Tamiya's little RC166 GP motorcycle.

[kryptosdaddy]

Dumb question, how do you balance the spoke length without threaded nipples? One mistake would be obvious, two could cause an offset hub- this is just to cool. I wish someone would come up with a system like this for jet afterburners.

 

[Sharkmouth]

A complete rim, half the spokes and half a hub.....half way

Half a wheel? You need to do this three more times?
:gogo

Regards,

 

[jknaus]

That is so cool. How do you manage to do this and stay sane??
James

 

[paddy]

Krypto...the hub is fixed in the jig as is the rim. There are spacers under the hub to give the right off set to the wheel in relation to the rim. The fixing of the hub and rim in the jig is spot on so the spoke holes in each are fixed in relation to each other. It works anyway

I have to say i am glad i have finished the rear wheel which allows me to get on with the rest of the bike. I will worry about the front wheel later I need a break from wheels and please remind me not to do this again... I will eventually build the kit moulded wheels for comparison ...i just hope this is worth it ...... :laugh: Its fun anyway ...

Sorry about the strange colour pictures, cant get the white balance right on this new camera !! the instruction book runs to 421 pages !! but i will get there in the end.

Oh and James...who said i was sane in the first place

 

[moon puppy]

Man, hard work pays off! the wheel looks fantastic.

 

[panzerace007]

PADDY ,

WoW !! That's some tedious work & I love it !! I'd like to see Tamiya do a 1/24th scale German BMW R75 , or better yet a ZunDapp KS 750 !! Those spokes are a supreme test of patience !!



I'm lookin' forward to seein' th rest of th build !!

 

[Sherman 18]

Great job with the spokes!

 

[wds]

It is more like a puzzle than it is a model. You are showing a masterful patience.
Thanks for the detailed posts and the back-story.

Regards,

Bill

 

[kryptosdaddy]

Thanks for clearing that up Paddy. these spoke wheels and that impossible chain are going to really set this thing a fire. and don't worry about the camera issues. No picture could really do any true justice to a build like this. This is a hands on eyes only build. :yipee

 

[paddy]

Quick update

engine fitted into frame and a few ancillaries like rear shocks fitted.
Rear wheel and chain fitting was a nightmare, the chain is very weak and dosnt take kindly to handling and i broke it while trying to hook it over the rear sprocket so that was an hour putting it back in the jig and replacing a link, luckily you get several spares second time lucky and i got it fitted. the concentration of trying to fit the chain and rear wheel at the same time using two pairs of tweezers and not shake sent my neck muscles in to spasm......lol. Everything is just too small for fingers.

Exhaust next...at least thats straight forward

 

[moon puppy]

It just looks real!

 

[TomN]

Beautiful work Paddy. It looks big in the pictures...but I'm assuming its not.

Not that I'm particularly fond of models with working parts, but can you turn the wheel?

Tom

 

[paddy]

Hi Tom
Quick snap shot for scale against the small 10ml Tamiya paint bottles.

Yes the wheel spins and each link in the chain moves as the original would but i wouldn't want to do it to often, its really just an exercise in show. I'm only really building it as a WIP for the site and to show people what can be done away from my comfort zone of aircraft

Thanks for looking

 

[moon puppy]

So you're baiting us huh? I pictured this thing being much larger, that's all the more reason to

 

[jknaus]

Man thats looking nice. I also thought it was a bigger bike. Just phenomenal tiny detail work
James

 

[kryptosdaddy]

1/12 scale- figures would be right under 6 inches to represent a 6 foot man. Mego figures are 8 inches tall so they are too big. Awesome work Paddy!

 

[paddy]

Even in real life it was a very small bike. This is Mike Hailwood having to screw himself up to get aboard

 

[mlp]

oh dear .... what a puzzle - great stuff Paddy - you do not plan to fire the engine, do you?

 

[paddy]

Forks and exhaust fitted,very straight forward....no way round it now, just going to have to make another wheel

 

[kryptosdaddy]

Gonna be a shame to cover this up with the fairing package.