DocRob Posted September 8, 2021 Author Share Posted September 8, 2021 The last days, there was a lot of work, but not much to show. I sprayed lots of parts semi matte black and others in titanium silver and aluminum and painted a lot of details. The kit is great, but not easy to build and paint. you have to be very attentive and concentrated, to orientate everything right, with all these complex shaped parts. Another difficult task is to glue all the painted bits and pieces with their delicate surfaces, without glue residues showing. I managed to have that on one part. The extra metal fork set looks great and is a nice, but not essential addition to the kit. In the fork set are also included a turned and anodized oil reservoir for the rear damper and some tiny turned and drilled screws for the braking disks. The tiny bits and pieces for the front fork. The aluminum rings around the blue anodized parts have six drill marks from above, amazing. Here are the finished front braking discs, with the applied aluminum screws for vibration absorption. You can't see all the details, like the suspension axle, which was chromed for a better look, The oil reservoir is made of turned and anodized aluminum with an Öhlins decal. Chain and chainwheel and rear brakes. Cheers Rob 8 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 Amazing details, progress and an awesome build up to now. This is looking so realistic as if it was taken out of a manual. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark31 Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 You are doing a great job on the bike Keep up the great work Mark 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 Rob Absolutely amazing. You building and painting skills are remarkable and the bike is coming together fantastically. Keep 'em comin Peter 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 Very impressive looking work, Rob! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted September 9, 2021 Author Share Posted September 9, 2021 12 hours ago, Kaireckstadt said: Amazing details, progress and an awesome build up to now. This is looking so realistic as if it was taken out of a manual. 12 hours ago, mark31 said: You are doing a great job on the bike 12 hours ago, Peterpools said: Absolutely amazing. You building and painting skills are remarkable and the bike is coming together fantastically. 2 hours ago, GazzaS said: Very impressive looking work, Rob! Thank you Gentlemen, I'm a bit afraid of first the delicate rim decals (thin red stipes), which I started yesterday and the painting of the body, which of course has to have a great shiny finish, after lots of masking painting and decaling. Building bikes is somehow different to planes or armor. There is no in and out, no cockpit and wheel wells to finalize close the fuselage and then paint the outside. A bike is open and close at the same time, combining lots of different materials, textures and finishes in a very confined space. It's harder to keep the overview, specially with such a delicate and complicate machine, like a modern super bike. It's a burden and fun at the same time, as replicating materials in plastic is one of my driving forces in modelling, you couldn't ask for more . Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted September 9, 2021 Author Share Posted September 9, 2021 13 hours ago, Kaireckstadt said: This is looking so realistic as if it was taken out of a manual. Oh, that is from the manual, my subpar pics follow later . Cheers Rob 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 Great job on the paint wotk Rob. It's impressive how the small add on details to the brakes improve them so dramatically. Carl 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 Very very nice Rob, I want a bike now…… 2 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted September 10, 2021 Author Share Posted September 10, 2021 20 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said: Great job on the paint wotk Rob. It's impressive how the small add on details to the brakes improve them so dramatically. Thank you Carl, it's good to have so many good looking paints, waxes and metals for replicating metal surfaces, but in the end, nothing beats the real thing, if it's made so well like Tamiya provided here. 19 hours ago, Bomber_County said: Very very nice Rob, I want a bike now…… Thanks Phil, I think a visit on Ducati.com would help for sure, but take care biking is addictive and reduces bench time . Cheers Rob 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 Rob I'm just blown away by your precision work and then the painting ... brilliant, just brilliant. Keep 'em comin Peter 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted September 10, 2021 Author Share Posted September 10, 2021 43 minutes ago, Peterpools said: I'm just blown away by your precision work and then the painting ... brilliant, just brilliant. Thank you Peter, well appreciated from one of the masters here. Cheers Rob 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted September 10, 2021 Author Share Posted September 10, 2021 The beast has wheels, for my taste not much more is needed, other than a seat and the ignition key. I love naked bikes and wouldn't store my lengthy bones behind a plastic body, but this is another story. The red stripes for the rims are segmented decals and they gave me some head scratches. Fit of the decals is good, but due to a bit of carrier film extending, it's difficult to blend them in, even with Micro Sol. I did the best I could, without ruining the finish of the rims and then applied some semi matte coat on the decals as they were to shiny. You have to be very attentive through the build. One example is the front wheel. You start painting the rim and and then drill, build and paint the breaking disks, which look nearly equal, but are not. before gluing these on you add the tire, which has a direction as well, which corresponds to the decal on the rim. If you follow the manual very closely, everything will fit, but there are some trap doors for the 'I prepare everything and then assemble' type of guys, guess how I know. More than once, I had to remove a part, which was securely glued in place . I want just emphasize, this is a different type of kit, where assumptions are not made lightly like with most planes. For the luckily supplied vinyl tubes, it pays, to fix the tube on a to assemble part and after gluing it in place, you have only to fiddle in the other side. Cheers Rob 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 Nothing of the trouble you had is seen on the pictures. All problems well solved by you. Looks really stunning to me especially with the red rim. The more I see of your build the more I‘m forced to take a look at a bike-kit and buy one… Now on to the covering parts? I‘m curious! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 That is some stunning work, Rob! Though I'm not much into bikes, I prefer them without fairings and other crotch-rocket related stuff. Great job on those rim decals. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted September 10, 2021 Share Posted September 10, 2021 Rob Bravo - the pace you're working at and the difficulty of the kit, your build is brilliant. if I didn't know any better, I would easily think I'm looking at the real deal and not a model. Flawless❗ Keep 'em comin Peter 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark31 Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 I just love it Maybe I have to think to build a bike. Very nice work Mark 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 Naked bikes almost always look better to me as well. The Ducati's is no exception. Great work there Rob and it really does look like the real thing. Carl 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted September 11, 2021 Author Share Posted September 11, 2021 16 hours ago, Kaireckstadt said: Nothing of the trouble you had is seen on the pictures. All problems well solved by you. Looks really stunning to me especially with the red rim. The more I see of your build the more I‘m forced to take a look at a bike-kit and buy one… Now on to the covering parts? I‘m curious! Thank you Kai, I will definitely build another bike kit soon , but have no idea which. My favorite bikes doesn't exist in plastic. Im looking forward to painting the body parts too and if I fail with these, I will convert the Ducati into a naked bike, which suits me as well. 16 hours ago, GazzaS said: That is some stunning work, Rob! Though I'm not much into bikes, I prefer them without fairings and other crotch-rocket related stuff. Great job on those rim decals. I only had naked bikes for real, to me the best thing is, having a good fitting leather gear, a great powerful naked bike and the wind blowing, a curvy mountain road ahead, can't beat it. The rim decals are only so-so, from very close they are not perfect, but I spare you the view. 15 hours ago, Peterpools said: Bravo - the pace you're working at and the difficulty of the kit, your build is brilliant. if I didn't know any better, I would easily think I'm looking at the real deal and not a model. Flawless❗ Thank you Peter, I maybe expressed myself not too well, the kit is well engineered and not overly difficult to build. It's only, that you have to chose a different approach than with most planes and armor builds. It took me a while to adopt, but now I really enjoy the different approach needed as a welcomed new variety. 4 hours ago, mark31 said: I just love it Maybe I have to think to build a bike. Very nice work Thank you Mark, you should give it a try. In your able hands, I'm sure, there is a gem in the making. Have I mentioned, that I would really enjoy to follow a build of one of the Hiro bikes . 1 hour ago, BlrwestSiR said: Naked bikes almost always look better to me as well. The Ducati's is no exception. Great work there Rob and it really does look like the real thing. Mille gracie, Carl. The Ducati Monster was always a bike, which I really liked, but couldn't get me comfortable on it, as the proportions of the bike are a bit strange and it fits better to smaller people. This was my last bike in Berlin (Sorry no own pics, I shot analog by this time). It's like a sharp blade, raw power, but with a perfect balance, stability and precision. You could go 200 km/h without any bad reactions from the bike, which is a good thing given the long fork and rear suspension. It may not look like, but the KTM is exceptional comfortable for greater guys and I drove more than once 500-700km day trips. In the city, the KTM handles like a bike, being light weight and powerful and it sounds like a Harley on speed, I would love to built the KTM as a model, but there is none. Cheers Rob 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted September 11, 2021 Share Posted September 11, 2021 On 9/10/2021 at 3:15 PM, Kaireckstadt said: Nothing of the trouble you had is seen on the pictures. All problems well solved by you. Looks really stunning to me especially with the red rim. The more I see of your build the more I‘m forced to take a look at a bike-kit and buy one… Now on to the covering parts? I‘m curious! Totally agree !.....harv 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted September 13, 2021 Author Share Posted September 13, 2021 Sad times, I started to add frame parts and inner fairings, which will, added with the body parts hinder the sight onto the engine. The god news, all fairings are screwed on, so they are removable, which is good to know, but I guess, I will never remove them, when ready. I prepared the black based parts for all the lights with a reflective coat of Molotow chrome marker. They must be filled with quicksilver, as they look sooooo chrome, amazing . The only downside, I found with these on another build is, when you apply them on the backside of clear parts, they look grainy and a good chrome paint does a better job. I like that Tamiya is providing Kabuki masks for the body painting, but would prefer, if they could be pre-cut. I had a nerve tangling half hour yesterday to cut the delicately curved masks. Bye bye engine It's hard to show the chrome effect on a photo, but the shine of the Molotow markers is like the real thing. Cheers Rob 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted September 13, 2021 Share Posted September 13, 2021 Looks good, Rob. Sunlight is your best friend to show the shine. And I find white backgrounds suck the life from a model photo. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted September 13, 2021 Author Share Posted September 13, 2021 2 hours ago, GazzaS said: Looks good, Rob. Sunlight is your best friend to show the shine. And I find white backgrounds suck the life from a model photo. Muchas gracias Gaz. For the moment, I like the white background, but will change to black again later, as it's easier to meter the exposure for the pics. The black background got dirty and I have to thoroughly clean it. I like natural light pics as well, but direct sunlight often leads to unrealistic looking shadows and brutal contrasts and is harder to meter, specially on macro photos. Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted September 13, 2021 Share Posted September 13, 2021 Rob Spectacular work and your progress is amazing. Completely agree about the masks and why on especially expensive kits, Tamiya doesn't die cut the masks - it's nervous work cutting them out. Keep 'em comin Peter 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted September 13, 2021 Author Share Posted September 13, 2021 @Peterpools Thank you Peter Today I installed the stinger of the scorpion with the tail light and prepared and painted the body parts. The inside of the fairings was airbrushed with semi gloss black and after drying was secured with kabuki tape. Then I applied some gloss black as the first outer color onto the fairings. I used Tamiya's lacquer gloss white with Mr. Leveling thinner and got a nice glossy finish. Cheers Rob 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now