Testors 1/16 Harley-Davidson FLHRCI Road King Classic Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

Harley-Davidson motorcycles are an American icon, just like John Wayne, muscle cars and country music. If you were to ask virtually anyone on the street for the name of a motorcycle maker, the majority would respond with Harley-Davidson.

Harleys remain one of the top selling bikes in the world. There is nothing that sounds quite like a Harley. With the advent of the motorcycle television shows on the Discovery Channel like American Chopper, motorcycles are popular forms of transportation, especially with $2+/gallon fuel prices!

Testors has released a variety of Harley-Davidson motorcycles in 1/9 and 1/16 scale which are all beautifully detailed replicas of their full-sized counterparts. In this latest release, part of their Lincoln Mint line, Testors has created a relatively quick-build project. Unlike previous releases like the 1/9 scale kit we had previously reviewed here, this kit is an interesting combination of die-cast metal, styrene, rubber, and vinyl parts. What makes this kit relatively quick is the fact that no painting is required to finish this model. Everything comes either molded in the right color, chrome plated, or pre-painted and stenciled. Even the clear parts have been pre-finished where appropriate for the yellow and red lenses needed on turn and stop signals. Very nice indeed.

The kit starts with the instruction book which is 16 pages long, nine of these pages are photos of the parts to identify parts by their numbers. The remaining pages walk you through the assembly process step-by-step. Take your time, study the images, then test-fit the parts to ensure you know how that step will come together before you glue and/or screw the new parts into place.

One of my big complaints about pre-chromed parts in the past is the scar left behind after the part is removed from the sprue tree. Much to my pleasant surprise, the kit is engineered to either hide the scars or to make the attachment points so small that they are hardly noticable. Outstanding work Testors!

The die-cast metal parts are nicely painted with a thick coat of paint and stenciling is pre-applied in most cases. Once again, the quality of the finish is top-notch.

Look at the twin-cylinder engine to the right. This is a good example of the quality of the finish in the kit. The parts are actually molded in black styrene, but the edges of the cooling fins on each of the cylinder heads is chrome-plated. Very nice work indeed.

The tires are rubber while the spoked wheels and white sidewalls are styrene. The seat and outer layer of the saddlebags are all rubber. The saddlebag straps and drive belt are vinyl.

Stickers are used in two places, one for the speedometer atop the fuel tank, the other is decorative trim on the rear of the front fender.

Assembly is indeed a combination of screw and glue. The instructions indicate when to use one or the other, or perhaps both. A good quality phillips screwdriver will be needed to assemble the kit.

This is a nice looking kit that will build up into a beautiful bike. I saw one of these built-up at the Chicago Hobby Show in late 2006 and it was impressive then. Seeing it up-close and in parts is even more impressive.

This kit is recommended! Check out the build-up review here.

My sincere thanks to Testors for this review sample!