Bimota Tesi 1D (Ducati 906)

Another Tamiya cycle, but this one is a little different compared to most of the other kits I’ve built from the line. It has suede-like material for the seat for one thing, and a few more metal parts than the others too. The latter is likely due to the unique steering/suspension set up.
It also looks like many parts are molded as one piece so a good amount of hand/detail painting is in order before too much assembly can commence. The painting instructions appear to be comprehensive as well.
I decided to focus on clean up and painting most of the parts prior to assembling it and just put them in the lid as I went along.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06944_zpsgnjmhemz.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06944_zpsgnjmhemz.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06943_zpsiuou2pyd.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06943_zpsiuou2pyd.jpg.html)

I followed the color mixing instructions for the pipe color, used X-11 for the chrome bands and made decals for the mufflers by spraying flat aluminum on clear decal paper.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06945_zps4e6laota.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06945_zps4e6laota.jpg.html)

A couple frame subassemblies and the engine.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06946_zpshmgwcamz.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06946_zpshmgwcamz.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06947_zpsqswurcv0.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06947_zpsqswurcv0.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06948_zpsugt1voiu.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06948_zpsugt1voiu.jpg.html)

A little more frame work.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06949_zps8u5xamaf.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06949_zps8u5xamaf.jpg.html)

Engine is installed into the frame.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06950_zpssoay1oia.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06950_zpssoay1oia.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06951_zps7fvidcaa.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06951_zps7fvidcaa.jpg.html)

I tried some new high fill primer to prep the “body” for paint. It sands great and over white looks like a cool way to color and shade a skull…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06952_zpss17kdph1.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06952_zpss17kdph1.jpg.html)

Front wheel…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06964_zps8eku69vj.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06964_zps8eku69vj.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06963_zps58ogrzrh.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06963_zps58ogrzrh.jpg.html)
Rear wheel…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06965_zpsjzeab4qs.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06965_zpsjzeab4qs.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06966_zps6xhppooo.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06966_zps6xhppooo.jpg.html)

Looking forward to this build! What brand is the filler?

The primer is called Paint Scratch. I got it from a friend who found it online when we touched up his real car.

While the parts fit pretty much “normal Tamiya”, there are a couple that surprised me that they did not fit well. Plus there seems to be an error in the instructions regarding the length of tubing required for one of the radiator hoses. It is about half as long as it needs to be, and since I had cemented the piece to the engine it took a bit of work to remove and replace it.

Also the water pump part with the tube that attaches to the radiator does not line up. I had to bend it a fair amount to get it close, then used CA as filler at the neck.
The steering is supposed to work, and I guess if the parts were not painted it might, but even then I suspect a little bit of honing and adjusting would be in order. There is just too much load on the plastic parts and the primary bell crank sheared the second time I tried to turn the handlebars, and that is with less than half the linkages hooked up. They all moved freely individually.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06968_zpsvkkmfuce.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06968_zpsvkkmfuce.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06969_zps9hsfg4it.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06969_zps9hsfg4it.jpg.html)

The exhaust pipes fit as well as expected. The two rear pipes were a bit of a handful, but by installing individually and letting the cement dry, it was very manageable. I haven’t decided if I will touch up the joints, or leave them as is since they look a bit like weld joints now.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06971_zpsnrkux9mw.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06971_zpsnrkux9mw.jpg.html)

As the swing arms and wheels go on, it starts looking very unique.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06975_zpsoygtaxyf.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06975_zpsoygtaxyf.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06976_zpsjfvf57mk.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC06976_zpsjfvf57mk.jpg.html)

The decals are very workable and I have not had any cracking issues. I put the two side decals on first as shown in the instructions, unfortunately those two decals are about 0.030 too long and when the top decal was applied a ghost image of the stripes showed up in the Bimota lettering. Not terrible, but if I knew ahead of time…
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC07018_zpsfmtqfhrn.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC07018_zpsfmtqfhrn.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC07019_zps7ytd2xw1.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC07019_zps7ytd2xw1.jpg.html)

Upon further inspection of the decals and instructions, my concerns about the ghosting of the decals through the Bimota lettering probably won’t be an issue because the kit provides extra lettering decals in white. Unfortunately where the red panels overlap on the tank darker colored blocks are created.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC07020_zpsnuawomzp.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC07020_zpsnuawomzp.jpg.html)

I mixed Italian Red with Cream to try to match the color of the decals and airbrushed the bulk of the red areas. I hand painted the edges since I could not mask on the decals. Not perfect, but better. I still have to add the Bimota decals and then clear it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC07041_zps4yeeyhqf.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC07041_zps4yeeyhqf.jpg.html)

Now that the touch up and decaling is done I can move on to the final assembling of it.
I painted the seat areas black in case the material doesn’t fit 100%.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC07063_zpsi47n0klc.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC07063_zpsi47n0klc.jpg.html)
This is the “bad” side that took most of the effort to touch up. Certainly not perfect, but way better than it was, and acceptable for this project.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v92/Scale-Master/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC07064_zpshrfp2kac.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Scale-Master/media/Bimota%20Tesi%201D/DSC07064_zpshrfp2kac.jpg.html)

Turns out my earlier concerns about the seat material were warranted as it was just powder on the carrier paper, so I had to paint the seat areas. Those of you with this kit might want to check on that, mine was factory sealed until I opened it a few months ago.