Kawasaki KR 500 Tamiya 1/12

[mueller 53]

Ok John and Simon, then I will start a short wip .
Tamiya's KR500 is quite an old kit (1984).
Many details are not as accurate as today's models, there was also only a PE kit from Acustion.
But it is a really nice bike .
The tank frame construction alone makes it something special.
The exhaust must still be filled inside here


Here I had still used modeling filler, today I use 2k filler or since recently a good 1K filler from Bindulin
Sorry for my mess😁

Engine and rear suspension etc.

Cylinder head bolts I would replace today with Masterclub bolts ,just looks better .
Engine Washes Army Painters Soft Tone .


Until soon .

[mueller 53]

Then we continue with the frame .....
Filled ,glued and painted


Motor cooler installed in frame and first cables laid .

 

Fork dechromed repainted, mounted and attached to frame

Incl. Chain


And Brakes


 

Until soon :)

[mueller 53]

Next are the tires and rims.


central shock absorber

Rear swingarm incl rims/tires and Chain

Side parts painted and aged

And assembled
Simon here you can see well how I have laid the carburetor cables

until soon

[mueller 53]

The cladding has been prepared so far for priming .
And primed .
The tank showed itself the most recalcitrant.
Only after several passes it was acceptable.


And as you can see I split the front fairing into two parts........ a very stupid idea .
Here is a picture before priming .

The tank then finished painted .
The surface of the paint layer was still lightly treated with 3M .

 

Until soon :)

[andrew59it 48]

Wow! The tank seems of real metal.... Which paint did you use? Nice work overall....

[mueller 53]

Thank you Andrew
The paint is from Model Masters (Testors) Metalizer Alu .
Unfortunately, the color is no longer available for purchase.
Metalizer, by the way, was also used on the exhaust Stainless Steel and Gunmetal .

So Simon now we come to your question about the exhaust .
Very simple, the seams are made of masking tape.
you have to find the right thickness for you.
There are also different widths and you can then choose for yourself what suits you.
Here are the glued on.
What I have done in addition is with slow cyanoacrylate glue and a toothpick over the tape and the edges are gone, so that that also holds yes.
The seams were then painted with Metalizer Gunmetal and a brush.




Until soon :)

[andrew59it 48]

Thank you for the info I should have it.... an old bottle..... are the ones you can buff?

[mueller 53]

Yes, exactly which you can buff.

So on it goes, painted and decals on it.

Glossy clear lacquer

Then still a small stand for the fairing .
The stand is a fantasy product I have no idea if there was such a thing.


So now I run out of pictures .
Still the fork the last time with BMF after that I started to take steel tubes .

Details of the exhaust .
The springs are made of coiled styrene, you know, make hot and pull in the length.

Cabel

 

Simon here you can see a little bit of the cables.
If you decide to build I can also provide you with pictures.
There you will also see that the tank cap on this KR was so illustrated.
What I can not tell you whether these two "taps" were so also on the machine, basically illogical.
The tank was in the sense no actual tank.
To me this has also not exactly opened up whether this is true, for this I also lacked the information.
And Simon, in Germany there is this kit still to buy for 23 euros.
Thanks for watching:)

 

[andrew59it 48]

What a great job...!!! My compliments.... the white is decals or paint ? It's so perfect....

[mueller 53]

First of all I wish you all a Happy New Year
And many thanks Andrew
Honestly, I don't really know anymore.
But I mean, I tried it first with the decals but then painted white because the lime green shone through under the white decals.
On the KR 1000 I have painted, I have also made photos of.