FRECCIA CELESTE 1927 Bianchi 350 cc racing motorcycle by Ras Ambrioso - FINISHED - Protar - 1:9 scale

[Ras Ambrioso]

My new project:

I purchased a similar kit in the mid 90’s while I was on an assignment in The Netherlands. I started the assembly there and completed the spoke wheels. When I got back to the states the kit was set apart unfinished. Then in 2017 we moved to my current “Senior Living Facility” and, during the move, I disposed of most of my tools and all the miscellaneous kits that I had collected, including this Protar. 

Once I settled in my new home, I decided to go back to building models. Started with ship's models and, to date, have completed three that are posted in this forum. One day, while browsing on eBay, I found the same motorcycle kit for sale in the UK and, even so the price was almost four times what I paid before for the original, I bought it. Now that I completed my third ship model, I feel it is time to assemble this beautiful model. 

 

The history of this motorcycle is described in the following excerpts from the kit’s seller:  

Quote

The Freccia Celeste, named for its sky-blue paint job, encapsulated the finest racing technology of the 1925 to 1930 period. In 1924, to compete with Moto Guzzi and Garelli racing machines, the chief designer Mario Baldi developed a 350-cc single-cylinder engine named "Freccia Celeste", which would grace the most successful racing motorcycles in the next five years. Baldi's design had several original features: the vertical single-cylinder 348 cc (74 x 81mm) engine had bevel-driven double overhead camshafts. Both the camshafts and the valve springs were hermetically enclosed, something unusual at that time. 90° valves were driven directly by the cams, the crankshaft had internal flywheels and the three-speed gearbox was mounted semi-block with the crankcase. Initially the engine developed 24 HP at 5000 rpm and with a compression ratio of 5.5 to 1 exceeded 140 km/h.

The team's riders, including the famed Tazio Nuvolari, scored almost one hundred victories in the 1920s winning the Italian Championship in 1926, 1928 and 1929 and five Nations Grand Prix consecutively won at Monza (1925-29).

In 1925 Nuvolari set speed records at Monza for the 300 km at 125 km/h and for the 400 km at 121 km/h. 

Not only on the tracks was the marque successful; the six victories at the Circuito de Lario between 1925 and 1930 and the Tour de Italia in 1926 proved that the "Freccia Celeste" was both fast and reliable.

End of quote

To date I have partially assembled the frame and parts of the engine.

This is a complex assembly. The kit has metal, plastic, chrome and rubber parts. The instructions are beautifully presented. I am looking forward to this new challenge.

[Old Collingwood]

This  looks  cool  Ras,  I'm  in.

 

OC.

[GrandpaPhil]

Very cool!

[Canute]

I'm in, too.

[yvesvidal]

Ras,

 

You found a gem. I love these old PROTAR kits and have a couple to build in my stash.

When I was a kid, my family went to Italy (Bologna) and that is where I discovered PROTAR motorcycle kits. My father bought me the Moto Guzzi 4 in line with fairing and I enjoyed every minute of assembling this model. The engine was working internally, when the rear wheel was spun.

 

I will be following with a lot of interest.

 

Yves

[Keith Black]

 Following along, Ras. 

 

 There is a kit on eBay for anyone interested.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/363907522874

[yvesvidal]

These Protar kits are so expensive, nowadays. I wish Italeri would re-issue all of them, as they did with the most famous motorcycles (e.g. Norton Manx).

 

Yves

Edited February 27, 2023 by yvesvidal

[Keith Black]

 Yves, you think Italeri are expensive, look up Pocher kits on eBay. Any one of the Pocher kits is crazy expensive. I'm really surprised the Chinese haven't started making counterfeit Pocher kits.  

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/325507304484?epid=2181481725&hash=item4bc9bf4c24:g:2DoAAOSwqxJjy-nj&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoOpVbAm8eR93o8Kj5N1JiSJ3iKmGPKQEbDQ5cyiqeFSURdcT0hS%2FqvgfFqvM2Qx9TutL9Ns9X1ePrMaS%2FjK075bR2oiPsIQMPWJ5Qn6JN12Za4xP71LejWx2bNJHdcABS%2FG%2FRTnADi3gyUcWUICkSo5wHf1CpRRRWMT2gGvpNpyia9Bu04haydjEqU1AWtRDopTRI1pAPWF9POLrLqvDCN4%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR87mgbzSYQ

[Ras Ambrioso]

Now I remember why I quit this project twice in 30 years. It is damned difficult. The kit is beautifully presented and the instructions are very clear.

Notice how pieces 68,69,70 and 71 will form a parallelogram. The spring will be inserted between the frame and the fork and everything tied and tighten nicely. Wrong!

 

This is the beginning of the assembly of the front wheel forks.

And this is the parallelogram after a dry assembly that required five hands to keep straight 

Looks Ok, right? Oh No. If you look closer you will get this 

Bottom left connecting piece went on right but, top left was not tapped. In addition the plan view (from the top) alignment was crooked and when I tried straightening it with the nuts, the tip of the pins broke. The untapped section I can can tap for the nuts but the others will be difficult to repair so that the suspension works. I may have to to remove the side frames that are already fixed (glued)

 

Anyway, all this is part of the fun. The lesson learned is to pay real close attention to all the details. I should have checked the cross pins for the screws and review my alignment procedures. Also it is important to follow the order assembly in the instructions.

Thanks all for you comments and likes.

[CDW]

Wow, what a great looking project, Ras. I see you are in the Bradenton area...by any chance, will you be attending the Pelicon 2023 IPMS Regional show being held in Oldsmar on 18 March?

[Ras Ambrioso]

CDW, We are almost neighbors. I do not belong to IPMS but would appreciate information about it. It used to be we had a few hobby shops around where we met guys (or gals) with similar interests and exchanged information. Unfortunately, they are all gone and we only have the craft shops like Michaels and Hobby Lobby. I do most of my shopping online and use this forum for information.

[CDW]

Ras,

 IPMS is International Plastic Modelers Society, IPMS/USA Home Page | By Modelers... For Modelers (ipmsusa.org)

 

There are many regional events held each year and can be followed/planned for by visting the site at the link provided above. While the main thrust is plastic scale models, there are most often wood ship models at the events as well. I have found the events to be much fun and I get to see beautiful work from scale modelers all over the USA. Each year, the national event gets held at a different city on a rotational basis. If you ever get the chance to attend a national IPMS event, by all means schedule the time to go see it. You will be glad you did. Last time a national event was held locally, it was hosted in Orlando (no surprise).

 

The nearby event coming up later this month is:

pelikon23flyerv2final-12-3-22.pdf (ipmsusa3.org) 

[FriedClams]

Ras, this an interesting looking build - good luck putting it together.  I'll be following along.

 

Gary

[Ras Ambrioso]

To CDW: Thanks for the information. I will probably join the IPMS. I have done a lot of plastic modeling through the years but what I like about our ship modeling (wood or other materials) is to be able to build the parts. I could never reach the point of reaching the accuracy of the plastic models in the market today.

[CDW]

15 minutes ago, Ras Ambrioso said:

To CDW: Thanks for the information. I will probably join the IPMS. I have done a lot of plastic modeling through the years but what I like about our ship modeling (wood or other materials) is to be able to build the parts. I could never reach the point of reaching the accuracy of the plastic models in the market today.

Ras, you need not join IPMS to attend or display models at their contest events. Like you, I would never be able to build from scratch the quality of injected molded plastic models that can be purchased today.

[Ras Ambrioso]

Today I went back to the front forks of the bike and figured what to do to repair the current damage. The first problem was the fact that some of the axles for the connecting rods were plain (without the screw section). To solve this I opted to order a micro set of taps and dies. The second problem was to secure the connecting rods where the screws were broken up. Soldering a piece of rod would be difficult and I am not sure if the kit's metal can be soldered. After a little thought, I decided to go and attach a threaded rod using a stud drilled into the axle. To do this I needed to drill a 1.0mm (0.040") hole in a 1/16" (0.0625") axle. This was getting close to my minimum tolerance.

So here was my setup.

Then, using my Dremel, I turned, with a file, a 1mm stud at the end of a headless 00-90 screw.

And this is the dry fit on the axle.

In fact I am not sure too sure I could tap the axle metal. And, in that case, I will do the same for that other side. 

 

 

[Ras Ambrioso]

To CDW: When I was closing my last post I saw your list of finished models and found that you had made a Fairey Swordfish model in 2019. I just happen to have finished reading a book about the British raid to the Italian fleet in Taranto Italy in WW II. This raid was done with Swordfish torpedo bombers. These planes were also used to sink the Bismarck and, being an open cockpit biplane, it was hard to imagine such airplane in a modern war.

[CDW]

On 3/3/2023 at 7:48 PM, Ras Ambrioso said:

To CDW: When I was closing my last post I saw your list of finished models and found that you had made a Fairey Swordfish model in 2019. I just happen to have finished reading a book about the British raid to the Italian fleet in Taranto Italy in WW II. This raid was done with Swordfish torpedo bombers. These planes were also used to sink the Bismarck and, being an open cockpit biplane, it was hard to imagine such airplane in a modern war.

During WW2 in the North Sea, they were the only aircraft in the air during bad weather. They did it all. Radar equipped, too.

[Egilman]

49 minutes ago, CDW said:

During WW2 in the North Sea, they were the only aircraft in the air during bad weather. They did it all. Radar equipped, too.

They weren't the only ones, but yes one of the few.... 

 

And all British/American aircraft by mid '43 were equipped with radar, IFF as well....

[CDW]

1 hour ago, Egilman said:

They weren't the only ones, but yes one of the few.... 

 

And all British/American aircraft by mid '43 were equipped with radar, IFF as well....

I should have said the only carrier based aircraft operational were the stringbags. All other carrier based AC were "grounded" in bad weather in the North Sea.

[Ras Ambrioso]

Guys, I haven't finished the motorcycle and you are all getting me excited about a model of the swordfish.

The motorcycle is coming along slowly. I got the dies in the mail and tomorrow will be trying the tapping the axles in the front fork.. Today I worked on the oil tank. these are the parts before assembly.

Notice the small fittings for the oil. Amazing detail.

[Ras Ambrioso]

All of last week I have working on the front forks. First, I tried to tap the screw threads on the blank top axle. Tragedy, as suspected, the metal would not take the torque of my hand powered die and broke. Then I duplicated what I have done on the lower axle and fabricated a new axle, drilled the ends, and attached the screws to it. When I tried to re-assemble the forks, more trouble came my way as one of the links broke during the assembly. Horror!

By this time I was running out of wind and had the awful thoughts of quitting this build. I stopped, went across the street, and got me an expresso. I returned to the shop thinking about the other two times (in the 90's and in 2021) that I had quit this same kit, and decided that, this time, I was going to complete it. I was going to fabricate a new link but then I noticed that the break was only at the top of the link and there was a good 270 degrees of contact in the bearing surface. So I went back to assembling the fork with the broken link.

As you can see the fork came up alright. The projecting screws were trimmed and everything tightened up. It is a fragile assembly but, I am certain that this suspension will not have much roadwork once I place it in my shelf. 

[Keith Black]

 Great perseverance, Ras. The fork assembly looks great and like you said, there aren't many shelf potholes. 

[FriedClams]

19 hours ago, Ras Ambrioso said:

I stopped, went across the street, and got me an expresso

 

Whenever I'm on the verge of blowing a gasket, I find stepping away from the thing is always the best way forward. Looking good Ras.

 

Gary

[CDW]

19 hours ago, Ras Ambrioso said:

 

As you can see the fork came up alright. The projecting screws were trimmed and everything tightened up. It is a fragile assembly but, I am certain that this suspension will not have much roadwork once I place it in my shelf. 

I think it looks great. I don't know of another motorcycle kit that looks better than this one you're doing. 

 

26 minutes ago, FriedClams said:

 

Whenever I'm on the verge of blowing a gasket, I find stepping away from the thing is always the best way forward. Looking good Ras.

 

Gary

Totally agree with this approach. Walk away, cool off, and come back to it later. I watched a modeler on a YouTube video who literally dropped a cement block on top of his 1:32 scale aircraft model, smashing it to bits because he didn't like the way it sat on its landing gear. Don't know why he didn't just shorten or lengthen the gear to suit his taste.  

[mtaylor]

2 hours ago, CDW said:

 

I watched a modeler on a YouTube video who literally dropped a cement block on top of his 1:32 scale aircraft model, smashing it to bits because he didn't like the way it sat on its landing gear. Don't know why he didn't just shorten or lengthen the gear to suit his taste.  

I've heard of many doing this or similar....think Viking Funeral for one way.  Not sure why.  Maybe it's just frustration.

[CDW]

15 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

I've heard of many doing this or similar....think Viking Funeral for one way.  Not sure why.  Maybe it's just frustration.

My grandmother told me she was a Viking descendant. When I hear "Viking Funeral", I think of how she would give me a switching for chasing her chickens. She used a peach tree switch. I can tell ya for certain, it got my attention and it left me no doubt, she was a Viking.

[Ras Ambrioso]

Guys thanks for the comments and the likes. This kit is getting to be a little more difficult than expected but I am determined to finish it. 

Today I painted the engine parts prior to assembly. Also worked on the handlebars. A total of 20 pieces.

I was amazed at the detail on this kit. The handle is actually rubber

Following is a print of the directions so that you can see the number and the rather simplistic way of suggesting the assembly.

Next went the seat, also super detailed. 

The seat will lay over four mini springs, about 1.5 mm in diameter. Loops were to be made in order to hook the springs to the frame. The instructions indicated how to make the end loops to mount the springs. No way Jose. It was quite a difficult task as the spring doesn't like to be bent. I finally sort of made it by holding the body of the spring in a vise. The result was not very pretty but, again, it will not be visible since the leather seat actually lays on top of the springs.

Boy, am I having fun or what? More tomorrow.

 

 

 

[CDW]

Ras, do you have an idea of what year this kit was manufactured? The details are remarkable.

[yvesvidal]

Yes, these Protar kits are amazing. I would say this kit was probably manufactured in the early 70's if not before.

 

Yves

Edited March 14, 2023 by yvesvidal