Will Vale Posted September 20, 2017 Author Share Posted September 20, 2017 That's pretty fun. I like the idea of using the AT-ST because it clearly identifies the tanks as Star Wars despite their being new non-OT designs. I can keep the Snow Speeder for an eventual AT-AT-roping exercise. I varnished the tanks today, although only on the lower sides, base and in among the prongs where they were shiny, since the tops were pretty flat already from the dust and I wanted to keep a little bit of variety in the finish. The Khyber canisters got a couple of coats all over though since they were gloss to begin with. Since I had the airbrush out I sprayed some thinned Flat Earth along the lower sides and around the base of the prongs. That was a bit plain so I spattered them with both AK Earth Effects and Africa Dust Effects, loading a paintbrush with a small amount of a thickish mix and flicking it through a fairly high-pressure air stream from the a/b to get nice small drops. It's not super-visible in this picture but hopefully you get the idea: Just the guns to go now, I think? And a little oil, and probably some fine metallic chipping and/or graphite powder in places. Cheers, Will 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Rose Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 They look great Will, the orange with the grey looks very striking (pun intended!) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted September 20, 2017 Author Share Posted September 20, 2017 Cheers, and it's somewhat movie-accurate too I think they're done! I spent some time with a carpenter's pencil and graphite powder adding a bit of sheen to various edges which doesn't really show in these pictures. Then I painted up the guns, with dark grey "rubber" concertina sections and metal (Chainmail) for the flash hiders and cross-links. They had a heavy wash of MIG Dark Wash which I gently removed with the tip of an almost-dry brush and then a little touch up with graphite powder of the worky bits at the back. In theory there should be another concertina rubber section around the base of the flash hiders but it's not moulded and I didn't think it was worth trying to fake it with paint. I also added two tiny slivers of sticky "holo" reflective foil (from HiQ parts, it's sold as sensor stickers and I think it may be the same stuff as Aurora film?) to the drivers' vision blocks, but I didn't try and fit anything into the commander's periscope under the hatch rim as it was quite deeply recessed. Plus it took me three goes to get the foil onto one tank and I think I still have some of it attached to me... I think that was all? Other than clipping the bits into place properly. Oh yes, and I neatened some of the white armour on the commander, painted a demarcation around his visor and then gave all the white bits a coat of Klear to brighten them and smooth the brush marks a bit. I might take some RFI pics, or I might carry on and do some diorama stuff if I can find a suitable sub base. Cheers, Will 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Heath Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 I had no idea they were so tiny! Brilliant paint and weathering effects. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted September 22, 2017 Author Share Posted September 22, 2017 On 22/09/2017 at 6:51 AM, Nigel Heath said: I had no idea they were so tiny! Brilliant paint and weathering effects. Thanks! They really are beautifully moulded, I'd sort of dismissed them as not being the main event in the kit, but that was wrong as they're so good. The detail on the guns is phenomenal. Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted September 28, 2017 Author Share Posted September 28, 2017 I found some suitably-sized bits of finished Acacia last weekend and I thought I should show what I'm thinking about for a base: It's a bit cramped, especially with the AT-ST, but the idea would be the tanks are held up in the act of manoeuvring down a narrow street by e.g. a dewback or ronto, and the AT-ST is looking at the ensuing fuss. I'll maybe cut out some styrofoam to refine the shapes a bit more and see if it really fits as opposed to almost fits Cheers, Will 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteors Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 The orange of those containers looks great, really nice. Great work considering the scale. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Rose Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 Looks like it'll be cracking little dio Will, and I think being a bit cramped works really well with small vignettes; it can help with the scale. Still cant believe how weeny they are, and I think a rearing up ronto would look very cool! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpopandchips Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 The street scene looks like it would be great but I think you would need some people around the Dewback would definitely need a handler. Lovely work on the tanks Will, they look very very nice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelter Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 tiny or what.. quite brilliant too. "I am one with the Force, and the Force is with you.." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted September 29, 2017 Author Share Posted September 29, 2017 Thanks all! 17 hours ago, Meteors said: The orange of those containers looks great, really nice. Great work considering the scale. Cheers, it's largely the Tamiya acrylic orange (X-6) with a bit of a fade. 15 hours ago, rockpopandchips said: The street scene looks like it would be great but I think you would need some people around the Dewback would definitely need a handler. Yeah, people are probably unavoidable. Sigh. I have some of the Bandai 1/144 figures I think, and with some capes or ponchos from putty they might look OK. The poses are rather static though. 16 hours ago, Hunter Rose said: Looks like it'll be cracking little dio Will, and I think being a bit cramped works really well with small vignettes; it can help with the scale. I think if I make the left rear building a quarter circle that will open up the sightlines a bit more and make the AT-ST look less cramped, without sacrificing the narrowness of the RH street. I might flip it all left-to-right, so that the tank commander is pointing into the foreground since there's room for the Ronto to move in that direction? That might make a bit more sense. One thing that's a bit of a shame is that I'll probably end up building blank backs for the buildings since I don't want to get into the making of interiors in 1/144, but that means it won't look good "in the round". I don't think building cross-sections really work in a diorama though unless it's wartime destruction. One other thing: I have three bases the same so I was thinking of a Jedha triptych - this scene with the tanks, the SD hovering over the city, and the U-Wing landed in the desert Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsterpartyhat Posted September 29, 2017 Share Posted September 29, 2017 I *so* love the diorama possibilities afforded by the 1:144th scale. Can't wait to see your take on Jedha! I need to finish up the multitude of projects I have in flight right now so I can start another diorama I've been thinking of for a while.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted September 29, 2017 Author Share Posted September 29, 2017 There are so many good ones I really want to use the mini-Falcon to make a Space Slug, but the apparent scale of the thing vs. the teeth is a bit of a worry... W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DalekCheese Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 Did you finish the diorama? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted May 16, 2019 Author Share Posted May 16, 2019 15 hours ago, DalekCheese said: Did you finish the diorama? I didn't start it! I did look at this thread recently and think "oh dear, better do something" but I'm in the middle of figures at the moment. The AT-ST is gathering dust and needs final paint and weathering. Cheers, Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DalekCheese Posted May 17, 2019 Share Posted May 17, 2019 Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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