Build Photos: Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP

Peter Hardy
I'm in!

Peter G
@Peter Hardy: welcome!

Peter G
It's been a while but I've been working diligently on the model almost every day. It's very time-consuming, very detailed, and an absolute joy. Tamiya's fit is astonishing and each piece is so perfectly molded that the only sanding required is to erase the sprue nub. This means a lot of painting small pieces with very fine brushes. Major sub-assemblies slide together perfectly and screw together in the most satisfying way. The included piping gives added realism and fits just right. I had not built a Tamiya model and after this experience I see why they are so revered. Tolerances are so tight!

Simontie
Looking very tidy, i"v built a few of the tamiya kits and have a large stash including this one. Will watch with intrest
Building RCV213- 2014 no 14130. I will post shortly
Simon

Peter G
And it's a wrap! I'm waiting to post pictures until an issue is resolved. For some reason the product was missing two critical metal stickers for use in the rear view mirrors. I've reached out to Tamiya USA to see if I can get a replacement. If so, I'll attach them to the model and take photos. If not, I'll probably forgo attaching them. More info to come.

Overall the model was an unbridled delight to build. Everything fit together perfectly and attaching mini hoses and lines and screwing together parts really felt like I was assembling a machine that could turn on and drive away. It took me a very long time to assemble. I'd guess somewhere between 40—50 hours. Sanding was minimal as was gluing. It was all about painting. Everything needed custom paint in multiple coats and then multiple coats of varnish or gloss (Pledge). This took hours and hours but the payoff was so pleasurable when pieces just fit together without effort.

I highly recommend this piece and—as the first Tamiya model I've constructed—came away very impressed with their modern tooling.

Simontie
It looks stunning hope you get your parts and post the final pics when you can simon

Peter G
I wrote Tamiya USA and in less than a few hours they had written back and were shipping out replacement parts without fee. Amazing!

Robert Podkoński
What a complicated model - looks like you are assembling the real thing, Peter. I will watch with interest 🙂

Peter G
As promised, Tamiya sent the rear-view mirror pieces for no charge. I received them yesterday, applied them today, and have now finished the build. It was my longest one to date and I'm pleased with how it turned out. Forgive the dust 🙂 I left off the license plate holder and tail lights because I thought the machine looked better without it. Thanks for following! You can follow my next build here: Agricultural Tractor D8500 | Project by grabius (1:35)

Simontie
Looks great, i did wonder what the black line was never thought about hanging the cables like that.
Simon

Peter G
@simontie hanging them was supposed to straighten the cables out but I'm not sure if it really helped…

Simontie
Hair dryer or luke warm water works well
Simon

Gordon Sørensen
Looks great, Peter! The rear hanger looks wrong in real life, too! I was looking at Repsol 1000RRs at one time but bought a Daytona 675 instead, would like to find a kit of that!

Peter G
Saw this on the street yesterday in NYC and would love to build a model of it. Anyone know a similarly styled model? en.m.wikipedia.org/w..ti_PaulSmart_1000_LE

Bobby Thumbs
that is so sweet

Simontie
What about the 900ss tamiya do one it look's very similar
Tamiya kit 14025

Peter G
Great recommendation. Thank you! I like this 70s styling.

Rui S
Nice Ride 👍