Kit Review of the Tamiya 1/12th scale Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 "Special Color Edition"
This is my first review of any kit that ive posted, so please accept the fact that i may not have the correct format or manage to cover all the usual parts that's expected for a review, ive copied the format from existing reviews on the site (Thanks Andy), so hopefully most of the review should be correct.
Also this is my first EVER motorcycle kit. having viewed "Nems Hayabusa" & "Ians Ducati 1199 Panigales" builds, i fancied having a go! as i really enjoyed theirs come together.
Now im not a motorcyclist and quite frankly the things scare the bee jesus out of me, so i have no idea if the kit is of a "good" bike or not, i prety much went for it based on the fact i really liked the look of it & nothing else.
so i start my review with the Packaging
The kit is Tamiya and clearly comes nicley boxed with all parts & spues bagged to ensure no loss, the artwork is of the "real" bike or an artists impression and not any pictures of the finished model, which would have been nice to see. however it is shown in 2 colors, pearl crystal white & metallic flat spark black.
In the Box
The usual parts "sprues, tyres etc, but also a mixture Screws & some piping...... like i said this is my first bike kit! and scanning over the Instructions the screws are for mounting & holding the Body panels and also (without knowing the name of the bike part) the Rear arm that holds the wheel. so now im impressed as i can if i truly wished too, assemble 1 side of the bike fairings and leave the other to have all the internals showing, perhaps my previous assumption that all the parts would need gluing together was (well IS) incorrect.
The tyres have some great detail, with all the lettering and tread in fine detail, the only downside is a seam down the center of each tyre, that said it wont take a more than a few mins to remove.
The engine block is moulded in black plastic and has all the detail expected from a tamiya kit, also on this spue are the brake calipers, discs & hand grips.
The chrome spue what is essentially all the Exhaust components & light panels, again the detail is as expected, i would have preferred to see the exhaust "back box"? moulded in one piece to save the mould line for any young starters joining the hobby to help with the final look. for me all the chrome parts (other than the light backing) will be stripped back to bare plastic and repainted.
clear sprue is....well clear! the injection points all look to be in hidden areas and therefore looks good. Forgive me for keeping in its plastic bag, i want to keep it protected.
white sprues hold the rest of the components. the fist of which holds all of the bike frame components and is quite frankly superb, plenty of detail including weld lines. i must admit im confused though, as all the components are to be painted black! therefore why a white sprue? the second holds the wheels radiator and forks, again the detail is superb
The last 2 white sprues hold all the body components with the main components finished extremely well with a very fine well polished looking surface, all fairing fixings are detailed. the nose cone section has very fine mould lines above each headlight, but this is a complex part and therefore may have a 3 or 4 piece mould. a light sand will remove this.
The Decals look clean and crisp and of good quality and also come with metal/chrome self adhesive ones for the mirrors. theres also a 2" square section of fine mesh which appears to fit in the nose section.
Instructions, are very clear and comprehensive. basically up the the expected standard from Tamiya.
well i feel like a kid at Christmas and basically cant wait to start this bad boy. i pretty much (as Kev said in a forum post) have caught the bug for adding extra detail to everything. so i purchased some carbon fiber templates and photo etch (brake discs, chain drive etc) and some forks to go with this fantastic kit. just opening the box leaves me wanting to build and buy future bike kits (thanks Nem & Ian), i think my next one will be the same kit bit will be done in the alternative color scheme.
build diary will be started soon
Built - MP4/23, Zero, Deagostini Falcon, Model Airways 1903 Wright Flyer, Senna Mp4/4.
Working - Mclaren M23 1/8th scale to complement the Deagostini MP4/23 & Mp4/4
on the bench, Model Airways Sopwith Camel.
US
