BAN020 semi light hex bolt+big washer 1,2mm

The upper limit of the scale

With this version of the head, twelve tenths of a millimeter is the last grade offered. Anyone who needs a still larger joint has to move to another of the manufacturer's structural families, because this form of head no longer covers the range from 1.3 mm upward. That is precisely why 1.2 mm is used among modelers as a so-called anchor dimension, from which all the finer grades on the same machine are derived.

What the largest grade is good for

On a motorcycle these are the main load-bearing points: the swingarm pivots, the mounting of the shock absorbers, the lower frame brackets, the wheel axle nuts. On the real machine these joints have the largest cross-section, and a model without them looks oddly balanced, because bolts all of the same size give away to the eye that this is a substitute, not a replica.

Mixing sizes is worth it

Builders whose vehicles come out convincing usually do not reach for a single dimension. Three to four grades commonly meet on a single model: the coarsest on the chassis, medium on the engine, the finest on bodywork and instruments. Grading is a simpler trick than the best paint, because it works with shadow: a larger head casts a bolder shadow and the eye reads it as a heavier component.

A practical note

At this grade it already makes sense to sand the head lightly from the side after gluing, if it is to seat on a curved surface. The resulting flat is invisible from a distance and the joint adheres much better. Apply the paint only after gluing and in thin coats, because a heavy spray rounds off the edges of the hex and the head loses exactly that crispness for which a metal part is obtained.