Moto GP / GP bike enthusiasts

Hey Seabee nice work on the M1, I have a decal sheet that allows 2 versions of this bike and have been contemplating doing one for a while so you have inspired me.

I may be on the wrong track here re the Stoner cowel decal set but saw this on the new items page at Mediamix, it just says it is for #27 RC211V 2006 so I assume this is his?

http://www.mediamixhobby.com.sg/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5755

I have also received a supply of stuff I ordered from mediamix so have about 7 or 8 Rossi bikes to do, better get going before the 800cc versions hit the shelves! I really should finish the Mugello NSR which gave me so much grief as well!

Joel, you pinned me! What's happened, is just life... You'll experience it shortly!

When I did the L heat shield, I realised I did not do the R-hand one... And before I got to it, I got distracted by my daughter. I still remember negotiating feverishly (with a 2-year-old angel!) to be able to get the one done - and obviously never got around to the other one!

Same with the mudguard. There the plan was to do it in gunmetal or something, to just have a bit of a different CF effect. Now it's too late for that, so what I'll do is to use the 04 kit's to make the CF cut-out and slide that in, no issues. The guard is in the open, so easy to do!

Am about to do some decalling this weekend anyways, so this will slot in perfectly. Thanks for pointing it out!

Regarding the S27 decals - I also saw the Stoner sidecowl decal sheet with different decals advertised for months and months now and it never seems to happen... They started mentioning it before I started my Stoner bike and I was sontemplating waiting for it. Good thing I didn't! Even I am two bikes down the line... 

Great work SeaBee, I've always loved that Gauloises blue!! Only thing I don't understand is why you skipped some cf on the right heat shield and on the rear mudguard? Shouldn't have taken too much time, would it?

(AF problems sorted out by the way, some dns issues between my ISP and the one hosting AF...)

I have a question for you guys. I saw the new Stoner sheet from S27 the other day. Wasn't there supposed to be a sheet of the 2006 "aussie" side scheme as well ?? Maybe it was just rumours but it would have been a nice bike to build.

/Joel

Once again, sorry for the delay on the pics - as well as the quality of them, even blotches on the lens - small kid... But here they are. I even started on the Kawasaki during the week. TS Kawa green turns out to be awesome, looks very thin when applied and runs easily, but the colour is great.

Joel: I haven't had any issues - maybe just a shortcut issue?

Side shot: 

Front section:

 

Nice one Chris. It is always nice when they finally come together. I have not seen a 250cc on any of the builds so for my vote I would say go with the Repsol 250.

Konica Minolta is a great livery, I think you should try your luck on that one!

Totally off topic: anyone know what has happened to automotive forums? Haven't been able to connect to the site for two weeks...

/Joel

Its finished at long last. Hoorah. Its taken a while but I got there in the end.

Just watching the grand prix and the snow falling outside scuppering any plans to do anything constructive outside today so contemplating sarting another build. But the question is what shall I make. Here are the options:

14107 Konica Minolta, 14105 YZR M1 (with Rossi decals), 14103 D'antin Ducati, 14096 '03 Repsol RC211V, 14091 YZR500, 14089 RG 500, 14086 Gauloises YZR500, 14084 ZX-12R, 14076 Red Bull YZR500, 14070 CBR-1100XX, 14069 MotoGuzzi, 14065 Suzuki Katana, 14064 Talkor TZ250, 14063 Ducati 888, 14061 Cup Noodle NSR250, 14059 Repsol NSR250.

What do you think - let me know... 

O/T: Bushpig - check this out - they had even more fun than me!

Hey Bushpig! That's good to hear - I was also on my 1st Argus. We rode almost exactly the same time - so maybe we did see each other between the couple of (yeah riiight!) people that were there. I was with the Nedbank "group". I took it casual and chatted to everybody interested in (and some not!) talking on the day! Went for the there'll-never-be-another-first-Argus-approach - for the experience of it, rather than time - enjoyed the views, the outing, the people, it was great fun! Tbh, had some cramping issues as well over the last couple of races I did and it was a very conscious decision and effort not to race hard and rather enjoy it! Also had the priviledge to "meet" one of the few guys that did all of them, we had a nice chat along the 66-to-go mark. Unfortunately got split up in the bunch before I could ask his name. Great event - I will definately be back next year! And very lucky with the weather, it started raining the Monday evening till Wednesday!

Back to modelling - I did take the pics, but has not as yet got it posted, will try over the weekend. Had time to take the Kawa out the box and at least started assembling the engine block.

Nice race on sunday, pity it had a definite same old feel to it. I was impressed with the new boys on the block, they certainly are starting to show Vale is coming to the twilight of his career. Sad but true!

Seabee hope you had a good argus ride, I saw you Ha Ha Ha. I rode, managed a 4:03 which is not bad for a first timer

My RCV is going a bit slow but I will get a few hours in at the bench and hopefully get it done in the next week or so.

Anyone stopping in with a few beers for first qualifying of the season tonight? Come on Valentino and JT.....

Thanks for the comments guys, all the body is definitely hand painted with brushes but I have to admit the wheels were sprayed with the remnants of the tamiya flouro orange can i had for my valencia rcv, you can see in some of the pics there wasnt quite enough and the back wheel hasnt got great coverage all round but i'll have to live with it as it is.

Chris: That bike looks so great! I'm stunned that you did that using regular brushes...

Bushpig: I allways remove the screen when clear coating, or just clear coat the top cowl before putting the screen in place for decalling.

/Joel

Bushpig - thanks for coming to the rescue with the decals, if it wasnt for your generosity this one would be back in the box!

To do the clear coat I wont mask the windscreen as such, I use the Johnsons Klear stuff and a small brush to do the edge of the fairing. If you do it carefully you can sort of run the brush edge right up to the edge using the surface tension of the klear i think and just follow it round. I will try to get a colse up when it is done.

How do you mean without ripping off the decals? Do you mean on the screen or elsewhere? When I am putting on the Klear around the rest of the bike I usually hold the back wheel and try not to touch any of the bike while I apply it everywhere I need to. However on this bike the rear tail section has already had the klear put on so I will be able to hold it with this.

I have a few more details to finish it off with, sand the tyres, put some matt black in the exhausts, paint a few extra little bits here and there, oh and reattach the right handlebar that i clumsily managed to snap off yesterday by mistake.

 

Very nice Chris, I think you have done this one justice. How do you attach your windscreen to the fairing? How will you mask the windscreen off to do the clear coat without ripping off the decals (yes I have done that before!)

Managed to grab another half hour tonight while the other half had to work late:

Coming together now, its not looking as bad as I thought it would at one point, but unfortunately in handling it tonight I snapped the right hand handlebar off so i need to fix that and do some finishing touches, a few small decals here and there and a bit of touching up, oh and the clear coat. But apart from that its almost done. yey....

Sorry about the quality of the photos, I had to use my phone as the camera was playing up...

Managed to grab another 5 minutes tonight and got a bit more done:

Expect some more unseasonal rain in the Western Cape (but please not at the Argus next week!) as I have at last completed mt 05 Yamaha. Will try to take and post pics during the day. Sorry, not been much of a WIP and the glacial pace was helped by kids parties, cycling and all such...

Chris, I agree with Bushpig - don't be so hard on yourself! Learn from it. And know that at least you've tried it! I haven't even attempted to do that much CF on a bike - never did the intakes yet. So good on you for doing it. When I do the 04 Yamaha with Top Studio detail set, I may very well go the extreme carbon route. Talk about glacial pace - that'll keep me busy for a year! But I think I'll do the "normal" Kawasaki first. Been looking for an excuse to take that green monster out...

Hey Chris. Don't be so hard on yourself. My view with this hobby is that there are few few people who ever manage to produce the perfect model, there always seems to be some sort of mistake somewhere. I know as builders we tend to only see those when reviewing our work. As long as you learn from the mistakes and try to improve with each build it can only get better. As I have said before I think the day you finally mange to set yourself up with an airbrush you will make a huge leap forward.

I have built a few versions of this NSR and have always found a small problem with the fit of the main fairings due to the positioning of one of the spark plugs. The one I mean is in your last 2 photos, the one at the bottom right of the engine. You have placed it at the correct angle according to the plans but I have found it then pushes the fairing out a bit and you don't get a clean fit of the 2 fairing parts. Has anyone else found this? I have remedied it by turning it inwards a bit more and this allows the fairing to sit more flush. Any comments from the other guys out there?

I am just about finished with the RC211V Valencia version which I had half finished and put away. Basically just need to finish the decals now and will post when done.

How is everyone else doing, seems to have gone very quiet again?

Bushpig this one is for you! Havent seen too many 2 strokes in this thread so hope you like it. I'm gutted that my c/f work is so rubbish, this is the first time I tried it on a large surface. All my kits are as they come out of the box apart from some c/f decals.
This kit has been a long time coming, I have been struggling for paint colours from Tamiya and then I screwed up the decals first time out and Bushpig saved my life by sending me a set he didnt need (thanks so much!), and even then I'm just not happy with how it is turning out...

Anyway here are a few pics:

More pics to follow, I have done the fairings now but will wait to see how it all looks assembled. Shouldnt be too long before I can show you some more photos.

Chris

Check this out

http://www.mediamixhobby.com.sg/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5383

 

Thanks Joel,

 I found a set of Marlboro decals on MediaMixHobby.com...I think it's the right one.

Thanks for the tip on using fishing line....I'll try it!

racer155

Probably, hopefully we'll find some loop hole so that we can keep order similar decals from japan, singapore or hong kong.

/Joel

joelrydh wrote:

For throttle cable I use just regular .4 mm fishing line that I paint black. Seems to be the right size. I use .6 mm line for brake and clutch cables. I'll have a look for the green hose, think Model Factory Hiro makes some... Looking around the shops there seem to be a total lack of after market Marlboro decals since the tobacco company sent letters to the shops and told them to take them off the shelfs or be facing a sew. I found a Acustion sheet at mediamihobby.com.sg, perhaps it's time to stock up on this until it to disappears. BUT, there are plenty of car decals with the Marlboro logo on them so it can be just a coincidence that the bike decals are out.  Joel ps. just saw on mediamix that Tabu Design has withdrawn all their M featured logos....

 

It probably has to do with advertising laws here in the States. I am almost 100% positive that they aren't allowed to advertise to children, duh, or in any fashion that children might see them in a positive light or something similar. So while these might be advanced models I am guessing they are pulling all mention of tobacco just to cover their butts since they get sued so regularly for everything.

For throttle cable I use just regular .4 mm fishing line that I paint black. Seems to be the right size. I use .6 mm line for brake and clutch cables. I'll have a look for the green hose, think Model Factory Hiro makes some...

Looking around the shops there seem to be a total lack of after market Marlboro decals since the tobacco company sent letters to the shops and told them to take them off the shelfs or be facing a sew. I found a Acustion sheet at mediamixhobby.com.sg, perhaps it's time to stock up on this until it to disappears. BUT, there are plenty of car decals with the Marlboro logo on them so it can be just a coincidence that the bike decals are out.

 Joel

ps. just saw on mediamix that Tabu Design has withdrawn all their M featured logos....

Hi guys,

 

I remember reading about this on the 05 GB...but I can't find it now.

What size is that clear green tubing you guys use for the realistic brake lines?

And which one is the correct one for the throttle cables?

Who do you recommend geting them from?

 Last but not least, I'm building a 2004 Ducati and I really want the Marlboro decal set...who do you recomend for these?

 

Thanks a lot...

Joel thank you. In chatting with the guy he seems to have had a love affair with the commercially available 888 when it was a production bike (I am sure most of us can remember spending hours in a bike shop lovingly staring at bikes we would never own) and just wanted something close to that.

Chris. Nice one on the West bike, I repeat you do a great job considering you do not use an airbrush (trust all of us if you are in this game for keeps it is the one investment you will not regret - here in South africa the cost of setting up with a decent badger airbrush and compressor would set you back the equivalent of 4 or 5 kits, I am sure much the same in the US so dig deep and enjoy). On the decal sheet are you doing the Tamiya 14071 Doohan bike? If so send me your address on an email and I will post a decal sheet off to you that I do not need. The lesson here for you is patience in this hobby, I have a rule that with the fairings after any spray job I do not touch them for at least a week before doing anything with them (this includes between clear coats so can get frustrating but is worth it). On the NSR tail decal I found much the same with the Rossi version, man those decals are expected to bend through some crazy angles. As Joel suggested I eventually resorted to cutting most of the decal away and spraying the major part in, in that case it was the grey.

I am still contempalting my next bike for this build. I re-opened the Mugello Rossi bike but as soon as I did I remembered why I packed it away so closed that one till I am really in the mood. Found a Rossi RC211V Valencia version that I had started for a friend and stopped so may finish that before finally building a bike for my collection. This after swearing to my wife after this 888 I will never build a bike for someone else, just too much pressure to get it right!

And Chris, regarding that tail decal, I met a guy at a competition that put the decal under the seat cushion in place first. He then tried to get the big back portion on with the snuggest fit possible and then he filled the gap with white paint. BUT, this was done with an airbrush... And if you had one of those I would rather suggest that you painted the whole tail piece white and then masked and painted blue. So, if none of the above is possible you just have to struggle and force that white sheet in place with lots of decal solution.

/Joel

Chris: That West kit looks great! Really clean and you've added some subtle details that really catches the eye, like the cf parts. Good job, and good luck on your next kit, I'll have a look in my spares box for the decals, I don't know if it is that sheet or the Movistar sheet I have...

Bushpig: Looks great to me! can you give us rivet counters the bckground on why he wanted the kit this way? If the finger prints are in the paint I'd polish them out with sanding stix or rubbing compound. If they are just grease on top of the paint, try some Tamiya modeling wax and when you do, use rubber gloves so you don't set new ones...

Shayne: I got the pictures buddy! Thanks!

/Joel

I have now started a 98 Repsol Honda NSR. I am quite pleased with the finish I was getting but then tried to do too much too soon and have wrecked the decal sheet and knackered the paint as it wasnt dry enough though I thought it was (on the other side of the fairing to the photos). For information all the paint is brushed on (I still dont have an airbrush) and is Tamiya X-13 metallic blue acryllic applied with my trusty brush....

Thanks for looking. Let me know what you think.

Chris

p.s. does anyone have any 98 repsol honda decals going spare?

Also has anyone completed this model before because as well as knackering the main side decal that says repsol tonight I have tried to do the tail unit decals which is basically a white sheet to cover the whole of the back of the bike and (excuse my language) it was a right b*stard. So difficult arghhh I could scream at it really really loud but that wouldnt help would it?