Imperial Walker Spotted on the Kitchen Counter!

[ChrisL]

A friend gave me a Metal Earth AT-AT kit for Christmas. This is a couple of sheets of photo-etched steel that assembles into an AT-AT. I've not much experience with the PE you get for model kits but this seems to be designed with a bit more of an eye for ease of construction. The fold lines are perforated so are very inclined to fold (or break, if you fold them too much...) and the kit's parts have tabs and slots so it all holds together without requiring glue or solder. Unless you accidentally break one of the pieces along a fold line. So even after my little error I was still able to put it together quite easily this afternoon. The finished walker is about 2.5" high by 3" long.

I enjoyed making my AT-AT and Metal Earth (http://www.fascinations.com/metalearth) have quite a range including licensed designs from Star Wars, Star Trek, Halo and Mass Effect as well as real-world designs. I'm quite tempted by a Normandy SR-2.









Edit: Removed duplicate picture, added missing picture.

Edited January 1, 2015 by ChrisL

[plasmahal]

Nice, well done.

I got this and vaders Tie advanced and the falcon.

Here's my Tie advanced:

Edited January 1, 2015 by plasmahal

[Natter]

That looks great, as well as sounding like fun to build.

[ChrisL]

Nice work with the TIE Advanced, plasmahal. It was a relatively fun build, but it did take a bit longer than I expected - there's a lot of bits to fold, bend, connect and secure. It got a bit tricky once it came down to joining major completed parts together as folding down tabs without applying too much pressure to already assembled parts wasn't as easy as the early stages. Then again, it usually takes me months to finish a model kit and this took a handful of hours this afternoon so it gave a nice feeling of accomplishment!

[Madhatter]

I have to admit - they are two very nice PE models - especially the TIE fighter - that's wicked.

Thanks for the link too - I'd happily spend more time there if I wasn't at work

[Mike]

Looks good - I have the AT-AT, Darth's TIE, Millennium Falcon, Mars Rover, and Lunar Module to build, having completed the Tiger I the other day. I was glad I had all my PE handling tools, from the Bending brake, rolling set to the Tamiya PE pliers. My results would have been much worse without 'em

I think Metal Earth might have made a killing over Christmas, somehow!

[ChrisL]

I felt very excited about cracking out my Hold 'n' Fold, given I've barely used it since I got it, but in the end I didn't really use it for the AT-AT. The pieces were very inclined to fold where they were supposed to so the Hold 'n' Fold was more or less surplus to requirements. Sharp and blunt tweezers and a model knife with a blade whose end had snapped off were my main tools. Various cylindrical things (paint brush, machinist's scribe, model knife handle, razor saw handle) did prove very useful for forming the round sections though.

[Flag_overlord]

Looks good, now I know where I can get an AT-AT at reasonable size, price and amount of time needed to build it.

Thanks for sharing the pictures.

[Gimme Shelter]

How cool - now I know what metal earth kits look like built up - nice and shiny too