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Hi all, I'm a long time reader but this is the first time I've uploaded any of my models. I'm a big fan of all the Star Wars canon and I was so taken with Andy Moore's U9-C4 that I decided to try my best to match his amazing standard and have a go at the same droid myself. I followed his build diligently and tried to use it as a tutorial to get used to these sic-fi kits (I usually make 1/700 scale ships...). The Bandai kit was so enjoyable that I decided to have a go at another of the droids from D-Squad. The green one, M5-BZ, was a bit more work, as I had to make his head from scratch. It was a bit tough as it's a really unusual shape...it's round at the base but changes to hexagonal at the top. It took many attempts with paper before I got the shape right. I managed to use the eyes and the base of the head from the R2 head, but the painting was a real challenge too...it took a lot of masking to get it look right. Anyway, all credit to Andy for the original idea. Thanks for looking and I hope you like my little droids!

R2-KT Bandai 1/12 Scale Bandai R2-KT, completed in Tamiya acrylics; Alclad lacquers; Mig & AK Interactive enamels; and Secret Weapon Miniatures pigments. For the first time ever, I decided not to paint the white and instead applied the enamel washes directly to the plastic. Coming from the BB-8/R2-D2 kit, I also noticed that this plastic is glossier than the plastic in the original release of this kit, which I found interesting. Since R2-KT is an Imperial droid, I gave her a base that resembled the Death Star hangar from the original Star Wars. If you haven't heard the story behind R2-KT, check out their website (but be prepared to have your heartstrings tugged!).

R2 & R5 So, R2 & R5 finally found their way from the land of the rising sun to my front door this morning and I've had a chance to have a rummage through the box and fondle the plastic. I had been a bit put off by some of the online photos of the parts but in person they seem pretty good, maybe not as pin sharp in the details as the Chicken Walker but that could be down to the garishly coloured plastic which makes it harder to see the details. I probably won't be starting these two just yet as I want to get the SS-23 finished and that build seems to be stretching out in front of me like a never ending road so, for now I'll just post the sprue shots so anyone who's not got theirs yet can see what awaits Sprue A Sprue B1 Sprue B2 Sprue C1 Sprue C2 And the two bases As has been pointed out in other posts, R2's dome is split in half and the top is a separate piece as well meaning there'll be some seams to sand. It looks like some of the inset panels can be installed post head-joining which will make life easier but others need to go in first so some care will be needed when sanding the dome The various body panels look well moulded and can probable be painted before installation then masked off for painting the main body The body itself looks nicely crisp. Both droids share the same body moulding There's only a single clear part included for the main eye on R2 R2's secondary eye (the red one under the main eye) is moulded solid which is a shame. It could be drilled out and an LED installed but since neither the body or dome are hollow mouldings, running the wires will be difficult The metallic gold bit of sprue A is for the hoses on the feet. Seems a bit of a waste of metallic plastic since the hoses are generally grey or black on the droids The two narrow flaps on the chest are moulded as a single piece so displaying them open isn't possible without a lot of work And for anyone wondering about size the body is about 2" so the finished height will probably be just over 3" There is the usual choice between decals or stickers and there's some nice touches on the sheets including the milled aluminium squares that go round the bottom of R5's head and the little cluster light panels on R2's dome. You also get the red pinstripe for R5 which will save a lot of masking I'll probably be tackling R5 first as it seems like the easier build. At this stage though, I'm not 100% sure if I'll be doing them as R2 & R5. There are so many astromechs in the EU now, many with more colourful paint jobs, so I may pick a different subject but we'll see Andy