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Aoshima 1/12 scale Suzuki GS400E TOURING G6-007-1000 US$12.00 (from ebay)
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 Move your mouse over the bikes to see what are the modification I did!
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I want to do something simple and out of the box, well "almost". This is a very old Aoshima kit which I got it at ebay in 2002. Although this kit is very basic and is in fact a Suzuki GS400E from their early issue top off with an extra spurce of parts! In fact Aoshima recently re-release this GS400E as a new line up called the "Nostalgic Bike Club" series.
The difference between this Tourer and the GS400E is obvious. There is the bikini fairing and two side pannier. The rest of the bike remain the same. As I said, I wanna build this kit as out-of-the-box, but I cannot help myself at some simple enhancements. I tried to limit the "add-ons" to just the brakes and panniers. |
The Kit:
After building my first GS400E I was very pleased with myself until one day, I stumble upon a real Suzuki GS400! There I know that Aoshima GS400E's accuracy is very "off"!
Firstly the air-cooled engine has too shallow cooling fins. The kit's engine is too "square". The kit's oil sump / pan is almost detailess! Some of the parts like the carburators and brake calipers are even out of scale. Tires and wheels are off too. Wah, so many complains? Well guess I am too spoilt by Tamiya's quality and accuracy.
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<Top. The real bike was stopped with a single disc set-up, staying true I just upgrade it to a 4-pot caliper and disc from a Honda CB750
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Front end:
Nothing spectacular here, detailing of the front end was limited to just the tire valve and brake calipers which I cast out using putty with Tamya Honda RC30's as a master. These caliper halves were the left overs when I was detailing the RC30's brake calipers.
I relocated the speedometer drive to the wheel axel instead of on the fork leg. This is a very common flaw / inaccuracy in most plastic kit, even Tamiya does it.
The front end also receives a set of engine bar or some call it "leg protector". This is from an Imai Harley Davidson kit. Most tourer have additional riding lights for those night rides, so I added more in the form of a spot light and fog lamp. They are mounted on scratch built brackets on the engine bar
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<No special Modelers' hose ends here, just want to as basic as possible. Extra detailing are more pipes and springs for the stands.
Engine:
It was built almost "out of the box" but I tried to make the cooling fins looks "deeper" by scraping away excess materials in the cyclinder block. It helps but you need to be careful as not to damage the fins as you go along. I under estimate the plastic thickness and scraped thru. As the engine was already assembled, I had a hard time putty the hole. If anyone wants to attempt this, I'll suggest you srape it while the engine is still in parts.
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< Top: Look at the detailess oil sump! Anyway I was too lazy and had no reference material to do a proper job! Notice the scratch built springs for the main and side stand?
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< I experimented with PE Workable hinges from armour specialist: Aber. Very difficult! I don't feel it will last more than a dozen openings. Added PE slot screw head to simulate the keyhole for the lugguage. |
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< Plastic bolt and nuts from "Wave" were added to the engine mount and swingarm
In the end:
Model body colour was sprayed using, Tamiya spray can,TS11 Maroon and hand polished to a shine. This is a fairly easy kit to build and an interesting subject departing from the many sport and GP bikes
If you got any questions feel free to email me at: modelmotobikes@yahoo.com.sg
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