Work in Progress in September 2025

Until I next finish something worth showing in the Display Case — which I hope won't be too much longer — here are two of the most likely candidates which I'm trying to complete this month.

Tamiya Ducati 1199

I made a matte black version a few years ago and while I was moderately happy with the result at the time, it really didn't cut it. I knew that I could and should do better, which was enough for me to eventually break from the norm and revisit a subject.

And because I like different, this one won't be tricolour, or red, but white. At some point, 1199s were available in white and it's really the right colour because it makes a not-especially-pretty bike look cleaner and more svelte.

This build is being done to a few rules: do everything as well as I can; scratch build details and corrections wherever the kit is really weak; but don't resort to any after-market sets [other than generic photo-etch fasteners]. In other words, do the best job that I can with what's in the box.

You can see it in progress at Scalemates if you're interested.

Tamiya Mazda MX-5

Alongside the 1199 is another Tamiya road-going subject. I can never work entirely on one project at a time because it results in a lot of dead time, and I find it most practical to work on similar projects.

For the eagle-eyed and knowledgeable car nerd — or, frankly, anyone who can do some internet detective work on Wikipedia — there is a little hint of exactly what this will look like in the orange brake callipers and seat trim…