Moto GP / GP bike enthusiasts

Bushpig,

 

Found this pic in a book & scanned it.

The livery looks a bit different so presumably he picked up/changed/lost some sponsorship at some point thru the 92 season. And unfortunately theres no view of the tail section.

P.S. never mind that you cant buy a decal set - why not make your own decals. All it takes is a PC and a bit of patience.

Hello Everyone!

Now that spring is here in sunny South Africa my bike building has commenced again on the Konica Minolta Honda.

I chose to paint as much of the bike as possible and avoid using the big blue/black decals. I had some trouble with the decals not adhering very well but managed to hide the errors under a couple of Tamiya TS13 clear coats (Hairy clear that TS 13 is to use and it sure does strange things to decals, like melt them or make the colour run?). 

The spraying of the blue/black blend colour took a while to get right but it turned out ok in the end.  Thanks to Mr Tamiya for providing the alternative decals for this option, I see he has done the same with the LCR Honda, now that would take some careful airbrushing to get right i.e. the red/black blend if done right should look really nice in 1:12 scale

Here are the build photos so far, will post the finished bike when it is done

Andrew, Stunning work as usual, nice to see you back at the bench. I am also starting to warm up in the Cape and getting going with a build (finishing a car for a neighbour then will start with the Ducati 888)

I love the effect of the hose clamps, how do you do that?

Nick. Interesting suggestion on the decals. Is this something that is easy to do, what does one need in terms of a printer, ink, paper etc. This could open up a whole new aspect to this great hobby. Tell me more, tell me more!!!!!!!

Looks like Casey has got it in the bag this season, damn and to think Rossi had the choice to ride ducati when he chose yamaha!

Hi Bushpig. To do the hose clamps, I use thin silver wire, usually stripped out from a piece of small gauge electronic wire (the trick is to find wire that is silver not copper). Next I wrap the wire loosely twice around the hose and then using a pin vice grip the twisted wires at the back and slowly turn the pin vice till the wires tightly wrap around the hose. Once that is done I snip off the tail at the back and place a drop of superglue to hold it all in place. It can be a bit finicky but with patience it works ok, also much cheaper that buying PE parts

Photos of the completed Konica Minolta Honda 2005

 

Bushpig wrote:

Nick. Interesting suggestion on the decals. Is this something that is easy to do, what does one need in terms of a printer, ink, paper etc. This could open up a whole new aspect to this great hobby. Tell me more, tell me more!!!!!!!

Bushpig,

Its relatively easy, but can be quite time consuming. It requires a lot of preparation & test printing, but is really worthwhile as you'll have an utterly unique bike when youre done. I started out of necessity a few years ago, when I wanted to build bikes no-one made or made decal sets for. See this link for my first effort - all the decals are my own work: /forums/479204/ShowPost.aspx - turned out quite well and its my favourite build of all. Theres a few others Ive posted up as well if you do a search of my username.

What you need:
a PC (which presumably has MS Paint or some other drawing application),
a colour printer (preferably laser but inkjet will do also), 
water slide decal paper (laser or inkjet as appropriate),
a shedload of patience ;)

So how to do it ?

1) Well, first off get as many reference pics of the bike as you can, then list all the logos, etc. you'll need for the decals. Then google for the logos - and when you find ones that suit save em as bitmaps (as .bmp files). BTW the bigger the logo, the better - you'll get much better definition that way. For decals you cant find (usually the bike number), Ive resorted to "drawing" them myself in MS Paint. If you make them big enough, they'll look fine when you reduce them later.

2) OK, so now youve your logo, paste it into a Word document, right click on the image and re-size it to the correct size - youll just have to guess at first but youll soon get fairly accurate at it, believe me. Repeat until youve all the logos sized about right. Print off a test page and check your sizes against the actual bike. This is the step that takes most time and numerous prints so dont use expensive glossy paper or anything. (I sometimes find it useful to have a 12/th scale side-on pic of the bike printed off to compare against as a secondary check. Printing your logos onto a transparent sheet can also be very useful). Adjust the size of the logos and re-print. Continue til youre happy. When youre confident youve all your logos correctly sized, fill up the page with loads and loads of them. Use every cm of space on the page to maximise the use of your decal paper. The more decals you have printed, the less it matters if you screw up when applying them.

3) A quick word re decal paper and printing. You cant actually print in white, so say if your bike fairing has a white logo on a red background youre in trouble.  Decal paper comes in clear and white, so youve two solutions: print your logo on white paper with a red background and cut out as precisely as you can, or print your logo on clear paper with a red background and apply it over a white area on the fairing. Either way youre going to have to match the fairing colour to the background colour of the decal which can be extremely tricky and probably do a bit of touching up as well. I did the first approach with the white "Nescafe" logo on the TZR and it worked a treat (but the black background helped).

4) Now the tricky bit - printing them. There are different types of decal paper depending on whether you have a laser or inkjet printer. Im lucky enough to have access to a laser printer which means you can just print your word document straight on to the decal paper. Most home printers being inkjet need inkjet paper and some kind of sealing lacquer as the ink is soluble. Theres loads of companies out there that do decal paper: google is your friend :) After that, its just decaling as usual, with the warning that Ive found the ink (even with a laser printer) is a lot more fragile than Tamiyas own decals. Sometimes the paint has lifted or flaked when applying. This is why you print off more decals than the bike actually needs.

P.S. an alternative to step 4. is to save your word document onto a disk/pendrive/etc. (or just print it in colour) and bring it and a few sheets of decal paper to your local printing shop and ask if they could do it - shouldnt cost a lot. Make sure to point out its decal paper to them though !

Sorry about the long reply, but was trying to give you a good idea of whats involved (and Ive probably forgotten something !). Anything else, dont hesitate to ask.

Nick

Bushpig,

Rummaged out a few links that might be of help (there were to me anyway).

http://www.decalpaper.com/laser-instructions.html

http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/aungstdecal/CustomDecals.htm

Nick

Nick thanks for the advice. I think I might give it a go sometime. The bike you gave the link to looks great.

 Nice one again Andrew. Whats next on the modelling bench?

Hi Bush Pig. I am sort of working on a Yamaha M1 but the decals went wrong so I am waiting for the spares from HLJ.

I also have a 98 Honda NSR500 Lucky Strike in progress, have sprayed all the white parts, just need to mask and spray the red

I am also doing the Barros Honda NSR500 but a bit shy of the paint scheme, just need to get into the mood for all the masking, will get round to it some time I guess

Busy with a 1:24 FXX Ferrari my second attempt at a car, so far so good

Most likely next bike will be the Lucky Strike I think

Cheers

Hey Collie, that's another stunner! Seems I brought sunny weather to the Cape now as well, since I was away on holidays in Kimberley and had lovely sunny and dry weather whilst all our friends here complained about the rain... Now that I'm back, today seems to be a great day again!

Anyways, I'm not here for the weather report. You mentioned TS13 and trouble. I'm at the virge of abandoning TS13 as a clear coat for what they call Future of here. In SA, walk to your tile polish rack in the stores and pick up a bottle of "Mr Muscle" floor polish, but specific ones. At the top they state "no wax build-up" and towards the bottom of the label you'll find a big "FUTURE" logo on instead of the normal one (Johnson's?). There are two "flavours" available. I once tried to airbrush it and it came out a mess, but was then advised to brush it on. Will do so today on an F1 and will let you know the results. Will also use it on my LCR Honda in a few weeks time. 

Hi SeaBee. I am trying another product from Japan Gunze Sangyo Mr. Super Clear Gloss and see how that works. Please let me know how you do with Mr Muscle" floor polish. I normally use a couple of clear costs and then finish off with Tamiya wax and the result is a very deep shine. TS13 polishes into a very smooth even high gloss finish and you would be amazed by what flaws you can hide under a coat or two of clear. I think what happens is with the depth perspective the human eye focuses on the clear paint and makes the "blemish" harder to detect. If you look carefully on the tailpiece of the Konica Minolta the decals "ran a bit" but it is hardly noticeable under all that clear paint. This is the reason that I continue to try and find a clear coat that doesn't eat decals for breakfast

 

Will let you know how it works out as I go along

Collie, it came out quite well. People rave about this a lot specifically because of it not eating decals and paint. Maybe check out the painting forum, there's a link to Swanny's Future FAQ. Smooths out very well - I brushed it on and no probs. Only issue I had was where there was some small air bubble trapped under one tricky decal - it tends to highlight it. Scalpel and some more micro sol, all is sorted this morning!

Will also try Hiroboy's clear coat, but I think it is the same as should be available locally at auto paint shops - 2K clear with hardener. Unless he refined his somehow.

WTF!! Andrew, your cowling painting technique is turning from stunning to something out of words. That shine and perfect finish is to die for. If I got you right and you actually painted those fadings I'm even more impressed. Can you tell us a bit more about how you achieved that? Looks perfect. Rest of the build looks incredible as always. Discs and screamer are awesome.

/Joel - who just moved in to his new modeling room. Hopefully I'll pick the old ZX-RR out next week.

Hi Joel

Thanks for the compliments. Yes I did paint the blue and black portions of the bike including the tailpiece. I found that the decals were too "speckled" and fortunately Mr Tamiya had provided the separate decals to paint the cowlings your self, he has also done the same with the LCR Honda, which will be even more difficult to airbrush but should be stunning if done properly. I really struggle with the new Tamiya decals, as they do not seem to adhere very well so that is the reason I try and airbrush as much as possible.

Technique I used was as follows:

• Paint all parts in Tamiya Primer
• Paint all parts in Tamiya Gloss White, 2 coats
• Paint all parts in Tamiya TS45 Pearl White
• Mask of the portions that are to be blue and paint with the Blue I used the same colour as the rims I think it was TS45
• The masks on the top cowling were left in place and I carefully airbrushed in the black portions with the airbrush set at 1 bar and the paint flow very thin so I was painting only very little at a time. I used the Tamiya decal and the wife for reference and when we felt it was right left it at that.
• I sprayed the lower cowling in black free hand again using the Tamiya decal and the wife as reference
• I then carefully cut up all the decals using the gold portions from the cowling decals and the thin blue line decal for the tailpiece, which incidentally is not 100% perfect, depends on the angle of the camera lens so I cheated a bit
• I gave the whole lot two coats of Tamiya TS13, some decals reacted to the clear but I just rubbed it down and put down some more clear
• Finally I polished all the parts with Tamiya Wax

The reason that I stick with the controversial TS 13 Clear is that this clear paint gives the colour paint a lot of depth and really shines. The Tamiya wax really brings out the shine and colour, the flip side is that TS 13 is reactive and it is a gamble each time you spray.

PS What is a screamer?

Hi Guys

Now this is what I hoped we would get into on this build, some discussion.

If I could put my hand up and ask, why is good old x22 clear gloss enamel never discussed amongst you master modellers? I see so much "bad press" about TS13 however I have yet to have any problem with airbrushing x22 onto any model I have done. I love it!

 OK, tell me why it is not the final coat of choice.

Seabee. for what it is worth my guru / oom who taught me all I know about modelling has told me that we will never have the genuine 'Future' in South Africa, any product that pretends to be the product is just that, a pretender, even though it is marketed in the official livery. Everytime I travel to the USA top of my shopping list is a bottle for him. What is your view?

 

Joel, nice to see you back, time to update your website!

Oh and Collie I am struggling to see any blemish on your bike.

maybe we are all just tooo critical of our own builds?

Hi Bushpig. I personally converted to the Tamiya TS range of spray paints (for most of the bulk painting) a few years ago when I discovered the joy of having in my cupboard a range of "perfectly formulated" airbrush paint. All I needed to do was decant the paint into my airbrush and spray away without having to worry about the mixture being right etc. I hated the prospect of having to mix and blend paint with thinners trying to get the mix exactly right. The Tamiya TS paints can be stored even half full in the cupboard and the paint does not dry out or thicken. With Tamiya TS paint it is always the right formulae and ratio each time. This is the reason I do not use x22 only because of the sake of convenience and reliability.

Hey BushPig, that's great to see an Afr word in the forum! (And what about Zim beating the Aussies last night in the T20 WC game?! And since Bangladesh beating the WIndies...) But as we speak about it, I was wondering about the future of Future. The more I looked at it, the less I liked the finish. It does not give that same deepness, as Collie very aptly calls it, as TS13, which I am used to using. So maybe it's not the same thing as available overseas - as stated by your guru. Going to try the 2K I got from the auto store on the LCR... but saw just now I have the 2K clear and the hardener, but *duh* not the thinners. So is 2K thin enough to a/b as is? Or does "normal" auto paint (basecoat) thinners work on the 2K clear as well? So back to Collie's theory of ease-of-use... hmmm...

And having gotten into the LCR again at last, I had to mess up one deal completely last night. Not an easy-to-hide one either. So for those that think "aah, it's just to cut the decal, I won't really touch it..." Don't even come close to a decal that's been micro-sol'ed!

And man, I have to agree with your view on all of us being overly critical of our own work! 

SeaBee wrote:

So is 2K thin enough to a/b as is?

I would have to say no here. I haven't tried spraying it without thinner but it looks too thick.

Andrew Collodel wrote:

PS What is a screamer?

It's the nick for the open exhaust system, where the pipes open up in a mega phone instead of going into a muffler.

Andrew Collodel wrote:

If I could put my hand up and ask, why is good old x22 clear gloss enamel never discussed amongst you master modellers?

I don't use enamel or acrylic clear as I think it is too easy to set fingerprints in. I often have to handle the cowlings quite a bit when installing them and I hate to get those prints into the paint. Enamel is better than acylic in this matter but I've stayed with laquer clear from Modelers' for the last couple of years.

/Joel

Well what a week to be a South African sports fan (are there any English rugby supporters out there?) yeah Bokke (and Proteas in the cricket!). Good for Rossi on Sunday as well, too much to late I fear though. What would history tell us if he had switched to Ducati instead of yamaha in 2004, who knows. Shame for Casey as it turns out he had clutch problems, seems Hoffman had similar problems, decided to quit the race and got fired for his troubles.

So spring has sprung at last in Cape Town and suddenly my modelling bench looks appealing again. I am starting a commission build of the Ducati 888 for my neighbour. Did not get far with the Foggarty thing so have agreed with him I will do the Falappa version of the triple 8 but will leave the Police decals off, purists close your eyes now. Thats the way he wants it I am afraid! I don't normally do in progress pics but maybe will on this one, open it up for comment and advice. Once I am through with this one I may even get the nasty old NSR out and finish it.

Later chaps

Okay, so we stopped talking sport... No further comments needed.

Good news is that I tried the 2K and it came out great! Thinned with laquer thinners as the shop told me I could do. The bad news is I messed it up on the windshield of all places. It came out real crappy and try as I may, I only succeeded in damaging a (small) decal. No luck on polishing it out. Fortunately I am now nearly done, because this, together with the decal I screwed up really makes this one feel like a failure.

Okay, so here's the LCR. No fanfare, you guys will rip me a new one for the screw-ups. I am only posting the pics to make everybody sympathise. I messed up. If you look at it from a distance, you don't see the visor that much and my wife was impressed - liked the colours, I think!

 

First one where you can see the damage most:

The opened bottomside:

Full side-on view:

 

 

I am between two for the next victim - M1 05 (replacing Laguna decals with the "normal" ones) or 06 Kawa... With an 04 G-version also in the waiting, incl Top Studio detail set, it may very well be the 05 M1 next. To build two very similarly coloured bikes in a row will be just too boring!

Seabee Looks good despite your trouble with the visor. One thing you might want to consider is making a new one from clear sheet and and bit of heat over a positive mould (guys do it all the time for aircraft). I saw it done on a build in Tamiya model magazine last year and is effective, you would then just need to order a replacement decal set.

I also have a number of builds lined up for friends before I get going on my own again. Making slow progress with the ducati 888

Hi Guys. as I said I don't normally do in progress updates as you will see I tend to follow a pretty hap-hazard way of eventually getting a bike together. Anyway will give it a bash with this one and hopefully spark some debate and tip sharing as we go. So progressing slowly on the Duc 888, have prepped various body parts, engine block etc so can get down to some serious painting now. I have completed the exhaust set up so share my progress, apologies for the quality of pics.

Glued together, filled and sanded a few joins and ready to go.

Next laid on a coat of tamiya x32 titanium

Masked off areas I wanted to stay chromed and the weld joins

Then using Tamiya x26 clr yellow, x23 clr blue, x27 clear red and finally x19 smoke airbrushed in the heat staining. Finally added the decals and this is the complete result

Bushpig; Those exhausts looks fabulous! I'm very impressed.

/Joel

is it too late to get in on this gb.

if not i would like to submit a yamahayzr-m1 valencia edition.

thanks.

 

invertman wrote:

is it too late to get in on this gb. if not i would like to submit a yamahayzr-m1 valencia edition. thanks.

Of course you're not too late! Just start posting some progress pics and please try and post your ideas and thoughts along the way so that we keep up the great sharing we've acomplished so far in this thread! Welcome again!

Last week I picked out the old ZX-RR build again. I feel a little rusty after six months of absence. But I'll dig into it. So far I've started reshaping the rims. Instructions tell to use the M1 rims and they have some similarities but are NOT the same. My thought is to keep the shape of the M1 rim but to fill out the hollow parts of the M1 rim to make them a bit closer to the ZX-RR ones. Not perfect, but better.

Hey Invertman as Joel says just get building and posting, everyone is welcome. Joel I wish your Santa knew my address! Welcome back to the bench, I am sure the whole community has missed your contributions. I am also on hold again as work has taken me to China for 3 weeks. Will be back and building by mid November though.

whats up guys,

wanted to post some progress pics of the yamaha m-1

this is my second bike kit, the first one i didnt finish.

anyway, heres the pics.

some more pics guys.

going ok so far.

ok guys, a couple more pics

then i'm off to bed.

it's been a pretty productive day at the bench, haven't

spent that much time modeling in years, a whole saturday afternoon.

well,here are the last two.