Where can i find classic motorbike kits? like 50's and 60's? i had a quick look online, but i thought i'd ask here as i figure you'd all know and it save me hours of searching! (lazy i know, but im one of the computer generation!)

thanks in advance

Ashley

There aren't many, if any, in production. Tamiya had a line of 1/6 and 1/12 bikes from the 70's, think Honda 750 era, They also have a 1/35 Harley fromthe 40's as well as Zundap and BMW's from the same period. Italeri has a few, also. There was a company that made a series of bootleg era "gangster" cars (with optional bullet hole windows) in the early 60's that featured an in- line 4 Indian Motocycle (correct spelling of motocycle...no R). Revell had a few 60's and 70's era bikes, including a few choppers. Matchbox had a few 70's era racers in 1/12.

aw well that a bit of shame, there goes me building some british iron....lol... thanks for your help... its appreciated

Well, Revell (Germany) had a nice Triumph Tiger available not too long ago. And I am sure more can be found if you look hard enough.

I believe Revell had a nice Norton manx and an old honda 6 cylinder 250cc racer last fall. Now things like the old honda dreams, vincent black shadows or even common Kawi H-2 3cylinder kits will be a write off{sadly...I want the H-2!}. Check ebay often...ya never know what will show up!

Hello Ashley, I have a Vincent Black shadow 1/12 scale, interested?

The Revell 1/9 motorcycles are re-boxes of the old Protar brand (the proprietor was Provini an old GP racer). The original line up included two racing Guzzis (the V8 & the inline 4), a couple of V7 road bikes, Manx Norton, 7R AJS, G50 Matchless, Norton 750 Commando racer, I think there were also a couple of MV Agustas, (Revell has re-released the 3 cylinder), a Yamaha and probably a few others I can't remember, they were mostly Italian road racing subjects. You may see these on ebay, but I wouldn't bet on it, they are pretty thin on the ground nowadays. The Matchbox 1/12 Vincent is worth a go - it's quite a good kit. Italaeri did some big German wartime ones; BMW & Zundapp, there was also a Harley and a 3H Triumph. As far as I am aware, the Revell kit is the only Triumph twin in styrene (amazingly). It's a old kit dating back to the 60s at least and has a load of inaccuracies (see Dave Cox's recent build). I have seen a Japanese Gunze Sanyo kit of a BSA Gold Star, I think they did some others, but I've never seen them. Airfix did a couple of smaller kits, the BSA C15 & Ariel Arrow, but they don't have any chrome bits, so never really look right. To my knowledge the Norton Dominator series, Velocette singles etc have never been kitted.

Oh yes, I remember a very large (I think1/6th) Guzzi California which was complete with clear crankcases so that you could see all the (enclosed) engine and geasrbox parts. It had working cables(!), suspension etc. There are also the Tamiya BMWs and Hondas, but I wouldn't really recommend them. I did the R90S some years ago for my dad, & the dies were clapped then. By the time I got the crankcases finished, there was more filler than plastic in them!

Keep searching ebay models under "motorcycles"...you never know what'll show up there!

There was acompany in Uk called RAE that did Triumphs, BSAs, and the Velocette venom. Long out of production, I've been searching for them for YEARS. Did manage to find a Triumph 3TA with the bathtub rear fender. I'm still hoping tho..... Hooper.