Bitten off more than I can chew

Very nice Foxy!  Amazing to think this is only your third model.

lewbud

Looks great Foxy!

 

Looks great Foxy!

Well it's finally finished... And I have to say i won't be attempting anything like this again until I have a little more than 5 months modelling experience under my belt.... Everything was going well until the body work then everything that could go wrong did go wrong... Bad decal lay down finger prints glue spills broken parts etc etc... Anyway it's all done now and all in all I'm not to displeased with it... At least the lines match close enough :)  thank you again for the help and words of encouragement.... 

Another front pic as the decal seems to be damaged in first pic for some unknown reason.. 

wpwar11

Decals can be a total pain in the ass.  I never look forward to them either.  As I build mostly planes I'm finding better results masking and painting some areas instead of decals.  The bike looks cool.

 

Decals can be a total pain in the ass.  I never look forward to them either.  As I build mostly planes I'm finding better results masking and painting some areas instead of decals.  The bike looks cool.

Finally plucked up the courage to attempt the decals... Went better than expected but not as well as I would have liked... Especially the tail piece, its way out and the top piece is lop sided... Never realised until it was to late was trying to lay down the sides and by the time I noticed it had adhered in parts so as I tried to get my brush and micro sol behind it it started to rip.. Learnt a lot from this tho both from doing it and from the invaluable advice I got... Some of which it may seem I ignored but I didn't.. I was just worried about making further mistakes whilst trying to correct previous ones if that makes sense.. Coat of clear coat to follow and then the ultimate test to see how far out my lines are... Thanks again to everyone..

Final pieces painted and clear coated.. Once they are dry I will attempt the decals.. Something I'm really not looking forward to and will most likely go terribly wrong... I will then put them all on the bike and see how well or indeed how unwell they all line up. 

Thank you again for all the support and help. 

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lewbud

In looking at your last pic, it looks like your tape is fine for the light blue band, but high for the dark blue middle band.  It looks like you need to line up your cheat line on the nose fairing with the gas tank according to the instructions.  One of the videos I linked to in my previous post actually shows how he masked and painted this model.

 

I have a bottle of isopropyl on hand just incase :) 

In looking at your last pic, it looks like your tape is fine for the light blue band, but high for the dark blue middle band.  It looks like you need to line up your cheat line on the nose fairing with the gas tank according to the instructions.  One of the videos I linked to in my previous post actually shows how he masked and painted this model.

Well See! 

     It looks just fine to me!.

keavdog

Close I think - I think it should go something like this - you have to line up the front cowling to get the dark blue alignment right,  Then paint lighter to darker order

 

Close I think - I think it should go something like this - you have to line up the front cowling to get the dark blue alignment right,  Then paint lighter to darker order

keavdog

They are in the album linked in the first post.  I can't get the orientation right.  Can you put the parts on the bike?  

 

They are in the album linked in the first post.  I can't get the orientation right.  Can you put the parts on the bike?  

Pics didn't come through.

Ok I've added a couple of pics of my masking to the album.. If someone could look over it and see whether I'm somewhere near correct it would be appreciated.. Especially the rear piece as I couldn't figure that one out.. I'm hoping that once it's sprayed blue the decals will cover what it should just leaving the white along the bottom edge.. Oh and I know the yellow around the tank doesn't look straight but there is a strip of white curve tape underneath.... Thanks again for all your help.. 

Okay, Listen Up!

       If you trash this you deserve a foot you know where!! I can see nothing that would warrant that kind of result. Life is pressing on you so your thinking is not as clear as it can be. Shelve it in the box and when you are really relaxed and calm go back to it. Never toss a kit that you've already done this well with !

Thank you all for the advice and help... I think I'll come back to it in a few days with a clear mind set and see where I go from there... I will post a pic of the outcome once its complete.,hopefully whatever happens it won't be to bad.. And like was said it will certainly be a learning experience. 

Looking good.  I like the bikes and have a couple more complex paint jobs in the stash.  I'd say put the base down let it cure. Then have a couple beers and mask as others have said and go for it.  Worst case you strip it and try again.  Good learning experience. Good luck!

Foxy,

As the others have said, don't throw it away.  You can do this, it looks a little intimidating, but it's not.  The surfaces you're dealing with are fairly simple curved surfaces.  The only complex cured surface to need masking will be the gas tank, but then all you have to worry about is making sure the colored band is uniform all the way around the tank.  You make your own masks for this using the decals as a guide.  Find a copier and make several copies of the decals.  You can either transfer the shapes to masking tape by either cutting out the decal copy and putting it on some masking tape and cutting out your mask, or you can cover the decals with a piece of clear acetate (clear report cover) and trace the decal onto a piece of Kabuki tape and then transfer it to the model.  I've linked a couple of videos to help you.  You've come this far, you can finish it.

https://youtu.be/qhzg-ZeUQlc

https://youtu.be/oAPlXs7pD3E

CapnMac82

One of the worst things to do are to just slap the parts together if you are not "feeling" it.

Had never really thought about that, but how true. And sound advice.

Odd, I did that several nights ago, and made trouble for myself.

Corral the parts in the box, and pu the box up on the shelf.

Take a break and build somehing else.

You can always come back to something later and start from a good beginning, rather than from scratch.

One of the worst things to do are to just slap the parts together if you are not "feeling" it.

Then, everything will go sideways, and in not very repairable ways.

Stopping can be much more important than finishing.  This should be about the process, the use of one's skills to ake soething unique.  Even if it looks like every other example of that kits (hey never really do).

Dude that bike is awesome.  I definitely agree what others have said DO NOT TOSS IT!  I‘m in the same boat as you and recently posted my third model.  Stay the course.  It might be finished now or later but you can’t give up on such a nice model.  I can’t offer any more advice than that.  I’m new and model bikes scare the hell out of me.

I would never toss out a partially built build. Just box it up and put it on a shelf for a while. Finish the build after you get more experience.

A couple of years ago I hit a huge snag on my partially built 1/48 scale B-58 bomber. I put it away  on the "shelf of doom." After six months I dragged it out and finished the build. I'm glad that I didn't "toss it".

Foxy

Like I say the instructions don't seem to clear so it's hard to distinguish which is paint which is decals.. How much is a different colour to the rest etc... If that makes any kind of sense?

We've all been there.

The good news is that it looks like any masking needed is mostly straight lines. Partly why the scheme looks so good to begin with...but a lot easier for we poor modelers to paint!

Thanks to everyone else for the words of encouragement... Like I say I'm pretty handy with an airbrush so spraying isn't the issue I guess it's just a case of getting lines straight between each piece for a constant flow.. Like I say the instructions don't seem to clear so it's hard to distinguish which is paint which is decals.. How much is a different colour to the rest etc... If that makes any kind of sense? 

gregbale

Probably should have said this first: what paint job is it that you're trying to match?

(I don't know your bike...but I've slung a lot of paint in my day. Answers may be easier than you think!)

 

It looks good so far to me. 

Don't scrap it, and if you shelve it you run the risk of starting that as a habit, losing parts, or having your soon-to-be ex-wife throw it away for you.

Yes, those decals for the fairings look hard. They may not have been the best concept in the first place. Think about just painting it. Paint it white, mask and paint the red.

Bikes are hard builds. Kind of like the real thing, it's all a balancing act. Tighten this, and it distorts that. They can't be handled, and parts just start falling off after a while.

A couple of times I've resorted to youtube to watch someone rev a Honda RC166 up to 20,000 rev.s. The sound gets your blood flowing again.

Bill