9 hours ago, willie fixit said:

Morning all, Ian here's a trick an old painter told me that i use, first put a line of 1mm tape down each outside edge, then a second line of 2mm overlaping the first line, then a third line overlaping the second and so on until all white is covered then spray the red coat, ,just make sure all tapes are pressed down tight so as no paint creeps under, hope this helps

                               willie

Hi Willie, thanks for that, I’m sure it will help. Coincidentally I went to a model show/exhibition here in Brisbane over the weekend and bought some rolls of thin masking tape. I like the thinner Tamiya tapes, up to around 4mm, where the material is quite shiny, they seem to come off very easily when complete. But the tape wider than that (I used 6mm Tamiya on the mudguard above) seems to be made of a different material and sticks much harder. So it’s thin tape along the edge from here on!!

 

This little episode has actually been good in the end, firstly, the help from the forum has been great, thanks to all. And secondly, I’ve learnt something else. Onwards and upwards with the next build.

 

Regards Ian

[Ian T]

Time for an update, I’ve been steadily working away at a few bits that have mostly come together now. Firstly we have a couple of pictures of the rear cowling.

 

 

 

Next is the almost complete stand, a final coat of paint is still required and the wheels need to be fitted, the end result can be seen holding the bike upright in the later pictures.

 

 

This is the front fairing, ready for the windscreen and the air intake scoop, which will appear in a later post hopefully.

 

 

These are the rear brake pedal and gear change assemblies.

 

 

And finally some pictures of the current build status.

 

 

 

 

[JeroenS]

Looking good there Ian!

[Ian T]

1 hour ago, JeroenS said:

Looking good there Ian!

Hi Jeroen, thanks for that, I’ve got to admit that I’m very pleased with the results so far. I doubt that it will win any prizes, but I haven’t built it for that. Regards Ian

[kpnuts]

That's really taking shape. Will certainly be a super job when finished.

[Wonky Donkey]

Looking good Ian 👍You can really see progression through this build.

 

On the mudguard, I wouldn't let it bother you in the slightest, personally. If it does though, one suggestion is to paint it semi-gloss black - sure, you'll lose the colour and Ducati logo, but this is a race bike and unpainted (carbon fibre) parts are regularly fitted either to repair damaged bits or to try out new parts etc.  I've seen loads of race bikes up close and personal, incl GP kit, and they can be fairly tatty round the edges (panels are constantly removed and refitted, leading to scratches, chips and such).

 

As for the decals, I've had some bother on a number of Tamiya m/c kits (it may of course just be me!), in particular those on curved, or smaller parts - so mudguards, and wheel rims especailly. My ZX-RR had no end of trouble getting the decals to sit down. Just about OK in the end, but not perfect.

 

Keep up the good work - looking forward to progress.

 

Mick..