Whats on your bench? This is what I got...

Revalco

The Doktor wrote:

Cheers,
Its a Tamiya 1/12 model, so anywhere that stock Tamiya will have them.
There are other brands, but none come close to tamiya, specially for motorbikes. Everything fits together so well. And the detail is second to none. I only add detail cos I`m not well:D

Marks Models in dublin do them. But I usually get them online from www.netmerchants.co.uk
www.hannants.co.uk
www.modelsinmotion.co.uk

Thanks for the reply, Doktor

I was looking at this: http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=14101

And began drooling lol, i will definely check out your links. And maybe pay a wee visit to Marks Models.

Keep up the excellent work

The Doktor

Cmar-Ireland wrote:

Doktor, I'm interested in trying out an airbrush, what do you recommend for a complete beginner? I have a 25l compressor so I would just need a moisture trap for that. I assume the gravity cup fed brushes are easier to use and clean?

Thanks

I mention Airbrushes in the post above. However one I would recommend to start with is this
http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/product.php/5017/101/

Now there is another version with a plastic body, but would say its pretty good too, I only have the plastic body version meself and found it grand. Its also a good it cheaper...
http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/product.php/4868/101/

Both come with the same accessories, and the idea behind the different nozzels is that they are for different applications. eg heavier paints like acrylic, fine work, larger areas etc. Also they come with different size cups so if you are doin a large area you use a bigger cup.
I got one of those, and then when I broke it, bought another. (I broke it cos i dropped it and then stood on it!!)

I felt with that brush I learned a lot about how to use an airbrush, and after id say 2-3years when on to somthing more advanced.
There are other ones that are supposed to be good, like Badger ones, but I have never had any experience of them.
I think with the Aztek you will see where you want to go with your next one.

For me I bought a tamiya one.. this one
http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=74514

I find it a joy to use, but as I say, they are hard to get and spares impossible.
My next purchase will be an Iwata airbrush.... well 2 of em. One for fine work, and another for wide areas
http://airbrushes.com/product_info.php?cPath=1_9_51&products_id=9&osCsid=3b7450efabdb0a4062a8641f77ce658c
http://airbrushes.com/product_info.php?cPath=1_9_51&products_id=11&osCsid=3b7450efabdb0a4062a8641f77ce658c

But thats after I get the GPS for the bike.. the RC buggy.. tyres for the car...........:D

The Doktor

I just realised somthing... that Netmerchats place I posted a link to is in Larne.... A whole warehouse of models on this island!.... and its open to the public....look!!!!
http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/contact.php

Is there a smiley that you can do for drool?????

I know what Im doin at the weekend.

Revalco

Wowza, Batman.... :eek:

Start up the engines lol, but i think i'll stick to Marks Models. Its closer and leaves less time for me think about all the things I cant buy on the bus home

And too answer your question, nope theres no drool smiley..why, i'll never know

Revalco

Ok, maybe i am then

http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/product.php/6676/0/

If you are actually going up...please take me too

*edit* added droolness

The Doktor

Revalco wrote:

Ok, maybe i am then

http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/product.php/6676/0/

If you are actually going up...please take me too

*edit* added droolness

If i was getting that Ducati i would get these....
http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/product.php/7642/379/

I know im gonna ...

But I have a heap of bikes to build at the min, another RCV211 (Max Biaggi) Rossis Yamaha and kenny roberts Yamaha..Also the Rossi RCV211 from Valencia.

Revalco

The Doktor wrote:

If i was getting that Ducati i would get these....
http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/product.php/7642/379/

I know im gonna ...

But I have a heap of bikes to build at the min, another RCV211 (Max Biaggi) Rossis Yamaha and kenny roberts Yamaha..Also the Rossi RCV211 from Valencia.

Nice one, got carried away there for a minute.....so many bikes lol

Was looking at Rossi's Valencia bike also, so it will be nice to see how all yours turn out

The Doktor

Right, got the fairings done tonight.
All parts were lightly rubbed with 12000 micromesh with a small drop of water. They were closely inspected to check for any problems.
I then did the blue parts first. I decanted the paint from an aerosol into a jar, as I wanted to airbrush it. (Tamiya Dark Mica Blue is the colour)

Just in case yis didnt know how to get paint out of an aerosol...
Next time yer in McDonalds, stroke a heap of the bendy straws.. (have to be bendy) .. The use a jar of some form, and put one end into it, and hold the aerosol right up to the other end and spray!.... the paint runs down the inside of the straw and into the jar.. do short sprays, and the paint doesnt go everywhere. Then leave it sit until the propellant stops bubbling out of the paint.

Anyways, before paintin, I rubbed each item with a tack cloth, to get every spec of dust off it. The I hazed each part with paint. This gives the next layer a good base to stick to. If you put on a heavy coat without hazing, it will run.
blue haze.jpg

Next you start to build up the colour in the resessed areas and edges with fairly low pressure and small amounts of paint. Maybe 2 coats on each part. Again.. really light coats. Then you build up colour over the whole part, I did 3 coats. When the whole part is looking nice and even, you turn up the pressure a little, and give one heavy coat. This is not the final coat, but it should be looking fairly shiny after this one. ... Then you give it one last heavy coat as your final one, and you will have a nice shiny finish.
Top Blue.jpg
Top Blue2.jpg

The same was done for all the orange parts. These are a lighter orange than the wheels, Tamiya Brilliant orange is the one i used.
Top Orange.jpg

Now the next thing to do is run away... before you are tempted to do any more coats .. "hmmm maybe if i did one more coat it would be shinier??!!?" NO this is when you get a nice dribble. Also if there were any bits of dust.. LEAVE IT. Let the paint dry, and pluck it off with a tweezers.
I will leave it until tomorrow before I do anything more, and if I feel the paint isnt hard enough, I will leave it another nighe before I start with the Decals.

Cmar-Ireland

The Doktor wrote:

I mention Airbrushes in the post above. However one I would recommend to start with is this
http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/product.php/5017/101/

Now there is another version with a plastic body, but would say its pretty good too, I only have the plastic body version meself and found it grand. Its also a good it cheaper...
http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/product.php/4868/101/

Both come with the same accessories, and the idea behind the different nozzels is that they are for different applications. eg heavier paints like acrylic, fine work, larger areas etc. Also they come with different size cups so if you are doin a large area you use a bigger cup.
I got one of those, and then when I broke it, bought another. (I broke it cos i dropped it and then stood on it!!)

That one would be a bit pricy for me. Would any of the cheaper ones on ebay be any good?

The Doktor

Cmar-Ireland wrote:

That one would be a bit pricy for me. Would any of the cheaper ones on ebay be any good?

Well what do you want to do with it?

Cmar-Ireland

The Doktor wrote:

Well what do you want to do with it?

I would be painting rc bodyshells. Maybe try a few scale models. I wouldn't be doing airbrush art, I'm not that good....LOL !

The Doktor

Well if its body shells yer doin, then any aul airbrush will do ye. Unless you`re gonna be doing detail, you dont need anythin flashy. Also you wont be worried about getting a shiny finish, as you will be painting the inside.
Id look at somthin like this
http://www.modelsinmotion.co.uk/product.asp?productid=18426&catCode=228&tamiya=273

That would do ye fine. It would be well capable of doing plenty of stuff on scale models.
I have a very similar one that i picked up in Italy (probably the same one being Mantua) and its grand for a lot of work.
Im gonna get me a buggy meself soon, and have been thinkin how i will paint it.. lookin forward to it:D

The Doktor

Ok ... tonight was disaster night.... well it was cursing and swearing night anyways...
First I stripped all the masking off.. and it looks good.
Then I started the decals. I usually do the ones that need to line up with each other on different parts. This is where the swearing started.
A blue decal is ment to go onto the orange fairing. This was the first problem, just couldnt figure out what way it was ment to go... and when I finally did, I wasnt happy with the colour. It was blue, but not the right metallic blue. So i took it off put it on the floor and danced on it.
What I am now going to do, is paint it blue instead of a decal... so thats tomorrow night, as the paint isnt hard enough to take masking tape with out there being marks left.

The Doktor

I fixed up the disaster I had the other night by painting a second colour onto the cowls instead of using decals. This was worth it in the long term, and looks much better and more accurate.
Here is the blue on the side cowl
side cowl.jpg

And here is the front with the mask still on..
front cowl.jpg

When doing this, it is important to do a few things. First, put the masing tape where you want it. Then scuff the paint with light sand paper or the new layer of paint can peel off.
Also when you are finished painting, dont leave the masking tape on too long. Dont leave it over night. I left these for about two hours. Also if you leave it too short a time, the still damp paint can peel along the edges.
One trick is to pull the tape off at 90 degrees to the paint. gives you a good sharp edge.

Last night I put on one of the most difficult decal i ever put on. The black stripes on the tank.
Tank cover.jpg
Read the next bit to see why the Repsol decal looks funny...

These are actually 4 Decals. and were so hard to line up right. In the end after lots of cursin, i got it. But they wouldnt fold over the edges correctly, so I put on MicroSol decal solution. This softens the decal and it conforms to the contours and corners really well.
I put on a load of this, left it till the next day and it was perfect.
The trick with this stuff is, line up the decal. Put on the solution with a real soft brush... and DONT TOUCH IT till its dry. The decal goes all wrinkley lookin, and you start to worry. But when its dry it will be perfect. Also if you touch it it will break up into tiny bits and yer screwed. Even a single hair on a brush will break it.
It looks like this when it on and wet.
Decal.jpg

Excellent stuff though.

Revalco

Coming along nicely doktor, love the look of paint finish.

The Doktor

Revalco wrote:

Coming along nicely doktor, love the look of paint finish.

An the missus is away for the weekend... an im havin a day off tomorrow...Loads o work will get done...:cool:

BFassassin

looks great mate and enjoy the free weekend

The Doktor

First thing I got into was a couple of Decals on the actual bike. These were all handy ones, but make the bike look so much better. For example the "HRC", the "Showa" on the forks and swing arm.
Finished naked.jpg
There was nothing difficult about them.
But there was on the fairings!!
On the main side fairings where it says "Repsol" there were 3 large decals to go on them. They all had to line up, and what I didnt know was they were ment to over lap. And it doesnt tell ye in the instructions. You are supposed to start from the bottom and work your way up... I didnt. In the end I got them right.
These are decals that I would have been lost without decal solutions. First is called MicroSet, which you put on the part before you sit the decal on it. This stuff makes the decal stick better, so means it get into the recesses much better. The second stuff is called MicroSol, shich makes the decal really soft, this is really only used for the most arkward decals.
The decals that come with this kit are Cartograph, which are fantastic. Some of the decals actually have texture. Like one or two carbon look decals. like the ones on the tank cover (black stripes)
Thats all the decals done except for the ones on the screen, which will be one of the last things to do
All Fairings.jpg
Now everything has to be left until the decals are set properly. I will then give all the fairings a final coat of clear laquer (Halfords spray can) and leave it for a night or two before finishing it all off...

BFassassin

Really nice mate. I see what you mean about those Repsol decals. They would be very hard to line up properly

Revalco

Very nice Doc, looking forward to the finish thing

Plug

Now that is coming on very nice.

The Doktor

Last night, I gave each fairing panel 4 coats of Laquer. I had a look at it today at lunchtime, and decided to give it another 3 coats… to get a nice deep shine on it… Also no edges or joins in the decals can be seen now.
Side Fairing.jpg

I thought id get to put them on tonight, but was a bit worried that it was still a bit soft and might end up with finger prints on it.
Thing was, looking at the model I found a whole evenings worth of work in little bits and pieces that I still hadnt done. There was an antenna needed for the rear fairing (I assume its for cameras and telemmetry). This was made from photoetch.
Also there was a panel to go onto the exhaust pipes to protect the rider from heat. I had totally missed it. So that was painted black as it should be.
Next I wanted to do the exhaust springs, which hold the end can on tight to the pipe. There was a photo etch one that came with the set, but these were flat and didn’t look like springs at all. So I made me own.
I wrapped fine wire around a very small drill bit (0.5mm i think)to make the spring. I then took each end off the photo etch part and stuck em together. I will paint these tomorrow when the glue is dry, with a thin mix of silver.
Me eyes are killin me after doin these, but again its worth it!
Exhaust springs.jpg

Cmar-Ireland

:eek:

BFassassin

Now thats what i call fine detail.
Good stuff

coolwings

The care and time really pays off. Lovely.

The Doktor

Added a few bits and pieces that I had forgotten. But mainly gave a few parts a wash of black Oil paint thinned with thinners to bring out some detail and simulate the dirt/oxidation. Like on th welds on the frame, chain...etc. This is it totally finished before the fairings went on.
Left.jpg

right.jpg


After that I put on all the fairing, which didnt take to long. It is a pleasure doing a model by tamiya, as there is never any messing and the like of the fairings go on so easily.
When they were on, I put on some AutoGlym "Extra Gloss Protection" which makes it even shinier! I use this on me real bike..:D

After that I made coffee and had a smoke...:D

loopingfred

Just... Perfect !

Fred

Cmar-Ireland

Absoutely fantastic work Doktor, it could pass for picture of the real thing.
If I was to be hyper critical, I would suggest that the blue heat effect on the exhaust looks a bit too much. But in no way does it distract from the overall finish.

The Doktor

Cmar-Ireland wrote:

Absoutely fantastic work Doktor, it could pass for picture of the real thing.
If I was to be hyper critical, I would suggest that the blue heat effect on the exhaust looks a bit too much. But in no way does it distract from the overall finish.

Cheers for the compliment, but on the exhaust thing, I wouldnt agree with ya.
I have a few pics from the net of the bike, but most close ups are from test bikes and dont really show the detail. However I how I decided on the colouring for the exhaust is... First, look at real bikes with stainless exhaust systems. Me own one for example, hasnt got to many miles on it and it looks pretty similar, however not as blue cos its not high performance.
Next look at every picture I can get.
I founds some bikes didnt have such a shiny finish, and would be more black, others had blue parts, and nice silver parts where it looks like bits were recently replaced.
So based on looking through 4 books of photos of (2 of rcv211 pics, one of general moto gp pit walks) I decided to go with it like i did...
Its always difficult to decide what way to do the blueing of an exhaust, but from what I can see, from brand new an exhaust goes gold... a little blue where the heat is higher (bends, around the four into one bit), and the more its used the blue goes nearly black.
Heres an example of the blueing of a real one on the same bike...
Real exhaust.jpg

And heres an example of where ye can see the blues going to blacks.. and even the golds turning nearly red/purple.

Older exhaust.jpg
But there are loads of varients of the colouring. I dont know how many different bikes were used, or how many times the exhausts were replaced. But ye just gotta go with the pics you have, and what you see in real life.
I mean ye should see the blues on some of the 2 stroke bike.. its unreal!

The Doktor

anyways... thought since i had the coffee and de smoke i better post the final pics ......

Left Finished.jpg

Left Finished2.jpg

Right Finished.jpg

Right Finished2.jpg

Sitting.jpg


Now.. whats next??