1:4 scale Ritchey P20, this is going to take a while...

[The History Man]

On my lunch break looking at these and wondering how the hell you can be so patient and precise

 

[LumPi Panda]

On my lunch break looking at these and wondering how the hell you can be so patient and precise

I think patience and endurance are the two main factors. I reckon pretty much anybody is capable of the sticking it together bit of the job, but you need something missing in your brain to be prepared to do it 800 times.
I actually find it really relaxing, perhaps meditative. The rest of the world sort of disappears while you're sticking tyre treads on a tiny tyre.

 

[LumPi Panda]

While we're on the subject of tiny tyres, I've finally got round to sticking the rest of the treads on...



Now I need to work around it with a variety of fillers and abrasives. This is a perfect job for over Christmas in front of the TV watching Die Hard, The Sound of Music, The Great Escape etc.....

 

[LumPi Panda]

I've also had the paint tins out again...

Coat of gloss black as a base...



...then several mist coats of AK Xtreme Polished Aluminium. This paint is superb. The gloss black acts as a reflective base and you build up thin coats of the metal colour. They do a chrome one which you can achieve a near mirror finish with.



Test fit. The stanchions still need painting, but I couldn't resist it.

 

[LumPi Panda]

A sense of scale.

 

[LumPi Panda]

Hope everyone's had a nice Christmas.
Not much progress made here, too many festive distractions.
I've been puzzling over the spec for the build and have, I think, settled on the following:

Frame: Ritchey P20
Fork: Rock Shox SID SL 2001ish?
Headset: Chris King NoThreadset 1"

Stem: Pace RC45 or possibly Salsa Cromoto
Handlebar: Pace RC 130, Ritchey WCS or possibly Easton EC70. Frankly they're all the same model-making, just different paint and decals.
Bar ends: X-Lite Stubby Pro
Grips: Ritchey TGV

Seatpost: Ritchey WCS, Race Face XY or possibly Control Tech.
Saddle: Selle Italia Flite

Crankset: Middleburn RS3
Chainrings: Middleburn 46, 36,24
Pedals: Shimano PD858 or possibly Ritchey WCS
Front mech: Shimano M737 or M950 XTR E-fit
Rear mech: Shimano M737 or 1st gen. Sram X0 9 speed
Shifters: Shimano MT60 Thumbshifters or Gripshift X-Ray or X0 Gripshift
Cassette: Shimano XT 8 speed 11-28 or 9 speed 11-32
Chain: At 1/4 scale it doesn't matter, but SRAM

Brake levers: Avid Ultimate
Brakes: Avis Arch Supreme

Hubs: Hope Mono 1st Gen, or Middleburn, or Hope Ti-Glide
Rims: Mavic X517 or Ritchey WCS depending upon hub choice
Tyres: Ritchey Z-Max 2.1 possibly red
Skewers: Can of worms this one. I used to have a bit of a thing for buying skewers, could be all sorts.

The bits highlighted in green are definite, the rest is all a bit undecided. Some options are based on what I liked on the real bike, some are what might be interesting to model.
I'm currently swaying towards the 8 speed drivetrain because I could use the 9 speed spec on the next model...
Likewise the Ti-Glide hubs could feature on the one after that...

I'd be interested to hear any suggestions/opinions on spec choices.

 

[bikeworkshop]

While we're on the subject of tiny tyres, I've finally got round to sticking the rest of the treads on...

View attachment 910260

Now I need to work around it with a variety of fillers and abrasives. This is a perfect job for over Christmas in front of the TV watching Die Hard, The Sound of Music, The Great Escape etc.....

I've got to ask you @LumPi Panda ...

I remember my modelmaker friend dave, when he worked on the motorcycle for "the wrong trousers", talking about how he had to make the tyre bulge slightly where it's seen to sit on the ground...

He said its really subtle, but if it's not there it doesn't look right.
Might not be important in this case, but did you consider it?

 

[LumPi Panda]

I've got to ask you @LumPi Panda ...

I remember my modelmaker friend dave, when he worked on the motorcycle for "the wrong trousers", talking about how he had to make the tyre bulge slightly where it's seen to sit on the ground...
View attachment 916072
He said its really subtle, but if it's not there it doesn't look right.
Might not be important in this case, but did you consider it?

Nice. I met Wallace and Gromit during my model making degree, and some of the scenery and props. Truly astonishing work. The Aardman stuff and the Harry Potter model making is some of the best I've ever seen. Some of the Harry Potter stonework is impossible to tell apart from the real thing until you touch it and it's not cold. There was a bit left in Durham Cathedral covering some cables and pipes and you'd never know it was there.

Your mate is absolutely right, weighted tyres make a huge difference with stuff like motorbikes and particularly aircraft models. Planes and motorbikes are loads heavier than Ritchey P20s mind, if you look at most bikes without a rider there is not really any visible deformation.

 

[LumPi Panda]

Finally got around to spraying the stanchions.
I resprayed the crown too. The finish wasn't that great before, so I stripped it back and gave it more of a polish on the black base coat. One thing about the metal paint is that is shows up any surface imperfections horribly.

Just caps and dials to do now, then the first bit is finished...

 

[mior]

any of you watched the new wallace and gromit special?