Ducati 988 R - 1/9 - Italeri

[ferraripaul]

After beeing only looking for some time I now have confidence to post some of my work. I'm normally into Ferraris in bigger scales, but saw the Ducati & bought it. Beeing the last Superbike of them with 2 cylinders ...

The kit seems to be related to older Protar / Revell kits and has highlights on both ends. The general capture of proportions, decals, and tires are fine. The lack of parts (lots of components are moulded into big parts to be cut apart again), the big holes in exhausts and rear suspension arm, the fork are a complete mess.

Below the main exhaust part and the old & new rear shock absorbers:



Engine, rear suspension, and some portions of the exhaust consist of only 2 parts (except the scratchbuilt rear spring/damper unit). You can also see the ugly hole in the right side of the rear suspension arm. Also the fork will need a replacement:

[ferraripaul]

After building the rear spring / damper unit I put the beast together. To have a first impression and to plan further proceedings.



Looking quite awful at the moment, but will probably improve after some detailing, throwing away the most ugly parts an recreating some components.

[91p10nizmo]

Yeah i does look very simplified but im sure youll make it look good in the end. Good luck.

[ferraripaul]

As Italeri apparently intends to offer different versions of the bike, some parts have to be modified to represent a specific one.

The seat for example is the street version; the kit comes with two additional parts to cover the vents at both sides. Also the openings for the rear lights have to be closed. Find below the seat after closing the holes and smoothíng the seams ...


The same concept applies to the fairing which has the opening for the side stand to be closed and gets the racing aeronynamic 'keel' at the bottom.

Worse than the rear spring/damper unit is the fork. It's looking absolutely ugly so I decided to create some upgrade parts on the lathe


After cutting the tubes from the one-part plastic fork, the turned parts seem to add some realism.


A brief test-mounting of the modified parts gives a nice comparison to the pictures in the previous posts:


After adding some color the Ducati begins to look like the real thing. The lower fork tubes are turned from brass and polished, the upper tubes are aluminium and painted with clear yellow.

[ferraripaul]

Now that the tubes look nice, the upper fork cover (I don't know the correct term in English) looks prominently wrong. It's again the part for the street version - but this time no racing replacement is provided. Scratch building again.



But first some pictures of progress at other areas of the kit.

The exhausts are more or less ready. After closing the ugly holes, stripping the toy-like chrome, and painting with Model Master aluminium/titan mixture, I added heat stains with clear Tamiya in orange and yellow.



Model Master was also added to the engine & rear suspension. The engine plumbing was detailed by adding hose clamps made from thin stripes of BMF


SMS CF decals were used to represent the cover of the racing bike's rear suspension protector and airbox ducts


I'm now starting to paint the bodywork to let it dry thoroughly - then I will hopefully be back with some news about completing the fork

[Lutz-Bikes]

Hi ,
Nice Work so far ,
looking forward for next update
Lutz

[joelwideqvist]

Can't see much of the heat staineing that you are talking about, other than that your detailing looks absolutely great. CF and turned parts are really gorgeous. Turning parts for 1/9th scale must be a bit easier than 1/12 or 1/24 or is it the same?
/Joel

[Merkava]

WOW! Your Duc is looking fantastic! Really nice job on the forks, I can't wait to see everything come together.

[ferraripaul]

@ Joel: You're right, the staining doesn't come over in the pictures. Maybe I take better pictures when daylight is better. It was dark & rainy the last days here in Germany. And yes, turning is easier for me the bigger the model parts are. I'm still new to the art of operating a lathe but some tubes are no problem at all.

I'm normally into 1/12 cars and planning to make my own wire wheels this winter. I'll let you know ...

I did some work on the brakes. Made some brake pipes from wire and fittings to attach them at the calipers


That was quite fiddly work, but looks better than putting some black vinyl pipe to a plastic pin. Here the parts before attaching them:



@Merkava: I feel always the same and I'm putting the kit together whenever I completed a step. The current status is represented by the pictures below:



You can always follow the link in my signature to view more images in my image album. These images are full size - so you will see all the imperfections and make recommendations to me ...

Thank you all for looking and encouraging, Paul

[ferraripaul]

Got another update. Painting is ready for decals. I primed the parts with Tamiya grey and gave them 4 misty coats. After sanding 2 wet coats and here we go:




But there are bad news as well - I f*+#ed up the decal for the mudguard. Too impatient and off it went. Now I'm waiting for response of Italeri. Their website & email accounts are unreachable, that's not encouraging. I contacted the German importer if they can help me.

After working on my frustration I managed to make the reservoir for the rear brake. One piece of the clear parts sprue an some aluminium. Hope you can see what it means.



Thanks, see you next time, Paul

[ferraripaul]

Another brief update - the last one for today. After self-inflicted frustration regarding the wasted decal, I had to do something positive.

At least I put together the bits & pieces so far. It could be worse. Will wait for response of Italeri or importer then ...




I will probably calm down and proceed with the remaining decals the coming days. And take care for the upper part of the fork & related pieces. The brake fluid reservoirs for example. Made one for the rear brake (see image below left) but this part doesn't feel right. Will also need an idea for making the upper fork bridge, because I have no mill.



Thanks for looking, Paul

[robrex]

The paint and model are looking great!
I hope you can sort out the decal problem? Is it the CF on the rear guard? If so, have you considered aftermarket decals?

[ferraripaul]

@Rob: Thanks for the feedback. It's unfortunately the white decal on the front fender, a big stripe in the middle and some very narrow parallel lines at both sides. And the 'Ducati Corse' logo. On the decal sheet below, it's the horizontal stripe left between the 'Infostrada' logo and the 'No 1 - Breil' front cowling decal.



It will not be impossible to paint the stripes, but borderline to my masking & painting skills. Mentioning aftermarket decals is interesting. Do you know where to look for this one? The CF decals coming with the kit were quite poor so I already used SMS decals ...

It's a real mess as the decals representing three different versions of Ducati's last 2 cylinder superbike are printed by Cartograf and of very good quality. I'm still hoping that the importer or manufacturer has an open ear to a desparate modeller.

'Plan B' is also available: I originally intend to display the No 1 version of Troy Bayliss. I can switch to the Ben Bostrom version which would force me to repaint the frame & wheels in blue.

Thanks, Paul

[joelwideqvist]

Paint job is stunning! Such a shine you've achieved! The rear brake fluid container is a nice touch too.
/Joel

[ferraripaul]

YES! Got decals again! The German importer sent a new decalsheet today. No repainting of the frame & wheels.

I put the decals on for Troy Bayliss' bike - because I like the '#1 concept'. The decals needed lots of MircoSol but finally look very nice.


Parts have still to be cleaned from decal glue and clearcoated. But the Ducati is making progress.




Made a stand for the cowling. Not sure if I should cover all the details or display the cowling separately.
What dou you think? Tell your opinion in detail by posting a reply. Or quickly by responding to the poll.


Again many thanks for the several offerings to help with the decals, thanks for looking

Paul