Grand Banks 46 by Mindi - FINISHED - Amati Models - 1:20

[Mindi]

This is the start of my build log.

The first thing was to compare the Amati kit with my previous build which was the Caldercraft Endeavour. I thiunk this is much better, with sharper CNC parts, and much better documentation. Having said that there is an annotation error on Page 1 as pictured below in GB004. The parts wont go in the places described for 6 and 7 but it is obvious where they should be...the other way around. The kit has a very awful paper print cabin floor covering which simulates the parquetry of the real boat. While I am sacrificing some authenticity I am planking the cabin floor with leftover Endeavour decking which I will possibly stain to look like teak, or may leave it matt and blond to show up better inside the cabin when largely built in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mindi]

Only day 2 and I have completed the frameup of the cabin....have to slow down. The Amati parts go together so accurately that assembly is just so easy. Some very minor notes for future builders, I used a 0.5mm thick deck plank under part 27 ..pointed to by knife....(rear cabin arch) to just raise it very slightly to fair it into the sides perfectly. It was OK but this was easy and did make a slightly better fit. 

The limewood floor finished up OK. I could not work out exactly how to fit parts 21B and 22B...they are little supports for 21 and 22 the horizontals mid way up in the front corners. (see gb006)  As far as I could see 21B and 22B  were not really required and are not visible in the instructions. I kept them in case they turn out to be important.

Edited May 13, 2020 by Mindi

[Mindi]

Cabin structure nearing completion, started window trims and stairs to flybridge. Wish I had bought a mini mitre cutter.

 

Edited May 15, 2020 by Mindi

[Mindi]

Framed up the flybridge, convex floor complicates it just a little and it took a couple of tries to get it right. Then trial dry fit of mahogany inner cabin wall and full length outer cabin wall. All fitted pretty well. Masked the planked floor as will soon need to spray primer.

[Mindi]

Started to fill and spray undercoat the flybridge and cabin exteriors. This is where it comes in the process, and I have to topcoat them as well. Makes it better to brush the topcoats rather than spray and ongoing work will need touchups and hard if sprayed. Using Admiralty Matt White much better opacity than Tamiya and I like the colour. These shots show 1 coat of sprayed undercoat on the cabins and the final one of flybridge has 3 undercoats and 1 topcoat.

[Mindi]

Rear cabin wall and rear cabin  windows completed. Mahogany looks OK with the Lime floor.

[Mindi]

Main cabin control station today.All parts fitted nicely with very little fine tuning. Good quality kit. Fastened it in place by gluing a corner post inside the guest cabin rather than risk glue on the cabin floor if glued under the structure itself. Also frameup for dinette and trial position.

 

[Mindi]

There are actually a few errors in the instructions related to wrong part numbers or positioning. I think I will post them here as I go as an aid to someone following after me. Some are just unimportant spelling/translation  errors which I will no longer bother with but just pics of corrected graphics.

[Mindi]

Experimenting with a new finish for the mahogany cabin furniture and walls ...I have always used Lifecolour LC77..Satin Clear. It is closer to Matt than Satin I think. I am using Tamiya Semi-Gloss on this furniture and interior. It is never quite right...I think this is definitely on the "gloss" side of semi gloss but it does give more life to the enclosed cabin so I am happy with it really. You can see in the next lot of photos that it is not matt.

[cog]

Nice crisp detail Mindi. Love the way the wood comes out with the varnish

[Mindi]

Some serious kit bashing last few days. I had no end of trouble getting the curved sofa to fit without being in front of the door to lower deck at one end, and/or pushing the small cabinet in front of the door at the helm station at the other end. I cut away the curved backboard to let the sofa in and under a bit, but that was not enough and in the end I had to take the saw to the whole sofa structure and remove about 6mm from the long end. Restuck the leather and the end panel OK.... I am sure that I must have done something incorrectly, probably around the curved back board..?? perhaps it should have been higher allowing the sofa to go under properly. Dont know....but all the parts have fitted so well that I am assuming I have introduced the error.

Also found the top of the small cabinet next to the dinette was at the same height as the adjacent counter under the rear portside window. I took the top off the cabinet and ran a new piece of mahogany from the bottom of window through over the small cupboard. Looks better as one piece....well I think so anyway.Very close to finished the cabin interior. I think the lime floor planking was a good modification...that faux parquetry paper really wasnt for me.

Actually the woodwork doesnt look this shiny, it is reflecting the flash in the photos, it is more semi gloss than they look.

[Cabbie]

hello Mindi

It looks like you are having the usual battle with a not quite right kit, but you are making

it look very smart. and yes the floor looks good provides a nice contrast to the cabinetry.

Do you have a finished photo of what you are building, i do not know boats and

am wondering where we are going.

Cheers Chris

[Mindi]

Finished the cabin. I think ther helm chair is big out of scale but in the end put it in. Sometimes it takes a while to work out how to hold things while the glue sets. The cabin lining went on reasonably well...windscreens next.

[Landlubber Mike]

That's coming along really nicely - well done!

[Mindi]

Thanks Mike...it's  a welcome change from rigging challenges...lol

[Mindi]

Notes on fitting inside cabin walls

 

These walls (127,128) need to finish flush with roof side frames (17). To achieve this you can either plane off about 3mm for the full length from either ther bottom or top, in my case it had to come off the top because I did not trial fit the flybridge roof until later and it was too late to take it off the bottom. The lower edge of these side walls sits on top of the boat floor not outside it. See next post but you can see here that I have removed the overhead instrument panel 169 to enable roof fit

[Mindi]

Notes on overhaed instrument panel 169

 

For me it stopped the roof from engaging with the locating tabs on part 19 so needed to be modified by removing the end tabs and attaching to the overhead beam in a lower position than instructed. This shows it in the original position.

 

[Mindi]

Fitting Windscreen

 

Be sure to allow enough clear space below the lower interior mahogany finish panels and the bottom of the window frame so the frame will fit into the deck slot and the interior trim sits neatly on top of the dash panel. Also need to trim the vertical intermediates at the top

[Mindi]

Notes on fitting the windscreen

 

First photo below shows a cutout area on the roof crossbeam (17) which suggests the windscreen should rest there... believe me it does not. I cant work out why the part 17 is shaped like that but the outer window frames rest on the small corner pieces which stick out from the ends of this beam. If you cut the windows down to fit in this recess then they would never meet the side walls.The very small corner cutouts on the bottom corners of the outer frames accommodate the external side panels where they go past and should have their vertical sides aligned with the edger of the foredeck.

The windscreen is tricky as you would expect, keep the tape attached right through installation top and bottom or you are likely to lose it. The tape is not visible. In the end the windscreen fits pretty well against the cabin walls and the roof and foredeck.

 

[Moab]

Sounds like this kit is a crossword puzzle but it looks excellent...Moab

[Mindi]

Just finished hand cutting 160 mitres in the window frames of the exterior cabin sides. Why dont I own a small mitre cutter..? Still the corners are reasonably neat after a visit from No More Gaps. Painting with Admiralty Heritage paints...Matt White. Love their paint, much better opacity than Tamiya or Lifecolour in my opinion.

[Coryvin]

Great work Mindi. Looks fantastic. Great detail. I wonder if a fine transparent grain filler could be used in some circumstances on interior timber work?

[cog]

Looks real crisp and sharp. Love the way your instrument pannel turned out

[Mindi]

Made the curtains and they are installed. the recommended method worked really well for me. Paint the cloth with dilute PVA and cut and fold when dry...dead easy. The external cabin sides went on surprisingly well considering how big a part they are. The kit provides for white plastic angle strip to cover all the edges but I think it looks pretty ordinary so I am going to try to fair the edges well enough to just paint them without the edge strip. If I can finish them well enough that is.? Once again must say the parts fit very well with very little trimming if any at all.

 

 

[Mindi]

Tried to make the rear planked step treads the way they recommend but I found the supplied beech frames uncharacteristically flimsy and poor, and cutting the planked paper backing to fit was very difficult. In the end I planked the required shape on backing paper, trimmed it to shape, then built 2mm x 2mm blond wood edges mitred around the planking. Sounds more difficult but worked better for me.

[Mindi]

9 hours ago, cog said:

Looks real crisp and sharp. Love the way your instrument pannel turned out

Thanks Cog... I think changing from matte to semi gloss has made some of those things look better, although I do think this Tamiya semi gloss is a bit to shiny. Satin is probably where I should have stayed. The Tamiya X35 is shinier in the pics as the semi gloss seems to reflect more, not so shiny in real life.

[Mindi]

Finished the front hatches and the rear steps, rear companionway hatch. I think the long edges are probably clean enough for me to omit the plastic angle 5mm x 5mm trim which they put around all edges. I just think they look better left alone....the parts fit well enough for you to get a pretty fair edge everywhere.

[Moab]

Looking good...Moab

[cog]

I think the gloss will do, easier to clean too It suits a boat/ship

[Mindi]

Problem..Solution

 

I built strictly in the order of the instructions and so built the flybridge deck structure very early on. I painted it above and it then sat finished for about three weeks before I needed to start fitting it out. When I came to do that the deck/cabin roof had buckled badly and I had to soak it in hot water and use weights to get it back into shape. Of course this sprung several join lines and opened up cracks which needed repair. The repair job has been successful but would be better avoided. I should not have allowed it to happen.

IMHO the best approach would be to not build the flybridge structure at all until you are at the stage of fitting it out, which is after completion of the main cabin. I think this is easily the best approach. If you really want to build it early and have it sit until you are ready to use it then be sure to store it with some weights keeping the floor flat and paint the floor top and bottom for equal transpiration to reduce warping...but dont build until you need it is the best way I reckon. The floor is only 1mm ply and easily bent.