Was it the lure of those colourful boxes? Or the thought of constructing my dream motorcycles from bits of plastic? Whatever the reason I was a fan of the Tamiya model kit. I recently found a few that I’d made earlier!
These motorcycle models probably date from around 1986 to 1990. They involved regular trips to Beatties to treat myself to a Tamiya kit before I got into dismantling the full-sized versions. And while the accomplished model maker could probably bang out a kit in an evening, I was never that accomplished. In fact, looking at the survivors, it appears not a single one is truly finished more than 20-odd years later. That probably says more about me than the kits.
One thing has changed – I’m wondering whether the Kawasaki Endurance Racer Dymags would fit into the Suzuki Katana? Maybe there’s a shop in Shoreditch that could help me out? And while you can buy Tamiya kits, these days the likes of Beatties are long gone. Thankfully, I’m not getting nostalgic for miniature tins of Humbrol paint and tubes of glue, although maybe I should at least finish the brake lines etc off… I wonder if there are any model motorcycle breakers?
