BMW R75 Military Motorcycle

Started by George R Blair Jr · 216 · 1 year ago · BMW, German, Italeri, motorcycle, R75, Sidecar, Tamiya, WW2
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    George R Blair Jr said 1 year, 11 months ago:

    I agree, George (@chinesegeorge). That's why I sign up for a lot of the groups. Not only do I build models out of my comfort zone, but I also get to meet a lot of modelers who don't build airplanes.

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    George R Blair Jr said 1 year, 11 months ago:

    I found a little more time tonight to add some bits that I have been preparing and pre-painting. Before I started building this kit, I decided I would add weathering, stains, etc at the end of the build. At the time, I was worried that my unfamiliarity with motorcycles would lead to stains and weathering that didn't make sense if I did a section at a time. As the motorcycle gets more and more crowded and complex, I wonder how difficult a job I have left for myself. To be determined later.

    4 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    John vd Biggelaar said 1 year, 11 months ago:

    Very nice progress, George @gblair
    From the instruction it does not show at all where it should go.
    Once done with this build you can consider yourself as an expert in motorcycle engineering.

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    Anthony Ricco said 1 year, 11 months ago:

    Haha @gblair, I'm the same, don't know what is what, just put it together and hope it looks good.

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    Rory Wilson said 1 year, 11 months ago:

    George, I think you are .selling yourself short saying you know nothing about bikes! Everything looks pretty spot on to me. The outcome is looking superb,,, well done.

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    George R Blair Jr said 1 year, 11 months ago:

    Thanks, John (@johnb). I finally found a photo of the real motorcycle that showed the junction box. The only problem was that the model part wouldn't fit there. There were no locating pins or tabs, but I finally got it to fit with a little minor construction. Just another day in the life of this kit.

    Thanks, Anthony (@anthonyricco). I'm a standoff modeler. All of my kits look wonderful if you stand far enough away. :o)

    Thanks, Rory (@rory). Luckily the technology in this WW2 motorcycle looks similar to other older technology I have seen. My first car was a 1956 Chevy that I paid $200 for, and I did all the work myself. I couldn't do that now. Put something modern in front of me and I'm lost.

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    George R Blair Jr said 1 year, 11 months ago:

    I have arrived at the steps where I will need to sandwich the really big rubber tires between a pair of hubs and spokes. You may be surprised to discover that every single spoke had large parting lines on both sides of each spoke, so every spoke on every hub was smoothed, prepped, and prepared for paint. Another enjoyable hour and a half scraping the sides of really small plastic parts to remove seams. I promise never to complain again on other kits when I have to clean a seam or two. Also got the assemblies painted Desert Tan. I also assembled what appears to be the differential that connects the rear drive wheel to sidecar axle. Also added the rear license plate, which I had forgotten until now. Cheers till tomorrow.

    4 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Cricket said 1 year, 11 months ago:

    @gblair lookin really good George, u have more patience then me 🙂

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    George R Blair Jr said 1 year, 11 months ago:

    Thanks, Cricket (@bikequeen). This one has tested my patience like no other kit, but we have both survived...so far.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 1 year, 11 months ago:

    Looking super, my friend @gblair! I can imagine cleaning every single spoke. The end result does speak for itself, though!

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    John vd Biggelaar said 1 year, 11 months ago:

    A lot of work but it did pay of, George @gblair
    They do look great with the paint on.

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    George Williams said 1 year, 11 months ago:

    Yet more great work, George@gblair, spoked wheels always put me off, they’re like rigging on a biplane.

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    George R Blair Jr said 1 year, 11 months ago:

    Thanks, Spiros (@fiveten), John (@johnb), and George (@chinesegeorge). I didn't really want to clean and reshape the spokes, but I knew the parting line on each side would bother me. It was painful, but not nearly as painful as rigging a biplane. :o)

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    George R Blair Jr said 1 year, 11 months ago:

    Something I was worried about all the way back in Step 21 has raised its head in Step 49. In Step 21 you sandwiched the engine core between two very spindly sideframes, the ends of which were left floating in space after the next several steps. I was concerned that any mis-alignment would cause problems later, especially after you start hanging all sorts of structure off of the possibly mis-aligned frame. Sadly, there is no one part that you can compare the frame to that would let you know if everything was OK. So, I blindly pressed ahead until it came time to add the rear wheel in Step 49. The rear wheel needed to sandwich between the two sides of the frame that we left hanging in space in Step 21. I discovered that the space between the frame sides was at least twice too small, so I would need to double the space between the frame by at least twice its current size. Panic! After a little investigation, I discovered the attribute with the frame that I considered a liability now became a positive. I was worried about the frame being too flexible in Step 21, but in Step 49 allowed me to push the frame apart and seat the wheel. Yeah! And now the once flexible frame is very solidly attached to the engine and rear wheel with a great amount of strength. I love it when a plan comes together (even if it is by accident)!

    5 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Cricket said 1 year, 11 months ago:

    @gblair nice save George that bike is looking GREAT!