Tamiya Kawasaki Ninja H2R

1
October 22, 2017
Feels so good to be back in the arms of a well-engineered Tamiya kit. These pieces fit together so well they almost don't even need glue.
2
October 22, 2017
Maybe it's just me, but this looks a lot like a toilet from this angle.
3
October 24, 2017
Really taking my time with this build. The patience to paint those tiny little bolt heads. I suspect that these hoses are going to give me fits by the time I'm finished though.
4
October 26, 2017
Really hope these hoses hold through the rest of the assembly. That supercharger adds a nice blast of colour but took a lot of time to paint. Especially since I made a couple mistakes along the way.
5
October 29, 2017
Engine work completed. The finish on the intake chamber shows a bit of brush marks. Will need to touch that up a bit.
6
October 29, 2017
The attention to detail on this kit so far is awesome. Everything fits perfectly.
7
October 30, 2017
That Park Green is really sharp. With just a little Chrome Silver mixed in it adds a nice finish to the frame.
8
October 30, 2017
Very glad those tiny 2.5mm screws were magnetized. I don't exactly have sausage fingers but I'm still prone to feeding the carpet monster from time to time.
9
November 1, 2017
10
November 1, 2017
I'll have to touch up the rear damper a little because some of the green paint on the inside of the spring was still a little gummy when I slid it in place.
11
November 6, 2017
Swing arm was a very simple assembly, and that damper looks better with the paint touch-up.
12
November 6, 2017
Rear brake caliper has been mounted, and yet another length of rubber tubing. This one will give me some troubles later, but nothing I couldn't overcome.
13
November 6, 2017
14
November 6, 2017
The rear wheel looks sharp. That decal that spans the circumference of the small hub was probably the hardest one to work with since I started the hobby.
15
November 6, 2017
For the first time this is actually starting to look like a bike. Going to have to clean up that rubber tire though. Everything sticks to it.
16
November 6, 2017
The green decal stripe inside the rim was in two parts. I think it took about a half hour of massaging to get them just right.
17
November 6, 2017
All these loose assemblies have now come together.
18
November 6, 2017
The stand holds the bike up nicely while while I get to work on the exhaust system.
19
November 7, 2017
A moderately successful attempt to replicate heat staining, using unstirred X-14 Sky Blue, X-7 Red, and X-26 Clear Orange. Not bad for using a brush.
20
November 12, 2017
Overall the exhaust turned out pretty well, and the attach points from the sprue were carefully chosen so as to be hidden from view once assembled.
21
November 16, 2017
I don't have a good tool for punching out the holes in the disc rotors, so I tried doing a base coat of semi-gloss black and dry-brushing on the titanium silver so the holes would look a little less solid than on the rear wheel.
22
November 25, 2017
The front fender was surprisingly stubborn getting the parts to stay glued together. All good now though, and both the wheel and fender socketed into position quite well.
23
November 26, 2017
The decals just keep getting smaller. And I haven't hit the smallest ones yet.
24
November 26, 2017
Forks are attached and line up rather straight - a testament to Tamiya engineering. (Are you listening, Revell?)
25
December 3, 2017
Six different colours of paint went into these handlebars. Can you spot them all?
26
December 3, 2017
After all the painting, the final step on mounting the handlebars was to connect all the cables.
27
December 3, 2017
I had to expand my toolkit during this step. I commandeered a pair of tweezers from my wife's vanity, otherwise it would have been substantially more difficult to fit these hoses/cables.
28
December 3, 2017
Cutting this mesh to fit was a bit of a chore, given how much of it wanted to pull apart. The rough edges won't show as much once the cowl is put over top.
29
December 3, 2017
The air intake fit quite easily and snugly in place.
30
December 9, 2017
The parts for the seat mount were also a gem to fit together. I had no clear red for the tail light though, so had to settle for heavily watered-down X-7 Red. I think it did the trick.
31
December 9, 2017
It took a little bit of work to open up the frame and jimmy the seat mount into place. But once it was in, it snapped nicely to the frame and is now held in place tightly with a couple of screws.
32
December 16, 2017
Spraypainting outside in sub-zero temperatures yielded some unexpected results on the fuel tank. Some of the metallic flake clustered together and thickened near the front. But the fuel tank covers should obscure the worst parts, so not a huge deal.
33
December 18, 2017
Yep, the fuel tank covers obscured most of the paint snafu from yesterday. There's a small part that's still a little noticeable, but that adds character.
34
December 18, 2017
This kickstand was a mother to get in place. There is very little material around where the screw goes, and it was tough trying to get it to attach to the stubborn socket in the frame while trying not to break it.
35
December 18, 2017
The instrument panel looks pretty sharp. The decals in this kit seemed to be much easier to work with than in some other Tamiya kits.
36
December 24, 2017
Looks much more comfortable with a seat. Just a few stages remain to complete this project.
37
December 24, 2017
In the natural light, the difference in paint tones is quite subtle. With the flash you can really see the difference.
38
December 26, 2017
The side cowling is assembled from three parts per side. I was worried about the stability of these, but thankfully they screw onto the main cowling.
39
December 26, 2017
This thing looks mean. It's like Darth Vader and Batman ran head-first into each other.
40
December 26, 2017
Construction is now complete, with nothing but decals remaining. You can see a bit of the paint problem here on the fuel tank, but it isn't too severe.
41
December 26, 2017
Front view of the completed assembly. The metal transfers and waterslide decals will add some colour soon.
42
December 28, 2017
I was nervous working with metal transfers for the first time but they were more forgiving with replacement than I had expected. Adds a nice sharp detail to the finished kit.
43
December 28, 2017
Another metal transfer here on the fuel tank, with a view of the instrument panel.
44
December 28, 2017
The front profile looks better now with the transfers and decals all in place.
45
December 28, 2017
It's not perfect, but I'm still very pleased with the completed build of my first ever motorcycle kit. It won't be my last, that's for certain.

Comments

22 October 2017, 18:42

Johne 69
Hy Brad looks very good 👍 This Kit is on my wishlist. I'm looking what you do with it.

24 October 2017, 17:23

Brad Furminger
Thanks, Johne. I'm just building out of box but have seen some nice painting techniques on this site that I may experiment with.

27 October 2017, 01:12

Peter Hardy
Hi Brad! Got this in my stash so I will be keeping track of your progress. Looking great so far!!!!!

1 November 2017, 02:11

Brad Furminger
Thanks, Peter. This kit is definitely outside of my usual repertoire, but it's been a really enjoyable build so far.

6 November 2017, 00:27

Peter Hardy
Come on Brad! Drill out the disk rotors!!!!

6 November 2017, 01:55

Brad Furminger
My set of tools is exactly one Testors disposable hobby knife. I don't really trust that to do the job, Peter. Though I agree it would look better if I could achieve the result.

6 November 2017, 04:03

Peter Hardy
Looking very realistic Brad! I gotta learn to do that.

8 November 2017, 03:23

Tim Heimer
Hey Brad, last I knew a pin vise set at Hobby lobby or else where is not an expensive investment. They are great and come in handy! friendly fyi.

16 November 2017, 20:32

Brad Furminger
Thanks for the tip, Timothy. I'll have a gander next time I'm at my local hobby shop.

17 November 2017, 00:41

Brad Furminger
No pin vise yet, but had to add a pair of tweezers, doubling the size of my toolkit. Those hoses were just too tricky to get into place without tools.

3 December 2017, 20:20

Peter Hardy
Taking shape now Brad!

4 December 2017, 02:21

Dennis
Ahhh, the H2R - I actually didn't like *riding* it too much, since it pretty much only wants to go straight lines (but fast 😄 ) - the kit looks mighty cool, though! Keep up the good work! 🙂

4 December 2017, 08:13

Brad Furminger
Thanks, gents. Just a few more steps to close it all in and decal it up. I've definitely come to appreciate the detail in Tamiya bike kits.

4 December 2017, 19:24

Ether
Have this kit in my stash and will follow your progress with this model. Will you build it out of the box or you will use some add-ons ?

6 December 2017, 11:48

Brad Furminger
Welcome aboard, Ether. Building this one entirely out of box. Keeping it simple.

7 December 2017, 01:00

Thomas Benzinger
Pretty nice Work! I did it too a Fee months ago!

7 December 2017, 22:19

Peter Hardy
Just park it in my garage Brad, I'll put some leathers on and we'll go for a blat eh?

17 December 2017, 09:07

Brad Furminger
My first bike kit is completed. 35 hours work over the past two months. While it has a few imperfections, I'm overall pleased with the result and look forward to building more bikes in the future. Now on to my first car (non-military) build in 30 years.

28 December 2017, 15:52

Project info

Tamiya Kawasaki Ninja H2R

45 images

1:12

Completed

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