The Motorcycle
Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) developed the RC211V to replace the earlier 2-stroke, V-4 engined NSR500, due to changes in World Championship motorcycle regulations. The new regulations allowed 4-stroke engines of up to 990cc (60 cubic inches) and from 3 to 6 cylinders, whereas 2-stroke engines were limited to 500 cc and 4 cylinders.
The name of the class was also changed to MotoGP and the class was limited to race prototypes only. The RC211V, in the capable hands of Valentino Rossi, dominated its class and in 2002 won the constructor's championship by more than 100 points over the closest rival. The Honda RC211V won 48 out of 82 races it contested-more than half (58.5%, to be precise)-in five seasons of MotoGP racing. It also won 3 rider world championships (2002, 2003, and 2006) and 4 constructor titles (2002, 2003, 2004, and 2006), an impressive record by any measure.
The Kit
The kit consists of 38 parts on 4 sprues, 4 of which are rubber and 3 are clear plastic. The rest of the parts are white injection molded styrene plastic. The parts are well molded, with moderate flash and seam lines. The detail is somewhat soft, although reasonable for the scale. The detail on the chain and rear sprocket is well executed. There are a moderate number of ejection mold pin marks but these are confined to the inner faces of the affected parts. Sink marks are few and far between, and these will be easy to clean up. The fairing is on the clear parts sprue, and it is well molded with slight distortion on the windscreen due to its thickness. The other clear parts might be best described as "show stands". One of these supports the model by the front wheel in a "wheelie" position, and the other holds the model by the rear wheel. There is a third stand, molded in white, which is quite realistic in appearance-at least compared to the other two!
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The tank and seat base are a single piece molding, and they look pretty good. The engine, frame, and swing arm are molded in halves. The detail on these parts is OK and will come up nicely with careful masking and painting, followed by washes and some drybrushing. The front forks come in 2 pieces with slight sinkmarks at the bottom near the disc brake calipers. The handlebars are integral with the fork crown and have good detail. The front fork assembly include a pair of front disc brakes that are cleanly molded and well detailed. The exhaust stacks and muffler are also individual pieces. Some additional details include the single rear shock, rear disc brake, and front and rear wheels of appropriate widths.
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A 3 piece rider figure is included. The one-piece helmet is somewhat simplified but the overall detail is pretty good. The instructions have a logical and clear build sequence, feature very good illustrations, and are easy to follow. Color callouts are for Humbrol enamels. The decal sheet is large, in register, has good colors, and is comprehensive. It includes 45 decals, 18 of which are for the figure. The decals are Valentino Rossi, winner of the Italian Grand Prix, June 2nd, 2002.
Accuracy
Scale plans? What scale plans? I don't have any! It looks like the RC211V to me! Seriously though, it DOES resemble the real thing and that's good enough for me. However, I am skeptical that Humbrol enamels will provide an accurate match for the motorcycle's colors. I could be wrong. I would refer you to Tamiya's 1/12th scale version of the RC211V for more exact color matching. You can find the instructions for the kit here.
Conclusions
This is a good little kit. No one will confuse it with the very intricate and highly detailed 1/16th Tamiya motorcycle kits, but Heller is focusing on a completely different market-modelers searching for a simple, easy-to-build, and reasonably accurate motorcycle kit that won't break the bank. I recommend this kit, and I purchased mine from
Skyway Model Shop.
References:
Print:
A) Simulate metal using Alclad Paints, Clay Kemp, Scale Auto magazine, April 2010
B) Box Stock Race Bike-Building and painting Tamiya's Grand Prix Suzuki, David Durst, Scale Auto Magazine, April 2002
(These two articles offer GREAT tips on detailing motorcycle models)
Web:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_RC211V
