94' Yamaha TZ250M

[ben_gsr2s]

Hi..

My name is Ben and this is my first W.I.P post to this forum.. i've been following this forum for quiet some time.. and honestly, your excellent builds have inspired me a lot.. I've been building cars before, and recently i got this 'kick' and now, i'm building bikes..

The build, as the title suggest, Tamiya 94' Yamaha TZ250M.. i got this kit from ebay.. quiet an old kit.. and this build going to be something special to me cos' i own a real bike (street version of course..)

No fancy stuff here.. its going to be strictly OOB build..

comments, constructive critism & guidance are welcomed

The box:


The contents:







more to come

[ben_gsr2s]

Since its an old kit.. you can see from the decal.. the white decal almost turn yellowish.. can we do something about this??

and i have one more thing that 'confuse' me.. referring to the decal sheet above.. there are 2 set of No. 1... one 'white number with silver base' and the other 'white number with red base'.. according to the instruction sheet.. i should use the white with silver base.. but on the box-art, some of the photo use white with the red base..

which one should i use??

i have already start work on the frame.. i have not strip the chrome.. it looks like the chrome on the frame quiet good already.. all the details on the frame are hand-painted using Tamiya acrylic paint..













some close-up

[joelwideqvist]

Welcome to the bike section and I must say great to see a 250 amongst all the MotoGP and GP500 bikes.
Yellowing of decals are troublesome and I don't think you can rescue those. Try and see if you can order spares, I think this kit was re-issued some time back. I'll check that out.
For the numbers, my only guess is that it could have raced some races with another numbering...?? Nothing about that in the instructions? What can you read out from the pictures of the box art that has the red numbering? If nothing there, go with the silver ones.
Great start and again, welcome!
Joel

[ketje]

Like Joel said, welcome to the site. About the decals, you could try to place them on a window in the sun. This could help, but I can't garantee it. I've heard this trick from other builders.
About the built, I've seen that you didn't strip the chrome. It looks oke, but then it is not possible to sand the seems of it. I always strip it so I can easily sand the whole part.

Good luck

[ben_gsr2s]

joel,

that make sense.. i totally agree with you on the numbering.. maybe they use white with silver base on some races and white with red base on other.. instruction sheet suggest to use white with silver base..
nway, we'll see bout that later opcorn:

ketje,
thanks for the suggestion on the decal and chrome.. i saw you guys strip chrome from the frame, and the result turn-out great.. wish i have have decent chrom/alu paint..

[ben_gsr2s]

some updates..



rear damper.. painted by hand as per Tamiya instruction.. spring painted with X-7 (red) instead of orange as suggested..
After completion, i did realize that i wrongly put 'OHLINS' decal ... and also i realize that the decal seems 'very fragile'.. that scares me



wheels were painted white as base.. then followed by 3 coat of autocolor 2k metallic blue.. not yet clear coated



preparation on the cowling.. cut from sprue, sanded to remove lines

[ben_gsr2s]

some updates..

wheels completed.. clear-coated with 2k autocolor..



cutting and put the decal around the rim is a pain .. i've done this before with Rossi's RC211v.. but this time, as i mentioned before, the decal quiet 'fragile/brittle'..



sanded the tyre to give that 'used' look.. test fitting to the rim.. perfect fit, as what we can expect from Tamiya



rims+tyre+rear disc brake.. i should have drilled holes to rear disc

[ben_gsr2s]

completed swing arm..



chain and rear disc caliper painted by hand and as per instruction.. some un-even finish there.. this is where i think i should go for airbrush



no problem on fitting shocks to swing arm..



putting together swing arm and rear wheel.. luckily, this time the decal quiet good.. stand are borrowed from YZF-R1



now lets move to the engine..

[sportracer02]

Hi,

looks good so far.

Concerning the decals: a friend of mine tapes those yellowed decals to the window (decals "look out of the window") and lets the sun shine on them. The UV-rays take the yellow away.

I never tried it, but he swears on this method. Maybe you give it a try, I think you should check the decals every day.

[ben_gsr2s]

before start making the engine for this 94' TZ250M.. i basically have no idea or reference how the race engine look like.. so, no fancy stuff here also, just as per instruction..



parts for this engine are hand-painted.. using tamiya acrylic color

[joelwideqvist]

Fun to see the two cylinder engine for a change! Nice progress, may I suggest that you take a small drill bit and drill those holes out in the rear brake disc? Will look much more realistic.
As for the airbrush thoughts I can highly recommend it although it is always the money issue to concider. But for a start you don't need anything fancy.
/Joel

[Adam Baker]

Ive successfully bleached a set of decals by hanging them in a window, was a set for a Tamiya motorcycle actually.

My suggestion is to put them in a zip-lock baggy, so that if any condensation forms on the window, it doesnt destroy the decals. Then tape the baggy in the window, w/ teh decals facing outward. I left mine for about a week, and it worked out excellent.

[Roca46]

Welcome to this subforum of motorcycles Ben !!

Great work! So this is your first bike? You are doing it very well, it isn't new for you if you have made cars before, but I think that these bikes are more enjoy to make, what do you think?

Well, I hope to see some new progress pictures soon.

Bye
Roca.

[ben_gsr2s]

Guys,

thanks for your suggestion on the 'yellowish' decal..
i have more on that later in my post

Roca46,

this is my 3rd bike.. i used to built cars before, it all started when my friend ask me to built yamaha yzf-R1 for him..
and i must agree with you.. building bike is sooo much fun

i love the detail.. especailly on the engine.. to be able to build a bike +detail-up kit (like top studio) is a dream come true

[ben_gsr2s]

some update

body part, cowling, fuel tanks completed.. painted with 2k autocolor metallic blue and clear-coated..









its not perfect.. but i'm satisfied with the outcome.. still have some 'mold line' here and there.. i thought i have sanded the all .. nway, its a good lesson



white part of the cowling also use 2k autocolor..