Baja Husky Motorcycle

[Twokidsnosleep]

With Herbie out of the way, I turn my sights to the motorcycle







Kit was from eBay and I had to bid a fortune for it...like $100
Stupid as this is NO Tamiya
Have built this as a kid and remeber fighting the wheel/suspension assemblies as the latter are not strong enough to support things
Something wrong with me as this is my third Revell kit in a row

Bike is famous for Steve McQueen

[Twokidsnosleep]

Typical of me, I will deviate from the assembly instructions.
The frame and engine are glued together first, but this does not allow seam filling on the frame



So, using breakage of one of the rear supports in my favour, I can assemble the engine and frame separately and squeeze them together after.



Everything painted in metallic silver and given a clear layer

[Twokidsnosleep]

God help me, am I really gonna do this??



Yep

[RangerNeil]

God help me, am I really gonna do this??

Masochism gone mad!!!

[Twokidsnosleep]

God help me, am I really gonna do this??

Masochism gone mad!!!

Stupidity more like
This is harder with black rims, might have to prime them

[Casper]

I was only looking at this kit yesterday on tinternet
its a great looking kit scott, glad to see your lacing the wheels
mark

[Twokidsnosleep]

I was only looking at this kit yesterday on tinternet
its a great looking kit scott, glad to see your lacing the wheels
mark

Honestly, the kit is very crude, hardly worth $20
The frame is weak and assembly difficult and poorly designed.
I can totally see me as an early teen hating this build....but this old dog has a few tricks up his sleeve now

[Twokidsnosleep]

Half of one side done...almost screwed one up on the wrong hole but managed to recover it back out
Not much center hub on here available to be drilled and hold the spokes



Tedious part is making the little nibs at the rim side of the spoke

Got down and made the other nine spokes and nubs in one go and then popped them in the other side of the hub.
One half of the rear is done

[Twokidsnosleep]

Basically a day monkeying around on this and watching over a recovering pup...time well spent according to me...and pup is bouncing back post surgery.
I am pretty sure my wife thinks I did SFA all day and wasted it...oh well.
I got the rear wheel 3/4 brass spoked and loving the look









Ya this is going to be worthwhile

[Kevthemodeller]

Oh yes, this brings back memories I built this kit as a teenager just before I built
Airfix TM

[digger303]

Your getting good at respoking the wheels ...marvelous.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Your getting good at respoking the wheels ...marvelous.

Ya it is gonna be cool

[Casper]

excellent start scott, so much better and well worth the time spent. You looked very pushed for space on the smaller hub

[Twokidsnosleep]

excellent start scott, so much better and well worth the time spent. You looked very pushed for space on the smaller hub

In deed, not fun with the hub drilling
I think the next step in the evolution of this is to make my own hubs

[Twokidsnosleep]

Oh yes, this brings back memories I built this kit as a teenager just before I built
Airfix TM

Oh I like that Airfix kit...you are a bad influncer

[Twokidsnosleep]

After coming home from a work day, did two dog walks, dinner, the dishes and got the car filled with gas.....I got an hour before bed to plug away at the last side of the rear rim and got its spokes done.
This is just all loose fit to give an idea of the looks






I like the slight bend in the spokes for this side..necessary twist to make things overlap properly

[Kevthemodeller]

Oh I like that Airfix kit...you are a bad influncer

I'm trying my best

The same Christmas I got This

[Twokidsnosleep]

Oh I like that Airfix kit...you are a bad influncer

I'm trying my best

The same Christmas I got This

Oh I like that too
Bike kits have gone through the roof in cost
Trying to not buy as much during these crazy times and build from the stash...ya, right

[BigWall]

Those wheels look sweet! Nice work!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Those wheels look sweet! Nice work!

Joe

[Twokidsnosleep]

Moving on to the front spokes
I got half of the front rim re-spoked after work and my chores
I have some resin tire valves that I will add to make things look a bit more realistic

[Casper]

Coming along nicely scott, you did an excellent job getting all those spokes on a small hub
mark

[Stokesy44]

Man alive those wheels!

Awesome work

[digger303]

No stopping you when your on a roll.

[Twokidsnosleep]

No stopping you when your on a roll.

Exactly
Once you get the proper process and make a system out of it, it gets easier...pretty much like everything
I have cut all the nibs, openned their diameter and filed a round end on all 19 (22 actually ‘cause I will lose some)
All the spokes are cut to length and bent at one end, filed and ready to go
Then holes for the first nine get drilled into the rotor and the spokes inserted in order
Then drill the other nine holes and spokes inserted from the opposite side
Clean up and done

[Twokidsnosleep]

Ok both wheels done but rims all still separate and obviously need prime and paint

[Casper]

Brilliant and well worth the time spent scott
Its hard to stop once you get into a rhythm once you get past the drilling and prep work its very rewarding to see the spokes go in
I like the way the spokes attach to the hubs on older bikes, bit like a bicycle but larger scale of course
You have got me wanting to do my Bentley wheels now was playing around with my second set today
mark

[Twokidsnosleep]

Brilliant and well worth the time spent scott
Its hard to stop once you get into a rhythm once you get past the drilling and prep work its very rewarding to see the spokes go in
I like the way the spokes attach to the hubs on older bikes, bit like a bicycle but larger scale of course
You have got me wanting to do my Bentley wheels now was playing around with my second set today
mark

Hitting a rhythm is exactly correct
Get all the prep work done for the bits and then just fly at it!

[NoelSmith]

Scott, you are making a good job of those wire wheels on your Husky. I have done a few models now by replacing spokes with real wire. I think that you will agree that it is not as daunting as it seems at first glance.
It just needs getting your head around the planning and preparation to start off with by getting wheel rims and hubs ready to take the spokes, making an assembly jig, and methodically building in each layer of spokes.
On smaller scale models I have used plastic rod for spokes as they can be set with liquid cement when assembled into the wheel.

[BigWall]

Wow! Those are absolutely gorgeous!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Scott, you are making a good job of those wife wheels on your Husky. I have done a few models now by replacing spokes with real wire. I think that you will agree that it is not as daunting as it seems at first glance.
It just needs getting your head around the planning and preparation to start off with by getting wheel rims and hubs ready to take the spokes, making an assembly jig, and methodically building in each layer of spokes.
On smaller scale models I have used plastic rod for spokes as they can be set with liquid cement when assembled into the wheel.

Indeed
The biggest fear is f’ing up the rim beyond repair

[Twokidsnosleep]

This is one of the alteration steps for strength
The front forks. The post is thin plastic and wants to break so easily.
So I am replacing it with brass tube threaded on either end and a little nut internally threaded





This should be enough to keep the forks from snapping off

[Casper]

great to see you chopping this up so to speak scott. love what your doing with it and make all the difference. The mod will make the fork assembly much stronger and take any rocking out (if you have any) I'm on the lookout for a Harley kit to make a custom but it can wait, I have enough on my bench as it is and need to get some projects finished. Very tempting though

[Twokidsnosleep]

Happy with the forks and that I remembered the front mud guard needed to be threaded in there too. Whew

Dry fitting motivation
The original owner decal’d the front number plate...for some reason

[Casper]

lovin the look, and those tyres look great. some weld lines on the frame would look cool

[Twokidsnosleep]

lovin the look, and those tyres look great. some weld lines on the frame would look cool

Interesting idea
How would you go about it??

[aur0ra145]

Did you build that jig, or is it something you've purchased? I've never seen one like that.

[Casper]

lovin the look, and those tyres look great. some weld lines on the frame would look cool

Interesting idea
How would you go about it??

There are a couple of ways people do them, I have used Vallejo masilla platica (like Tamiya putty in a tube) with a small nozzle. run a thin line along the joint just like you would with a welding rod pushing the paste as you go (I pull then push back slightly) to create little pools or use a small stick to get the same effect. It works really well and is used a lot on tanks where the plates are welded together.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Did you build that jig, or is it something you've purchased? I've never seen one like that.

It is a MacroMoto jig I got from eBay. Mine is an older version I got on clearance
They are on eBay or Spotmodel
https://www.spotmodel.com/product_info. ... s_id=55065

[Twokidsnosleep]

lovin the look, and those tyres look great. some weld lines on the frame would look cool

Interesting idea
How would you go about it??

There are a couple of ways people do them, I have used Vallejo masilla platica (like Tamiya putty in a tube) with a small nozzle. run a thin line along the joint just like you would with a welding rod pushing the paste as you go (I pull then push back slightly) to create little pools or use a small stick to get the same effect. It works really well and is used a lot on tanks where the plates are welded together.

Sweet. I might give that a try
Thanks!

[Casper]

Did you build that jig, or is it something you've purchased? I've never seen one like that.

It is a MacroMoto jig I got from eBay. Mine is an older version I got on clearance
They are on eBay or Spotmodel
https://www.spotmodel.com/product_info. ... s_id=55065

I have designed a bike stand and its in its final stage..I plan to manufacture and sell in the very near future

[Casper]

Sweet. I might give that a try
Thanks!
[/quote]

It looks great on open frame bikes matey and easy to do. You can do it with putty and a blade


something along these lines, no pun intended
please feel free to delete these posts after scott, don't want to fill your diary with unwanted photos

mark

[Twokidsnosleep]

Perfect, will have a look at that
Thanks Mark
This is what a build thread is to me....info on what I did and what others suggest so I can look back and reference at a later date
So no worries posting in here at all mate
@Casper

[Casper]

Absolutely mate, I show where I go wrong as well as occasionally getting it right but above all enjoy what you do and the next time you will do it even better.
I have many things I would change in older builds but its all part of the learning process, I'm not good with decals especially the older ones or Tamiya bike decals, they just split or disintegrated before my eyes The CF ones on my Yamaha were bad enough and its soul destroying to see it all go wrong after building a fantastic bike.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Just to finish the wheel off before we go to assembly, a little tire valve.
Used to make them, but easier if someone else has already

[Casper]

Nice
Its amazing what you can get these days. They used more material in the sprue than the valves these will look awesome scott

[Twokidsnosleep]

Nice
Its amazing what you can get these days. They used more material in the sprue than the valves these will look awesome scott

Love to be able to 3D print out these kind of things myself by the end of the year
That is my goal...if $ doesn’t go wonky

[Casper]

Nice
Its amazing what you can get these days. They used more material in the sprue than the valves these will look awesome scott

Love to be able to 3D print out these kind of things myself by the end of the year
That is my goal...if $ doesn’t go wonky

I would recommend getting familiar with Fusion360 mate, once you get used to the sketch and design tool keys and what they can do you will be designing your own simple parts in no time at all, its good practice and great fun. The guy on you tube I mentioned has done some great tutorials, check out his beginners guides its a great place to start. Once you become accustomed you can then consider looking for a printer. choosing a printer for your needs is also a learning curve and what kind of materials are available for home printing whether it be for hobbies or business, also the type of printer. its daunting at first but well worth doing some research before spending cash on a printer to sit in a corner till you learn how to design a part and convert and send stl files.

[Kevthemodeller]

Some top draw remodelling work going on here Scott, the wheels are terrific

[Twokidsnosleep]

Some top draw remodelling work going on here Scott, the wheels are terrific

Thanks Kev

I am contemplating re-engineering the rear suspension bars that attach the rear wheel and shocks
They are a seriously weak connection on the kit design. But it involves connecting tubes to a threaded rod, lots of soldering and possibly some swear words. My laziness will say to leave it until I break the damn thing trying to put it together.
But of a conundrum really