JohnSimmons
For Spud: I was once Merseajohn
Great work mate 
1/48 AT-ST
- Thread starter Unreality
- Start date
nicholassagan
sippin on gin + juice
Hot tootin' good sir. Getting amped to see your finish. Love the flood light and winch idea. I was thinking of maybe adding heating coils to my foot pads since it'll be a Hoth scout/recon unit... They probably didn't have winches on Hoth cuz there's nothing to winch to 
unttld
Mechanical
Damn fine.
Thanks guys.
Heating coils would be an interesting idea Nick. Maybe replace the fold-out windows for some clear styrene to make an insulated cabin. You know, with some creativity, you could probably hide a small battery pack in the back of the cabin should you desire to light it up.
Heating coils would be an interesting idea Nick. Maybe replace the fold-out windows for some clear styrene to make an insulated cabin. You know, with some creativity, you could probably hide a small battery pack in the back of the cabin should you desire to light it up.
nicholassagan
sippin on gin + juice
I was thinking lit up too but maybe this first build will be plastic only in the interest of time. I decided to start a U-Boat, too, now that the MC80 is done. Installed the pits on the Flanker too so hopefully everything will move along quickly. Still hoping daughter can wait til her due date though.....
nicholassagan said:
Well, I don't know if the following picture will help or not. Image quality is so-so (stock lens in low-light and high depth of field is hard). All it is a simple red LED pointed at the back of the cabin.
By the way, I wanted to say congratulations on the upcoming baby: a daughter and a new Star Wars movie in the same year...you must be in heaven.
nicholassagan
sippin on gin + juice
Ha thanks man. I'll bet I could squeeze in a red LED in the pit. I was also thinking spot light and maybe heat lamps 
Thanks guys.
Today is a heads up for anyone building this kit. Several people have commented about enamel products attacking the model. Flory Models did a recent video on this effect. However, I applied some Mig AMMO washes (both to the outside and the inner cockpit without clear coating first), and did NOT encounter these effects on the model. Keep in mind that all of the vinyl-plastic parts were replaced except the hoses.
So to test the effects of mineral/white spirits, I applied some AK thinner to the vinyl-plastic sprue of the blaster bolts. The white spirits attacked it and caused it to craze and dissolve in places. You can barely make out the part number "19" and it ate a hole in the corner. Yet, odorless mineral spirits seemed to have no effect on the plastic. I placed several drops on the underside of the hard plastic base, neither thinner affected it. Again, I had no problems applying an enamel wash to the model, but I may have gotten lucky.
Today is a heads up for anyone building this kit. Several people have commented about enamel products attacking the model. Flory Models did a recent video on this effect. However, I applied some Mig AMMO washes (both to the outside and the inner cockpit without clear coating first), and did NOT encounter these effects on the model. Keep in mind that all of the vinyl-plastic parts were replaced except the hoses.
So to test the effects of mineral/white spirits, I applied some AK thinner to the vinyl-plastic sprue of the blaster bolts. The white spirits attacked it and caused it to craze and dissolve in places. You can barely make out the part number "19" and it ate a hole in the corner. Yet, odorless mineral spirits seemed to have no effect on the plastic. I placed several drops on the underside of the hard plastic base, neither thinner affected it. Again, I had no problems applying an enamel wash to the model, but I may have gotten lucky.
nicholassagan
sippin on gin + juice
Wow good to know. I have some MiG washes I'm going to use but I always seal with Future before that stuff...
suavetomcat
Well-Known Member
Those ligths are amazing looking. Really adds to the look! Great work.
Chris
Chris
JohnSimmons
For Spud: I was once Merseajohn
Really interesting stuff...and kinda annoying that the plastic doesn't like the washes.....
OK, so I did have some trouble using enamels on the walker. Specifically, I noticed the upper hip hinges had cracked as you can see in the picture. They didn't crack in the front, only in the back, but it loosened the tension in the joints and I ended up gluing them. I believe any time enamels/spirits pool in the joints, it can cause the plastic to stress fracture. HOWEVER, if you are careful in using only a little enamel at a time and only a slightly dampened thinner brush (for stumping) you shouldn't have a problem. Just don't let it pool and maybe stick to something clay-based for washes (if you like applying washes thickly.
For the filter, I used Mig AMMO Blue-Grey wash. It is semi-mild, and I was careful to lightly apply it. I then added light grey paint chips via a sponge. I then came back with Abteilung oils to create all kinds of streaks, highlights, shadows, etc. You can see I hit some of the panels with the off-white oil to add modulation. I used the darker oils to add mud/dirt. There's even a Starship Filth color that was perfect for...well...starship filth. Then to add variation, I used the light tan to add some color in certain areas. Specifically, look at the row panels on the inner hip joints and how they are different shades.
More streaking on the cockpit. I painted the figures (even did the black piping on the helmets). And for the markings, I used part of the "M" on a USMC stencil, which I modified somewhat. I don't build modern armor, so I didn't mind cutting the M a little. In my mind, this is an Imperial way of counting. Each marking is a composed of 5 lines, except for the last one, which is only 3 lines. So you could say this unit has 18 kills or has gone on 18 missions...or maybe squished 18 Ewoks. Finally, I added a small decal that looks like numbers underneath.
I will get some more photos up, but for now, here's a finished shot:
For the filter, I used Mig AMMO Blue-Grey wash. It is semi-mild, and I was careful to lightly apply it. I then added light grey paint chips via a sponge. I then came back with Abteilung oils to create all kinds of streaks, highlights, shadows, etc. You can see I hit some of the panels with the off-white oil to add modulation. I used the darker oils to add mud/dirt. There's even a Starship Filth color that was perfect for...well...starship filth. Then to add variation, I used the light tan to add some color in certain areas. Specifically, look at the row panels on the inner hip joints and how they are different shades.
More streaking on the cockpit. I painted the figures (even did the black piping on the helmets). And for the markings, I used part of the "M" on a USMC stencil, which I modified somewhat. I don't build modern armor, so I didn't mind cutting the M a little. In my mind, this is an Imperial way of counting. Each marking is a composed of 5 lines, except for the last one, which is only 3 lines. So you could say this unit has 18 kills or has gone on 18 missions...or maybe squished 18 Ewoks. Finally, I added a small decal that looks like numbers underneath.
I will get some more photos up, but for now, here's a finished shot:
unttld
Mechanical
That looks fantastic. Really quite nice.
As for the white spirits eating the plastic a few sites have stated that the plastic is polyethylene instead of the more common polystyrene or abs. Might be what's causing it to react badly with the solvents. Does this happen with other Bandai kits?
As for the white spirits eating the plastic a few sites have stated that the plastic is polyethylene instead of the more common polystyrene or abs. Might be what's causing it to react badly with the solvents. Does this happen with other Bandai kits?
nicholassagan
sippin on gin + juice
holy mother of pearl that looks awesome
JohnSimmons
For Spud: I was once Merseajohn
Yes that is a real beauty, the snow trooper is just brilliant.
suavetomcat
Well-Known Member
Looks fantastic mate. Great job!
Chris
Chris
Jaitea
Well-Known Member
Looking brilliant Unreality
Looks just like the painting,....WOW
J
Looks just like the painting,....WOW
J
nicholassagan
sippin on gin + juice
Maybe a little more but very carefully....
Scrach
Well-Known Member
I'd be inclined to say 'yes' more weathering. But what's it's story you have going on? The Snowtrooper says 'Hoth" to me, so weathering might be on the light side any way. As of now, it looks great, and I'm sure it'll look just as good with a little more grime on it.
JohnSimmons
For Spud: I was once Merseajohn
Yeah needs some more but only a small amount, maybe get the feet dirty too
JohnSimmons
For Spud: I was once Merseajohn
Nice and subtle
