Never go shopping… 7/28/2006
…with an idiot like KY.
We were walking through the shopping mall after lunch. I needed to hit the hole in the wall for some money, so we went into the building where his office is. Since we both had time to kill, we went to the Canon shop to look at lenses, and were idly strolling along. We hung out at the AV store awhile, watching 2001: A Space Odyssey, on a big, kick-ass 100+ inch projection TV.
We then walked into the toy shop on the 2nd floor, and KY pointed out this.
A Tamiya 1:12 scale model kit of the 2004 Ducati Desmosedici. It was tagged at some heart stopping price. I have been building model kits since I was running around in short pants, and the idea of paying a 3 figure sum for a small kit like this was something that went against the grain for me. O.K. I admit to having lots of models in storage. All of them unbuilt. Some of them are limited editions, or rare. Many of them are of large scale aircraft and ships. I even have the Revell Limited Edition 1/350th scale model of the R.M.S. Titanic, complete with photo etched parts. And those cost a lot.
But RM159.90 for a small scale motorcycle? Ridiculous.
But somehow KY didn’t think so. We walked around the shop some more, looking at various radio control toys, which I was contemplating buying. And all the while, this erstwhile idiot friend of mine kept bugging me about the Desmosedici. He pointed out that adding another $30 to the price of the radio control speed boat I was holding would get me the Desmosedici.
I told KY to shut his face, but was he dissuaded? Was he, hell. He kept on and on at it, until I finally gave up, and grabbed the one and only Desmosedici kit off the shelf, and practically threw it at the sales assistant, telling him to bag it. And KY just stood there and grinned at me.
When I got home, I pulled the box open. The finish and quality of the kit were high, typical of Tamiya products.
I took a close look at the parts. RM159.90, less a 20% discount for this? Inflation is really biting hard. The plans were typical Tamiya, well laid out, lots of information and pointers. The decal sheet was execllent, no runs or misprints. Tamiya quality control, as has been my experience with their kits since the late 70s, is above average. I have never been disappointed with a Tamiya kit, ever.
I admit to having an ulterior motive to getting this kit. Since the introduction of the Desmosedici in 2003, I have been curious about its trellis frame. The first pictures I saw of the Desmosedici showed this yawning space underneath the seat unit. No frame, no trellis, no nothing. Just a carbon fiber seat unit, almost like a monocouque. I wondered where the famous Ducati trellis had gone. I could see bits of it peeping through the front bodywork, but where was the rest of it?
Scrutinising the kit revealed everything.
The trellis frame was still there, but considerably shortened. The engine, as has been Ducati practice since their SBK bikes, was a stressed member, and part of the frame. But in the case of the Desmosedici, the frame was simply there to hang the engine, and provide a headstock for the forks. And also the hang the bodywork from.
Everything else rearward of the headstock simply attached to the engine itself. An elegant way of minimising metal, and saving weight. And yet another reason why I happen to like Ducatis. Not because they’re fashionable and in vogue at the moment, but because the company has a typical Italian flair to solutions for engineering problems. Some of their ideas work well (mechanical valve lift and closing), others aren’t so nice (flip up side stands anyone?).
And so I’ve added yet another bit of knowledge about motorcycles into my head. Thanks to my idiot friend who bugged me into buying this kit.
Thanks KY.
- Posted in : General
- Author : thesnark
Comments»
dude.. those flip up stands are a real pain in the arse! when i picked up my duke, i got mary to switch it in such a way that it wouldnt bloody flip up. a mate of mine, who didnt bother to do the same paid the price when he walked to the carpark in the morning to see his baby lying on its left side, with the clutch lever and master cyclinder smashed beyong use. 50 bucks for the rescue & 160 for the unit, plus workmanship charges. he was spitting nails!:>
did you get that from toy city in the mid valley megamall? if you did then you may have noticed a 1100 katana model covered in dust and feeling unloved at half the price of other models!!! (yeah im spewing i didnt buy it then and there)..but isn’t it fun messing about with model bikes and seeing what different combinations work ..or dont-lol
good luck with the duke
Look at that silly grin of his…
that’s a better scenario than your hook-up bugging you to buy a 3 figure thong for her…
Yeah, but what about the Elephant Connection?
Ride well,
=gc=
That might be the only sort of Ducati I can afford to buy!
the whole idea of getting you to buy it was to prevent me from buying after work since there’s only one left. hee-hee, thanks for saving me $130
real bike is getting so expensive now.
sounds like a good suggestion to start riding model bike..
Any models of the 916 there btw?
Kiran : I dropped a 900SS the same way, way back when.
Oz_guy : Didn’t I show you the 1:6 scale Katana 1100 I have at home?
Gary : Be patient. I shall reveal all.
Cmos : Protar makes 1:9 scale models of the various 916 models. I have a 916 Strada model in my collection. Try e-Bay.
Dude, I’m not usure if you noticed or not… but if you look carefully, the very expensive Tamiya models are the ones with Black colored boxes, most often informally(or sometimes officially) labelled special edition, it would usually be vehicles of some significance or popular among fans
Regular range tamiya boxes are often white, and a tad cheaper. I only noticed this after buying a Xanavi Nismo GTR (R34)