Ducati Desmosedici

[Ian M]

Thats looking the bee knees mate!

Any chance of a piccie with a ruler along side it. Either thats a big bike or you have a tiny keyboard !

Ian M

[yak face]

Hi graham , this is looking fantastic, only one problem though-- its making me want to do a bike kit!!!!!!LOL, keep it up ,looking forward to seeing it all together , cheers tony

[Guest]

Cheers guys, Tony, give it a go. Totally different from building military, reaaly nice change.

Ian, the bike is about 6.5 inches long, each square on the cutting mat is 1cm s that should give an idea. Also the iMac keyboard is fairly small lol, not as small as the one they do without a keypad which I am considering to increase my desk space.

[Guest]

Great work Graham , I love it , I knew you could get it back after your little mishap , looking forward to see it finnished now mate

Richy

[Guest]

Re the fairing hiding the underneath bits you've worked so hard on.

I don't know about this kit specifically but Tamiya bikes do tend to have fairings fitted by screws so that you can display with them removed if desired but change the display with a twiddle of a few cross head screws.

Good going with them fiddly decals round the tank, what decal softener do you use Graham?

[Guest]

Microsol Mike, a kit like this would have been impossible to decal without it. Took just over two hours to do the decals, not perfect but I am happy with them.

You are also right with the ability to display with the fairing on or off. On the Honda, all the fairing clips on but the front wheel has to be taken off to fit it. It isn't an easy fit so I may leave it covered on this one as it could easily scratch the paint up swapping it around. The Ducati is slightly different as it has a split fairing so the two side panels are separate and can easily be removed as they are held on by screws. Having said that the Honda does have a clear fairing as well as the painted one so it could be used but the box section alloy frame hides so much, it really isn't worth it. Nice to have a spare full fairing though lol.

[Guest]

Hi Graham, I am building the Duke at the moment, I have used the extra forks as they are worth it also I bought the pe and marlboro decals from crazy modeller, and apart from the pe being very thick and difficult to cut it has made quite a difference, I am having nightmares with the pe chain at the moment but when finished I will take a piccy and send to the forum. One word of warning, be careful spraying the bodywork the screws attaching fueltank/seat cowling to the frame are only 2.5 mil, and if the paint builds up on the tank the srews are to short? Plus try Alclad, the chrome is excellent. Keep modelling.

[tr1ckey66]

Hi Graham

The bike's looking fantastic! and well done you for averting disaster! Can't wait to see the Ducati.

Cheers

P

[Guest]

Cheers Gareth. I am having a bit of trouble finding the add on bits for the Ducati, everyone is sold out. I did order the forks from somewhere but after a couple of weeks I git them to admit they didn't have any and give me a refund. I would be happy building it OOB but I do need to get the chrome exhausts right. Never tried Alclad and find the whole concept a bit scary to be honest. May have to bite the bullet and get some. I did pick up a bottle at the Coventry show but then there was another chrome, and another and a cleaner and an undercoat.... it just went on and on. The paint for the exhaust is going to cost as much as the kit and will probably poison me (I am an Acrylic sprayer lol)

[Guest]

Hi Graham, the Honda looks great. I know Alclad is not cheap but I built tamiya`s Enzo a short while ago and removing the exhausts and wheels left lovely grey marks where they would be seen,so I primered them (halfords grey) sprayed with a dark humbrol enamel (I hate spraying enamels) then when dry on goes the Alclad chrome. Wear a mask though I didn`t and it affected my asthma, silly me? but the effect is stunning, will put a piccy of the Enzo when I am brave enough. I always look at other peoples work and think mine is rubbish, and i am not a perfectionist. For the Duke`s exhaust I will use humbrol stainless steel, I think it may be more effective. I have today attached the red trim on one wheel, its fun! be warned? plenty of micro sol. Keep on modelling>

[Guest]

Humbrol Stainless Steel? Are the exhausts not chrome then? Is the Humbrol one of the Metal Coat ones? I believe you can polish them a bit but I have never tried one.

[Guest]

Hi Graham, I apologise cos I think I called you Martin? anyway back to the Duke, have you tried Hiroboy.com I looked today and they claim to have a set of forks for the Duke. As to the paint yes it is of the metalcote variety and it is very effective. I have tried to get a definitive answer as to what material the exhausts are made of? no real luck but Termignoni who make the system claim they use, titanium, stainless steel, and carbon fibre. So I am going to plum for s/steel, with a bit of blueing it should be okay ( I hope ) or yet another rub down. I tried Zero paints for the body and frame but ended up with Tamiya paint? must be me. I will let you know how it is progressing. Keep the sunny side up Gareth.

[Guest]

Im in for this one Gareth, sounds a great build....as you know i love me bike kits :-) I reckon the ole metalcote will do you ok bud, ive used it on bits n bobs and it comes up well, looking forward to seeing pics mate, all the best Martin :-)

[Guest]

No probs Gareth I have been called a lot worse than my good friend Martin I can assure you lol. Odd because I looked on Hiroboy yesterday and it said out of stock..... I will pop in later and have a look. Cheers for the info on the exhausts, it looks as though the SS is the way to go, thanks for that. I have a few things on the go and very little time at the moment but I have to get back in the saddle and get going on the Duke. I have decided on a Humbrol rattle can gloss red for the body work, I was really impressed with the white I ended up using on the Honda (after dropping the seat unit while wet).

Onwards and upwards my friends, we will get Ron building a bike one day at this rate.... Ducks and runs for cover ;-)

[Guest]

Hi Graham, just to let you know there are a couple of fork upgrades on ebay from china about 12 to 14 pounds inc postage worth a look see. Thanks for the comments and Martin I will put some piccies of the Duke on this weekend, sod the garden.

By the way did you see the build up of the Honda RC 166 in tmmi. I think he went a little overboard on the tarnishing? the real bike was nothing like that at Goodwood some years ago. Cheers for now, Gareth.