Pocher 1/4 Ducati Superbike

[cor]

Hi all. I havent done a wip for a while, but this one will be of interest to some you out there.

A gentleman asked me to build this for him, so alas I cant keep the finished model, but the build experience should be good value.

First off, this is one quater the size of the real bike. The box is as big as a mediam suitcase. There are many metal parts, a gfair bit of plastic, and lots of screws.
The kit is mostly screw together, so fairly easy but the screws pose a visiblily issue - see the photos below for the exhaust pipe issue.

Ive made a start by rearranging my workspace just so the box fits and I can sort out the parts. I bought a small organiser and plastic bags and labels to keep the screws organised - there are 25 or so packs of different kinds of screws.

Heres some pics, I'll show some moer as it gets going.



















screw holes visible, with seam lines that will need to be filled












No commment.....

[Twokidsnosleep]

Sweet!!!
Have seen one built, they are enormous so maybe be happy you don’t get to keep it

[cor]

Sweet!!!
Have seen one built, they are enormous so maybe be happy you don’t get to keep it

Thats a good way to look at it.



So...I have started with the exhaust because I think it is a weak part of the kit. So many holes and seams, and its a fairly major feature of the bike. If done right, it can add a lot to the realism.

I filled the holes with sprue off cuts, which fitted exactly into the holes, not even any need for filler. Just perfect.
Pocher coloured the pipes with a metallic copper paint, but the real bike looks more like a pale brass gold colour.

I have to keep reminding myself that Im building a model kit as the parts are just so big, yet require the same techniqlues and attention as any other kit.















a standard size mouse... the silver covers need to be resprayed as the sprue gate was on a visible part and when filed down made a bit of a mess.
The sprue gates on the parts are very large, covering about 5mm of the part.


bit of preshading, still getting some seams filled

[Twokidsnosleep]

This is really interesting, keep posting along on your progress and thoughts
It looks like a full sized bike exhaust!

[cor]

This is really interesting, keep posting along on your progress and thoughts
It looks like a full sized bike exhaust!

My thoughts. Ok. This is a kit that is designed for anyone who can use a screwdriver and turn out a very impressive large model without too much skill required.
However, like all models, it can be improved upon no end, and I personally feel it has to be otherwise it will look half toy like and half impressive detail. A bit strange really. There are some really stunning metal parts in the kit, like the brakes and forks, handles and (working) levers, chain and engine block.

It needs a fair bit or work like all models in cleaning up plastic parts, especially where they come off the sprue. And as lots of parts are pre-painted, this means you have to work on the parts more than Pocher may have intended, including filling seams and repainting. Did I mention its also big, which means there are a huge amount of things that need changing from working on smaller normal size models. Just the exhaust pipe alone used up a ton of sanding sticks, for instance.

So, I have to work efficiently, and as its for someone else, professionally. Also as its big it is easy to see any screw ups (god forbid) so this is a real test of the skills and I've only just done one basic part.

There is also on the way a couple of detail up sets. The main one is a scale screw replacement set to replace all the black round phillips head screws with scale accurate fittings. That alone will be a very big improvement. Also we have a super detail up set of instructions. The springs on the exhaust are a result of looking at that.

Better make it a jumbo size popcorn, its gonna be a hell of a ride...

[digger303]

The seams look huge and that's going to take up a lot of time sanding them right and not getting flat spots.
I'm sure it's going to be amazing when done and given the scale the detailing will be a step up.

[Stokesy44]

Superb work on the exhaust. Such a shame that such a large (and expensive) kit would have issues like that which destroy all realism unless you put the work in.

[cor]

I did some more painting on the exhaust. It think it will be an ongoing work in progress as its an interesting thing to paint for realism. The tiny holes are for the oxygen sensors that will be scratched at a later date with cables running to the appropriate terminal.

Have started on the radiators because they are another weak point. They have the same issue as the exhaust, in that they are highly visible when the fairing is off, and they have large screw holes right in the middle of them, and on the sides, which stand out like crazy. So I filled them same as the exhaust.

Waiting for the putty to dry. I'd like to cover the sides with aluminium foil, but because of the curves it wrinkles up too much. Ill try again to see how flat I can get it, because the foil looks great, but if not will paint the sides Tamiya Silver Leaf. The flat radiators will be covered with foil, and I covered the top one with wire mesh at the front. They are pretty poor renditions of a radiator, but at least they will be mostly hidden behind the front wheel.

Pocher is really mixing this bag up. All the quality work is on the easy to see detail, and the plastic part issues are covered by the fairing, which also hides all the engine detail. Not really sure what they were thinking when they designed this kit. It's good, but they really could have done a lot better to have a decent oob build.

Here's a few pics:









That is one crap looking radiator. No detail whatsoever. The screws hold the two halves together. Have Pocher not heard of glue?
The filler / putty has to recreate the ridge lines where they are absent across the screw holes.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Fantastic job so far
Top notch

[cor]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

The radiator sides have been covered in aluminium foil by applying it in sections.
Both hoses are heat shrink tubing, with scratch made clamps. Starting to look like a real bike already.


















Printed up some big size images for reference
I think I'll do this for more models in the future, it helps a lot with the detailing.

[digger303]

Doing a great job as usual.

[Kevthemodeller]

This is going to be good


Lovey work thus far

[cor]

Doing a great job as usual.

Thanks man

This is going to be good


Lovey work thus far

Thanks for the support



Next up I'll make the front wheel and forks. Doing all the bits that dont require the scale hardware - bolts - detail set, as that is still in transit.

However I did decide to strip the gold paint off the engine bits and will respray. The factory in china did a pretty lousy job of painting the round clutch cover - it had bits of grit stuck in the paint, and was a bit thick over the embossed writing. We'll see if I can do better...

[cor]

Just a little bit of work tonight.
I filed off the cast-in bolt heads and drilled the hole, so now all 6 bolts on the clutch cover will be the same, instead of 3 cast in and 3 from the detail up set.

Also polished the cover to get most of the imperfections out, as its a highly visible feature on the model.
Will prime it and cover with Tamiay spray gold titanium.

I did put the front wheel together at the dining room table last night. Went together quickly and looks like a real bike wheel. no pics yet...

[digger303]

Looks like a real part.

[cor]

Looks like a real part.

Check this thing. It reminds me of an old petrol scale model airplane engine my dad had when I was a kid.

More screw holes to fill, this time in the cylinder block which will be tricky. Just a test fit at the moment, a few strange bits to file off that Pocher included that dont seem to be on the bike





See at the top of the piston head, where the semi circular gaskit bits are - looks like screw holes, but nothing goes in there... strange.






And those lovely screw holes...

[digger303]

yeah Porcher kinda did their own thing with the design of the tooling.

[cor]

Here's what the wheel looks like. The tyre needed a lot of sanding to get the seam out of the middle.

Got the stripped metal bits primed nice and thin. The writing looks pretty sharp at this point. I'll try and keep the gold coat as thin as possible to keep it that way. I also made up some gaskets out of plastic card for the valve covers and got the holes filled.

[cor]

Quick shot of the gold respray. Looks a lot better. Colour is about the same, just taken in different light.

[digger303]

Smick

[Twokidsnosleep]

Oh that looks great
As a cheat, I have use of a micro-abraded. It shoots really fine sand particles.
Is an awesome paint stripper leaving a nice burnished Matt finish ready for paint

[cor]

Oh that looks great
As a cheat, I have use of a micro-abraded. It shoots really fine sand particles.
Is an awesome paint stripper leaving a nice burnished Matt finish ready for paint

The sand blaster would be pretty cool.

Heres some work on the engine. Added a few cables, starter motor and oil cooler are semi attached, need some work and a big part of this will be replacing all the kit screws I've used with the scale hardware, once it arrives. It's hard to photograph because its so large. This pics dont do the engine justice - sitting on the table now it looks like its been removed from an actual bike.

The 3 cables attached - starter motor, gearbox sensor, and water pump, are all detail not included in the kit. The water cooling hoses on the top are heat shrink tubing. Most of the detail on the top of the engine will be hidden under the fuel tank. I have to work out what parts are most visible and what are hidden to concentrate my detailing work on.

The kit is like building part large scale plastic model with very little detail, and part building an actual motor. Its a strange experience. Using the nippers and glue and paint feels almost normal, but when I have to break out a screwdriver and wrench I move beyond the realm of plastic model building into mechanic mode. I think it will feel better once it's built up more, and looks like a model of a bike. Adding the detail is pretty cool because its all so large and close to the real thing.


The oil cooler is plastic with smooth sides, but the real thing is ribbed. I used a ball point pen to scribe some aluminium foil, then stuck this around the sides of the cooler. Used a thick shapie ink pen to blacken it.









I think I'll leave the Ducati embossed clutch cover off for a while so I dont scuff it up.

[digger303]

Excellent work.

[Twokidsnosleep]

You look like you are doing small engine repairs at home
That bike is gonna be huge!!!

[cor]

Bit of work on the rear wheel. The rear axel has no bearings or bushings, so painted metal on painted metal, and the fit is very loose.
I added a sleeve of aluminium from a baking tray.
This kind of work reminds me of building rc cars.

















The front calipers are all metal and well detailed.
The metal parts are better detailed than the plastic. Ive seen better detail on 1/32 kits than the plastic on this thing.

[digger303]

Thats a real shame on that scale and price point kits should be better than that.
On the flip side thats some really nice work.

[cor]

Thats a real shame on that scale and price point kits should be better than that.
On the flip side thats some really nice work.

Yes it's expensive, and should be better. However I've been reading up a bit on Pocher's older products from about 20 years ago and further back. They say they have different levels of kits - the Classic kits, which are 1930s cars like Rolls, Bugatti, Mercs and they are super detailed - like 120 parts just for a wheel, working pistons and valve timing belts, switches on the dash to turn on the lights, roll down windows - they look totally awesome. And then they have a less complicated range - Prestige - for the impatient man with a screwdriver to make a cool representation of a Ferrari Testarossa or F40.


The bike is not far from having the wheels attached to the engine. There's no frame as such. Its an interesting bike.

[digger303]

Lovely

[cor]

I've had the rear wheel bolted onto the engine, but took it apart to redo the exhaust and the radiator, the 2 weakest parts of the kit.


the radiator was embossed with a tiny chisel and looks much better.

[cor]

Well, Ive been busy with this thing.

Got it looking like a bike. A lot of the parts will unscrew so I can do a bit more detailing work.
Im going to add Headlights, Brakelights, licence plate light, instrument light, and a couple of neon glowing funky things ala Fast and Furious... Batteries will be in the fuel tank.

Seat is leather. Still a gazillion cables to weave though the spagetti already in place.
Did some work on the radiator, using a small chisel to indent all along it so it now looks like a radiator.

There are a million screws lying on my bench, the floor, in my pockets...
Although its screw-together, there is still a lot of detailing that can be done, and the scale hardware screws make such a big difference to the black phillips head screws which are all Pocher gives you.

Did I mention its huge. Just repositioning it on my bench requires some thoughtful planning. Its also very heavy.

It is however looking really really cool

[digger303]

It's a credit to you.

[DRUMS01]

Will this be parked on a shelf or in the garage? I agree, it is B-I-G! but it is beautiful too....

[cor]

Hi all. Been a while, just got a bit over this kind of modelling - screwdriver assemble got a bit boring. But, the bike itself is very nice. Its finished except for the fairing, because the decals took ages to come from Italy.

Some notes about it - lights installed - headlight, brakes, and display. Also some bling lights on front forks and under seat/tank, which can be dimmed or turned off.
Seat covered in black leather. Lots of wiring and connectors installed that werent in the instructions, but were in the super detailing dvd we got as an extra.

After nearly finishing it, the owner bought himself a Panini 1/8 Ferrari F40 - one of those magizines with a new part for 100 issues, ahe nd made a start building it but its ended up on my bench, so I've basically got another one of these models going which it nearly done. My elbow is painful from all the screwdriver work.

These models look amazing when the extra work is put in, and they look like they belong in a museum - big heavy models that have a lot of presence.

Anyhoo, heres some pics of the bike.

Oh yes, and I've finally got an airbrush...

[Kevthemodeller]

[cor]

Yes, this is still plodding along. Its nearly ready for some finished model photos. Just a bit of the fairing to do. Its taken so long because the white decals took months to arrive from italy.
In the end they were pretty crap and I should have sprayed the white, which I ended up doing over the disintegrating decals anyway. The tank looks so much better with the white rather than all red.

[digger303]

[Kevthemodeller]