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My Bandai AT-AT finally turned up yesterday (after the ***** at the post office had fleeced me to the tune of £12 for VAT and misshandling). Before I get going on the build, I thought I'd post up some sprue shots and close ups (there are plenty of other sprue shots out there on the net, so you're probably not seeing anything new here), and today, May 4th, seemed as good a day as any to post them.

To see how it all looks built up, jump over to John's multi AT-AT build

 

The box is quite large, but that's mainly taken up by the sprue holding the head and body sections, which have each been slide moulded in one piece. The rest of the sprues are pretty standard Bandai fare

 

Sprue A

The neck, parts for the head, the cheek guns, and other assorted bits, including all new 1/144 scale Mr Flatty, now in AT-AT driver disguise (he really is the Mr Benn of the Star Wars world)

 

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Sprue B1

The lower body sections that slip inside the main body moulding, and provide some internal detail behind the separate body panels

 

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Sprue B2

The chassis parts, including a nice representation of the Pegasus engine used on the original filming models

 

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Sprue C

This is the one that requires the box to be as big as it is, due to the orientation they've moulded the parts in. You've got the main body, the upper head, the base of the head, and the main chin cannons

 

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Sprue D (x2)

The last two AT-AT sprues supply all the leg parts, together with the two, microscopically small, seated driver figures

 

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The final sprue is for the standard Bandai base, this time in white to represent Hoth. This is the same size base that was supplied with the 1/144 Falcon

 

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Some close-ups of the parts, starting with the head and it's base plate

 

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The main cannons. These have been slide moulded to leave an open barrel

 

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You get a choice of two (slightly) different cheek guns

 

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Internal cockpit rear wall. Nicely detailed, considering you won't actually see any of it

 

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And no doubt also invisible on the final build, the AT-AT driver. Pretty well detailed for the size (about 8mm high), although someone seems to have amputated his hands

 

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The neck. This comes in two halves, split vertically, so there'll be a seam to fill on the top and bottom

 

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Main body moulding. Being one-piece, it will at least keep everything square. This is the right-hand side, with the hatches moulded in place. The left side has them separate

 

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Lower body inserts, with the detail panels that sit behind the open hatches on the main body

 

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There's a small moulding flaw on mine, in the upper left corner of the detail panel. Quite rare for a Bandai kit. Looks like something's hit the part after coming out of the mould. Not a big deal, as I'll probably have the hatches closed.

 

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Underside of the chassis and, yes, they are jerry cans on either side

 

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More chassis detailing

 

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The Pegasus engine

 

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And, of course, the 222 hull for the rear panel...

 

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...and the accompanying gun shields

 

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The upper parts of the feet are split vertically, so more seams to fill, although the lower foot parts are single mouldings

 

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And to give you an idea of just how small an AT-AT is in 1/144...

 

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It really is a bit smaller than I'd prefer, which is what stopped me ordering it earlier. I don't think there's much chance we'll see a bigger one from Bandai though, so we'll have to make the most of it.

To give you another comparison, this is the Bandai head compared to a Wizards of the Coast  AT-AT that I repainted a few years ago. That one is (depending on the measurements you use) just under 1/48

 

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More when I get started on construction

 

Andy

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Thanks Andy - nice clear photos - my 2 Bandai AT-AT's are nearly complete and I've got to say they are quite superb models both in design and detail.

 

I love their adjustable hip joints and adjustable toes which add endless possibilities to their pose display.

 

I'm about to add some updated photos of my 2 in the WIP now the weathering nearly completed

 

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Cool. Looks quite detailed and always good to get parts from brand new moulds !

 

This amused me :  " the ***** at the post office fleeced me to the tune of £12 for VAT and misshandling "

 

.........I assume the "misshandling" was to the guy after he told you you had to pay £12 !!!   :ner: :laugh::laugh:

Edited by Portaler
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Nice one.

Looking forward to the build.

I thought that was a 222 body.

Is that a battleship turret I see

in the shot with the jerrycans?

(Right of the centre)

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Thanks guys

 

5 hours ago, GazB said:

I've also just realised how strikingly similar the main body is to the A7V :o

 

Yes, you're right, it is. I hadn't noticed that before

 

2 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

I thought that was a 222 body.

Is that a battleship turret I see

in the shot with the jerrycans?

(Right of the centre)

 

Yes, it is. Bandai have done a great job in recreating all the various kit parts that were used on the originals.

 

 

I've got a little bit of progress on the build today, starting with the head and neck. As I mentioned above, the neck is split vertically so, to deal with the inevitable seam, I ran some Tamiya extra thin into the joint, then clamped the parts together to squeeze out a bead of plastic, which was sanded back once dry. I used a scriber to reinstate the grooves, then cleaned up any remaining burring with the tip of a knife. It may need a little more attention once I've got some primer on to check the seam, but it's pretty much sorted it

 

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I'm liking this kit more and more as I work on it. Despite its small size, I think it must be the best engineered kit that Bandai have done so far. A case in point is the neck/head assembly. The front of the neck is trapped between the rear bulkhead and the floor plate but, because of the excellent fit, I'll be able to paint all these parts individually, then slot them together later

 

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The floor plate has a very small, and entirely pointless dashboard added. You'll never see it through the red tinted visor, but you need to add it as it's what the visor actually mounts to

 

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The main head is a single piece that simply slides into place over the floor plate. Again, I'll be able to paint this separately, as it over-hangs the rear bulkhead and floor plate slightly, so there are no seams to fill

 

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I've also got the main body together. The lower section, that acts as an insert into the main body, is built up from two chunky mouldings that slot together, and are then finished off with two end caps

 

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There's even detail moulded onto the inner faces of the lower hull, although it's pretty much covered once the chassis is in place

 

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The one-piece upper hull then slips over the lower hull, and clicks into place. Again, I'll be able to paint everything separately, which will make masking and detail paint much easier

 

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The hull hatched can then be added or left off at your discretion. If they are left off though, you'll need to fill or cover the mounting slots

 

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The chassis is also coming together. The bulk of this is one single moulding, with just a few smaller details added. It's one of the most impressive mouldings I've seen in a long time. It's a shame that most of it won't be seen on the final build. Like the upper hull, this can be painted and weathered before being clipped into place

 

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The Pegasus engine parts mount to the bottom of the chassis. I've used the same method as the neck to deal with the seams (not yet cleaned up in the photo), but they're mostly hidden behind the legs, so the finish doesn't need to be perfect

 

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Lastly for tonight, I've built up the 222 which will attach to the back of the chassis after painting. Bearing in mind this is 1/144, just imagine what Bandai could do if they released some 1/72 armour kits

 

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On the subject of painting, I don't want to do this as a regular grey AT-AT. My first thought was to do it as a cargo version, along the lines of the AT-ACT's from Rogue One

 

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I wasn't entirely sold on the hazard striping though, so I tried a variation on the above which. for what ever reason, I didn't like as much

 

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On a whim I tried re-colouring the orange panels, and came up with a couple of darker versions that I quite like the look of. I think they've got a kind of special forces look to them

 

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I don't need to decide yet, as the legs and most of the head will be grey, so I can get on with painting that first

 

 

Andy

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We continue to be spoiled by these unbelievably crisp kits by Bandai! Pretty sure near the jerry cans I spotted parts of a V8 engine. The livery is a tough choice. The darker special forces look is very intimidating in appearance. But that orange really pops and I wager would be fun to paint. Reminds me of Poe's black and orange T-70. 

 

If you do go with the darker one, I think the red panel offers a nice contrast with the otherwise cool looking grey. Also, red denotes bad guy right? ;)

 

-matt

Edited by M_Sinclair
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Looking at what Bandai can do with their moulds I would surely love a 1/72 to go with all the other 1/72 vehicles they have done. But in the meantime I'm happy to watch Andy's build :-)

 

I find colour choices difficult. However having a "use case" in mind, i.e transport, or special forces does help with the decision making. I like the first one for transport. Or third for Special Forces (maybe with special forces red stripe somewhere like the Tie Fighter / Pilot helmet in TFA ??)

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22 hours ago, AndyRM101 said:

Thanks guys

 

Yes, it is. Bandai have done a great job in recreating all the various kit parts that were used on the originals.

 

On a whim I tried re-colouring the orange panels, and came up with a couple of darker versions that I quite like the look of. I think they've got a kind of special forces look to them

 

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That looks like a suitable colour scheme the Empire's version of a "Black Helicopter".

 

Interesting point about the original kit parts - you could probably spend as much time trying to identify them all as you do building the beast.

Edited by Richard E
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Schemes looking good. That second one reminds me of the plates off the DeLorean :D

 

I've noticed that in the SW universe the Imperial Special Forces are often denoted by an application of red somewhere, often a stripe or something. Dunno how well that couldn't be incorporated into a scheme, though.

 

Btw, what's the size of this thing (LxWxH)?

 

Gaz

Edited by GazB
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Hi Andy

 

cool - good to see I'm not the only builder of this superb kit - I had a quick look at one of my kits and it does not have the moulding indent defect you mention on the inside of the body panel so yours must be a one off.

 

One tip I can offer which I missed on the build of the first of my AT-AT's. The chin lasers are pose-able in their recoil position so watch where you add glue on the assembly. The fit is tight and snug enough for the cannons to be snap fixed to the underside of chin of the Walker so you can slide and move the canons to your own desired pose

 

keep on "walking"

 

John

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Thanks everyone

 

1 hour ago, Gimme Shelter said:

One tip I can offer which I missed on the build of the first of my AT-AT's. The chin lasers are pose-able in their recoil position so watch where you add glue on the assembly. The fit is tight and snug enough for the cannons to be snap fixed to the underside of chin of the Walker so you can slide and move the canons to your own desired pose

 

Thanks John,

 

Yes I'd spotted the movable cannons. I'll be leaving them off for painting, but I might glue them in at the end, rather than leave them poseable, as I'm finding the main sliding cannon part to be a slightly loose fit on mine. Not sure if I'll go with the classic one in, one out pose, or have them both in their retracted positions.

 

On 2017-5-6 at 23:27, GazB said:

Btw, what's the size of this thing (LxWxH)?

 

The length is just over 7" (18cm). The height will be a touch under that

 

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Subjectively, it's pretty small, especially when viewed along side the 1/48 AT-ST, but the sheer level of detail on it makes it seem bigger than it is

 

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Only a small update today. I've opened up the cooling slots on the chin cannon shrouds. These are the non-moving sections that John mentioned above. The main cannon clips under the shroud, and can then slide forward and backward. Opening up the slots is a bit of a waste of time to be honest, as you can only just see them when they're mounted to the head. The lower shroud in the photo is unmodified for comparison

 

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And that will be it for a while, as the build is on hold for a couple of days. I've finally got around to building a proper wall mounted paint rack for my work room and, while I'm putting that up, I'm taking the opportunity to move my painting bench to the other side of the room, where it's less prone to glare from the window. That will also mean moving my building bench across to where the painting bench was, and then having a general clean and tidy up of the whole room.

 

 

Progress will resume shortly

 

In way of a short intermission, here's a video of my cat doing her Houdini act

 

 

Andy

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I'm finally back at the bench after a few days tidying the work room up. The paint rack I mentioned above has been put up, and has so far managed to not fall down again. Typically, I managed to make it too small, so I can't fit everything on it, but it's nice to actually see what I've got and not have to ferret about in draws to find paints

 

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The AT-AT's got some paint on now. I started it off with a base coat of Gunze panzer grey, partly to prime the plastic and partly to make it easier to build up the main grey colour

 

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After some deliberation I've decided to go with the dark/special forces scheme. I like the orange one, and it would have been fun to weather, but the dark one seemed more 'Empire'. I've given the centre section and top a coat of Vallejo black grey, as I didn't want to use a straight black. The front and rear side panels will be in a dark blue grey to add some interest

 

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The black grey areas then had some masking fluid sponged over, gradually lessening the masking towards the top. A medium grey was then misted over the the top and sides, concentrating mainly on the upper areas, after which the masking fluid was rubbed away. The same process will be done for the blue grey panels

 

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The head and other body parts got a coat of pale grey mixed from Gunze light gull grey and white. A bit of the panzer grey was left as shading here and there

 

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The grey parts had some selective filters on various panels, and some washes were sponged on to break up the finish. All this was done with acrylic washes (Vallejo and Citadel) so they'd dry faster and I could then go over with enamel washes without affecting them

 

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The chassis has now had some enamel washes to bring out the details a bit better. Most of this won't actually be seen, as the chassis is pretty much buried under the hull. There are various grey and brown shades used here to add some variation to the weathering

 

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I've kept the pegasus engine parts separate to make painting/weathering easier. The same steps were done on these

 

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The neck was painted in the same pale grey, then the frames were masked off so some shading could be sprayed along their edges

 

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After the shading was sprayed, some more acrylic washes were sponged over the main neck ribbing, then the same enamel washes used on the chassis were added

 

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Next up I'll be masking off the panels on the hull for the blue grey, and also finishing the legs, which are only half built at the moment

 

Andy

 

 

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