Tamiya Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR '20

[Hecky]

This might be a slow one. The weather is starting to improve so all the outside jobs are getting done. I'll get to it when I can.

I've never done photo etch before so we'll see how that goes. I got the front fork set which includes a few photo etch parts and I went for the lazy option of pre cut masking.

I'll be using zero paints for the fairings and carbon decals where I can.

[Jim R]

Great choice. Tamiya's very good fit and straightforward construction - hopefully

[Hecky]

There's loads of reference photos available for this one so I'll be trying to get colours closer to the real bike. The front calipers look like the shadow chrome effect you used to get on the old BMW M5 wheels. I'll be trying dusting a bright silver over gloss black to try and replicate it.

[Mr Bowcat]

Of the Tamiya bikes I've built, this one is my favourite.

[Hecky]

That's praise indeed. I've got as far as reading the instructions. I'm going to try and batch paint stuff again as that worked quite well the last time.

[Hecky]

I don't think this is far off

[HAWKERHUNTER]

Great looking kit. Happy building

[Airborne01]

Looking forward to this build as usual!
Steve

[Hecky]

I think the colours aren't far away from the reference photos. The brown for the sump/rocker cover took a moment to get right.

I had some foil tape left over from putting in insulation in the house so I've cut some thin strips of that to look like jubilee clips.

[Hecky]

How do I even get close to this colour for the fuel tank? Answers on a postcard. I was thinking maybe clear yellow then orange over a bright silver base? There might even be a hint of green there

[Hecky]

Has anybody ever tried gold leaf for bits like this? Might be interesting to give the process a go.

[Mr Bowcat]

I've used the inside of a cigarette packet for heat shielding in the past, getting hard to come by now days (which is probably a good thing).

[Hecky]

That would have the right kind of texture too. It would be good for relatively flat surfaces. I can't even check the teen-agers pockets for that kind of thing. It's all vapes these days

[Tim Marlow]

I would think the hint of green comes from the reflection of the blue bodywork in the anodised gold finish. Assuming the part has the correct texture, then using a good quality fine gold followed by a very high gloss finish (such as Zeropaints) should give this effect.

[Hecky]

I've ended up with this after a bit of experimentation. I don't really think it's possible to replicate gold leaf with paint but I think this is a reasonably good effect.

[Tim Marlow]

I’d say that’s more than acceptable. Cracking job.

[Hecky]

It's Tamiya LP48 as a base then a mix of Tamiya clear yellow, orange and green over the top. I then sprayed on some PMA clear which I found out as a happy coincidence has a slight reaction and lifts some of the flake to give a kind of crackled effect. I tried it all on a test piece first.

[Hecky]

These wheel decals are my nemesis. I hope they put up less of a fight than the last ones!