YA-1 Yamaha Motorcycle by Dan Vadas - FINISHED - CARD

[Dan Vadas]

Hi all,

 

After finishing HMS Hood I've decided to do something a bit different this time. A change is as good as a holiday, as they say .

 

This is a free download of a Card model - a vintage Yamahe YA-1, the first bike that Yamaha made. This won't be a comprehensive Build Log, but I'll post pics as I complete certain significant sub-assemblies.

 

The kit is not particularly good (different to what I'm used to might be more appropriate), as they would have you use Tabs throughout the build. I'm cutting them off and edge-gluing instead. The instructions are VERY good for a card model, every step is highly detailed.

 

First thing (and I'm following the instructions with this one ) is the Headlight :

 

No clear lacquer has been applied yet. It will "hide" the unsightly excess glue marks when it's on. Next things are the front shock absorbers. The "rubber" boots took a while to make :

 

The Headstock comes next. Some of these parts are a bit tricky to work out how they fold at first, but I'm quickly getting used to it :

 

Updates will follow when I have something substantial to show.

 

Danny

[druxey]

Some time ago I looked at the downloads Yamaha  put out. Unlike you, I only looked! I look forward to seeing this go together, Dan.

[ccoyle]

I've seen some well-executed models from the Yamaha site, but never built one myself.

[amateur]

Yamaha-site will be closing vrry soon. Download one if you need one!

 

jan

[Dan Vadas]

On 8/30/2018 at 4:25 PM, amateur said:

Yamaha-site will be closing very soon. Download one if you need one!

 

jan

Thanks for the "heads-up" Jan. I've downloaded all the remaining five motorbikes, I'll decide later if I make another (or all of them ).

 

The front fender took a fair bit of work, some delicate cutting and edge-gluing :

 

A few hours work in the fender braces :

 

This sub-assembly is finished for now :

 

Danny

[herask]

looking good, Dan! this brings back memories of my MT-01 build. could you explain a bit how you do edge gluing? just in case I'm going to tackle another one. cutting those tabs was driving me nuts back then. 

Edited September 2, 2018 by herask

[Dan Vadas]

Denis, the MT-01 or the MT-10 will be my next card model bike . Edge gluing isn't easy - you generally have only a 0.25mm edge to glue. Sometimes I might laminate an extra piece inside the join to make it a bit easier.

 

This kit has three stages. The first one is now finished. Here's a particularly tricky piece to cut and fold :

 

The seat is one of the most difficult pieces I've found so far, owing to the multiple curves. It hasn't turned out quite as well as I hoped, so it's going to get sanded and painted. I used sanding sealer to fill in all the joins :

 

The frame has a lot of tube rolling involved. Where it needs extra strength there's an internal support :

 

Stage one finished. I haven't permanently attached the steering/front guard assembly yet, as it's rather difficult to hold the frame with it in place while I'm fitting the engine, seat etc :

 

Danny

[amateur]

You could have printed and glued the seat again (and again) till it was as perfect as you wanted it to be?

The bike is already looking like one !

 

Jan

Edited September 11, 2018 by amateur

[Dan Vadas]

5 hours ago, amateur said:

You could have printed and glued the seat again (and again) till it was as perfect as you wanted it to be?

 

That might still happen Jan .

 

Danny

[popeye the sailor]

really nice job so far Danny........I see the non ship builds have been separated from the other threads.   neat idea   

[reklein]

My reasons for simple paper models are twofold.😄

[Dan Vadas]

A couple more steps in the build - the Fuel Tank, Drive Chain and Engine :

 

 

The tank still needs a couple of pieces to be added before it's finished. I need to re-print a page for one part, which I'll do when I get more photo paper :

 

The drive chain comes in several sections, and takes some cutting. It's actually easier to make than it looks :

The curved sections of chain need to be squeezed in and glued between the links :

 

The Engine took me three days to build. The crankcase hasn't turned out too bad, considering the different sections in it :

 

I fitted the forward section of chain before gluing on the R/H crankcase cover, it would have been impossible later on :

 

Danny

[Dziadeczek]

Dan,

May I ask what type of paper do you use for printing the designs? Regular, extra thick, matte, glossy photo paper...?

[Dan Vadas]

20 hours ago, Dziadeczek said:

Dan,

May I ask what type of paper do you use for printing the designs? Regular, extra thick, matte, glossy photo paper...?

I'm using Matte Photo Paper - 170gsm weight, which measures at 0.25mm thick.

 

Danny

[Dziadeczek]

THANKS!!!  

[Dan Vadas]

It's been a long time since I updated this log, but I've actually done quite a lot as you'll see. The battery in my old camera failed and it took me a while to find a replacement .

 

The fuel tank is finished, although I had to cut off a couple of pieces, re-print them and glue them back on which I did after taking these pics :

 

The chain took a while to make, but I'm really happy with the results. I only glued on the front and rear sprocket pieces at this stage, the straight bits came after the engine was fitted to the frame :

 

A few of the smaller pieces. This is the piece that made up the gearshift pedal :

 

The carburettor and fuel filter :

 

The rear mudguard. It is lined on the under side, the same as the front guard :

 

The rear rack :

 

And finally for this post - the exhaust header pipe :

[Dan Vadas]

Next up is the hardest part of the whole build _ the wheel/tyre combinations. If I'd have done these first I wouldn't have continued with the build. The design is very poor to say the least (it's much improved on other motorbikes in this series) and I'm not very happy at all with the way they turned out. But it is what it is - I won't be re-making them.

 

Here are some of the pieces for one of the wheels :

 

As this model Yamaha has spoked wheels rather than the mags of later models work starts with a "frame" that holds the hub and spokes. Why they chose that horrible aqua colour is a mystery, it gave me a bit of grief later on. If they were light grey it would have been a lot better :

 

Once I'd finished the spokes, for which I used mercerised cotton, the temporary spokes were cut off :

That was all the progress pics I took - the following post has the pics of the finished model.

 

Danny

[Dan Vadas]

The model is now finished. I coated it with clear gloss from a rattle can. I'll build a stand for it, as it's rather difficult to pick up without damaging anything. The actual stand on the model is rather fragile - I've broken it several times already, but I managed to glue it back together each time.

 

Next model will be another Yamaha - the MT-01 (2005 - 2012) model. I've already made a start on it, and I'll post some pics shortly.

 

Danny

[vossy]

Stunning to think you made this from card Dan! Well done. Looks super.

 

Cheers

 

Chris

 

[michael mott]

Dan I am impressed! I don't think I have the patience for doing one of those. It is amazing how much can be done with card.

 

Michael

[Mirabell61]

Beautiful work Danny,

 

not only in card but also as nostalgic oldtimer, a treat for the eyes !!

 

Nils

[amateur]

Perhaps not up to your own 'personal standards', but as far as I'm concerned you did a very good model again. 

 

Jan

[Richmond]

Absolutley superb workmanship Danny, this is so impressive.

 

Richmond

Edited October 9, 2018 by Richmond

[gjdale]

Nicely done Danny!

[John Allen]

Dan,

 

This one zipped by me. How can you work that paper at that small scale and keep it so neat is beyond me. How do you avoid carpal tunnel.

Excellent work as always. Believe your having a paper model orgasm. As many as you have punched out I would have braces on both forearms and hands.

 

Kudos

[mtaylor]

Looks pretty darn good from here, Danny.  An impressive bit of work involved from watching the buildlog.

[popeye the sailor]

great looking model Danny