Triumph 3HW by Tim Moore - Italeri - 1/9

[chadwijm6]

6 minutes ago, shipman said:

Oh! Isn't this lovely?

https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/18362/lot/30/c1942-triumph-343cc-3hw-frame-no-tl-45673-engine-no-56762/

 

That is beautiful!

[CDW]

1 hour ago, shipman said:

Oh! Isn't this lovely?

https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/18362/lot/30/c1942-triumph-343cc-3hw-frame-no-tl-45673-engine-no-56762/

Estimated at 6 k - 7 k pounds? Seems like a bargain!

[Rik Thistle]

Shipman,

 

Bonhams - That is indeed a gorgeous looking piece of machinery.  Est £6k-£7k seems a bit of a steal, but I don't have a motorcycle background so perhaps there are quite a few still around.

 

Just found what appears to be, to my untrained eye, an Army version of the same machine..... 

1944 Triumph 3HW 350cc Ex National Motorcycle Museum Sold for £12,650, Dec 2020 - https://www.handh.co.uk/auction/lot/149-1944-triumph-3hw--350cc/?lot=51466&sd=1

 

Richard

[CDW]

13 minutes ago, Rik Thistle said:

Shipman,

 

Bonhams - That is indeed a gorgeous looking piece of machinery.  Est £6k-£7k seems a bit of a steal, but I don't have a motorcycle background so perhaps there are quite a few still around.

 

Just found what appears to be, to my untrained eye, an Army version of the same machine..... 

1944 Triumph 3HW 350cc Ex National Motorcycle Museum Sold for £12,650, Dec 2020 - https://www.handh.co.uk/auction/lot/149-1944-triumph-3hw--350cc/?lot=51466&sd=1

 

Richard

Gorgeous bike. I would venture to say it was a steal even at the higher price of 12,650. Couldn’t restore one for that price.

[shipman]

Here's my trusty '56 BSA

EDIT:

A lifelong motorcycle engine designer by the name of Valentine Page worked for JAP, Triumph, Ariel and BSA. He constantly updated his basic single cylinder theme as he moved from one manufacturer to another.

Notice the strong resemblance between the 3HW and the B31 engine below.

Mr Page contributed much to the British Industry, yet he's largely forgotten today.

 

Edited May 12 by shipman
Historical detail

[Canute]

That's a beauty, Shipman.

[Tim Moore]

Inspired by the blackness and metallica of the wheels I seem to be heading towards a sort of black and white rendition, bereft of any actual historical fidelity. The tank, fenders and other body parts are in a dark iron lacquer, just because I happened to have it on the table and liked the finish. Looking forward to adding all the bits and pieces of this motorbike. Might seem a little boring colour wise, but I thought all the saddlebags, seat and other paraphernalia that is in this kit might provide a good opportunity for colour contrast with the overall black theme. 

[Tim Moore]

Just a bit tricky installing the lines from the oil tank due to access, and there not being any positive connection point at either end. Thought about using some brass wire instead of the plastic parts but went with the kit part and paint at the end of the day, think it’s believable.

Rear wheel and chain install is next.

[Baker]

So much better than mine. Built 40 years ago 

👍.

 

Edited May 12 by Baker

[Tim Moore]

Thanks Patrick! 
Bit of a minor struggle getting the rear wheel and chain assembly in place since it is all connected and has to be shoehorned into the frame. Thankfully managed it without messing things up too badly. After cementing it all I realized I had missed a small internal lever assembly that was supposed to go in first. Will be an interesting exercise in surgery trying to get it in now but hopefully not impossible. 
Most of my detail painting and aging is being done with combinations of Vallejo steel, dark steel, aluminium, black and metallic black, and oil stain. I’m pleased with the way the hub looks with the respoked wheel, all looking very metallic.

[Danstream]

It is a beautiful model, everything looks so believable, the metallic parts are great.

 

In connection with the spoked wheel, let me have a little digression that might be amusing for some. When I a was a fresh graduated engineer, during a job interview, I was asked to discuss the loading capabilities of thin rod loaded in axial compression. Clearly as intuition said and as confirmed by the maths behind, long and thin rods could not take meaningful loads when the radius is very, very smaller than the length. The next question was: "then, how a spoked wheel of a bike can carry your weight?". After a bit of thinking, I concluded that the weight is carried by the upper spokes that are loaded in tension, so, when riding a bike you are 'hanging' on the upper spokes and nor supported by the lower ones. This was a surprising fact for me that I never realized before. By the way, the interview was successful.

 

Sorry for my digression,

best regards,

Dan

[Egilman]

It's also an application of the Lever in the round.... All wheels are...

 

But that's an aside... Yes your suspended on the few spokes on the tops of the rims...  The spokes at the rear of the front wheel drag the front wheel from the axle at the same time every where it goes as well, and the rear wheel is drug by the axle as well with a slight bit of differing physical forces acting on it... Structural strength is maintained by stressing the wire spokes in tension, Adjusting a wire spoked wheel is just about a lost art today...

 

And if I remember correct the lacing of the spokes is just as important to power transmission as it is for structural strength....

 

There a lot of practical tech out there that's being left behind as engineering advances...

[Tim Moore]

2 hours ago, Danstream said:

It is a beautiful model, everything looks so believable, the metallic parts are great.

 

In connection with the spoked wheel, let me have a little digression that might be amusing for some. When I a was a fresh graduated engineer, during a job interview, I was asked to discuss the loading capabilities of thin rod loaded in axial compression. Clearly as intuition said and as confirmed by the maths behind, long and thin rods could not take meaningful loads when the radius is very, very smaller than the length. The next question was: "then, how a spoked wheel of a bike can carry your weight?". After a bit of thinking, I concluded that the weight is carried by the upper spokes that are loaded in tension, so, when riding a bike you are 'hanging' on the upper spokes and nor supported by the lower ones. This was a surprising fact for me that I never realized before. By the way, the interview was successful.

 

Sorry for my digression,

best regards,

Dan

Thanks Dan - your meticulously finished models are such accomplished model craft. I usually think I’ve wandered into a museum when I look at them. 

[Danstream]

44 minutes ago, Egilman said:

Structural strength is maintained by stressing the wire spokes in tension, Adjusting a wire spoked wheel is just about a lost art today...

Indeed, actually, on top of what I said (I simplified a bit the story), as you said, all the spokes must be pre-stressed in tension (the lost art), so the ones on top increase cyclically their tension load and the ones on the bottom decrease it without becoming compressed and so avoiding buckling. Torque (of the engine or the brakes) is transmitted from the hub to the rim thanks to the eccentric positioning of the spokes (if the spokes passed through the axle, no torque could be transmitted). I stop here.

Best regards,

Dan

[shipman]

3 hours ago, Danstream said:

Indeed, actually, on top of what I said (I simplified a bit the story), as you said, all the spokes must be pre-stressed in tension (the lost art), so the ones on top increase cyclically their tension load and the ones on the bottom decrease it without becoming compressed and so avoiding buckling. Torque (of the engine or the brakes) is transmitted from the hub to the rim thanks to the eccentric positioning of the spokes (if the spokes passed through the axle, no torque could be transmitted). I stop here.

Best regards,

Dan

I'm fortunate to know a pal who's been building spoked wheels. privately and professionally for over 40 years.

I've watched him build a wheel in much less than an hour.

[Tim Moore]

Enjoyed the spoke discussion… I’ve been pre stressed and tense myself lately; our modeling hobby is good therapy.

The seats in the kit are a black flexible plastic, good quality but looked a little plain. I wrinkled up some leftover tissue from my Guillows spitfire and applied it to them with a fluid mix of wood glue and water, then a few tries with various brown paints until it looked something like well worn leather. Finished it off with a few brass pin heads from my wooden ship box, and a bit of Vallejo gloss oil stain on the saddle to give the impression of wear and sheen.
I cut off the shielding from the headlamp just because I felt like it, and because the kit has rather a nice lens I wanted to see. Added bumpers on the tank. Haven’t put in any tubing into the machinery yet, hoping I can do all that at the end. 
Tim

 

 

 

[shipman]

Love the treatment of the seat!

 

I must say how I'm impressed with how authentic this kit appears to be, considering it's been available forever.

 

Your first post mentions CDW did a log of his build; how can I find it?

AHA! found it!

Edited May 21 by shipman
adition

[gsdpic]

I agree with shipman, the seat looks fantastic.  The rest of the model ain't bad either

 

[chadwijm6]

Hard to believe it is a model to be honest, looks like the real thing, the tissue for the seats is a great idea!

[Danstream]

Everything looks so believable! Great modeling!

Cheers,

Dan

[Baker]

Beautiful work 👍

[yvesvidal]

Fantastic work on the seat and great idea to clear the headlight, too.

 

Yves

[Tim Moore]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate you looking in, your interest and encouraging remarks. 
Starting to come together. The front fork assembly is fragile and a bit wonky in this kit, still have some adjustments to make. Cut some thin strips of medical glaze and wrapped it around the exhaust pipe before giving it a black wash and painting the muffler. Still have to fabricate something to stand off the exhaust so it doesn’t interfere with the kickstand; minor kit flaw or more likely I just screwed something up although I’ve been unable to fathom what. 

 

[CDW]

Sharp bike!

[Rik Thistle]

Tim,

 

I'd be hard pushed to tell the difference between your model and the real thing. What a result.

 

Richard

[Baker]

48 minutes ago, Tim Moore said:

Still have to fabricate something to stand off the exhaust so it doesn’t interfere with the kickstand; minor kit flaw or more likely I just screwed something up although I’ve been unable to fathom what. 

You didn't screwed something up.

I had the same problem in the 80's.

 

[shipman]

The kickstart/silencer clearance:-

 

All the Brit bikes have clearance issues here, it is close.

Even on a real bike, it's common to find the lever just brushes the silencer.

More often than not, it's down to a washer just the right thickness where the exhaust mounts to the frame.

A tedious and frustrating thing to get correct.

[Tim Moore]

Thanks CDW, Shipman and Rick! Patrick that is a lovely rendition of this kit. Very authentic looking I can almost taste the rust on that exhaust.
Just finishing up the handlebars and a few other mechanicals. This Italeri kit may be old but it builds up to a pretty good looking model. Kind of wish there were others at this scale. 
 

[CDW]

Hey Tim

If you search around, you can find from Italeri, the BMW with and without a sidecar, the Zundap with and without a sidecar, and the Harley Davidson 45 V-twin. All are in 1:9 scale and often came boxed and sold by other companies. All are WW2 vintage, like the Triumph.

[yvesvidal]

14 hours ago, Tim Moore said:

Thanks CDW, Shipman and Rick! Patrick that is a lovely rendition of this kit. Very authentic looking I can almost taste the rust on that exhaust.
Just finishing up the handlebars and a few other mechanicals. This Italeri kit may be old but it builds up to a pretty good looking model. Kind of wish there were others at this scale.

As Craig indicated, there are a lot of 1/9 scale old motorcycles from Italeri, ESCI and from PROTAR (before Italeri bought back the molds). These models are rare, cost an arm and a leg on E-Bay and are not easy to build. The NORTON 500 MANX comes to mind, as well as the ZUNDAPP and BMW.

 

Take a look at this Japanese artist at http://kimshouse7015.com/index.html      In my humble opinion, he is THE BEST !!!!

Above is one of his models based on the same kit you just finished.

 

After this fantastic rendition of the Triumph you just built, you should look into the next candidate.

 

Yves

 

Edited May 26 by yvesvidal