Tamiya Yamaha FZR750R

1
April 16, 2018
Started painting the frame and test-fitting the two halves together. Trying to perfect my brush technique with metallic paints.
2
April 17, 2018
The two halves fit together quite nicely. They may require a bit of touch-up on the seams, but overall feels like a good solid frame.
3
April 17, 2018
I may need to resecure those pieces of vinyl tubing inside the frame. I didn't use tweezers, and now they feel a little bit loose. I have a slight thumbprint to buff out of the chrome as well.
4
April 21, 2018
These parts didn't fit together as snug as on the Ninja. Those ones almost felt magnetic but these were a little wiggly before cementing.
5
April 22, 2018
A little fine detail painting and plenty of vinyl tubing in this step.
6
April 22, 2018
I always appreciate a decal placed somewhere that will likely never show on the final kit. Just knowing it is there is like having a secret kept from the rest of the world.
7
April 22, 2018
I sure hope I have those angles right, or connecting the tubing is going to be really difficult. Who am I kididng, it's going to be difficult without pulling them off anyways.
8
April 24, 2018
I thought I was going to drive myself mad trying to get all those tubes attached. Had to use a white backdrop to get my aging eyes to see properly to do so.
9
April 24, 2018
A little finicky getting the engine to sit in place without snapping any small bits off. But the screws hold it in place nicely, so no shifting.
10
April 24, 2018
11
April 24, 2018
12
May 2, 2018
Been busy with grading final assignments but squeezed in some time for a little detail work.
13
May 3, 2018
Getting some use out of my Xmas present to drill out the holes on the discs.
14
May 3, 2018
Much better. Heightens the authenticity a bit.
15
May 3, 2018
Tires are a good fit with minimal seams down the middle.
16
May 5, 2018
I hadn't really noticed before how particular Tamiya kits were with painting instructions. So many callouts and unusual mixes.
17
May 5, 2018
Ok, you're right, Peter. It does look a lot better with the holes drilled out.
18
May 7, 2018
Painting out the parts before assembling the shock absorber. Springs take a long time to dry.
19
May 7, 2018
The tricky part of this assembly was compressing the spring enough to slide the cap on the end, while trying not to bend the inner piece.
20
May 7, 2018
The stand was a quick two-part assembly that needed a little sanding to reduce the seam. I went with XF85 Rubber Black for the wheels instead of XF1 Flat Black.
21
May 9, 2018
It was a tricky fit slipping that shock into place and snapping it home.
22
May 9, 2018
It's starting to look like a bike. An upside-down bike, but a bike nonetheless. In retrospect, I should have used the stand I just built to support it for this photo.
23
May 12, 2018
Stuck with the basics this time around. Trying to attempt any type of heat staining on these pipes would have just turned out messy.
24
May 12, 2018
Looks better upright, and the stand is keeping things safely off the table while the cement on that exhaust sets up.
25
May 19, 2018
Attaching the radiator was easy. Connecting all the hoses to it? Well, that was a different story.
26
May 19, 2018
Tail light assembly went together well with minimal touch up required. Tamiya's clear paints do a great job of coverage without coming out too thick.
27
May 19, 2018
The width of the ends of my hobby knives were the perfect thickness to build a drilling desk so that the discs wouldn't bend while being drilled.
28
May 19, 2018
A look at the before and after. As much as I hate to admit it, Peter was right. It is worth the work to drill them out. 38 minutes per disc well spent. Don't mind the paint slop, the outer ring hasn't been painted yet.
29
May 27, 2018
Managed to improve the seam line on the seat cowling. Completely made a mess of it the first time and had to re-sand it all back down. It's at a point I can live with now without risking further messes.
30
May 28, 2018
My state-of-the-art spraying booth. Custom built.
31
June 2, 2018
I knew from the start that Tamiya made a bad design decision to expect the surface of the front fender to be covered with a pair of half-side decals. They were really stiff and not well-cut, so they fit poorly with a horrible seam.
32
June 2, 2018
Scrape them all off and break out the brush, I say. It still needs some touch-up and the colour isn't a perfect match, but it's way better than I was ever going to get with those decals.
33
June 3, 2018
That's no unicycle, just the front forks. That tubing was a little stiff but after a few pop-offs it looks like it's there to stay.
34
June 3, 2018
Now it's a bike. Front forks attached, and a test fit of the seat and fuel tank assured me that it will come together nicely.
35
June 10, 2018
Decals on the fuel tank were much better. They still managed to sneak in a couple of small wrinkles but they're not terribly noticeable.
36
June 10, 2018
With the fuel tank and seat cowling in place, the front cowling and details are all that remain.
37
June 14, 2018
Decals settled nicely into the gauges on the instrument panel. It set up slightly askew, but won't be as noticeable once the cowling goes on around it.
38
June 14, 2018
Testors cement did a nice job on mounting the headlights into the frame without any clouding.
39
June 14, 2018
I was debating between painting the cowl white or keeping it clear. I opted for clear so that fewer details would end up hidden. Again Testors comes to the rescue, with far less clouding than I experience with Tamiya cement on my Mercedes.
40
June 15, 2018
The lower half of the cowling was nicely designed. It snaps in place with two small pins. Easy assembly with no risk of cement ghosting.
41
June 15, 2018
In hindsight, those mirrors might have been a good item to try my first attempt at bare metal foil. As is, the chrome silver does a decent enough job. Here you can also see some of the seemingly unavoidable wrinkles in the decals.
42
June 15, 2018
Assembly complete, and decals have begun.
43
June 15, 2018
44
July 2, 2018
45
July 2, 2018
46
July 2, 2018

Comments

15 April 2018, 22:45

Brad Furminger
I started work on this bike to help prevent the project burnout that Peter foresaw. Building too many NASCAR builds back to back would have felt very repetitive and not very rewarding. This should cleanse my palette. Maybe I'll finish mine before Peter finishes his Ducati. (But it's not a race. Not yet, anyways.)

17 April 2018, 23:30

Martin Oostrom
At the rate Peter is building, you'll have finished the nascar project before his ducati is done 😉

18 April 2018, 05:43

Peter Hardy
Oi! I'm right here you know! Brad that's a super looking chassis, brush as usual? Don't know how you get these results.

18 April 2018, 07:55

Martin Oostrom
Perhaps we should change Peter to Spanjaard. After all, Peter has posted 2 pictures this month.

18 April 2018, 10:52

Peter Hardy
Straight for the jugular!

18 April 2018, 11:00

Brad Furminger
NASCAR before Ducati? Challenge accepted, Martin. Yes, Peter, so far that is all brush. No real secret, just light brush strokes and a little overlapping. Sometimes I go back and spot target areas that need a little smoothing once the first coat has fully cured. There's always one angle though, where the light will hit it funny and I'm not happy with the result.

18 April 2018, 11:29

Brad Furminger
Hey Peter, look! I'm drilling out the holes in the discs. Now you can't give me grief like you did on my last bike.😉

3 May 2018, 17:40

Martin Oostrom
Peter touched a nerve there?

3 May 2018, 18:04

Peter Hardy
Awesome Brad! The difference will be worth it! Honestly you will thank me! Beer is always good.

3 May 2018, 21:01

Brad Furminger
I tried to send you some beers as thanks, but they spilled while packing them up to ship. Fortunately, I was able to prevent even a single drop from hitting the floor or my cutting mat. <UURP>

5 May 2018, 21:45

Peter Hardy
Brad, where would I be without you? Those discs look much better don't you think?

5 May 2018, 23:42

Brad Furminger
Yes they do. Now that I have the proper tools, no disc shall go undrilled again.

6 May 2018, 00:44

Brad Furminger
Things have come together in good shape so I have something to show at tomorrow's modeling club meeting. I missed last month's because of an ice storm, so really looking forward to this one.

12 May 2018, 01:35

Peter Hardy
An "ice" storm? Sounds cold and windy?

12 May 2018, 02:53

Brad Furminger
We get used to them in the Great White North. Starts as rain and turns to ice as soon as it makes contact with anything - trees, roads, cars... people.

12 May 2018, 03:57

Peter Hardy
Sounds delightful! Canadians wouldn't even complain about them either I'll bet.

12 May 2018, 05:07

Brad Furminger
No complaints. Just apologies.

12 May 2018, 11:02

Peter Hardy
Yeah, that goes with the ground eh!

13 May 2018, 01:29

Brad Furminger
Everybody has been showing off their fancy spray booths so I thought it only right that I show off mine. Built custom from the box my cat's house came in. This gets more use than the car house does.

28 May 2018, 19:47

Peter Hardy
Brad, thank you for that not so subtle dig! Nice quality cardboard by the way!

28 May 2018, 21:05

Brad Furminger
My first bad experience with Tamiya decals happened today. Bad design choice, and bad engineering meant that paint was a better option.

2 June 2018, 15:08

Peter Hardy
Those decals look atrocious! Glad you went with the paint. On my Ducati 916 I used a polish to smooth down the brush marks on the swing arm. Seemed to work out. Plug leads look to have been a challenge Brad, what's the secret? I have just started an 80's Kawasaki and am loosing the wrestling match!

2 June 2018, 21:40

Brad Furminger
For plug leads, I use the thick gooey Testor's cement. You sometimes have to clear the "spiderwebs" away afterward but it makes it easier and faster to firm up than the thinner liquids do. Don't try to connect both ends at the same time, either. Let one end fully set and it will save you a ton of frustration as you bend the other end into place.

2 June 2018, 22:50

Brad Furminger
Entering the home stretch. Just the front cowling remains. Will be starting a new kit soon. Hopefully this week.

10 June 2018, 11:51

Peter Hardy
Looking good Brad. You do a brilliant job with the brushes mate. Photography skills could use some work though!!

11 June 2018, 02:37

Brad Furminger
Yeah. They're just snapped with my phone and the kickstand doesn't give a very good angle. Hard to keep it steady by hand.

11 June 2018, 03:53

Brad Furminger
Assembly finished. Time to finish off the decals and move on to another project. Hope this cover shot is to Peter's liking. 😛

15 June 2018, 20:40

Peter Hardy
Well, it's in focus so that's an improvement! Nice work Brad. Is it worth putting decals on the clear fairing mate? Kinda pointless to have a window to see the view then put a curtain over it.

16 June 2018, 06:42

Brad Furminger
Project completed, now that my Mexican vacation has come to an end. I decided to put a few "drapes on the windows" which does hide some of the interior detail. They were buggers to work with on those curved surfaces, and in retrospect maybe I should have heeded Peter's advice but I do like the splash of colour that they add. Moving back to cars for a bit now that the bike is done. Have to clear some of the backlog before buying a new kit.

2 July 2018, 15:28

Peter Hardy
Sorry Brad, been bush for a couple of weeks with no mobile phone coverage. Looks the goods mate! Wouldn't be unhappy with it if it were mine. What's next?

8 July 2018, 00:46

Brad Furminger
I'm back on the NASCAR diorama for the current kit, and my daughter and I have been building a hydraulic arm that is a rather large project. After the next car is built, I think I'll start on my Chassis and Crossbows project. Good to have you back, Peter.

8 July 2018, 12:52

Tim Heimer
Nice work Brad!! If I'm not mistaken it looks like your skills are improving.

8 July 2018, 14:21

Peter Hardy
Awesome work with no tools and paints with an old toothbrush! Keep it up Brad, really enjoy your builds Mate!

9 July 2018, 00:58

Project info

Tamiya Yamaha FZR750R

46 images

1:12

Completed

1:12 Yamaha FZR750R (OW01) (Tamiya 14058)

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