StarWars Speeder Bike
1May 17, 2021Page 2-1 - Clever combination of different colour parts - precise assembly
2May 17, 2021Page 2-2 - bending and rolling on this large part - this dowel was the perfect size!
3May 17, 2021Page 2-2 - after careful conical bending, bringing all the above together. Very detailed bending here, so make sure you "get" the instructions.
4May 18, 2021Page 2-3 - It pays to have plenty of variation in dowel/rod diameter
5May 18, 2021A very handy tool when working with small metal parts - magnetic light!! - Found It!!!
6May 18, 2021Page 2-4 - bringing together the earlier assemblies.
I continue to be impressed by the accuracy & fit of these parts!!
7May 18, 2021Page 2-5 - more detail and contrasting colours
It pays not to fold this part closed until after you fit it!!
8May 18, 2021Page 3-1 - building the foot-rests - very delicate
9May 18, 2021Page 3-2&3 - adding the footrests etc to the main assembly.
10May 18, 2021Page 3-4 - building the engines (I guess) don't know the mechanics of a Speeder Bike!!
11May 18, 2021Page 3-5 - Adding the engines to the assembly.
12May 18, 2021Page 3-6 - Tail-light assembly?
13May 18, 2021Page 3-7 - add the tail-light & rotate the engines into correct place
14May 18, 2021Page 3-8 - put the badge on the top-front
15May 18, 2021Page 3-8 - and on the bottom too! (end of page 3)
16May 18, 2021Page 4-1 - adding the fore-fins & upper frame to the front
17May 18, 2021Page 4-2 - Part A31 is a many folded piece - study instructions & web-site carefully - They even disagree on whether the triangular braces are folded in, or not - I folded them in!
18May 18, 2021Page 4-3 - fitting the above part to the nose
19May 18, 2021an inside view of the above part
20May 18, 2021Page 4-4 - joining the fore-frame to the aft-frame (?!?!)
21May 18, 2021Page 4-5 - Part A33 is incredibly fine, with lots of folding & bending. Fortunately it gets protected when you add it to Part A34 - No, it's not a cockroach!!
22May 18, 2021Page 4-6 - adding the cockroach - err - parts A33/4 to the frame assembly - then you can bend the "antennae" to touch the side of the frame.
23May 20, 2021Bending & twisting the body outer - take it slow, after prebending the hidden eyes/tabs in the first 4 locations
24May 18, 2021Page 4-7 - Add the cover to the engine - Etched side down! that's right!!
End of Page 4 - only 4 more pages to go!!!
25May 20, 2021The hidden eyes/tabs work well here, and in the last 2 locations too, where they wrap around the top-piece
26May 20, 2021View inside of the hidden eyes & tabs - helps to give them a bit of a twist as you bend them over - but not too tight!
27May 20, 2021The storage section with attachments - easy so far
28May 20, 2021Then try to work out how to roll the swap/prayer mat/whatever - finally add the straps over the top.
So the rolled mat needs to still have some "body" to it, so that the straps appear to be strapping it down.
More fiddling might achieve a better result.........if you need to look that close!
29May 20, 2021Trying to get the storage rack to fit with the body is painful - I've scratched it rather badly in the process. I tried to use hidden eye/tabs, but I think that just made it more troublesome!
Hope you have a better time of it than me!
Fashioning the seat to fit is FUN! - just take your time...
30May 20, 2021On to Page 6, and the controls & dash are added, including the "speed-dial" - right-handed favouritism again!
31May 20, 2021Closer shot of the seat & swag
32May 20, 2021Next are the handlebars - lots of fine bending & rolling, using a range of pliers.
33May 20, 2021Mounting the bars on the bike - you'll probably have to twist them a little to get them aimed correctly - or perhaps do that after the next step.....
34May 20, 2021The rear bodywork guards get added to the main body - I've pre bend the eyes & tabs in anticipation of later hidden eye/tab requirement.
35May 20, 2021Page 7 -There's a total of 8 tabs to go into eyes in this merger of body to chassis. Went together better than I had expected, with some bending/coercing/nudging to get the final tabs in place. The instructions suggest that the 2 front tabs are closed flat - I've added a bit of a twist to that to hold it more firmly.
36May 20, 2021Step back & have a look - yeah, that's OK!!
WHOA!!!
The next step in the instructions want you to bend over the rear guards, attach the 2 leading points.............I found this to be impossible, so gave up before I wrecked the way in which the guards were connected to the body!!!
So, I back-tracked - I had to remove the guards from the body, so I had to remove the body from the chassis - which meant carefully un-bending the 8 tabs I mentioned in the previous photo. I used a small chisel (1mm width) and gently pried everything apart, removing the body without too much grief!!
37May 21, 2021I highlighted the instructions, noting that all the curving/joining on the guards needed to be done before mounting them.....so here we go...
38May 21, 2021This is what one guard looks like - still using the hidden tab/eye method, but I've curved the guard so that the two parts form the same arc.
39May 21, 2021One joined, one not - the one shown here joined was the one where I tried to do so while still on the model.......recovered OK
40May 21, 2021Both completed
41May 21, 2021Both now attached to the body
42May 21, 2021Just to make them solid, as all the bending & unbending had compromised them a bit - CA Superglue & fixer
43May 21, 2021This thing is so hard to hang on to when you're trying to be firm, yet gentle.......body reconnected to chassis - looks a little bent, but I hope I can fix that...
44May 21, 2021OK, so now back to where I was some time ago......in a galaxy far away.......but I digress!! The hardest part in the re-assembly was working from the back, and also making fine adjustments caused by the previous dis-assembly!!
45May 21, 2021There's a part (B56) which goes on the back, that ties all the parts of the rear body together. Had I know of this, then I would have used it as a guide for bending the rear of the guards - but someone didnt read ALL the INSTRUCTIONS first, so there you have it!
I had to re-curve the bend with a dowel to get it closer to what is required..... Not perfect, but close!!
One criticism of the instructions here, is that they continue to show the model from the same perspective - and you can't see this part from this perspective - I think they should have changed the view to better show part placement......but that's just my thoughts.
46May 21, 2021Page 8 - last page! - having learned from the last curving message, I used the same dowel (6.5mm) to bend the side of part B57
47May 21, 2021Again, that same perspective doesn't show you the bend needed, where a simple diagram would have helped. Like showing a Wing dihedral plan.
48May 21, 2021All bent with the edges folded in, and the "gun" mounted.
Dont try to overtighten the gun, as you'll just twist it around too much.
49May 21, 2021A different perspective view to show you the completed "sump-guard" and gun mounted to the bike.
50May 21, 2021Making the stand - 4 more hidden tab/eye joins required here.
I re-enforced top & bottom with dabs of CA Superglue to ensure they're solid., and also measure the widths of the respective areas on the bike, where the mount is supposed to connect. On the instructions photo'd here.
51May 21, 2021Then measured the appropriate marks on the top of the stand, and bent them using that same 6.5mm dowel - there are now bend lines on the stand by MetalEarth
52May 21, 2021And there she sits!
53May 21, 2021Closer shot with "boxart"
54May 21, 2021Profile..
55May 21, 2021With all MetalEarth kits I have printed off enlarged copies of the parts lists, and place them as my workspace background, for easy reference.
56May 21, 2021Quarter view
57May 21, 2021Quarter view 2
58May 21, 2021Quarter view 3
59May 21, 2021Quarter view 4
60May 21, 2021Quick & lazy backdrop - DONE!
Now I'm going for a ride!!
Komentarzy
21 February 2025, 17:45 -
Album info
Etched & Lacquered(glazed) PE kit from MetalEarth - Only heard about this when it arrived at "Models & Hobbies 4 U" Boronia, Vic, Aus. in May 2021. Which was too late to get it built by May the Forth....
Liked the look of it so will give it a go.
......Completed all 8 pages!!
Hope you enjoy my building tour??
