BMW R1250 GS ADV, Meng, 1/9

[Matt Bacon]

I wanted to do something completely different for a break between classic kit 1/24 Roy Cross Tribute builds... so it's a motorbike, it's much bigger 1/9 scale, and this is the pre-painted version...

It's a big box:

And it's a full box...

The contents take up the best part of 5ft of benchtop:

And here they are in more detail:

And so, it begins:

All the parts trees are lettered with molded tabs, but it's not so easy to read them in black on black, for example, so job number one is to free them all from their plastic bags, and tag them more readably...

best,

M.

[Matt Bacon]

Forgot to mention -- these Meng kits are all press and snap fit, with a few dozen micro screws and rivets to really lock some key parts together. I think that's because many of the crisp and delicate parts trees are moulded in ABS rather than regular polystyrene for much higher toughness and resilience. If you want to use glue, only something like MekPak will bond it. It's very very well designed and engineered, though, so parts lock each other, and everything is keyed where necessary so you can't put them together the wrong way.

This is case in point: the two sides of the engine block press together, and are then locked by the detailed front and back plates. Although it's a "pre-painted" kit, it's helpful to have good reference for detail painting of things like fasteners, so a big thank you to the guy on eBay who is selling an R1250 engine...

This is the front suspension, which is mounted on the block. The first of many occasions today when I could really have done with three hands. A magnetised screwdriver is invaluable, as well...

This is an example of the clever engineering and the value of tough plastic. There's one rim with the spokes moulded in place from the hub to the rim, and a second spoke disc which slots through the gaps in the first one, then you join the hubs, and finally fold down the spoke pairs to click in place through the slots in the rim. The tab between the pairs of spoke flexes over the rim and then locks them in place. Very cunning, if a bit scary when you put the first one in place...

Etched steel brake and ?speedo? discs pinned in place with teeny-tiny rivets -- which they give you no spares of!

Main fork assemblies going together. The black tubes are slide moulded in one piece each.

No pics of the fork being assembled -- that would have needed five hands. Be very careful to get the tread on the tyre pointing in the right direction: these are kits where you have to study the instructions extremely closely. Take note of which side of the wheel in the pictures has the inner speedo ring on...

And this where I'm at tonight. The brake calliper has a couple of silver bolts and a few black caps added using pens. Next steps... the rear swing arm and suspension.

best,

M.

 

 

[Matt Bacon]

Rear swing arm and brake disc under way. The two "concertina" sections are moulded in soft rubber, and are flexible.

That little black hose joint on the top of the callipper is no fun to get in place, I can tell you...

And now it's starting to look like a motorbike. Don't worry... the rear suspension shock mechanism is hanging loose and can rotate wherever it wants at the moment. Which, as you can see, is not where it needs to be when it's fitted into the frame.

best,

M.

[Matt Bacon]

The frame halves are very nice pieces of design, tooling, and moulding in tough ABS. The geometry is quite complex, and is not a flat plane at all. It's pretty much seamless. The only thing to watch out for is that the sprue attachments on the cylindrical part at the top left in this picture, which is the top fork bearing, extend onto the flat face and need to be trimmed off so the parts and each side can mate properly with a firm push fit later on. Do it now, though, 'cos it's a pain if you're trying shave them off when the frame is on the bike (don't ask how I know...)

Now the white frame has to go on the black bike. This requires seven hands. The pins on the top of the front and rear suspensions have to be fitted into the receiving holes on the frame, and the big pin on the frame has to go into the pivot point on the swing arm just aft of the rubber concertina joint -- which has a tendency to pop out of its locating hole in the rear of the engine block as you try to get everything lined up. And then you have to put screws into the mounting points where the frame fixes onto the engine block.

The upshot of which is do this screw first! Then the one at the front of the engine block, then a little bit of fiddling (and note it's a smaller screw than the other two) will get the one at the top of the kickstand in place, and finish with the one that connects the thin tie-bar above the main swing arm to the frame.

And now the other side.

It took a bit of trial and error to get the rear footbrake pedal in position -- the angle of the picture in the instructions is a bit unhelpful, so here's a clear view from a different perspective. That hole in the black fluid cylinder isn't an ejector tower mark: there's a cover piece which fits into the two holes on the frame web below which also has a pin locking the cylinder in place.

And this is how it goes. From back to front, the frame slots onto, and traps, the rear suspension, the battery carrier, the front suspension and finally press fits (very firmly) to the other side at the top fork bearing. It's very firmly held when it is  in place.

I'm hugely impressed by the engineering of this kit. There are four screws to go through this side as well. But the frame is firmly fixed already, and amazingly, at every one of these four points the frame is perfectly positioned to line up the holes in the frame with the receiving holes underneath. The smallest is about 0.3mm in diameter and the larger ones 0.5mm, so if it was out by a fraction of a mm you wouldn't see the hole underneath. Something for other manufacturers to aspire to!

Headlight unit made up... don't forget the "BMW LED" decal! Don't be tempted to add any reflective chrome to the right hand lenses, this is actually a pretty good impression of what the OEM unit looks like. If you're a fan of "tuner" parts (and, boy, are there a lot of those for this bike...) then you can add a graphic glow over the X and the ridge around the two other projectors.

The headlight mounts to a bracket fixed under front of the frame and top of the forks presses firmly in place. The little black caps on at the top of each fork have a tendency to leap off as you try to push them in, but there's a solid click and a firm grip when you get them right... There's only one instrument  graphic decal, so I guess we're assuming the bike is powered up and ticking over on its kickstand... There are quite a few aftermarket solutions for replacing that simple screen with adventure/raid-appropriate multifunctional units, so scratchbuilding is an option, unless someone has decided to 3D-print highlights from the Wunderlich Catalogue in 1/9 scale...

This will be parked up for a bit now while I head to the City of Light for a long weekend, but normal service will be resumed next week. By which time the luggage should have arrived!

best,

M.

[ybsluos]

Matt it’s looking great!

[Matt Bacon]

Back to the bench after a lovely break full of great company, good food and fine wine -- just what the doctor ordered...

Rear wheel assembles much like the front. This is the deeply dished right face of the hub -- it's worth noting which way the tyre tread is pointing.

The rear wheel is fixed on to the hub with five of the smallest screws, which is easy as long as you've lined up the holes in the wheel centre and the hub on the swing arm correctly.

The five part radiators lock together nicely, but they are handed  so best to build and install one at a time.

Connecting pipes on each side are different, but it's hard to see which end is which from the angle they are drawn from in the instructions, so this perspective might be helpful. Note that little rectangular block at the top left of the radiator fan at about 10 o'clock. That needs to be opposite to the lower bracket, not next to it, when you fit the back of the radiator in the previous stage.

I'm still trying to decide whether to wash the radiator cores to pop out the detail texture a bit.

The main body of the left cylinder. The two small pins and the big one are the attachments to the engine block, which turn out to be a perfect fit -- you can hear the air whoosh out of the receiving sockets as you push them home into position.

The little silver cylinder head fittings and the black cap on this side are tricky little blighters to get into place, but they do eventually fit firmly and precisely.

And now we're on two wheels...

best,

M.

 

[Matt Bacon]

There isn't much actual colour in the R1250s lights -- brake lights and turn signals are handled by LEDs that emit red or orange light, but you can barely see them in the housing. The red rectangle is just a reflector. I don't know what the two red elements in the main reflector are, but they are the only part that's visibly red, so I painted them with Tamiya Clear Red over the chrome.

The rear indicators are these stalks made up of a black housing and clear lens. I don't know why there are four. I can't find a point when a second pair is fitted, so I can only assume Meng knows they are pretty vulnerable so they give you spares, but if that's the reason, it's the only place in the kit so far where they've done that. They certainly don't give you extra screws or rivets, which are just as small and hard to handle. Both the lens and the housing have the sprue gates on the surface not the edge which is great for minimising damage, but you need to completely remove them, leaving a smooth surface on both parts, to get the lenses to click in place. I guess this is where you're most likely to ping one across the room or fumble it and lose it to the carpet monster...

The chrome is very well done, and any ejector marks are completely hidden when the exhaust is fitted. The real thing does have a handy seam on it so even the joint is OK to leave.

On with the tail, held with two small and perfectly aligned screws at the top front of the frame, and then the exhaust clicks into place. The only location at the back is that knurled fitting above the middle of the silencer, which I found hard to get a positive click and lock on, so it's glued with a touch of Formula 560 Canopy Glue to fix it permanently in place.

best,

M.

[Matt Bacon]

A bit more bench time this evening...

As well as some armour for the bottom of the engine, the R1250GS ADV has a second central stand as an alternative to the classic kick stand -- I guess this is because you might be far from your rear wheel trolley stand, and loaded with luggage and adventure kit, the bike stands pretty tall and with a high centre of gravity. It keeps the model solidly upright on the bench as well...

It feels slightly like the 'B" team were given the handlebars and controls to practice on... the fit of all these parts is OK, but not as precise and firm as everything up to this point has been. The twist grips tend to fall off, and even when everything is together it's really only one pin through from the base of each mirror that's holding it in place. The angle of the drawings in the instructions doesn't help. Note on the last picture the different spigots on the left and right levers: angled (_/) on  the left and 90 degrees on the right. It's as well to know this before beginning to put the assembly together.

Finally, you have to thread them up the interior of the fork assembly (inside the shock on each side) and attach to the spigots on the hand levers (the short lengths) and the almost invisible pin on the twist grips tucked away behind and below the handlebars (the long ones). I have now officially had enough for today...

best,

M.

[Matt Bacon]

Four parts clip together to make each half of the fuel tank. The upper black part is fixed by a couple of small screws from the inside.

The right side clips onto the frame, and the left side presses into place to complete the tank.

The "beak" makes use of two of the pre-printed parts tucked away in the foam packaging. A couple of screws hold everything together.

It takes a bit of wiggling into place, and the tank has a tendency to pop off its mountings while you do, but some firm pressing, lining up the floating holes, and using an aftermarket screw with a sharp point and a bite into plastic thread gets the job done...

best,

M.

[Matt Bacon]

That's the tank built. The fixings around the filler cap are black, and I've used some Citadel Nuln Oil wash to pop the detail.

Very clear windscreen pops into place pretty straightforwardly. It needs very firm pressure and an audible "pop" to get the front frame pieces to click into the H frame behind...

These two black body panels pop into place in the frame once you work out where they go (the instructions are not so clear....)

The shifter parts fit together like this and then on to the engine.

Which gets us to here:

I'm at the local model show at Leeds Armouries tomorrow, so if you're around, please do come and visit at the Classic British Kits SIG table...

best,

M.

 

[Matt Bacon]

I suddenly realised most of the parts trees are empty, so I guess this is the home stretch now...

A couple of black cover panels over the frame and filling gaps. I see I need to touch in some bolt heads...

Luggage rack and supplementary mudguard/dust catcher fitted.

Protective cage is made from two parts each side. The lower fixings are very positive but the top one is a bit looser. It looks as though there ought to be a screw through the collar, but there isn't one shown in the instructions or provided in the kit.

And this is pretty much it for the basic bike kit. The seat goes on after the luggage is fitted, and of course I've gone for the iconic BMW red, white and blue single seat, not the black two-seater set-up.

The luggage is a separate accessory kit, but the directions for assembly and fitting are in the main instruction manual.

You need to check the part numbers carefully -- the boxes all look very similar, but there are subtle differences between them, so building and fitting them one at a time as the instructions show is a good idea!

best,

M.

 

 

 

[mustang1989]

This build is intense. Big box......lotsa parts........this is making my head spin. Fantastic progress so far Matt.