Nearly Completed - Tamiya 1/12 ducati desmosedici

I’m not much of a poster on here. I tend to lurk around, have done for many months, I register a little while ago didn’t post a lot.

But I’m very near to completion of a Tamiya 1/12 ducati desmosedici.

This is my first venture into model bike building, thought I’d have a go and see what I could do. The kit has been upgraded with –

Crazy Modeler P/E
Crazy Modeler P/E Stand
Tamiya Front Fork upgrades
Crazy Modeler Tobacco Sponsorship Decals
SMS Plain Weave 1420 CF decals
SMS Twill Weave 1020 CF decals
SMS P/E bolt upgrades

I’ve used Alclad II paints for nearly all the mechanical parts, and heat stained the exhausts with Alclad II base coat, clear yellow, titanium gold, clear blue and then smoke.

Most the of the CF decals are smoked, and the body cowlings have been sprayed TS49, decaled and then cleared with X22.

Hope you all like it, seems to be a little slow around here for cars /bikes so thought I’d post to get the numbers up a little…

Thanks for looking.

And final picture the cowlings that will fit over the actual bike.

Thanks.

Wow, great detail and thanks for trying to generate some more activity. Keep the update coming on this great project.

That looks great! Does SMS put out templates for the CF decals, or did you make them yourself?

Wow, really inspiring! Are you up to answering a few questions? I’m currently ‘struggling’ through my first motorcycle kit, and there are a number of things I’ve run into, mostly regarding the finish, etc… it’s Tamiya’s 1/12 Yoshimura Hayabusa.

Thanks for posting this up!

mickbench -How did the crazymodler decals go down? are they good to work with? have the Ren decals for the one I’m doing ,Started mine when kit first came out and no where fin,as have other projects
on the go
Shayne

What questions do you have? Always willing to help if I can.

The crazymodeler decals were just fine. they were nice and strong, and didn’t rip or break up… Responded well to decal solutions, and I was happy working with them.

Thanks for the comments… More updates coming soon… Bike is now 90% completed, just need a few nice days to snap off a few pictures.

Cool, thanks… The bike build-up is pretty straightforward by the book, but it’s the decisions to veer off a little along the way that I’m interested in.

I tweaked the front discs on the Hayabusa I’ve got here (damn masking fluid) so am getting a PE set. I had wondered if the PE sets are comparable and was gonna ask about building them up, but the PE for the Ducati doesn’t get as involved in that area, so strike that.(But those chain links!!!) :slight_smile:

Did any of your build order differ from the ‘suggestions’ on the sheets? I am trying to get the sub-assemblies along as far as I can before the final construction. This follows the instructions mostly, but it looks like they want you to integrate newly finished sub-assemblies into a ‘whole’ as soon as they’re done… I’d like some hedge room, just in case, so I’ve undone a bit of work to keep options open. In your experience, any reason to do one or the other? Any logical reasons to get away from the sheets? I snip a lot of plastic off to paint similar surfaces together, so since the parts are sitting around anyway…

One of the annoyances is the number of centerline seams I’ve had to deal with, and being a somewhat less than skilled filler/sander (and not quite customizing tools to get into tight areas as I’d like) how’d you tackle them? I have to confess to having left a few too many seams around (especially on the engine block) Is the Ducati the same? Engineering the parts for sprues may make it the case for many of the bikes. Next time through, I need to be more patient with cleaning up.

TS49… did you decant it for airbrush or shoot straight from the can? I was going to try a work-around color, but damn if in your pics it doesn’t look like a great match, and it’s what’s called out here. I want to spray it straight if I can, but I’m going to be really annoyed if the finish gets wonked. It’ll be double or nothing, as this bike is gun-metal over red. I’ve been over these body panels a few times with Mr Surfacer (500 jar for some filling, 1000 spray for proper primer… and seeing more gaffs, so back to the 500… gah!!!) It WILL be worth these extra steps, right? Would you walk through your paint order? It looks as if layers are your friend… but I don’t know much about how to tackle a proper auto/bike finish and I think it could be applied here.

Your metals look great too. I think I was a little too rushed with the alclad application… much more has to be possible with them, a more realistic appearance. Sticking with the ‘two mist coats at 12-15psi’ regimen, but maybe some change will get better results next time.

Anyway, compliments and questions… took too long to write this, so back to the model. Hope to see your final touches soon, and please get on to another bike kit. Good stuff.

Cool, thanks… The bike build-up is pretty straightforward by the book, but it’s the decisions to veer off a little along the way that I’m interested in.

well, lot of questions, I’ll do my best.

I tweaked the front discs on the Hayabusa I’ve got here (damn masking fluid) so am getting a PE set. I had wondered if the PE sets are comparable and was gonna ask about building them up, but the PE for the Ducati doesn’t get as involved in that area, so strike that.(But those chain links!!!) :slight_smile:

P/E differs from kit to kit. The Ducati P/E was pretty easy to work with, the chain was however tedious. Just be sure to wash in lacquer thinner to remove dirt and grease etc and sand the areas to be glued or painted to allow the glue or paint to stick. Use metal surface primer if you have anyhow.

Did any of your build order differ from the ‘suggestions’ on the sheets? I am trying to get the sub-assemblies along as far as I can before the final construction. This follows the instructions mostly, but it looks like they want you to integrate newly finished sub-assemblies into a ‘whole’ as soon as they’re done… I’d like some hedge room, just in case, so I’ve undone a bit of work to keep options open. In your experience, any reason to do one or the other? Any logical reasons to get away from the sheets? I snip a lot of plastic off to paint similar surfaces together, so since the parts are sitting around anyway…

Yes. By quite a bit. I hardly ever follow the kit guide letter to letter. I built mine up in sub assemblies, but built the rear before the front, and I’ve not attached any body cowlings yet, to allow more time for paint curing… Build your bike in an order that suits you.

One of the annoyances is the number of centerline seams I’ve had to deal with, and being a somewhat less than skilled filler/sander (and not quite customizing tools to get into tight areas as I’d like) how’d you tackle them? I have to confess to having left a few too many seams around (especially on the engine block) Is the Ducati the same? Engineering the parts for sprues may make it the case for many of the bikes. Next time through, I need to be more patient with cleaning up.

Sanding sticks, putty, time and surface primer. Seam lines were all over my bike. It just takes time and preparation.

TS49… did you decant it for airbrush or shoot straight from the can? I was going to try a work-around color, but damn if in your pics it doesn’t look like a great match, and it’s what’s called out here. I want to spray it straight if I can, but I’m going to be really annoyed if the finish gets wonked. It’ll be double or nothing, as this bike is gun-metal over red. I’ve been over these body panels a few times with Mr Surfacer (500 jar for some filling, 1000 spray for proper primer… and seeing more gaffs, so back to the 500… gah!!!) It WILL be worth these extra steps, right? Would you walk through your paint order? It looks as if layers are your friend… but I don’t know much about how to tackle a proper auto/bike finish and I think it could be applied here.

No, I didn’t decant the paint, just straight from the can. Applied over a white primer base, three mists, two wet sanded with 2400. Then two more wet and decaled. Then washed and then cleared 8 times with X22. Three mist of clear, two heavy ish coats, 2 wet and 1 VERY wet final gloss up coat. Then compounded with course, fine and finish tamiya compounds when cured in about 1 – 2 weeks and a good wax with either Tamiya wax or if you have any, the last detail treatment.

Your metals look great too. I think I was a little too rushed with the alclad application… much more has to be possible with them, a more realistic appearance. Sticking with the ‘two mist coats at 12-15psi’ regimen, but maybe some change will get better results next time.

Alclad II really needs a black primer base… I’ve not had favorable results without a black base… For chrome, this needs to be enamel gloss, for polished metals TS 14 gloss black, for the rest X18 or standard lacquer satin black works fine. I use 12 – 15 psi, and apply about 10 mists… I feather it on, slowly building the coverage up. It’s tedious, takes time but if you try and rush Alclad II the results are not good.

Anyway, compliments and questions… took too long to write this, so back to the model. Hope to see your final touches soon, and please get on to another bike kit. Good stuff.

You’re welcome… Next bike model is a YZF R1 street bike…

Great looking Ducati! Of course now that i’ve seen your’s I guess I’ll just leave mine in the box.[(-D] The Exhaust pipes look great I was wondering how I was going to get that look for mine. Couse the whole danged bike looks fantastic. Great job!!!

Wow, fantastic ideas… yeah, definitely need to work on the patience thing. The Taira bike looks sweet, can’t wait to see what you do with one.

Thanks for the tips, and the base for alclad will be changing up. I’ve used whichever has been recommended, so for some it’s been a grey base, including the aluminum of the engine. I probably go through about half the number of mist coats at most, so it’s also likely that I haven’t given the lacquer quite enough ‘depth’ to work its magic.

I’m guessing by wet coat you mean that the paint is looking really slick as it hits. Not heavy/dripping, but some controlled ‘gloss’… if I understand what I’ve just read correctly, you want the paint to be a little heavier, and work closer to the model to build up an overall wet look.

Starting to find good reference, and I don’t think I’m so far along in a few spots that I can’t back up a bit. The engine’s a done deal though… alas, learnt for next time!

I was looking around at shots of the Ducati. Looks like the bulk of the bike is carbon fiber… going to show that off underneath the cowl/panels? I can’t imagine what creating templates for that stuff is like, but it’d be quite a touch.

This one is now pretty much completed. I’m still waiting for the rear cowling to cure, as it got painted last, due to me having to respray after the putty cracked. I’ve finished this one off with some SMS plain weave CF decals on the exhaust shield, under the seat exhaust area as well, the engine control box thingy, and put some twill weave here and there and around the airbox under the front cowling.

I used crazy modeler green tubing in places, and then polished the cowlings. I placed them in my airing cupboard, and they cured much faster then leaving them in the sun. Still took over a week though. I used coarse, fine and finish compounds, followed by a Tamiya wax. These products on X22 are all you need. They work very well together.

Here are some pictures. For the bike fans, I hope I did it justice, for the ones who do not like bikes, I still hope you like it.

Comments are always welcome, good or bad.

Final two images for you all –