Moto GP group build '05

Cheers Shayne!

Beautiful builds Joel. Excellent finish to both and I agree with Mitch any problems are in the eye of the builder only!! I just hope my RGV is half as nice. How did you go about stripping the plating - oven cleaner?
The RGV is progressing slowly but surely and so far so good for my first bike - the rear damper swingarm and frame have been mated together, the engine and exhausts are being assembled and painted currently, the front forks/wheel progressing similarly (fighting with the Brembo embossed stencil! How do you guys do this?) and the bodywork is having all joins and mould seams dealt with ready for priming. Will really try to have this finished before the end date of the GB.
Regards to all
Simon

Simon: Paint the area where the brembo-logo is with the Brembo lettering color (red?) then paint the caliper with it's normal color. After the second layer has set you use a light touch with abrasive paper to remove the caliper paint from the top of the embossed letters.
If the Brembo marking is recessed you work the other way. E.g paint caliper color, paint Brembo lettering color and then lightly sand the area to take care of the red overflow. When doing it this way, try to get as little overflow as possible. Finish off with some dry brushing with caliper color to fill in scratches in the caliper color. Works wonders.
/Joel

Ah, just did my Brembo over the weekend. I paint the brake itself, then do the red of the Brembo, then just go over it - drybrushing - very lightly with the golden colour of the brakes.

Good news, the a/b is up and running. So I did the exhausts (at last) yesterday. Trigger is a bit "sticky" and I now have to get used to it all over again, so results weren't exactly as I planned, but good enough. For those that wondered (like me) you can spray Tamiya clear over Alclad!

Has anyone got reference pics of the 1999 Honda NSR500's? I'm off to the ´99 Kanemoto and Lucky Strike bikes and I'm highly interested in any high end pictures of engine, swing, front and rear wheels (not just of the mentioned two but from any NSR).

SeaBee: What was your purpose with the clear over Alclad? Did you use it to seal other paints? In my opinion the clear makes the Alclad lose its metal shine.
best regards
Joel

All I could find was pics of the Repsol bike. They should be helpful though:

http://g025.spacelan.ne.jp/~moci/machine/honda/nsr500v/

http://www.bikepics.com/honda/nsr500/99/pics.asp

hope that helps you.

Joel, no, it was for the "weathering" - if you can call it that - on the pipes itself - the discolouring... I used a bit of Metalizers and transparent blue.

I agree with you - to put clear over Alclad will really defeat the purpouse. It would be criminal to do it!

THanks for the tip Joel - makes sense and sounds so simple when explained like that. I always wondered how it was done so precisely.

Getting ready to paint the fairings but having difficulty finding the Telefonica blue. Does this only come as an aerosol (lacquer) in the Tamiya range? If so I guess I can't use an enamel primer - is that correct? Help please!

Telefonica blue itself has been renamed Racing blue, still the same number (TS51, I think). So that might be what's causing you not to find it. Or is your problem not being able to find TS paints at all?
In that case, I know of no other paint made specifically for that, but the guys in the UK tend to use the Sikkens(?) range of automotive paints a lot. In SA I am dependet on TS paints, though, but maybe you guys have something similar in Aus.

I use TS paints mostly. I've been trying to find sikkens paints because some of those guys swear by them. If you can find TS paints you can probably find Tamiya fine white primer (in a spray can). I use that for all my priming for TS paints. Works really well too. I'd send you some of the TS paint in the mail, but it's illegal to send spray paint in the mail.

Pintang - do you decant from the aerosol and spray the paint through an airbrush or directly from the can?

I just spray it directly from the can. I find that I can get some really good finished that way. The best way to spray using the cans is to not try to get the colour depth right in one coat. I usually build it up over 5 or 6 coats. The first 2 or 3 coats should be very light mist coats (sprayed from abot 30cm away). Then start with the wet coats. It also helps alot if you warm the can in a glass of warm water before you spray it.

Hi guys

I have been using Tamiya TS and have sprayed a bit too much paint on the rear fairing so it is too thick. Is there a way I can remove the paint now its dry without damaging the plastic ?

Dave

If you want to remove the paint itself completely, I've heard of people using varyious household product. I think brake fluid was one, but rather wait for somebody who's actually done it before!

If it's just a bit thick and you want to trim it down a bit, just sand it down (carefully, of course!) using fine and later ultra-fine paper and buff it up... (If that's a bit of a bugger-up, you can allways still go the "total removal" route!)

Becareful when u use brake fluid! Certain BF will actually make the plactic become brittle. I've try using Gunze tools cleaner and dash it a lil onto cloth and rub it down. Then use tamiya sanding paper to smoothen it.

Hi all

Thought I would post a pic of the completed airbox as i spent ages on the CF. So heres the completed frame-airbox-engine assy...



Dave

Looking good Dave. The CF looks like it went on well.

I'm still working away slowly on my M1's. Got all the body pieces for the Gauloises bike polished and I'm happy with the finish. I'm gonna try and do some work on the engine this weekend.....

Nice Dave! I don't really look forward to that work as I like to do it on my comming rcv:s and M1:s. I have a really hard time with CF over larger areas. i think you've done really well and may I suggest that you scratch a control box on top of the airbox? Would look mighty fine now when you spent so much work on the decalling.
/Joel

Looks good, Dave. One of these days, I'll get my pics resized and posted so I can show off my M1. Now on to my RC(s?). I just got another RC211v in the mail that I won off Ebay. Thinking of doing a Nicky Hayden bike, but I want to do the trumpet style exhaust. I'm not even considering of taking it from my Valencia RC, that would be pointless. So my question is, does anybody know of a source for Studio 27's metal upgrade set that has the newer pipes? I looked on Media Mix, and they're out. Did S27 discontinue once the Valencia model came out? Thanks.
Looking forward to the race at PI!

Yamafreak: regarding the trumpet pipes I don't think you'll have any luck tracking them down. I have just been searching all of my sources for a complete check up on what's available on the bike after market. I didn't see them anywhere.
I don't have the layout of the Valencia mold tree in my head, perhaps there could be an idea ordering a spare tree from hlj or rainbowten?
/Joel

Dunno if the S27 kit you are after is here -

http://www.hlj.com/hljlist2/?Maker1=S27&MacroType=CnvKit&GenreCode=Aut&Dis=2

Dave

Awl-riighty, then... Progress, at last!

Got the thing on two wheels at last. Just this morning the front suspension was added to the rest. Just a few small things and the bodywork (decalling) to go...

PICTURES, PICTURES, PICTURES!!!

So, finally got things going with my NSRs. I decided to do a VERY thorrough work on the cowlings, removing every visible sign of the glue line. Really hard to get down that recessed area on the tank... I think I'm on the third loop of putty/sand/primer and still have ugly putty marks left. See if I get it right soon.
I've drilled holes in the frame, rear chain sprocket and gear shift lever where Tamiya has left the areas filled with only a slight crave in the plastic.
To go with the thorrough work on the cowlings I set out to remove every glue line on the engine and air box. Looks really nice. Thinking of switching the XF-56 to some metalizer paint on the engine and put CF on the air box...will look good but take some time.
Frame is stripped from chrome plating and glued/puttied. Will get alclad treatment together with the exhausts as soon as the black base coat sets.
Both set of wheels are primed and painted.
My worst night mare regarding these builds will be to mask off the white section on the seat cowl of the Lucky Strike machine. I will probably stall this moment as long as possible as I have never done it before ;-)
Well, that's the story so far.
/Joel

Got my Tamiya Ducati Desmosedici kit today, with the front fork set detail kit and the stand set aswell. This will give me more motivation to get the M1 finished.....mind you I have a Subari WRC to complete aswell before......

Dave

Haha, Dave, we're almost in the same boat! I have my detail parts and the stand, but not the kit yet. Got the others with my R25 order and decided to wait for the duck to be released over here. And I just staerted on the Subaru as well (2004 Japan).

As for this one: a tip for anybody else building the Telefonica RC211V: do the Castrol decals (the big green ones on the bottom!) before clipping that section onto the bike. I tend to decal after getting it all built so that I don't get allignment problems, but had to hastily unclip that part. There is a part of the decal that need to fold over the top and cannot do so very well if allready attached due to engin blocking it...

Joel, soon as I can remember my password, I'll upload pics for the now-dirtied Focus from the WRC GB and another kit I've done in the meanwhile... Will add some here shortly as well.

Do that SeaBee!
When decalling the cowlings I would suggest doing it on an early stage when you can use frame and engine as a jig for alignment on the top and side cowlings. Decals that go over side and bottom cowling I practically always decal them "off" the bike. I use some masking tape to hold them together on the back.
I don't think you get the right amount of preassure when the cowls are attached to a finished build. I tend to be too careful and can't work them down properly. That's my 2 cents.
/joel

Now you tell me... *sigh*

That is the way I will do it from now on, for sure! I must admit, the bike practically fell together, even better than some of the other ones. Really no hassles.

But they really tried to make up for it with the decals! Very nicely printed and all. But they don't just fall into place like some of the other decals I've done on the RC211V's. Best was (S27's) West scheme. This one, though, gave me all kinds of headaches - and that's just with the yellow chequered patterns! Not much fun, but this will be the worst for this bike - hereafter plain sailing. But all is pretty much alligned (and it shows wickedly when not...) and in the capable hands of microsol and time!

Will have a look tonight and sort out irregularities (hopefully not too much!).

QUOTE: Originally posted by SeaBee But they really tried to make up for it with the decals! Very nicely printed and all. But they don't just fall into place like some of the other decals I've done on the RC211V's.

Wait 'til you get to the Spiderman M1... I haven't even thought of getting into that project yet...

QUOTE: Originally posted by SeaBee Best was (S27's) West scheme.

I'll agree with you on that! That bike was a real joy to decal up. The white portions had their destination made up ages ago. I just put some water on the sheet and they practically walked over to the kit by them selves.
/Joel