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 Rank: Vice-Master       Groups: Registered
Joined: 07/01/2015 Posts: 856 Points: 2,479 Location: Sevenoaks, UK
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This was supposed to be a quick "let's glue a few pieces together, do something fun to get into the flow before tackling the complex Aventador engine detailing" kind of thing. I couldn't be more wrong.
The fact is I have never had so much fun building a model kit like with this 1/6 Tamiya Harley Davidson Fat Boy Lo. This thing is amazing and I don't think I will be able to pry my hands off it until it's done. There is a lot of stuff in the box - besides sprues there are many bags of screws, metal tubes, springs, metal handlebars, cast metal stand, and so on. But the most fun comes from the engineering of this kit, very clever verging on ingenious at places.
I also have a details kit for it (also from Tamiya) that contains metal brake discs, turned metal exhausts and a bit of photo etch (mostly for various badges and emblems).
As I expected to just spend on it a few hours then box it and move to something else, I don't have detailed photos of all the build stages till now. I only stopped now, a week later, realising I have half of the bike built and it really grows into something deserving a build log. So, this is where I'm at - and I will follow with progress pictures from now on.
The rear wheel turns together with the drive belt. The wheel was a bit tricky to mask and paint as it's moulded as one piece of chromed plastic, but the inner rim had to be painted black. Tamiya masking tape for curves turned out to be perfect for the job, allowing for the flawless finish.
The cylinders are composed of individual fins, painted matte black with only the edge painted silver. They are then stacked and screwed together using threaded rods that were first mounted into main engine block, like in the real thing. The chrome on various tubes and pipes has amazing quality, way way ahead of what I have seen anywhere else and the sprue attachment points are cleverly located in places where they are easy to remove without damaging the finish and won't be visible after assembly. Also there are two kinds of chrome used, one is very dark deep and shiny, other is lighter with a satin finish. Very thoughtful and adds a lot to the model.
The 'SIX SPEED' text at the chrome cover below is embossed, and the manual called for applying a decal here, but I used a dark wash to fill the letters instead - looks much better this way.
More detail. The rear suspension is workable.
Rubber, plastic, metal, chrome, vinyl tubing, decals - it's all there. I'm going to sand the tyre a bit later to remove the middle seam and give it a bit less pristine look. The exhausts are turned metal (and come from the add-on details pack).
More to come - thanks for looking :-)
Comments and constructive critique are welcome and encouraged  Any images I post on my personal builds are free to be used and shared under Creative Commons Attribution license, which means you can do what you want with them, on the condition you mention I'm the author.
Happy building :-) http://www.model-space.com/gb/
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Looks a very nice kit and nicely done  Current builds:-C57,Zero, Lamborghini Countach, Caldercraft HMS Agamemnon,Robi,R2-D2, MFH Cobra .
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 Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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That's a nice looking model/kit, typical Tamiya attention to detail and quality
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 Rank: Master   Groups: Registered
Joined: 19/05/2015 Posts: 1,419 Points: 4,272 Location: Darmstadt, Germany
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These Tamiya kits are pure bliss. I'm building the 1/12 Virago right now and as you said "I never had so much fun". Everything just works as it should and looks awesome.
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Not a big fan of Harley's, but I have to admit, that is a fantastic looking kit! Very nice work indeed!!
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 Rank: Elite Groups: Registered
Joined: 13/02/2011 Posts: 2,236 Points: 6,828 Location: East Sussex
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Hi Michu, I am a bike fan and this is a nice kit, you have made a great start not a trace of glue anywhere, plus expert pictures. Regards Trev. Work in progress: Tombstone (Scratch) - San Francisco 2. -The Mayflower ( scratch by plan).
OcCre- Santa-Maria (Kit).
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Rank: Vice-Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 07/01/2015 Posts: 856 Points: 2,479 Location: Sevenoaks, UK
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tf64 wrote:Hi Michu,
I am a bike fan and this is a nice kit, you have made a great start not a trace of glue anywhere, plus expert pictures.
Regards Trev. Thanks Trev, there was plenty of glue in places but all hidden under the paint :D Any images I post on my personal builds are free to be used and shared under Creative Commons Attribution license, which means you can do what you want with them, on the condition you mention I'm the author.
Happy building :-) http://www.model-space.com/gb/
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 Rank: Super-Elite  Groups: Registered
Joined: 27/01/2014 Posts: 5,060 Points: 14,980
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Whoa, that's a seriously nice looking kit   Awesome job
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Rank: Vice-Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 07/01/2015 Posts: 856 Points: 2,479 Location: Sevenoaks, UK
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I just noticed that I got to 2/3 or even 3/4 stage of the build, so it's time to post an update.
Generally it comes together beautifully, the only issue I had was painting the large parts - especially mudguards. I'm currently respraying rear mudguard for the 10th time I think - whatever I do, I can't get rid of the dust motes in the paintwork. I have tried cleaning my spray booth, wiping it with wet cloth before spraying, tack cloth to remove any particles from the sprayed element, thoroughly cleaning my airbrush, spraying highly diluted with very low pressure - nothing I do seems to help. I got down as far as having only two dust particles on the mudguard, but they were HUGE and in very visible places. What I noticed is that the particles show up in the paintwork as soon as I finish spraying, as opposed to the dust that might settle during drying (this I have under control). The next thing I'm going to try is to spray atomized water in and around my spray booth before commencing painting - any other ideas?
Anyway, the build. I've added a lot of tubing that is visible around the bike in the photos below, most of it is still connected only on one end. Apart from that I have added front fork and wheel, front light, right footrest with the brake pedal, and various details on and around the engine. Fun!
Horn and ignition wiring:
Front light, you will notice how shiny it is - this was achieved by strongly diluting Tamiya X-1 (gloss black) with Mr Hobby Mr Color Leveling Thinner and doing two mist covers followed by a wet cover. When it dried a bit I misted from a distance a bit of pure Mr Color Leveling Thinner (just the thinner, no paint) which really got the gloss and shine to... well... shine.
Front wheel and mudguard, the suspension is workable with progressive spring compression, very nice - I wish I could show you how nicely it works:
This was done before, just wanted to show this extra shot after I added the gear selection decal:
Air filter cover, right footrest, brake pedal:
And some overview shots to summarize the changes:
That's all for this update - thanks for dropping by; comments, critique and advice are the most welcome.
EDIT: I just noticed that I might have the tyre thread the wrong way around, will be fixed in time for the next update  Any images I post on my personal builds are free to be used and shared under Creative Commons Attribution license, which means you can do what you want with them, on the condition you mention I'm the author.
Happy building :-) http://www.model-space.com/gb/
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Rank: Elite Groups: Registered
Joined: 13/02/2011 Posts: 2,236 Points: 6,828 Location: East Sussex
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Nice work Michu, credit to you. Trev. Work in progress: Tombstone (Scratch) - San Francisco 2. -The Mayflower ( scratch by plan).
OcCre- Santa-Maria (Kit).
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Beautiful work and a superb looking kit... looks fab.... Regards Alan
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Rank: Super-Elite Groups: Registered
Joined: 27/01/2014 Posts: 5,060 Points: 14,980
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Beautiful work and you seem to have a flair for photography too, great pictures 
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Rank: Vice-Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 07/01/2015 Posts: 856 Points: 2,479 Location: Sevenoaks, UK
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Aaaaargh! You know what else can be dissolved by MicroSol (the decal softener solution)? The paint. I somehow managed to spill half a bottle of MicroSol into the plastic container where I kept painted, ready to be installed parts. Including the fuel tank that I finally managed to paint without getting any dust on, after at least 5 attempts. Well, micromesh and airbrush, here I come.  Any images I post on my personal builds are free to be used and shared under Creative Commons Attribution license, which means you can do what you want with them, on the condition you mention I'm the author.
Happy building :-) http://www.model-space.com/gb/
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Rank: Super-Elite Groups: Registered
Joined: 17/12/2013 Posts: 3,982 Points: 11,974 Location: NY, USA
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michu wrote:Aaaaargh! You know what else can be dissolved by MicroSol (the decal softener solution)? The paint. YUP been there done that too.Microsol is some form of alcohol so it does mess with paint sometimes. I also found out that if you soak a plastic part in lacquer thinner to get the paint off the lacquer thinner will melt the plastic too. Carl
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Stunning build and equally stunning photos.
Can't wait to see the finished model.
Malc.
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Rank: Vice-Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 07/01/2015 Posts: 856 Points: 2,479 Location: Sevenoaks, UK
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I'm going to put this one aside for a few days. Since yesterday I managed to tarnish more paintwork, muck a clear part with glue (irrecoverable), and completely destroy one of the decals (fortunately just a black contrast frame around the instrument panel, I'll find a way to paint it instead). So, a few days break to cool down and go back into zen. Being irritated makes me impatient and this will result in more errors. Back to the Aventador for now! Any images I post on my personal builds are free to be used and shared under Creative Commons Attribution license, which means you can do what you want with them, on the condition you mention I'm the author.
Happy building :-) http://www.model-space.com/gb/
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Such a shame.... We all have mishaps and sometimes it is best just to walk away for a while and come back to it later otherwise there is the tendency just to make things worse.... Am sure with your skills everything will be back to normal real soon..... .. Good luck with it.... Regards Alan
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Sorry to hear about your mishap, and I do the same, put it up and come back to it later!
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Rank: Super-Elite  Groups: Registered
Joined: 30/01/2013 Posts: 4,604 Points: 13,607 Location: Monmouthshire UK
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Lovely work so far The snags you have encountered don't sound too serious though so I'm sure you will be back on track soon. Steve
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Rank: Vice-Master Groups: Registered
Joined: 07/01/2015 Posts: 856 Points: 2,479 Location: Sevenoaks, UK
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I just got replacement decals and managed to fix my airbrush, so I'm back to work on this one! Wish me more luck this time :) Any images I post on my personal builds are free to be used and shared under Creative Commons Attribution license, which means you can do what you want with them, on the condition you mention I'm the author.
Happy building :-) http://www.model-space.com/gb/
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