Airfix 1/8th Honda Road Racer build. Now finished.

[ian lanc]

Hi Guys,

I thought it was about time i started to upload a few pictures - thoughts - laughs about this kit so here goes....

I first got this kit in the late 1970's and when I spotted it in the model shop window I had just got
to have it, so when I went into the shop to look at the model I was so depressed because of the
price and that it would take me a whole year to save up for it - yes a whole year !

Eventually I walked out the shop with my head held high knowing that i'd got myself an ''airfix honda - the big un''
i enjoyed building it all those years ago and remember the black plastic piping which stayed in a figure of eight and
the plug wires looked stupid, A couple of years later on I came home from school and shock horror my Mam had
tidied my bedroom up and gave away my Honda model to some unknown kid ! I didn't speak to my Mam for months after that.

Anyway after searching again years later on in life I finally found myself a nice kit and brought it, it had taken me years
to find a good kit because they are either damp damaged - squashed - missing parts - missing decals and here she is...lol

The chrome plating isn't the best i've seen and to tell you the truth Airfix have chromed over dust
so most of the chrome plating has been removed on the engine - brake parts.

Decals have yellowed slightly but this is not a problem and are in the window now being bleached by the sun.

The colour Red will not be H19 as Airfix suggests but instead it will be Ferrari Red H220.

I seem to remember seeing the exhausts on a real Honda Road Racer was satin black so theres
going to be no chrome exhausts on my model, anyway too much chrome on a model makes them look cheap.

If anyone has any built 1/8th Honda Road Racers feel free to take a few pictures and put them on this thread or just join in on the fun


Classic Airfix box art, this has always got me going.





Clear good Airfix instructions so even the least untalented modeller can follow them with ease...lol


Cheers.
Ian.

[ian lanc]

First parts i glued together was the display stand and chuckled how cheap and nasty the stand looked sink holes - pin mold holes... Its all good fun.





The dreaded rubber piping which when uncurled will stay in a figure of eight and it did just that





After making loads of motorbikes its now the norm' to straighten rubbing out by pouring boiling water over the piping to make it go straight
I wished I knew this 'tip' years ago it would have saved me hours of stress trying to straighten out my original kit tubing.





Removing the chrome off a few parts was done by using 'Mr Muscle Kitchen Cleaner' and stripped it off in minutes.
The handlebars and brake discs were cover in dust under the chrome and god did it look a mess.

Thanks for looking.
Ian

[ian lanc]

Next part was gluing the water - oil tank together, Not being a big motorbike buff ! Is this an oil tank or a water tank ?





Stripped off the chrome on parts of the engine as this was covered in dust too and these parts are a fairly poor fit
maybe its me as i'm older and wanting a more accurate model but I can't remember joining up bad parts, must be my age !





Rear wheel stays too have fairly large big sink marks near were the join is, they can't be seen much but will need to be filled.





The tyres are also a pain as there is a molding left on one side of the tyres and one slip your knife will go into the tyre
I remember cutting into my original kits tyres, luckly I removed this horrible parts with ease because i'm not in a rush to finish this one.

[ian lanc]

The frame is molded nicely and has very few marks so all I did on these parts was to clean up the edges.





Fairings look good and on the kit it tells you to build the entire model up then place the fairings together
and glue in the middle, I'm going to try a different route here ! I will make up the fairing and try and fit
it over the front forks and when/if in place I will glue on the handlebars - Mudguards, A long way from that yet.


Cheers and thanks for looking.

Ian

[JamesPerrin]

This looks an exciting kit. I've only built one bike kit (Tamiya Yamaha thingy) but this appeals a lot more. The profile images on the box make it feel like a grown up and serious kit and I can imagine why you wanted one so much as a kid.

[malepo]

good old humbling bikes I love the old ones

[bromo]

What a trip down memory lane it is an oil tank Honda may have converted the engine to dry sump operation.During racing because of the extreme braking and lean angles the oil gets throwwn around the sump and can surge away from the oil pump pick up.By piping the pump to an oil tank higher up this problem is eradicated.

Martin

[ian lanc]

Glad you guys like the build up of this old timer

Looking at the oil tank and there is no pipes anywhere and i'm wondering if anyone knows were these pipes would be fitted ? I guess there would be one at the top and one at the bottom, But which sides of the tank would have had these pipes fitted ?

Come across a problem that the chrome covers on the sides of the engine just rubs off with my finger, so it looks like i'll have to repaint them.

Front mudguard is to be in the same colour ferrari red as the rest of the bike parts.




The fairing is glued together and i'm hoping that it will go onto the front of the bike as a whole part, then build up the front steering unit.




Careful cleaning up of the wheels is needed ! If you don't remove the chrome the glue will not stick the wheels together.





Each wheel has two pieces of plastic these are used to guide and allow the tyre to sit evenly on the rim.





When i wrote about the horrible inner edge of the tyres which has to be cut off neatly, well the above picture shows the bit




Tyres will be sanded down a little to get rid of that factory new look, Front tyre yet to be done.





Both wheels completed, Front tyre was a pain to fit because the tyre was all warped and I had to poor over it with very hot water to reform its shape[eventually]

More to follow........

[ian lanc]

Chrome parts which will be de-chromed !




I've used 'Mr Muscle Kitchen Cleaner' and works a treat.





Job done de-chromed within 10 minutes but the wife went bonkers ! I used one of her wine glasses





Exhausts glued together and the fit was pretty good considering all the engine parts are a poor fit, These will be painted in Satin Black.






If anyone has ever struggled to get a nice round hole in the ends of parts, Try using a model Reamer these are great and go into a really fine point.






Assembling the engine, This has always been a fav' build part of model bikes.





A few de-chromed and repainted parts.

[ian lanc]

Fuel tank is split in two halfs and the lower one didn't fit at all and needed loads of trimming sanding to fit.




Front shockers will be a dull silver with chrome rams.

Cheers.
Ian

[JamesPerrin]

The reamer looks a very handy tool to have in one's box.

[ian lanc]

The reamer looks a very handy tool to have in one's box.

That type of reamer is from model shops that deal with RC cars and the reamer is used
for making neat holes for the body support mounts or big screw holes.


Would like a bit of advice from anyone who's been watching this build

On the main fairing, Airfix gives you a round white decal for the nose which is not curved and we
all know decals don't contour well to large curved / round surfaces and crease badly,
What i'm thinking is spray a white nose then mask off a circle then spray it red
i'm worried I might blast this bit up so need a bit of advice/tips.

Cheers.
Ian.

[JamesPerrin]

It sounds like a plan Ian. All you'd have to do is trace the outline of the decal onto some wide enough masking tape and cut it out. I might also help to cut the middle of the mask out as it may help it to conform to the curves and then fill the hole in with more tape.

It may take a few attempts to get it spot on without any creases in the edge of the tape but so what.

I guess you'll what to use a rattle can for the white. I'm sure someone else can suggest a good white I've only used Halfords Appliance white can be a bit tricky as it tends to run.

[ian lanc]

Hi guys,

I think i will give the front decal a go first as Brews mentions, If that fails then i'll have to try masking up a white round circle....gulp !

Well the black plastic tubing has been a nightmare to fit around the engine/carbs/plugs
everything is so tight around the bike frame and it got me pulling my hair out, the oil tank
has no top or bottom pipes so i've added two thin pipes to make the tank look more realistic
see if you can spot them !!

Airfix tells you to glue the intakes/carb's onto the engine...Don't ! they will get in the way when you try and fit the frame together.


First thing what made me mad was that i've lost the fuel stop blast so got to make a new one.





Engine - carbs - finished well nearly finished Then i thought its too clean and looks as if its just come off a production line






I decided to give it a wash over with very thinned matt black to get rid of the 'new look'.
*note the spark plugs which are all seperate*





A few parts painted and ready for assembly, thought i would show these bits gives you an idea whats in the kit.


Cheers.

[ian lanc]

95% of the gloss red painting is finished and is looking good, fairing painted but waiting for it to dry.




Speedo was just clear glass with a chrome back ! I painted the white numbers/letters and the grey
circle first then when it was dry i painted a layer of black which has made it look far better.




When i tried to fit the engine inside the framework the carb's got in the way as did the pipes
so i got a little mad and removed the carb's/intake carefully, so the engine could seat evenly.




Carb's back in place and positioning the black pipes was a nightmare also made up the rear drive and shockers and added coils/leads.





Yes i know..boring why bother with this picture ! Not going to do anything with the stand other than it being in satin black.

Thanks for watching.

Ian.