Revell 1/8 Scale Triumph Drag Bike

[jbwelda]

I have always wanted to build one of these and a while back I came across one for the right coin in my estimation, so I grabbed it. The other day I started messing around with it. I remember building a different variety of Revell motorcycle back in the day, and repairing more than one build up since then and I always got into trouble with pieces not fitting properly when it came time. So this time I decided to do pretty much a complete dry run using mostly white canopy glue (surprisingly sturdy, I have found) and see what issues I come across and hopefully solve them before there is paint to get messed up.

Now this kit I got wasn't pristine, for one thing the box it is in is kind of crushed, which is a drag (npi) because, well, I like a nice box and this has exceptional box art. Also the white plastic parts had been quickly painted with some sort of flat black, maybe primer but maybe just flat black. So, those pieces and sprues went into the Super Clean to take care of that problem. Even though the flat black might have worked on some parts, I would rather not take the chance on someone else's paint for a base.

The other thing is a lot of the chrome was really degraded, which isn't a problem because I would probably strip most of it anyway, so that's what I did. The chrome was done on translucent plastic so thats kind of a neat effect.

Not sure where I will go with this, for right now I am going to assemble all the major assemblies, get the wheels on it, and then let it sit and give me a chance to digest what I will do for paint. Not sure if I want to "rat" it out or do some kind of glamour paint job. I figure it will come to me.

Box art with partially assembled frame and engine:




Closer look at what has been done on the frame so far:




Frame again, with the wheels and tires assembled and ready for installation:




 Some pieces being assembled, fuel tank, battery, transfer case, and transmission (in clamp). These are getting super glued together and will smooth the edges out before paint.




Totally awesome narrow Firestone slick that this kit is pretty much worthless without. I have had the opportunity to get this kit for 20 $ and have walked away because it didn't include the slick. Its unobtainium otherwise, or at least it was, probably now there is a 3d print of it somewhere.




Then how about the Drag Bike's little bitty cousin? Picked this up somewhere, 1/25 scale, and thought I would whip it together. Not so fast pawdnah, the frame and engine and seat were all twisted around and no way were the guide pins gonna fit into the guide holes. So I cut the engine out of the frame, to detail better, and also so I could get to the frame and gently (or otherwise) convince things to run a little more straight, then clamped that mess up for the night and the next day, it looked a lot better. But now that I got the engine out of the frame, I am going to do some detailing, like plug wire, maybe an expansion chamber exhaust but for sure clean up the big seam line down the middle.




Alright thanks for looking and comments of course always accepted with grace and respects.

jb

[fordrodnkustom]

Looks like a nice kit and interesting subject for sure. I dig the older British bikes in a big way. Watching this one!

[jbwelda]

After a few nights on the bench, I have gotten to a place I feel comfortable stopping for awhile. Going to put this on the shelf as is for a while and work on some lingering projects instead, but I learned a lot of things about this build, which was the point of the test build anyway.

First thing is, those tires are heavy, real heavy. Which isn't really a problem in the rear, but in the front, the multi piece forks are seriously tested. I think I will literally fill the lower parts with epoxy and then epoxy the lower triple tree piece in, epoxy the upper half pieces in place, and then epoxy the wheel and tire to the forks, trying to keep everything square. Then that assembly can fit through the frame head and the upper triple tree can be epoxied in place. It is going to require that rigidity just to keep the front end attached. After trying to preserve the chrome plating on the forks, it still looks pretty dismal so I will strip that off, smooth the tubes as best I can once I get them tight together, and paint them body/frame color, Tamiya Bright Red.

Next thing, and related to the first, the rear wheel stand they include looks kind of cute, and actually does stop where it is supposed to to support the bike, is just too flimsy to hold up the big slick. It twists and sits crooked and looks funky. So I am in the process of trying to reinforce it and will probably add a gusset or two,

Another thing, the seat and rear fender positioning is critical, right now the fender is sitting too low but I will buttress it up a bit when I do the build for real. Or maybe lower the front mount for it instead.

The handle bars, I just don't like where they sit. Maybe it would look different in paint, but right now, they are too low to my eye. There is a tachometer that goes on the same bracket they are on, but I just see them sitting like a quarter inch higher. So I will build some kind of extender block or something to plug them into.

The engine I am going to build up nice, strip the chrome from the case and refinish it and do the exhaust pipes, something that adds a lot to the look of the bike. Even has separate spark plugs and of course wiring material (might use, might replace). And of course the twin Amal carbs that are not attached here fill in a lot of what is now empty space.

Another detail note: it took a while for me to notice the two cylindrical protuberances that are incorporated into the front engine mounts come together to form the starter motor, a detail I could well have overlooked until it was too late. It needs to be painted gloss black in contrast to the rest of the mounts. 

I test painted the fuel tank and of course the paint ran a bit, which is ok because it reminded me to alway prime before paint...even though I assumed the Bright Red would be very opaque, turned out to not be so. Uniform subsurface is going to be necessary for even color. Another lesson (re)learned.

The real bottom line, though, is that this model will need to be reinforced as much as possible. It is a lot of weight for very little support surface in a lot of places. But it looks pretty kool retro when its done.

What it could really use is a different seat.  More a "V" shape to sit down in the frame.














Thanks for looking and comments always appreciated!

jb

[fordrodnkustom]

Coming along nicely JB. I like your solutions to the rigidity issues. I probably would have used stiff wire or something like that for reinforcement. One comment on your plan for the seat though, It seems that if you did a deep V shape it would be difficult or impossible in 1:1 to reach the bars for proper control. Cool build!

[deuce]

I wonder what that thing would actually do in the quarter. I'm going to guess about 14.5 @ 95 mph. The styling is similar to what they call cafe racers now. Stripped down with good tires - not slicks, lol.

1/8th scale is pretty big. I seem to find more bikes in the 1/12th size. There's even a Yamaha XS1100 1/15th scale. Weird.

It looks pretty good so far. When I read "drag bike", I thought more like this, which is mostly what I remember.  I met Russ Collins at the Astrodome in 1980.  Nice guy.

[jimrichards]

Cool project jb.
A couple schools of thought. This is a rare and nostalgic kit, so building it box stock (style) has a lot of merit.
But on the other hand, making into a sensible drag bike, you would have to raise those handle bars up to a more traditional position above the top triple tree.
I had a 1:1 Suzuki drag bike, I used "clip on" style drag bars, and experimented with them at diff. positions, and once down low like this kit.
I made one 1/2 pass and immediately moved them back up, it wobbled so bad Lou Ferigno couldn't have kept it straight.
A smaller seat following the frame line would look better, but remember it is a stock Triumph frame with a very short wheel base, so you probably couldn't be over 4 ft tall to ride it. So to proportion it you would need to stretch the frame, and that would sorta take away from the originality of the kit (which I like)
I've got an extra one of these seats that I'm using on a "Bath Tub" style Triumph, with the Tub removed.
As far as that slick, man those are heavy, I took one of mine off the shelf once, forgetting about the weight, it slipped out of my hand, did a back flip, fell about a foot and landed upright,with no parts broken off, but ya shoulda seen the look on my face.
Strengthening the centerstand is a great idea.
No matter what direction you take it, I know you will do it justice.

Your friend
Jim

[jbwelda]

Thank you for the comments!

I did get the mini bike done. Used a small headlamp from the Revell 29 A Roadster which I believe is a 7" light. Looks too big so I might root around for an AMT dummy spotlight and use that instead. Thats the only really small bullet shaped light I can think of right offhand but it would be nicer to have one with a clear lens like the one I am using now.

Might still add some hand lever cables, but where would they go? No front brake, no brake at all really but I assume there was a small drum brake in the rear, and there certainly wasn't a clutch on these, strictly Briggs and Stratton centrifical clutch.  Nor is there a propulsion hookup that I can see...so on the shelf it goes!

It was a fun little diversion.