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Author Topic: Amati Riva Aquarama build log  (Read 20216 times)

Spiney

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Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« on: July 07, 2019, 02:25:23 pm »

Hi,


I am new to the group and to RC boat modelling but have done a few static models and RC planes.  Having looked at a number of build logs I decided upon the Amati Riva kit as it just looks soooo cool.

I'm a little dubious about posting this after reading ukmike's log.  If my Riva ends up anything like his I'll be more that chuffed for sure.


Anyway here is the kit as received from Hobbies in Norwich.





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Spiney

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #1 on: July 07, 2019, 03:36:25 pm »







You now also receive a four page glossy covering changes to the main instructions





These parts seem a little different.  It all needs painting and the 'fake' stitching seems to be a thing of the past.  Like ukmike I'd really like to improve on this part however talent (or lack of) might prove to be my undoing





Unlike others I've opted for the Amati supplied motorising kit.  This is because everything else I've built used a good old internal combustion engine and I'm still getting to grips with all this electrickery stuff. I did ask the suppler for details of what was included but they were understandably unwilling to break into the box so for others I've included some details. 

However as the ESC could be bought for about 25 Quid and the motors for less than 4 quid each, then at £150 for the hardware kit I think I've chosen a very expensive option.  Ho Hum!











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Antipodean

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #2 on: July 07, 2019, 03:44:29 pm »

That looks like a very detail and quality kit. I look forward to watching it come together.
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Capt Podge

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #3 on: July 07, 2019, 04:05:13 pm »

I'm in too Spiney - hope it all goes well for you  :-)


Regards,
Ray.
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Spiney

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #4 on: July 10, 2019, 02:11:04 pm »

Before starting in earnest I've been putting together the Hobbyzone Slipway to keep everything nice n square.  Although it undoubtedly does the business I'm not as impressed as I thought I would be.  In particular there are two cramps that hold the stem and stern that need very careful packing between the inside of the cramp and the boat keel before tightening as there is no adjustment for keel thickness whatsoever.  If you rely on the flex in the wooden cramp to do the job it just snaps in two.  I found this out the hard way of course.


It also took ages to get the Riva's keel installed in the slipway.  I kinda expected everything would pretty much automatically centre and align but not so, more a case of close but not close enough without a fair amount of jiggery pokery.


Anyway that's todays gripe out of the way.  Here it is installed with the very first frame in place.  Don't they have a ceremony when the keel gets laid down on a ship?  That's my excuse for a beer anyway...
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Capt Podge

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #5 on: July 10, 2019, 03:07:25 pm »

Don't think I've ever seen one of those slipways used before, it'll be interesting to see how you get on with it.


Regards,
Ray.
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Spiney

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #6 on: July 14, 2019, 11:29:44 am »

Almost finished the frames now.  Quite a slow process as each has to cure before the slipway is repositioned for the next frame and as I'm using Titebond 3 it takes a while to dry. 


The slipway is doing a good job of keeping everything square but sadly I've found another problem with it.  Both the face of the 'square' that holds the frames vertical and at 90 degrees to the keel and the baseboard is melamine coated, presumably to resist glue sticking the boat frame to the square as it dries.  Unfortunately it does not do much of a job of preventing these parts from gluing themselves together and is so microscopically applied that it rips away from the MDF of the slipway as you try to release the square.  (See picture below).


Anyway I am pleased with how it's all going together.  The laser cut pieces are absolutely precise and fit together beautifully.
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Spiney

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #7 on: July 16, 2019, 07:28:51 pm »

Apologies for skipping a few steps, Here's where I am now.  Frames all finished and the ribs added to the stern and reinforcement to the bow.


I guess that the point of the reinforcement is to add some wood to the frames upon which the planking can get a firm grip but it feels like I'm building a boat to compete in Robot Wars.  This thing is gonna been indestructable!
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Taranis

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #8 on: July 16, 2019, 07:31:45 pm »

Great Photo looks straight as a die  :-))
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ANDY
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Spiney

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #9 on: July 17, 2019, 11:50:15 am »

Thanks Taranis, the slipway certainly helped with this and the accuracy of the kit parts makes it doubly easy.


I've now got the cabin floors and the foredeck bulwarks in place and it's beginning to take shape.  The next stage after fitting some rear reinforcement will be the first of the mahogany parts making up the interior of the overnight cabin.


With regard to sealing the mahogany what do you guy's think I should use?  I've seen a number of solutions posted within the group from a full on resin coat (with and without glass reinforcement), to specialist varnishes.  I had in mind to french polish all the mahogany (including the hull) as it should both look stunning and the shellac should make it completely waterproof.  Whilst I know it won't be as durable as a resin coat, if treated with care I would have thought it would do a good job.


Any advice gratefully received....
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Ozy

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2019, 03:50:44 pm »

G'day Spiney,Nice as it is shelak is not very water proof, if it gets wet it will disolve. You can use it as a bast coat for any other finish but as a stand alone finish it isn't up to the task.The problem with the melamine getting stuck is the tightbond, if you had not chosen such a good glue you wouldn't have a problem, if you wax the parts you don't want to glue with bees wax or even a candel or cover them with packing tape that should solve your problem.
Good luck with the build

Tim
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Spiney

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #11 on: July 22, 2019, 04:08:44 pm »

Thanks for the advice Ozy, I'd come to the same conclusion myself after testing on a spare mahogany board.  I've now followed ukmike's lead and purchased some Le Tonkinois and I'll be varnishing inside and out with that.  Didn't realise that Shellac was water soluble though :o


The boat has taken a bit of a back seat for the last few days.  The town's been visited by the Pikey travellers (not the Romany bunch) and everyone's been on lockdown.  They've literally stormed shops and walked away with what they want, stolen bikes from kids who were just out playing and broken into everywhere that wasn't locked and bolted.  My garage has therefore been stuffed full of barbecues, trailers etc leaving no room for me to play in there.  Fortunately for us (but not the next town) they've now moved on.
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ukmike

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #12 on: July 22, 2019, 10:23:36 pm »

Hello Spiney.
Which LeTonkinios have you bought,  Clssic or Marine No.1 ?
Mike.
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Spiney

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #13 on: July 23, 2019, 01:23:20 pm »

Hi Mike, It's the Marine version, seemed like a no brainer as it's hardly any dearer and claims to be better.  Did you ever try the Classic version?


Here is todays dumb error.  The last piece I've built is the base for the rear seat, a simple structure of 4 parts, however the brackets seemed to be inaccurate resulting in the two main parts not being at 90 degrees to each other so I fixed it!  Unfortunately when the glue dried and I tried fitting the assembled part to the boat I found it was never supposed to be square, doh!


Here is the part after cutting the glue line and resetting the angle to what Amati intended.
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ukmike

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #14 on: July 23, 2019, 01:52:54 pm »

I have used both types, the classic is excellent but a little darker in colour than the No1 and needs each coat to be completely flattened with no glossy areas otherwise it will separate in small areas.
I am currently using No.1 on my present build, which is on hold at the moment, due to a refurb job on an Amati Aquarama sent to me from France as the varnish
is a bit of a mess.
If you don't apply LeTonk properly it will bite you and break your heart.
Let me know if you need any tips that may help when you get to the varnishing
Mike.
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Spiney

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #15 on: July 23, 2019, 02:27:48 pm »

Thanks Mike, any advice from someone who's been there before would be very welcome. 


I have started to seal the interior parts prior to cutting them out as I thought this would be far easier than trying to do so once in place.  When they get fixed to the boat I'll then give each part a final coat to make sure everything is well sealed around the edges.  I'm planning on around 4 coats for the interior parts and at least double that once I get to the exterior planking.  This final coat will (I think) be cut with a small amount of Gelomat aiming for a satin finish.


Cheers
Nigel (AKA Spiney)








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ukmike

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #16 on: July 23, 2019, 03:00:51 pm »

A satin finished Riva, that's novel,  Carlo will be turning in his grave :-)
Mike.

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Spiney

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #17 on: August 03, 2019, 03:24:12 pm »

Quite a bit of progress since the last post.  Have now installed the mahogany cabin sides and the forward bulkhead.


The reason I went for for the satin finish Mike is that I think it looks more 'real' at this kind of scale.  There's absolutely no doubt that your model is correct just that I think a satin finish gives a better illusion of correctness.  (and it also helps hide a few imperfections to boot) :-)
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Spiney

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #18 on: August 03, 2019, 03:37:06 pm »

Last job today was to start with the leather look parts (as described in the instructions).


Perhaps they've changed this material as I thought it did a passable job of looking right and I had no problem with glueing it using the instant stuff.


Carpeting the floor was a bit of a faff, I first tried making a paper template which came out a complete mess so resorted to tacking down the first edge and working slowly forward from there.  The results aren't perfect and will require a little tidying here and there but fairly pleased nonetheless.


As for the leather panels making up the footrests and forward bulkheads I had to make a bit of a guess.  The instructions suggest you just cover some card templates with the leather like and glue on, however I guessed that these parts were probably removable on the real thing and probably padded too.  Instead of the using card directly I used them as templates and made the pieces from 1/16th balsa rolled at the edges to look as if they are padded.


No idea if I'm right but quite pleased with the look of them anyhow.
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Spiney

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #19 on: August 06, 2019, 01:01:51 pm »

Wasn't too happy with the way the rear bench seat support looked as the removable part didn't quite line up with the parts fixed to the boat, this was accentuated when I applied the fake leather and looked plain horrible, so I used the same idea as the footrests and applied a piece of covered balsa the whole width of the seat thereby covering up the joins.


I am also not too happy with the way the fake leather looks where it cuts against the mahogany cabin sides and in the entrance to the overnight cabin so I am preparing some spare mahogany strips which I'll apply at the cuts.  Thanks to UK Mike's large scale Riva log for the inspiration for this albeit in his case I'm sure it was for authenticity and not to hide anything untoward!
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Spiney

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #20 on: August 06, 2019, 01:05:06 pm »

Dashboard and sundeck supports now in place, no issues here
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Spiney

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #21 on: August 06, 2019, 01:12:19 pm »

Just found my first problem with the kit.  I guess it's something that most here will not have run into as it concerns the supports for the motors and reduction gearing.  Note part 183 is missing a notch.  Obviously a simple job to fix......
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Spiney

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #22 on: August 06, 2019, 01:16:48 pm »

Final job today is to prepare the motors and prop shafts which went together pretty straightforwardly.  However does anyone have any idea what the parts are in the second picture?  They are not mentioned in the dis-tructions?  Hate having bits left over when you don't know what they are!
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SailorGreg

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #23 on: August 06, 2019, 05:31:00 pm »

Obviously bushes of some kind, but without a size it's difficult to offer a view.  I assume you have bushes in both ends of your prop shaft tubes?  Are they of a size that would slide over the prop shafts?

Greg

Spiney

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Re: Amati Riva Aquarama build log
« Reply #24 on: August 06, 2019, 05:41:05 pm »

Thanks Greg, They do slide over the prop shaft and if I do so from the prop end then they also slide to a half way point over the shaft tube, but only if I slide them rounded end first which just looks kinda wrong.  There's also no real seal over the prop shaft, it's quite a loose fit so I can't see what benefit they would have.  There is a bush of sorts at each end of the shaft tube already but again they are a very loose fitting kind of affair.  I had assumed that the whole caboodle relied on a fairly thick grease to stop the wet stuff?
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