Steampunk Harley - Tamiya 1/6 HD FLH Classic 'extreme' kit bash (Very Photo Heavy)

Ill have a look at the faux paint effects when i next do a heres with molded sale, reins etc. Thanks for that info Curt and Kats.
Superb metalwork Kats it really makes everything 'pop' and creates a superb steampunk effect.

Brilliant, loving following along on this one.

Gaz, Curt & Zbuckster - Many thanks for the kind words and encouragement  

Sneaking in a quick post.  By now it's obvious that I won't be making the '2nd Birthday' deadline for reposting but I'll still take photos of the Big Test Fit for later display.  This one deals with the saddle, starting with the base for the springs.  I had considered omitting the saddle springs as there were front and rear shocks but Victorian era roads, and shock technology, were not as smooth as modern standards so I went with them.


First try on the springs, which I didn't like, so ...


Another try and I like the look. The saddle spring bases start as simple rings.




Setting the location of the spring bases on the saddle underside.


Adding clamp bands to the frame portion of the spring bases.


Though the underside won't be easily visible you'll still be able to see parts of it from a lower vantage point so I decided to add detail in the form of 'reinforcement ridges.'








Further detailing on the clamp bands.




The first stage of the underside detailing is wrapped up.


Test fit with the entire saddle.


Just keep swimming ...

I've caught up on the WIP and I must say you are doing some fantastic work on this Kats. The time you're devoting to the detailing is really making this pretty outstanding. Keep up the good work!

Brilliant work Kats, I think the spring choice makes a huge difference to the effect.

Denis & Gaz - Thanks for the very kind words and encouragement!

This posting deals with the middle piece for the rear fender.  Having made the basic shape I started by filling it in with some scrollwork.


Next I made side 'panels' for the space between the fender and frame.


Then came the process of creating a filler for the sides.  After some thought I decided to go for a simple design of chevrons - here's the process of doing it.






Then comes the bending of the straight wires to form the chevrons.


Followed by clipping the chevrons to size.


And setting it in - I only soldered the ends and left the chevrons free floating.  At this point I started calling these bits Anchovies for obvious reasons.


Test fit - view of both sides.




Now the 'connectors' to unify the fender piece with the anchovies.




And here's the piece, looks like a beetle surfing on dual anchovies, lol.


Three test fit views, front and rear oblique and a side on.






It's a blah day in the neighbourhood, weather wise, so I'm going to try and fight anomie with posting … and posting, lol.

Absolutely amazing work, It's so cool to watch this build go from vision to form.

Max, thanks for the kind words and encouragement.  

The First Birthday!

On a whim I decided to do this last May 29th just to give myself a morale maintenance booster.  I forgot 2 angles whilst outside so the last photos are in a different setting.














I figure if I can't immediately post the 2nd Birthday photos then its somewhat apropos to post the 1st Birthday shots as an in lieu of.

It's mind boggling reading and follow, you're doing so much! You never know what can come in handy to form shapes when you look around. How long did it take you just for the side "panels" with the chevrons?

Ive been waiting for the headlamp Kats, this is really going to make the whole thing 'pop'.
If I remember its a lantern style design?

More great stuff Kat, wow.

Denis, Gaz & Curt - Thanks for the kind words and encouragement!  

Denis - The chevrons, if I recall correctly, took several hours over a couple of days.  I overheated a couple of the 'ribs' so I had to cut new ones but luckily I didn't wreck the spine of them so I didn't have to do a complete re-start.

Gaz - Yuppers, these are indeed the carbide lamps.  And though I jokingly noted that the head light is technically a kit bash this is where the serious scratch building starts to ramp up.

This post starts with the lens cover, or grille, for the head light.  I wanted a grille rather than a mesh after looking at several images from early 20th century vehicles.  To do this I drilled seat holes in the mounting ring for the lens itself then formed the curve of the wires for the grille on the lens itself.  This is where having the glass lens proved to be a great asset.








After much tweaking and adjusting I wound up with this - a lens-less photo to compare against the lensed one.


A comparison of the first and second tries at forming the headlight body.  This is where I determined that 'larger' scratch built rings and such are best formed on a solid template rather than just winging it.


Adding detail to the clamps on the handlebars using hex nuts *cue spooky theremin sound effects*




Parts and parts - the lens, the lens shroud with the grille test fit, the head light body and that last, thin ring is for the back of the shroud to seat against the body.


A side view of the shroud to show the curvature of the grille.


The topside of the handlebar mount comes into focus, the bottom half has yet to be affixed and is included for comparison.


Adding detail to the top of the crossmember int he form of a wire 'bead' along the perimeter.


Test fit of the handlebars to check for fit, look, angle and all that stuff.


Some little tiny hex nuts and 'washers' or bases in process.  I forget exactly where these are going at the moment.


The shroud with the body seat ring affixed.  This is so that I can hinge the shroud in order for it to open and close like a door.

DO NOT SNEEZE!!! Id loose those hex nuts in about ten seconds Kats LOL.
More brilliant work, I don't know about ramping up the scratch building, you haven't exactly
been playing at it up to now.

Watching this come together is fascinating !!!!

Great workmanship !!

I see that you are going for that new fangled acetylene for lighting..

Nigel - Yup.  Call me old fashioned but I don't trust that electrissy stuff.  It might be good for novelty toys and maybe, just maybe, it might be useful for cooking but I can't see that it has the same versatility and adaptability as acetylene.  And as for lighting, that electrissy stuff just seems like a disaster waiting to happen.  Electrissy is a fad, like that contraption those Wright boys cooked up.  Give me steam, acetylene and zeppelins any day.

The brake lever mount gets affixed and, of course, details like clamp bands get added.




Starting on the bracket to support the brake cable.


Further development on the reaction chamber, the top plate is pretty much roughed out and the black ring here will be the interface join between the chamber and the water tank.


Adding detail to the back of the headlight body in the form of more rings set around the perimeter.


The reaction chamber bits and some more rings.


The brake cable support bracket takes form.  The brake cable is going to be a guitar string - the look suits the build and metal guitar strings are shapeable.




The shroud with added details and the grille has been affixed in place.


Affixing the brake cable support using a bit of wire to insure proper alignment.


Headlight parts starting to develop personality and purpose in their design.


Adding clamp bands to the brake cable support.


The mount zone between the water tank and head light body gets affixed, again with 2 part epoxy.