Tamiya VFR750R RC30 Model Kit Review

At over £15,000 for the real thing, the Tamiya 1:12 scale VFR750R RC30 model kit may be the closest most people can get to owning Honda’s legendary homologation special. The question is how much of the bike’s amazing pedigree has been translated into the kit?

First impressions upon opening the box are good. Each sprue is contained its own protective bag, with the clear plastic sprue even coming in a box. A wise decision, given the relative weakness of clear plastic. The rest of the plastic sprues are appropriately coloured: body panels in white, ‘unpainted metal’ parts in grey, etc. They need to be painted anyway, but it’s still attention to detail that really points to quality. Another detail that jumps out is the colour printing on the inside of the box. Admittedly it’s only box art for other model kits, but it is confidence inspiring nevertheless to see that some care has even been taken with the design of the inside of the box.

Inside the box!

Inner box design is not the only quality touch on the kit either. The kit comes with machine screws and bolts for affixing certain parts: the wheels; the fairing; the engine; etc. The screws are not be a big deal in themselves,  but the fact that the included screwdriver is magnetic along its entire length is. When the biggest bolt in the model is an M2 (2mm diameter shaft) and some are only 4mm long, it’s a godsend to have a fully magnetic screwdriver to rely upon. In the grand scheme of things, a tiny magnetic screwdriver may not seem like much, but it does show that kit has been designed by people with an understanding of the realities of assembling it. 

This fact really comes across through the instructions. Scale model instructions can, at their worst, be downright confusing. Everyone has come across the problem of following the instructions to the letter only to find that in, say, Stage 12, you’re now expected to paint a part that became inaccessible in stage 10. Not so with the instructions in this kit. The pictures are large and detailed, and the paint/decal applications needed are listed when a component first becomes appears, ensuring that the aforementioned nightmare scenario can’t happen. On top of this, it’s always made clear where parts attach. Even the potential minefield of the rubber hoses used to simulate the various cables, hoses, and wiring on the bike is made simple. The various attachment points are made clear, and there are helpful measuring marks for cutting lengths on the appropriate steps of the instructions themselves. Each cut hose is also given a letter designation so when it reappears in later steps you know exactly which hose is being referred to. The kit also comes with a good amount of spare hose, ensuring that slightly generous cuts won’t mean running out later.

Note the measurements for the hoses.

The attention to detail even extends to explaining exactly how components fit together, not simply relying on a single vague arrow from component to component. In the case of the exhaust downpipes for the rear cylinders, which need to be manoeuvred and twisted into position, the instructions give a step-by-step walkthrough on how to get the pipes to fit properly. Assistance that is much appreciated on such a fiddly task, and a simple touch that further shows that the people writing the instructions have actually assembled the kit themselves... or are psychic. 

The plastic of the kit itself, the clear notwithstanding, feels to be high quality; it’s easy enough to strip the excess material left after cutting parts from the sprue and to slice the mould lines off. The plastic also feels reasonably resilient and not at all brittle. It’s in a good middle ground between being soft and being strong. The moulding of the plastic parts is also top-notch. There was no excess mould flash on the pieces, and even the unavoidable mould lines were very minor, to the point that on some pieces it could be hard to tell if it was a mould line or a sculpted seam. Speaking of detail, this kit has it in spades, right down to the idiot lights on the clocks and the valves on the wheels. The best part is that all of the details are also crisply defined, really helping to ease the painting process. 

No, they aren't totally straight.

It is worth mentioning though that there was one defect on this particular kit. A screw hole for holding the engine had not been drilled all the way through. Without buying another it’s impossible to know if this is a problem with all RC30 kits or just with this one, still it was easily fixed with a Dremel (a pin vice would work too). For a kit this detailed though, a single minor issue in the sculpting isn’t really all that much of a concern, and in no way undermines the integrity of the kit as a whole. 

The only potential problem to be aware of with the kit is that if you decide to go with the HRC paintjob, the red portions are provided by large printed decals with both the red ‘paint’ and the markings on them. This does mean that nobody has to perfectly paint three matching coloured lines on the tail panels, but it does mean that perfect decal placement is a must. Especially as such large decals can be difficult to place properly on panels with compound curves. The curvature also seems to become more of a problem as the decal dries, so even one that was perfectly laid can end up looking less than stellar when fully dry. How big a problem this is all comes down to personal preference. Whether you want HRC colours or not, how skilled you are at decal application, or if you would just want to paint the scheme rather than using decals at all, are all considerations to make. This approach of using decals rather than painted surfaces is an interesting idea and whilst it can be tricky, it’s far from a deal breaker, especially on such an otherwise high quality kit.

The Tamiya VFR750R RC30 kit is a kit of unmistakably good quality, from the cleanly sculpted, detailed components, to the clearly written/drawn instructions. Even the niggles with the kit are so completely down to personal preference that it almost feels like nit-picking. It’s so very good that all that remains to be said is that for anyone looking to build a motorcycle kit in 1:12 scale, this one comes highly recommended.

Completed with clear fairing.