We’ve been busy recently completing two Yamaha R1s soon to be posted in the headlines.

Thank you for transferring your project here, my friend @chinesegeorge! In fact, your astonishing motorcycle projects were the major factor inspiring me to start this GB. George's Motorcycles then it is!
Great job on that exhaust, looking forward to the blue!

How do you apply paint over the nickel plated parts, my friend @chinesegeorge? Do you (lightly) sand them beforehand?

Hi Spiros @fiveten, I suppose what kind of paint you are using. I’ve read that some people strip the plating off completely, but I’ve never done that. I invariably use Tamiya’s spray cans with no other preparation, I think they are lacquer based. From memory I think you like to spray enamels, am I right? If you are intending to hide the chrome completely then I guess a light sanding would be OK, but, be careful, that plating is extremely thin, and is all too easily removed. Perhaps you could experiment spraying on a piece of sprue.

Hope this helps.

Happy modelling

George

Back to the Trick Star Ninja. After the exhaust is fitted comes the radiator which is plumbed in, not much need to explain its installation, then on to the exciting bits - the front forks. They come ready plated but I followed the instructions and sprayed the top parts silver, the middle parts gun metal, and the lower bits semi-gloss black.

The wheel also needs assembly, including drilling out the ventilation holes in the brake rotors.

When it all goes together it looks a bit like this.

She will be on two wheels very soon. Thanks for looking and, as always, happy modelling.

Thanks, Spiros @fiveten, thinking ahead a little, what to build after the Ninja, and I don’t have a stash, having a strict policy of finishing one kit before starting another. There seems to be a bit of a Suzuki theme going at the moment, and bearing in mind delivery of new kits takes at least a week here, I’ve asked the purchasing dept to buy a Suzuki GSX-R750.

In the meantime, happy modelling.

Great work on the frontfork, George @chinesegeorge.
Drilling those disks does give it a much more realistic view.
Looking forward to that GSX-R750 as well.