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

[aydingocer]

Deck components 236 and 221. Sanded, rounded (#236) and glued in place.

 

[aydingocer]

Dashboard section:

 

 

The two pieces on either side look and are identical, however they will need to be trimmed to different shapes to fit on the deck, since left and right side of the dashboard have different heights. 

 

But first, there is some extensive bending to be done for these pieces. Wetting and using plank bender is almost a must to accomplish it without breaking the pieces:

 

 

 

I used a pair of clamps to let them dry in shape:

 

 

... and in place:

 

Edited August 27, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

Moulding of bridge (#230 and #231). Their edges are visible hence I had to file and sand the edges in order to get rid of the burn marks caused by laser cuts. These edges will also have to be rounded. Here is the process:

 

The moulds need to be bent, too. For example as it stands, the bigger piece looks like this:

 

 

Bent:

 

 

Dry fit after bending:

 

 

.. and finally glued in place.

 

Here is a demonstration of filing away the burn marks. This is the smaller piece:

 

Before:

 

 

In progress:

 

 

After rounding the edges:

 

 

Both parts glued in place:

 

Edited August 27, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

End of Build Day 31. 

3 hours today.

105 hours into build in total.

 

This is the status after today. Tomorrow I hope I can proceed more with deck details. Thanks for watching.

 

 

[Red]

Hi,

The excitement is building!

Keep up the good work.

Regards

Red

[cog]

I had to dive into that sanding sealer business, didn't know it. I know the method of moistening the object and resand (multiple times). This, however, is far faster, thanks for sharing.

[aydingocer]

Build day 32 - More deck components

 

Today I continued with installing sax boards, drilling several holes for metal ornaments and a little bit of trial fit of the upholstery. 

 

Saxboards, 2 each side, 2 pieces each. The upper saxboard component is actually wider than the one below and forms a slot between the deck and the upper saxboard:

 

 

 

 

[aydingocer]

Several holes of diameter 2,5mm should be drilled here and there on the deck to accomodate the following metal parts:

 

 

 

 

 

They will be pushed when installed. This is just a dry fit to check that the holes are good enough to fit them:

 

Edited August 28, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

Ventilations for the front "bedroom" beneath the deck. It is also possible to just paint the surface black in order to simulate a hole, but I went the extra mile and drilled real holes. It looks cool when you put on a light in the bedroom.

 

 

The metal blind dry-fitted:

 

Edited August 28, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

End of Build Day 32. 

4 hours today.

109 hours into build in total.

 

I just wanted to play a little bit with the upholstery (dry-fit) just out of curiosity.

This is the status at the moment. Thanks for watching.

 

 

 

Edited August 28, 2016 by aydingocer

[AntonyUK]

Hi Aydin.

Very impressed with the model and your skill's.

 

Regards Antony.

[aydingocer]

Build Day 33-37. 

5 hours in 5 days.

114 hours into build in total.

 

I continued with deck varnishing while waiting for the GIT-ROT which I ordered from eBay to arrive for applying on hull (after testing, of course).

 

In these 5 days I put

 

- 2 layers of Z-poxy (diluted 50% with denatured alcohol),

- 3 layers of Hempel gloss varnish (water resistant) and

- 2 layers of spray gloss lacquer.

 

I used 240 grit and 500 grit sanding between the coats. 

 

I think the deck is good enough now, although it could've been better, but I am not that experienced in surface finishing. There are some impurities which a pair of careful eyes will notice. However this is as good as it gets for me.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 2, 2016 by aydingocer

[cog]

Lovely job, Aydin. I like the way rthe grain comes out

Edited September 2, 2016 by cog

[Nirvana]

Aydin,

That looks so amazing. Very nice job!

[ir3]

Just tuned in. I just love the exquisite wood work on the old speed boats. Very nice job. Keep up the good work.

 

IR3

[EJ_L]

Beautiful finish, brings out the color of the wood very well. I like the look of her a lot.

[aydingocer]

Thanks a lot for the nice words, folks. I can't wait to finish the entire varnishing sequence to see the shiny look

[aydingocer]

Build Day 38. 

3 hours.

117 hours into build in total.

 

While waiting for my GIT-ROT epoxy to arrive from the post with still a few days to go, I spent some time to get the radio control connections in place, together with invaluable help of a friend who is very handy in electronics. Now after the photos and testing with dry-fit everything works. I am able to speed up the propellers with one channel, rotate the servo (which will feed the rudders) with the other channel and even turn the front light leds on and off. Next job will be to fit them in the boat after applying the epoxy inside the hull.

 

Here are some details:

 

wrapped the battery with velcro and secured with staples. This way it will be possible to install it in any orientation in the boat (either on narrow face or on wide face depending).

 

 

The battery connector was a different type than that of the electronic speed controller (ESC), therefore I had to cut if off and install a compatible one (red cut-off piece is the old one which came with the battery):

 

 

Then I strengthened the connectors to the motors with real solder and heat-shrink tubes. Previously I had just squeezed them with a pair of pliers but it was apparently not good enough. They are solid now:

 

 

Receiver: The "yellow-red-brown" set going to ESC and the "white-red-black" set going to the servo.

 

 

The ESC:

 

I noticed some more available slots on the receiver and decided connect the LED wires to it (in the below photo the "red-blue" pairs, one for left headlight and one for the right). So no need to hook them separately to the battery. The switch at the back belongs to the ESC. ESC is the only component which is connected to the battery (the others get the energy from the ESC, depending on how much it delivers), so its switch turns the entire circuit on and off. 

 

 

Well, this is all for now. I will post more photos of course, once they are in place. But first I still have to wait until the epoxy has arrived.

 

Thank you for watching,

/Aydin

Edited September 12, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

I burned the Electronic Speed Control yesterday. Luckily there was no damage to the boat. I was just demoing the LED lights. After a few seconds there came a huge smoke. The yellow wire's solder melted and came off. And when I checked the manufacturer's page, it was apparently not LIPO battery compatible!   I have now ordered another model which is LiPo battery compatible. I had no idea that the battery type could be so important! I  bought LiPo battery just because I read that they are supposed to be better. I would only check the voltage and amperes. Heh

 

This was what came in the kit: http://www.mtroniks.net/prod/Boat-Speed-Controls/Viper-Marine-20.htm

This is what I ordered now: http://www.mtroniks.net/prod/Boat-Speed-Controls/tio-Marine-15.htm

 

My GIT-ROT Epoxy has arrived by the way. I will start soon to apply it on the hull. Can't wait, but it is quite busy at work nowadays... long days. So let's hope. 

Edited September 18, 2016 by aydingocer

[cog]

Thought it bit silent, Aydin. You've been playin' at how to destruct my model before I'm finished. ...

 

Sorry to hear about the set back. You need to check all facets, didn't you read the memo !?!?

[AndrewNaylor]

Very Very happy you caught the smoke before it became a flame!!!!

We had 250 gallons / 946 Liters of gasoline on board so smoking let alone exploding electronics where greatly frowned on !!!!!!

 Glad to see you got the "Git Rot" that will waterproof the hull beautiful my little team boat of 5 years is still going strong no rot inside or out.

I can not remember what I used to clean up after I had used it no doubt some thing Inflammable !!!!!

Disposable gloves are a must as well

Andy

[Guest]

I  bought LiPo battery just because I read that they are supposed to be better.

 

Not necessarily.  LiPo has taken off in the RC hobby mainly because of the power-to-weight ratio which is critical for flight applications.  It would be impossible to do all the micro helicopters, planes, and drones without it.  That said, I avoid them whenever possible as they can be much more temperamental.  For terrestrial, where weight is not as great an issue, I still like good old NiMh battery tech.

[aydingocer]

Not necessarily.  LiPo has taken off in the RC hobby mainly because of the power-to-weight ratio which is critical for flight applications.  It would be impossible to do all the micro helicopters, planes, and drones without it.  That said, I avoid them whenever possible as they can be much more temperamental.  For terrestrial, where weight is not as great an issue, I still like good old NiMh battery tech.

Thank you for the information, Sunsanvil. Everyday is a learning process

[Robin Lous]

Ah well...never a dull moment with a Riva 

 

 

Robin 

[AndrewNaylor]

I forgot to say protect the inside of your model as the "git rot" might get right through and drip on to areas you have all ready finished.

Andy

[aydingocer]

I forgot to say protect the inside of your model as the "git rot" might get right through and drip on to areas you have all ready finished.

Andy

 

Thanks for the tip!

[aydingocer]

Build Days 38-39. 

 

 

Continuing with other tasks while waiting for the new electronic speed controller to arrive.... always waiting for something.

 

I had been looking around for an oil dispenser which can deploy oil with precision, since the oil supply holes on the propeller rods are quite small. One idea was to use a syringe with needle but sales of syringe needles is strictly under control in Finland. Then a close friend of mine who works in a hunter's gears supplier here in Helsinki came up with this professional stuff: A gun oil with precision dispenser,  apparently so called CLP (clean-lubricate-protect) grade. After all, I think my Aquarama deserves more than just ordinary sewing machine oil so I accepted the gift:

 

 

Anyway, then I decided to make a suitable slot for the servo using some scrap wood since the dedicated slot in the kit appears to be too big for my small servo. Here are some photos of the progress, after some measurements:

 

1. Drill 2mm holes for the M3 size screws:

 

 

2. Enforce the holes with some super glue so that the screw won't break the wood (it actually did break at first try, you are looking at the photos from my second try now):

 

 

3. Test:

 

 

4. And the boards are in place. Note I had to saw off one of the screws as it would otherwise hit the wiring:

 

 

5. Measure and cut the brass chord between the right rudder and the servo:

 

 

6. Servo dry fit in place:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 24, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

I have also received the waterline marker from Hobbyzone (www.hobbyzone.pl). It is a small kit in its own. This Hobbyzone has some nice products for the modellers, if you haven't checked already.  I actually have my first blog in this forum about their building slip here : 

http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/13422-hobbyzone-building-slip-for-wooden-ship-models/

 

 

 

 

 

So now I have my watermarker ready, once the glue has dried. 

Edited September 24, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

End of build day 39.

2-3 hours today.

120 hours into build in total.

 

At the end of these 2 days, I brushed the hull with 1 layer of GIT-ROT and 1 layer of Epoxy mix (50% Zpoxy and 50% denatured alcohol mix). I am thinking of 1 final layer of Zpoxy mix and then continue with varnish (water resistant Hempel Dura-Gloss Varnish).

 

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

 

 

 

 

[cog]

Smooth looking mirror, Aydin