Hi all - new to the forum, and any opinions on the following appreciated.
Looking at transforming a Tamiya 1/12 Yamaha 1994 TZM250 into a 1996 YZR250. Both bikes were ridden by Tetsuya Harada in 250GPs and the 96 bike is unavailable as a kit. I believe transformation resin kits were on sale in Japan, but were a limited run and sold out in hours !
Anyways, using the 94 Yam as a base would require modification of the frame, but mostly it would be the fairing and tailpeice that would need drastic surgery. This is my plan, as it is, so far:
Build up the fairing as required using Milliput. For the tailpeice, slice off the rear of the 94 tail and build up a “frame” for the new tail in sheet styrene. Finish off with Millput.
Ive never done a project like this before - am I on the right lines or way off the mark ? Cheers.
I think I know the type of conversion you want to make - the final version I saw was a 1999 YZR250 with Chesterfield markings in grey and bright yellow wheels. I have the TZ250 kit and want to do a this conversion, mostly because I like the colour scheme. There are some step by step descriptions (in Japanese) and pictures at http://tokyo.cool.ne.jp/ks_workshop/reportindex.html
Your plan looks good. My thinking was to do the following:
- use styrene sheet and a two part epoxy putty to modify the tail. Because there are a lot of compound curves, quite a lot of putty will be needed. The epoxy putty won’t shrink like other air drying putty
- add the side scoops on both sides of the fairing using a similar technique
- get brake disks from a donor kit (don’t know what will work best)
- modify or scratchbuild new front brake calipers and hangers
- custom make the sponsor decals and either paint the striping or make decals for them
I was going to leave the wheels, top part of the fairing, tank and frame the same as the TZ kit. Although not 100% accurate, it won’t really matter to me. This will be a project I won’t get to for quite a while. If you want pictures of this conversion, just let me know and I’ll get them to you. Your '94 to '96 conversion is a bit easier than what I plan to do.
I’ve done a similar conversion of a street bike to a superbike racer, although not as much bodywork changes needed. You can see the results (and a downloadable PDF build notes) at http://www.eajonesgue.com/scalemodels/HondaVF750InterceptorSuperbike.html
Keep us posted on your progress.
Evan Jones
Evan,
Ive seen that Jap site - lots of interesting stuff there ! That Nakano YZR is a nice looking bike alright - I’d be very interested to see your progress when you get going on that.
It’ll be a while before I get around to mine as well. Currently converting two other TZMs: one to a 92 and one to a 95 model. Only minor modifications, but I dont get a lot of free time and Im taking my time with the painting and decalling as that’ll make or break them.
If I can, I may even try and document the 96 conversion if anyone else is interested.
Nice site you got there btw.[tup]
You may also want to post your question on a Yahoo group that is dedicated to motorcycle modelling at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MotorcycleModelling/
There’s lots of experienced modelers there that can help you. I know there was one thread about someone doing a modification of a gas tank (starting around message number 8994) that is similar to the work you will need to do.
Evan