I have done some more work on the frame as I was not one hundred percent satisfied with the way it looked after my previous update.
I might do some more fiddling later on, but for now, I am satisfied.
I am having fun with this build.
Started 1 November 2022. Completed 12 January 2023
Having heard that a local club competition has been planned for January, I thought "why not?" and started on this build. I have struggled for too long with the Fiat and Sopwith and need a breather! This will be a fun build.
As always, I started by cutting all the parts off the sprues and putting each into separate packets, which I labelled according to the corresponding assembly number.
I then set about cleaning each one (removing flashing, filling ejector marks, sanding smooth, etc). After that, I assembled and sanded the tank nicely. It had some wicked dents that had to be filled but in the end, I was satisfied with the results (sans being primered - at which stage I will only really be able to see what it looks like).
My intention plan is for this to be a barn find, for which I wanted to have flat tyres, but the rubber tyre is solid for 56 out of the 7mm diameter. I tried various methods to cut the excess out, but started to damage the edge, so stopped just there! Not all barn finds have flat, worn out tyres...... This will be one of those. It is a pity that these tyres are not the same as those on the Italeri 1/12 Fiat that I am busy with. That rubber is nice and thin and would have been easy to use for making deflated tyres.
When doing this type of weathering, it is not easy to document the process I used in order to achieve the results I did.
What I can say is after lookig at a number of reference photos, I lay down a black pimer, and then build up the rust effects using oils, pastels and acrylics.
It's been three weeks since I last updated this build. That does not mean that I have not been working at it daily. There has just been no time to actually sit down and do an update!
The wheels:
When weathering the tyres, I liberally painted them with Tamiya buff acrylic, let it dry, and then scrubbed it off using a toothbrush - as is my custromary method.
However, this did not work this tme around and all that happened was a waste of paint and time, which I attribute to the possibility that the tyres seem to be of a very dense type of silicon that does not allow acrylic paint to adhere to it.
I then mixed up some buff, black and white oil paints and rubbed this onto the tyres using my fingers and palms. It worked. (I often use my fingers when weatheirng as I find that doing so helps create more subtle effects than with a brush).
Once that had dried, I followed on with a black wash of oil and artist turpentine.
For the rims: I started by applying a black primer by airbrush followed by a coat of Tamiya acrylic flat aluminium. Once dry, I proceded with oils and pigments of various shades of rust. I use brushes of various thickness and bristle density.
I did some more work on the frame section also fininished the front section baring the brake assembly and cables, which will be fitted after the front wheel has been attached.
Making the saddle.
I started off by weathering the frame. Nothing special. Base coat of Camoflage Rust-Oleum, followed by shadings of oils.
The saddle itself was way too new-looking so I needed to age it and that is when the fun-n-games started.
You see, the saddle is made from some sort of soft plastic/silicon (Remember that this kit is from 1974!) and I could not find anyting that would adhere to it so that I could cover it in tissue paper so as to break the smoothness. Using pieces of sprue to experiement on, I tried epoxy, superglue and 2 different types of plastic modelling glue. All to no avail. As a last ditched effort, I tried alcolin wood glue and it worked!
Once the glue had dried, I trimmed the excess and painted it all using Vallejo Red Leather. I used a hairdryer to speed up the drying process and then applied a generous coat of Tamiya Brown Panel Liner, followed by lamp
black oil paint, thinned with artist turpentine, to accentuate the creases and texture.
Once this lot had dried, I brushed the highlights using Tamiya weathering powder. The studs were added the following day using dressmaker's pins, of which I filed the heads down to approximately 0.3mm.
Finally and to seal it all, I airbrushed a layer of matte clear.
This is just a random update. I have been busy with many small items.
I formed a shape from thin styrene, then cast the base from cement and put a piece of wire mesh in to keep it solid.
After casting, I constantly mist-sprayed it so as to avoid any sudden shrinkage and subsequent cracking.
The result will be seen in the final photos.
The photo to the right shows the modification I made to the rear section in converting this military motorcycle to a civilian one.
Handlebars pinned and modified with 3D parts
Wiring and cabling completed!
I'm in the home stretch now.
The photo to the right shows how I attached this model to the stand:
Having 3D designed and then printed thge strapping for the battery, I filed the kit-supplied battery to remove the strapping and replaced it with my own.
(click to find out more)
I am calling this done. It was a fun build and I learnt a few things that I plan to incorporate into the next 1/9th scale bike I build.