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

[AndrewNaylor]

That is looking fantastic no water getting in there!!

Andy

[aydingocer]

Trying my luck with the faux leather sheets which I had mentioned earlier that I had a tailor run stitches through to simulate the seat covers.

 

This is the leather sheet as it sits:

 

 

And here is the "driver's seat":  I have glued the leather and painted the rest with turquoise (the true color is lighter than in the photo). But I am not sure. On the one hand, it looks quite retro, just like the way they should be on a 70's Aquarama, on the other hand, they are not perfect. The other seat is the way they come in the kit. I have the possibility to wash the paint, rip the leather and do it from the start, though. The foldable trays will be installed on the back. What do you guys think?

 

 

[aydingocer]

Actually, before hearing any comments, I tried which I believe a better approach on the passenger seat: I ripped off the sides (they were apparently just glued to the center piece) and worked on 3 pieces separately, hence eliminating the risk of accidentally painting the leather or spreading glue on the sides.

 

I have also used a different paint than the previous one. It is a water based airbrush paint which I happen to have found among my color collection from previous projects. This one is easier to apply (I used normal brush) and the color feels more.... how can I say... "fresh". Yes, that's the word!

 

The seat looks much better now, with flawless leather cover and fresher blue:

 

 

 

 

I will glue the pieces together once the paint has dried. I will also do the same to the driver seat.

Edited September 25, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

End of build day 40.

2 hours today.

122 hours into build in total.

 

By the way, as a side note, this is how a freshly varnished Riva should be handled  .

 

Thanks for watching.

 

Edited September 25, 2016 by aydingocer

[EJ_L]

I like the look of the blue on the seats. As you said it is very fitting for the time period. Smart thinking with painting the ends separately as that keeps the lines crisp with no bleed over. I too like the second color better. The first looked heavy like it was painted on. The second attempt looks like it is new dyed leather. Excellent work on the varnish as well. She sure is looking sharp.  

[cog]

Seats look promising. Your last aproach seems to bear fruit

 

A kitten to be handled with gloves ... wonder how she wants to be handledwhen she sees the water ...

[gjdale]

Take 2 on the seats looks great Aydin.

[aydingocer]

Seats look promising. Your last aproach seems to bear fruit

 

A kitten to be handled with gloves ... wonder how she wants to be handledwhen she sees the water ...

 

...like a tiger, of course

[aydingocer]

The seat has now been assembled after painting. In my opinion looks much better than the other one.

 

 

I will re-do the other seat next.

 

Now that my brush is soaked in paint, I decided to paint the rest of the "cushions".

 

 

An example of how the colorful cushions will look on the boat (As per credit, the photo is from a French boat sales website http://day-charter.fr/listing/riva-super-aquarama-rental/

 

[aydingocer]

Build days 41-42. Upholstery work.

3 hours in 2 days.

125 hours into build in total.

 

I was still not entirely happy with the tone of the blue color so  I started to investigate a bit. I really want to catch that sweet turquoise on the actual boat. This blue which I currenty use, even though lighter than my first version, is still choking the boat a little bit, in my opinion. Here is are a few photos with dry-fit.

 

(You will notice the bleeding blue paint on the sundeck towards the white area but I will either cover that section with faux leather or just paint white, for consistency)

 

 

 

 

So I went to the hobby shop and bought a few colors to try. I finally ended up 50-50 mixture of the following light-turquoise and white colors:

 

 

They form a lighter sweet turquoise (the photo does not reflect the actual color, unfortunately):

 

I also covered the other front seat with leather. With new color look like this. I think they are much better:

 

 

Next, I will cover the backseat with leather. Thanks for watching.

Edited September 27, 2016 by aydingocer

[Robin Lous]

Good choise to revisit the turquoise. It's one of the Riva hallmarks.

 

It's very difficult to get the turquoise spot on, so I feel your pain!

 

Robin

[Nirvana]

Aydin,

 

Did you look for Valejo paint 70.966? Which is supposed to be the turquoise color.

Otherwise those seats looks so nice.

[aydingocer]

Aydin,

 

Did you look for Valejo paint 70.966? Which is supposed to be the turquoise color.

Otherwise those seats looks so nice.

 

Hi Per,

Yes, indeed 70.966 is Turquoise. The one I used is 70.840 which is Light Turquoise and it was still too dark I had to mix it with white. 

The colors seem to get darker once they have cured. They look much lighter the moment of painting.

Edited September 28, 2016 by aydingocer

[VACorsair]

I've noticed that some colors seem to look darker as they are scaled down.  Has any one else noticed that? 

[Sunsanvil]

Yes that's a fairly well documented, but not widely considered phenomenon in scale modeling.

 

Its kind of funny because you have the military modelers especially who are obsessed with getting THE EXACT shade of whatever for the bt109, Corsair, Tiger Tank, Russian uniform, whatever.....but then lament that it appears to the naked eye subjectively too dark.

 

Someone actually had a cheat sheet of how much white to add to a color at various scales to compensate.

[VACorsair]

One incident concerning scale color mismatch occurred when a Navy shipmate of mine entered a large scale (4 ft long) model of a LST in a contest and he was judged low because the hull color did not appear "authentic" when in fact he had used paint from the actual LST ship's paint locker!!  True Story!

Edited September 28, 2016 by VACorsair

[Sunsanvil]

Yes, indeed 70.966 is Turquoise. The one I used is 70.840 which is Light Turquoise and it was still too dark I had to mix it with white. 

The colors seem to get darker once they have cured. They look much lighter the moment of painting.

 

If you are daring, and have access to an airbrush, I would actually try painting the parts the base blue, then using the airbrush paint a lightened mixture, at least 20% white, only in the middle area of each panel or facet which is what we do a lot in scale models to create a subjectively more realistic appearance).

 

If you look at the side of my Tiger tank, or any of the Mobile Suits, you can see what I mean.

 

https://thesunsanvil.wordpress.com/

Edited September 28, 2016 by Sunsanvil

[CDW]

Arguments over shades and minutia of color are like fussing with how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. 

Regarding the photos of Aydingocer's Riva interior, I think it looks super great. If and when he is happy with it, go with it. Overall, this boat project is very very nice. I like it a lot.  

[CDW]

If you are daring, and have access to an airbrush, I would actually try painting the parts the base blue, then using the airbrush paint a lightened mixture, at least 20% white, only in the middle area of each panel or facet which is what we do a lot in scale models to create a subjectively more realistic appearance).

 

If you look at the side of my Tiger tank, or any of the Mobile Suits, you can see what I mean.

 

https://thesunsanvil.wordpress.com/

I like this technique a lot. It gives a very realistic finished appearance in my opinion.

[Robin Lous]

Yes that's a fairly well documented, but not widely considered phenomenon in scale modeling.

 

Its kind of funny because you have the military modelers especially who are obsessed with getting THE EXACT shade of whatever for the bt109, Corsair, Tiger Tank, Russian uniform, whatever.....but then lament that it appears to the naked eye subjectively too dark.

 

Someone actually had a cheat sheet of how much white to add to a color at various scales to compensate.

This is true!

 

A 100% match with a...let's say RLM colour...will look wrong on any model. Smaller scale...lighter shade needed.

On armour models it's good to use the (too dark) colour as a basecoat and lightly drybrush increasingly lighter shades of the colour to add depth....and get a more realistic lighter finish. 

 

Example:

http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p347/beychevelle/IMG_1339_zpsgz4sto5q.jpg

 

Here I started with the typical panzer yellow...ended with almost ivory.

[VACorsair]

Holy Panther Robin!

 

That is some amazing painting on your models!!  Both the Panzer and the cockpit detail are ultra realistic! 

Edited September 28, 2016 by VACorsair

[aydingocer]

Excellent work with those painting techniques you guys have discussed above. I admire.

 

I think I am happy with the interiors look in my Riva at the moment and I stop here in terms of paint. There is always a risk of ruining. I do have an airbrush but I have never actually used it other than some test sprays and I am definitely not going to perform my first use on this kit   

[Robin Lous]

You're Riva looks fantastic!

 

And there's absolutely no need to airbrush (highlight, or whatever) those seats.

That won't even look good, because the Riva you build is pretty big.

 

I was responding to Sunsanvil's post.

 

Robin

[aydingocer]

Build day 43. Waterline painting...

1 hour today.

125 hours into build in total.

 

Today I finished leather covering of the backseat and spent some time on marking the waterline.

The seats and other cushion look like this now:

 

 

The middle section of sunbed has been painted in white, like in the photos of the kit (though, depending of my mood and how much the color impurities on the blue-white borders annoy me, I can paint the whole thing to white) :

 

Edited October 2, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

Question: What can a play-dough have anything to do with model boat building?

 

 

Hint: Check the base (where the boat stays on) which come with the model:

 

 

Yes, you guessed right. The boat does not sit on the base horizontally, but instead with an angle tilted towards one side (just like how its position would be on a speedy turn to left). Though this posture gives a nice artistic look to it during display, it makes the base unusable for marking the waterline. 

 

Hence, enter the play doughs. Making use of their soft but solid structure I have been able to position the boat precisely horizontal for marking the waterline correctly.

 

 

[aydingocer]

I placed small pieces of making tape at certain intervals to make the waterline marks visible. It will be easier to locate the charcoal pencil marks which are hard to see.

 

 

Then by following the lines, I merged the gaps between the tape marks by more masking tape:

 

 

 

And finally cut off the initial tape pieces with x-acto knife:

 

 

Waterline masking is ready now. Hopefully tomorrow I will have some time to waterline paint.

 

That's all for today and thanks for watching.

 

Aydin

[Robin Lous]

Will look stunning!

 

I also look forward to the Riva bling bling on the side of the hull.

 

Robin

[aydingocer]

Build day 44. Decorations

1,5 hour today.

126,5 hours into build in total.

 

I had been away for a trip to Turkey to visit my parents and now finally back at home.

 

I had already painted the watermark before I left. As you see in the photos below, I decided to paint it black instead of white. I think it looks better this way. Opinions may differ, of course. Note that the waterline will still be covered with a thin strip of blue sticker, therefore the small impurities are not a problem:

 

 

Edited October 21, 2016 by aydingocer

[aydingocer]

Next, I glued the rear deck sunbed to its wooden platform (or, the lid):

 

 

[aydingocer]

Glued the backseat on its base: