1:12 Kawasaki KH400-A6 1979

A three-cylinder two-stroke engine

The KH line followed on from earlier machines which had earned a reputation in the 1970s as wild rides with a nervous arrival of power. The 400 had an air-cooled two-stroke three-cylinder engine across the frame and three separate exhausts, which are the most conspicuous item of the whole motorcycle from the side and from the rear. Against its older siblings it received a milder character and a better chassis, so it could be ridden off a straight as well.

The last years of the line

The letter and the digit after the type designation determine the model year. The A6 version falls at the end of the 1970s, that is the time when two-stroke road machines of this size were slowly disappearing from the range because of consumption and emissions. That is exactly why the late model years are prized among collectors and appear repeatedly in model form.

What the build involves

The finished machine is roughly eighteen centimeters long. Three chrome exhausts side by side call for the most attention, because any fingerprint or unevenness is visible on a polished surface. It pays to handle them in gloves and to glue them on only once the paint is finished.

The tank with its side graphics forms the face of the whole model, so give the decals a glossy base and enough time to dry. The wire spokes of the wheels tend to be treated in these sets as a plastic casting, which gains markedly when the spokes are gone over with a fine brush and the hub centers get a dark wash. The seat tends to be the one place where it is useful to reach for matte black with a hint of texture, because a glossy surface would give the plastic away in a photograph at once.