Jeff Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 How did I not keep up with this build …. Gob smacked with your incredible hidden talents ! What a fabulous job you are doing with this kit, a challenge for most, but you seem to be waltzing through this like its an old school snap kit ! What you are doing here makes my truck stuff look like a four year old is assembling. Absolutely fabulous work Rob and really enjoyable to watch. I will keep up with this. Outstanding ! Jeff 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted June 18 Author Share Posted June 18 On 6/17/2024 at 12:10 PM, Peterpools said: Coming together just beautifully and the gloss finish is superb. MFH attention to detail is amazing. Thank you Peter, it starts to look like a bike now and the finish is nice. The Crocker could be one of the rare kits, which makes it into my living area. The engineering is really superb on MFH´s side with only some little errors in the manual. Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted June 18 Author Share Posted June 18 On 6/17/2024 at 4:03 PM, Jeff said: How did I not keep up with this build …. Gob smacked with your incredible hidden talents ! What a fabulous job you are doing with this kit, a challenge for most, but you seem to be waltzing through this like its an old school snap kit ! What you are doing here makes my truck stuff look like a four year old is assembling. Absolutely fabulous work Rob and really enjoyable to watch. I will keep up with this. Outstanding ! Thank you Jeff, but I thought it would be harder to build a MFH motorbike. In fact, I had much more difficult projects, like the USS Arizona. The great design of the kits helps to get everything right. I´m more than astonished, that I have managed through more than half of the build in less than a month and mostly without big hick ups and had a lot of fun and motivation. Don´t sell your truck building short Jeff, every kind of modeling has it´s challenges and your finished kits are fantastic. Cheers Rob 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 26 minutes ago, DocRob said: Thank you Jeff, but I thought it would be harder to build a MFH motorbike. In fact, I had much more difficult projects, like the USS Arizona. The great design of the kits helps to get everything right. I´m more than astonished, that I have managed through more than half of the build in less than a month and mostly without big hick ups and had a lot of fun and motivation. Don´t sell your truck building short Jeff, every kind of modeling has it´s challenges and your finished kits are fantastic. Cheers Rob Thanks for the kind words , Rob... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 I can only echo what was written already a MASTERPIECE !!! Cheers Martin 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted June 18 Author Share Posted June 18 50 minutes ago, Martinnfb said: I can only echo what was written already a MASTERPIECE !!! Thank you Martin, it´s definitely a new building experience, but a very exciting one. Motivation is the grease to successful modeling and this is very much the case here. Cheers Rob 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted June 18 Author Share Posted June 18 On to the wheels, which proved easier to build than thought, luckily. It took two days to assemble them, but the second went together much faster, which keeps me hopeful for the five wire wheels of my recently purchased Ferrari kit. Some words of advice, if you plan to build a MHF motorcycle: - Check the rims and the building jig for perfect flatness. In my case, all were warped a bit, due to sanding and polishing the wheels. - Drill the holes for the spokes angled, as shown in the manual and indicated through the cast or you will have difficulties to thread in the spoke nipples. - Don´t use your best nippers for the spokes. The material is VERY hard and left dents even in my hardened tools. First spokes, aligned to the vent hole, one from under and one from above. All spokes need to be bent further and cut short on the bent side. First quarter of spokes is mounted per manual, then the spoke nipples were added from the outside and secured with CA One side finished, I then cut the protruding spoke ends, flipped the part in the jig and on with the second half. MFH chose to print their manual slightly larger than the real thing, unfortunately. One wheel ready, except for shortening the protruding ends. You can see, how the nipples fit into the rim´s holes. The front wheel is done: And the rear wheel followed "short" after , really not too hard to do, but you should work with concentration to prevent from mistakes: Cheers Rob 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted June 18 Share Posted June 18 Rob How close to the real deal does this get? Incrdible engineering. I tip my cap as you followed the drawings and instructions perfectly and the results are perfection! 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted June 19 Author Share Posted June 19 14 hours ago, Peterpools said: How close to the real deal does this get? Incrdible engineering. I tip my cap as you followed the drawings and instructions perfectly and the results are perfection! Not close to the real thing at all Peter, the tyres are massive rubber and the inflating valves have no function . Other than that, detail of the kit is outstanding. The assemblage of the wheels was documented well in the manual, luckily. Now on to the next obstacle, I´m not looking too much optimistic onto, the chain, which consists of myriads of PE parts, and white metal cast axles, which need to be flattened individually . I hope the good kit design will prevail through this chapter. Cheers Rob 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted June 19 Share Posted June 19 Rob To my eye, the wire wheels look fantastic and just think, you will never have to change a flat tire. I'm still firmly in the camp of: WOW, the details are brilliant, and the look is awesome. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted June 19 Share Posted June 19 Amazing work Rob! MFH really did a nice job with the assembly of those wheels, look so realistic. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted June 19 Author Share Posted June 19 5 minutes ago, Landlubber Mike said: Amazing work Rob! MFH really did a nice job with the assembly of those wheels, look so realistic. Thank you Mike, the only downside with the wheels was, I couldn´t polish them, which was my initial plan. It was just too difficult to do so with all the little bumps, where the spokes holes are. Cheers Rob 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted June 19 Author Share Posted June 19 Today, I assembled more than half of the chain. Again the design by MFH helps a lot, but the work is eye straining and tedious. The last links felt more difficult, a clear sign of fatigue. Thirty chain white metal chain axles, connected by a cast sprue will be set into a pre drilled jig. Then you add the intersecting PE links, which are luckily only adhesive fixed to the foil and dosen´t need to be cut from the PE fret. When one side is finished, the heads of the bolts are pressed flat with a pair of pliers. One side done: The chain will be flipped over in the jig and the second side gets mounted like the first. Here are both sides done. Then you cut the white metal sprue away with a sharp nipper and you have 30links made. The last pic shows two sets of 30 joined together in the jig. Cheers Rob 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HubertB Posted June 19 Share Posted June 19 This chain is really a scale rendition of the 1:1 prototype. Well done, Rob 👍 ! Hubert 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted June 19 Author Share Posted June 19 Thank you Hubert, I will continue tomorrow, as I have a terrible hey fewer today and a sneeze at the wrong moment... . The chain is only missing the seals and some grease . Cheers Rob 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted June 19 Share Posted June 19 Great work on the chain and front wheel. A classic 3 cross layout from the looks of it. Like Hubert said, they go together like the real ones. In fact, the front wheel reminded me of building wheels for my mountain bikes. I learned to do that and built a few sets over the years. At least you don't have to worry about even tension and trueness. 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 Rob Jaw dropping detail - absolutely an incredible kit with some of the most amazing details I have ever seen. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted June 21 Author Share Posted June 21 On 6/19/2024 at 4:46 PM, BlrwestSiR said: Great work on the chain and front wheel. A classic 3 cross layout from the looks of it. Like Hubert said, they go together like the real ones. In fact, the front wheel reminded me of building wheels for my mountain bikes. I learned to do that and built a few sets over the years. At least you don't have to worry about even tension and trueness. Thank you Carl, I never made the ping test with the spokes, but for a kit, the wheels are pretty sturdy. I never spoked more than single ones into my bicycles wheels and centered everything again. The Crocker bein my first full spoking job, I can´t tell about the layout other than claiming, I followed the manual step by step. Cheers Rob 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted June 21 Author Share Posted June 21 On 6/20/2024 at 12:33 PM, Peterpools said: Jaw dropping detail - absolutely an incredible kit with some of the most amazing details I have ever seen. Thank you Peter, Tamiya´s bikes are very good kits and finely detailed, specially the elater ones, like the Ducati, I built some years ago. The MFH bikes are way ahead of that, not only detail wise, but the weight of the metal makes it feel more real. Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted June 21 Author Share Posted June 21 I finished the chain, which almost finished me beforehand . It was a challenge and test of patience and I would wish a resin chain for future bike kits. Building the four strings of chain into the jig proved to be not a big problem, but connecting these strings proved very difficult. In the process of trying, I broke the chain on another place, true nightmare, because it was already flat bolted by that time. After a lot of trying and careful sanding, I glued the link together with CA. After I somehow assembled the full length of the chain miraculously, I didn´t had it in me to join the chain without a jig and glued it to the sprocket, as it´s not supposed to turn in any case. The good news, the chain link count in the manual is exactly correct, a thing rarely seen with tank tracks in kits. The side of the fenders looks terribly on the pics, but that must be the lighting. Cheers Rob 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 Rob Hands of a surgeon assembling and installing the chain - looks beyond brilliant. Lightening and photography go hand in hand. The earlier closeup images of the fenders clearly shows the incredible glossy finish you achieved. Looking so good. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 4 hours ago, Peterpools said: Hands of a surgeon assembling and installing the chain - looks beyond brilliant. Lightening and photography go hand in hand. The earlier closeup images of the fenders clearly shows the incredible glossy finish you achieved. Looking so good. Thank you Peter, I actually had some more issues with the chain, as it protrudes a bit to far around the sprocket. I had to pry it loose again and cut off some links for the housing to be placed correctly. Cheers Rob 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted June 22 Author Share Posted June 22 The chain haunted me again, when I fitted the polished sprocket housing. This part connects three principal areas of the bike and only the slightest bending or misalignment leads to not fitting exactly, where it belongs. To correct this, I pried the chain loose from the sprocket and cut away some more links to enhance the wiggle room for the cover and glued it in place finally, hiding the missing chain links. Next were the exhausts parts, which were also polished before. For this, I used the green side of a sponge first, followed by very fine steel wool and finally a cotton rotating tool on my Proxxon with Autosol polishing paste. The fitting was very good and a relief after the chain. Finally, I added some more wires leading from the chain guard to the fuel tank, the braking wire with it´s delicate to install return spring and last, the starter with it´s real rubber pads. Here is another shot, with the fuel tank loosely added: Cheers Rob 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 Rob Seems the Crocker is putting up quite a struggle at the end stages of the build. Glad you were able to resolve the chain issues as it seems the instructions weren't as perfect on this one assembly as all the other assemblies. WOW, the exhaust and the tank look so good and just have the right 'polished' look and feel to them. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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