Brushbyair,
I am currently in Iraq and cant do a specific tank for this competition but just completed this before deploying again. If the entry doesn't conform under the 'specifically for the competition' rule I will remove it! But here goes...
The tank itself is off a Suzuki 1400cc Bike. The tin was badly damaged so needed a lot of repair and could not be used again without a serious repair to the fuel cap receiver. So I used this as an opportunity to 'show' my work as a business card and had an agreement with a friend to display it in his custom workshop.
The Job...
Started with a complete clean out of all the dents and bumps and refilled with a good quality easy sand, filler followed by prepping and undercoat.
The first paint coated in white then sectioned off the top part base coated in blue and then the white stars individually resprayed in place white.
The red stripes were lined out and painted after, the whole tank was then lacquered for the first time to preserve the painted flag...
After flattening the lacquer the next morning the flame design was laid out and masked off, then the tank was sprayed white to remove the red stripes that were left in view, after that a black fade from the front to the back to give the flag some depth at the head of the tank.
It was then given a marble effect on the black and white fade to give a nice look in the base color, followed by a clear coat of metal flake...
The area where I was going to freehand paint was blacked out and then the scull stencil was shadowed in with white to get the proportions right then I started to paint the features freehand. Finally I added drop shadows to the custom flames. End of day two the second layer of Lacquer was applied...
Day three the lacquer was flattened again and the effects where added like the sparkles of light the drop shadows giving the flag the 'folds', the words the Jester and then a final lacquer was applied and dried, followed by flattening and polishing...
The tank was then gifted to Shark Motorcycles in Hereford England and is displayed in the shop with my business details below it...
Thanks for looking, hope it makes the grade!
