Riva Aquarama by aydingocer - FINISHED - Amati - RADIO - A new challenge for a so-far static ship builder

[aydingocer]

END OF BUILD DAY 4.

 

1,5 hours today.

 

15,5 hours into build in total.

 

This is the status at the end of DAY4 .Thanks for watching.

 

 

Edited May 17, 2016 by aydingocer

[AntonyUK]

Hi Aydin.

WOW you are moving on so fast... I missed a day somewhere.

Turning out to be a very nice kit.

Nice build log with lots of details and hints.

Well done.

 

Regards Antony.

[aydingocer]

Hi Aydin.

WOW you are moving on so fast... I missed a day somewhere.

Turning out to be a very nice kit.

Nice build log with lots of details and hints.

Well done.

 

Regards Antony.

 

Thanks Antony,

It just so happens that I have some free time in these days, so I take advantage of them.

[aydingocer]

I found these DC-FIX self adhesive leather-effect sheets. I may try those as a replacement to the stock leather-like sheets. I will post once I've done that. I also ordered a few A4 size white and turquoise faux leather sheets from eBay. Will test all of them peacefully and decide.

 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2016 by aydingocer

[Keith_W]

Hi Aydin, nice progress.

 

For gluing tricky parts I tend to use two glues - CA and epoxy (or CA and aliphatic wood glue like Titebond).

 

The problem with CA is that it gets everywhere, as you said. So I use gel CA, which does tend to stay in place. CA is also not very strong, and is brittle.

 

This is why I also use epoxy. Epoxy has strength, but takes time to set (even the 5 minute stuff).

 

To glue tricky parts, I cover most of the part in epoxy. I then apply tiny beads of CA around important areas of the part. It is important not to apply too much CA, because more CA takes longer to set, and increases the danger that it might get into areas where you don't want CA. I also leave a few mm margin towards the edge of the part to minimize the risk that the CA will leach out and discolour the joint.

 

Pick the part up with tweezers to avoid accidentally touching the glue, and place on the model. The CA will set almost immediately and work like a clamp, keeping the epoxy in place while it sets. This method works really well, try it.

Edited May 17, 2016 by KeithW

[Moxis]

Hello Aydin,

Your project is proceeding nicely, you are making accurate work! I am sure your Riva will be a masterpiece when finished!

 

Concidering the upholstery, have you ever thought to use thin real leather? When building my car models, I made the benches out of real leather. The benefit is that it bends easily around the corners in two directions. Small pieces can be obtained cheaply from the shops specializing leather fabrication.

And according to my experience the best glue with leather is so called contact glue (kontaktiliima in Finnish). You apply it to both surfaces, let dry, and after ten minutes press the pieces together. But be sure it is right the first time, you cannot move the parts any more after they have sticked together.

[aydingocer]

Hi Aydin, nice progress.

 

For gluing tricky parts I tend to use two glues - CA and epoxy (or CA and aliphatic wood glue like Titebond).

 

The problem with CA is that it gets everywhere, as you said. So I use gel CA, which does tend to stay in place. CA is also not very strong, and is brittle.

 

This is why I also use epoxy. Epoxy has strength, but takes time to set (even the 5 minute stuff).

 

To glue tricky parts, I cover most of the part in epoxy. I then apply tiny beads of CA around important areas of the part. It is important not to apply too much CA, because more CA takes longer to set, and increases the danger that it might get into areas where you don't want CA. I also leave a few mm margin towards the edge of the part to minimize the risk that the CA will leach out and discolour the joint.

 

Pick the part up with tweezers to avoid accidentally touching the glue, and place on the model. The CA will set almost immediately and work like a clamp, keeping the epoxy in place while it sets. This method works really well, try it.

 

Thanks for the tip Keith, I'll try that. Actually now you've mentioned using CA like a clamp, I remembered using the similar technique for planking: using CA in intervals between the wood glue to work like a clamp in tricky areas. Thanks for reminding it.

 

 

Hello Aydin,

Your project is proceeding nicely, you are making accurate work! I am sure your Riva will be a masterpiece when finished!

 

Concidering the upholstery, have you ever thought to use thin real leather? When building my car models, I made the benches out of real leather. The benefit is that it bends easily around the corners in two directions. Small pieces can be obtained cheaply from the shops specializing leather fabrication.

And according to my experience the best glue with leather is so called contact glue (kontaktiliima in Finnish). You apply it to both surfaces, let dry, and after ten minutes press the pieces together. But be sure it is right the first time, you cannot move the parts any more after they have sticked together.

 

And Moxis, using real leather would be great. I just ordered faux leather from eBay and will see when it arrives. Overall I think that I will skip this upholstery work for the time being (mainly due to varnishing work ahead) and handle it as a mini-project of its own, peacefully. Because that will make the main difference between a cheap look and expensive look

 

I have somewhat concerns with contact glue. I used it a lot in my other projects, such as loudspeaker cabinets and I have experience of using it in large surfaces. A small surface like this one would be a challenge combined with the very high make-no-mistake factor of using the contact glue. In addition, due to the nature of the contact glue which works by sticking to each other, there is always a layer of glue between the surfaces no matter how much you press. With one side being soft material like leather, I wonder how smooth the result will be:

 

 

But anyways, I will just try several options as a side-project and see.

 

By the way, Amati has apparently updated this kit recently. I bet that many things are for the better, but I have to say I am pretty disappointed with the upholstery kit. Looks like in the earlier editions the seats came like this. Great looking with real fabric and stitches, colors etc (photo credits hobbiesguinea.com):

 

 

 

What I have is these plastic marshmallows (photo credits snmodels.com):

 

 

I somehow understand manufacturer's concern. They might have gone better solution against water splashing on those seats while it is running on water, sacrificing the looks.

 

(I also have to mention my great thanks to an Alberto from snmodels.com who explained this to me on online chat and provided photos. Great customer service even though I am not a customer yet, but this way I definitely will be)

 

Now I will look around for any shops which still have the old version of the upholstery kit.

Edited May 18, 2016 by aydingocer

[yvesvidal]

I have the feeling that the HobbiesGuinea.com picture is the result of a skilled amateur building these seats by hand.

There is no way a kit manufacturer could provide seats hand stitched like the ones on the picture, unless the kit was worth a small fortune.

 

You could do the same by placing some thin foam or rubber, a layer of leather on the plastic shells that you have and hand stitching them yourself.

 

Yves

[aydingocer]

I have the feeling that the HobbiesGuinea.com picture is the result of a skilled amateur building these seats by hand.

There is no way a kit manufacturer could provide seats hand stitched like the ones on the picture, unless the kit was worth a small fortune.

 

You could do the same by placing some thin foam or rubber, a layer of leather on the plastic shells that you have and hand stitching them yourself.

 

Yves

 

Hi Yves,

 

At first I thought so, looking at the labor spent on those seats, but I confirmed it with the sales guy on snmodels.com, who is an authorized dealer of Amati and actually is located in the same town as Amati. Second, the photo on the kit box has similar fabric seats. One guy from another forum who built it wrote also that the seats came in the box like that. So it is quite possible. Also this upholstery kit costs around 150€ if you want to buy it separately and it is expensive.

 

I was thinking also to run stitches on a piece of white fabric (or leather) and cover the seats with it.

 

Though they look great, one problem is, though, that the stitches are too big for a 1:10 scale model. Even if they are, say, 1.5mm size (probably the smallest you can make using a sawing machine, it would correspond to 15mm in full scale which would not be so realistic in my opinion.

Edited May 18, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

BUILD DAY 5. HULL CONSTRUCTION CONTINUED

 

 

As I mentioned above, I am skipping the upholstery step for now and continuing with the next steps. 

 

But before moving ahead, I wanted to try varnishing on a piece of scrap mahogany. The mahogany plates on the interior of the hull (as seen in the earlier photos) are a bit tricky to sand, therefore I wanted to test if primary sanding actually will make any significant difference after heavy varnishing (I am thinking of all in all about 10 layers). The mahogany veneer is also very good quality and pretty smooth, that sanding may not be necessary at all. We'll see. Most of the mahogany veneer you see in the earlier photos in the interior will be either hidden under a hood or hardly visible thrgguh the seats so if I can save some sanding it will be good.

 

For this purpose I prepared the following test piece: Mahogany veneer, left half sanded with 400 grit and right half not sanded at all. The rightmost piece is a control piece to see the difference between varnished and dull surface. This is right  after the 1st layer:

 

 

I use genuine boat varnish:

 

Edited May 18, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

Moving on to next. Front light housings:

 

 

 

While checking the installation location, I noticed with a panic that I had glued the reinforcements of the frame 6 in wrong side  . They should be in the front of the frame, not at the back. But looking ahead in the manual I figured out that this should not cause any problem in the future so I let them stay. No need to rip them and glue to the other side.

 

 

Front light nests are in place:

 

 

Edited May 18, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

Sun deck. The lid (Part 139) will stay removable for R/C option:

 

 

The parts:

 

 

Assembly:

 

 

Supports from 2x6mm lime strip. Use plan to cut to the size:

 

 

Dry fit the sun deck to its place before installing the support strips to ensure that they don't hit the frames.

 

Supports installed:

 

 

Sun deck dry fitted to place:

 

 

Closed the lid temporarily:

 

 

Remember to scrape off any glue residues for smooth fit of the lid:

 

 

Sun deck glued in place:

 

Edited May 18, 2016 by aydingocer

[Nirvana]

Looking good Aydin, regarding the front light, does the kit come with any sort of inserts for the woodframe?

Then another question, and I think it's only the camera angle, but the longitudinal of the light frames are to be parallell with the deck.

You are building a speedster in speeding time....

[aydingocer]

END OF BUILD DAY 5.

 

1,5 hours today.

 

17,0 hours into build in total.

 

This is the status at the end of DAY5 .Thanks for watching.

 

Edited May 18, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

Looking good Aydin, regarding the front light, does the kit come with any sort of inserts for the woodframe?

Then another question, and I think it's only the camera angle, but the longitudinal of the light frames are to be parallell with the deck.

You are building a speedster in speeding time....

 

Hi Per,

 

I didn't check yet for the inserts but according to the plan sheet below, it comes with some sort of ornaments:

 

 

The long edge of the light frames are parallel to the deck. Actually if you check the image below, their slot is quite precise. It is the frame at the back, the slot on the right side. I have left the workshop for today but I will try to find answers for you tomorrow.

 

Edited May 18, 2016 by aydingocer

[Yambo]

Merhaba Aydın!

 

I've just found your build log (I've been away from the forum for a while) and you're doing great! I've only made 2 RC boats so I don't have that much experience but I made sure that all internal seams were watertight by using thickened epoxy fillets on the internal seams - along the keel line, the chines etc. I also coated the insides with unthickened epoxy and fibreglassed the outside of the hull - more epoxy. 

 

Both boats get a fair bit of use in the summer (I made them for my grandchildren) and both are bone dry inside. Looking at your pictures though I'm not sure how you'd go about filleting the seams, it all looks quite full inside that hull!

 

Anyway, good luck with the rest of the build. I'll keep watching.  

[aydingocer]

Merhaba Aydın!

 

I've just found your build log (I've been away from the forum for a while) and you're doing great! I've only made 2 RC boats so I don't have that much experience but I made sure that all internal seams were watertight by using thickened epoxy fillets on the internal seams - along the keel line, the chines etc. I also coated the insides with unthickened epoxy and fibreglassed the outside of the hull - more epoxy. 

 

Both boats get a fair bit of use in the summer (I made them for my grandchildren) and both are bone dry inside. Looking at your pictures though I'm not sure how you'd go about filleting the seams, it all looks quite full inside that hull!

 

Anyway, good luck with the rest of the build. I'll keep watching.  

 

Merhaba Yambo!

 

I saw in another forum a guy covering all the hull, AT THIS STAGE, facing out with boat sealer (namely Hempel Sealer 999) so maybe I'll comply with his approach. Anyway I will figure out something. Other than that, yes, I am planning to cover it with fibreglass sheet + epoxy.

[aydingocer]

BUILD DAY 6. MOVING KIT DRY-FIT

 

While waiting for the faux leather which I ordered to arrive for the upholstery, I thought it is good time to check what the motor construction will look like. I want to make sure for myself that:

 

- The motor kit is assembled correctly

- All the needed parts are present

- It fits correctly to the hull

- The moving parts work fine in-vitro, before assembling to the hull. This means: I have all the motor kit, batteries etc installed on a test bench and I can use a radio transmitter to control propellers and rudders, so that I don't face surprises afterwards.

 

Opening the box and checking carefully, two things annoyed me a bit:

 

- Some papers are ONLY in Italian (though the "this is not a toy" kind of warnings were tip top complete in many languages ) )

- Receiver and servo are not included in the kit. Maybe this is the way but I just thought that when you pay 150 euros for an R/C extension kit you won't have to look around for more electronic components to get it working. These are the components which will be installed in the hull so the shape and size somehow matter. I'll have to figure out what brand/model servo and receivers are compatible with Riva Aquarama.

 

Alright, enough whining and no hard feelings. This is still a great kit and so far is worth every penny. Following posts will include some photos of the motor kit construction and try-outs...  

[aydingocer]

Apparently there are 2 options here, depending on if you use the "direct drive" option or the setup with "reduction gear". The kit that came with the kit happens to use the later (i.e. the reduction gear option), but I will also share here what you'd do if you'd go for the direct drive option. The photos which are meant for direct drive option are marked with a red (X).

 

This is where the motors will sit. The engine compartment:

 

Edited May 20, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

If you would go for direct drive option, you'd be constructing this "nest":

 

 

 

 

Below is sequence of moves for how to carefully insert it to place:

 

Insert the keel to part 123...

 

.. then slide it so that keel is inserted into part 126...

 

... finally slide to place and push down.

Edited May 20, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

Some closeups for the motor installation:

 

 

 

Oil supply hole. The rod should be screwed to the metal frame  so that the oil supply hole faces upwards.

 

 

Thrust blocker

 

Thrust blocker (opposite angle):

Edited May 20, 2016 by aydingocer

[Nirvana]

Aydin,

I would suggest to get reduction gearbox for a more scale like performance. However, it is looking sweet.

[aydingocer]

Aydin,

I would suggest to get reduction gearbox for a more scale like performance. However, it is looking sweet.

 

Jep, I am going for the reduction option!

 

EDIT: Actually I was first worried about the possible criticisms like "What! You choose reduction gear for a speedy boat like this!" so it was nice to hear that it is more realistic. Thanks for clearing my concerns

Edited May 20, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

Spacers for some reason are not identical even though there is no indication of that. This motor kit was apparently not specifically designed for this kit. It is from another italian manufacturer called colombinimodel.biz according to the foot note on the instruction sheets. Looking at their website, you see the kit is used in their boats. I hope this "non-identical" size will not cause a problem. The whole structure looks a bit not straight, but maybe that's the way. If it causes problems, I will just have to unassemble and cut one of them shorter in order to make them identical.

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2016 by aydingocer

[Red]

What a beautiful boat. Might have a go at that one myself, so am watching with interest.

All the best.

Red

[aydingocer]

Fixing the oil feeder fitting with the help of a nail to help align the hole.

 

POST NOTE: The fitting will move back and forth lots of times during installation no matter how tight you fix it, therefore do not worry too much about the precision. You can always use a nail (or something similar) to fine-tune it after installation. It will however make your task easier if you fix it as close as possible at first.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

More clouseups

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

This is the construction to go for reduction gear option:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Base for the brackets (the holes are for screwing the brackets to the base)

 

 

.. in place

 

 

One of the motors dry-fitted:

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

END OF BUILD DAY 6.

 

3:30 hours today.

 

20.5 hours into build in total.

 

This is the end of DAY6 .Thanks for watching.

Edited May 22, 2016 by aydingocer

[EJ_L]

Very interesting to watch your build. Informative and motivational though maybe too much as my wife saw me reading through it yesterday and gave me one of her "don't you dare buy that" look. Lol. May have to approach this one with a bribe...