1/48 Bandai AT-ST Mk2

 This is my converted Bandai AT-ST in 1/48 (for modelers) or Star Wars Legion scale (for gamers). Started this build around December 2021 and finally finished it up.

I based this on artwork by Ukitakumuki on DeviantArt done for the Star Wars Galaxies card game. My headcanon is that this is an upgraded version of the base AT-ST incorporating features learned after the battle of Endor, allowing the walker to work more independently for longer periods of time, in a seek-and-destroy role.

I reinforced the inner thighs with plasticard and greeblies, added grabirons to the rear to allow easier crew access with wire, up-armored the sides of the chin with plasticard sheet, added additional detailing to the rear of the head with greeblies, a long-range antenna from a 1/100 M113, pintle mounted blaster from plasticard and a 1/35 MG34, and a combat commander using the head and arms from a Legion Occupier tank figure, torso and lower legs from a Legion LAAT pilot, and legs from a Tamiya Luftwaffe pilot. The rear of the head is removable to install a watch battery that powers the interior LED (difficult to see using my light box).

It was painted using Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics and the chipping effects are done by hand. I then applied an overall oil filter of Payne's Grey to blend the colors and tone down the metal chips. Once that was fully cured, I weathered it using oils and AK Interactive enamels.

I really enjoyed this build and highly recommend picking this model up, even for use in gaming. Once mounted on a clear base, it's very stable.

 

SWL Stormtroopers

Despite recent hardship, I've still been doing a lot of painting in an attempt to clear up my backlog, this time two squads of Star Wars Legion Stormtroopers. This is a mix of the Stormtroopers from the core set, as well as the Stormtrooper specialist expansion set. With the exception of the specialist box, these are fairly terrible figure sculpts with some odd poses and both sets suffer from the soft plastic they were molded in.

Initially, I laid down a lovely zenithally highlighted fresh white armor...that then had to be brush painted over because I realized how many mold lines I'd missed. I attempted to fix that by mottling the armor with white and grey flecks and overdid THAT as well!

The last resort of saving any paintjob is weathering, so these troopers went from pristine parade ground uniforms to muddy, dirty grunts. I did this by sealing each figure with Krylon flat clear, then using various acrylic paints and washes to add earthy tones, and then removing excess with Tamiya acrylic thinner, in the same way a lot of painters do the "Grimdark" style with enamels.

I hope you enjoy!

SWL AT-RT

 Here is my heavily modified Rebel AT-RT. This is a Star Wars Legion model in 1/48 scale that's not a terribly great kit (poor fit, soft plastic, lack of detail) so I decided to spice it up a bit. I swapped the rider head with a head from the Inferno Squad and added a new control panel, trigger buttons to the grips, and a completely new pedal arrangement. I cut off the rear section and replaced it with wire antenna aerials, plasticard supports, and kitbashed details. I filled in the gaps between the engine piping, added more plasticard detail to the leg joint ends, and added a new power cable for the underslung blaster. I up-armored the front with plasticard and added a clear acetate 'windshield'.

The AT itself is painted using hairspray chipping. Unfortunately, I grabbed Tamiya Buff, instead of Tamiya Light Grey and didn't realize until I'd finished the chipping process! Panel accents were done in Tamiya Orange, hydraulics in AK Gunmetal, and the barrel scorching was done in my usual fashion. I weathered it using a combination of AK enamel washes and Secret Weapon/Reaper acrylic washes. The exhaust mainfold rust was achieved by hand chipping in metallics and reds/oranges, washing in acrylic Purple ink, and then dryblending in some Rust Red oil paint.

The rider itself was done using zenithal priming and glazing, with the exception of his skin, which was done using Vallejo Basic Skintone, Salmon Rose, & Grey Blue. His pants are much too blue! I wasn't paying attention and applied unthinned acrylic ink to it on the 3rd coat, so had a '40-year Old Virgin' "Now your pants are blue" moment! Oh well, happy accidents.

Zuckuss and 4-LOM

 Partners in crime! This is OmniForged - 3D Printed Miniatures renditions of the bounty hunters Zuckuss and 4-LOM featured in Empire Strikes Back. These two have been a favorite of mine since reading Tales of the Bounty Hunters way back in the 90s, so I sprung at the chance to have them in tabletop form.

Zuckuss was primarily painted using zenithal priming and glazing, with the exception of his eyes and mechanics. His species - the Gand - are interesting in that they breathe ammonia, so must wear a type of biomechanical rebreather outside of their homeworld. To capture that I tried to give him a slight greenish shading to his flesh and tubing (difficult to see in the pics).

4-LOM was primed black and painted with AK metallics. His body is a very muted metallic black, so after applying AK Gunmetal, I used a few glazes of Sequin Black metallic craft paint to really tone it down. To do the rust effects, I brushed the body with a clean water dampened brush and applied Vallejo Dark Rust. Once dry, I did the same but used Vallejo Light Rust. Once that was dry, I did the same but used a tiny amount of Vallejo Air Orange Rust in the deeper crevices and corners.

This duo was fairly straightforward to paint and I had fun doing them.

The Bad Batch

 Finished up The Bad Batch last month but haven't had the chance to post until now.

My wife bought me my first proper light box for Christmas and it makes taking pictures so much easier. The diffuse lighting on these as opposed to my shop light setup provides for a lot less saturation and more depth of color, to the point where these required only cropping, contrast masking, and a few minor adjustments to levels to look true-to-life.

These are 3d prints I bought off of Ebay several months ago, so I'm unsure of the sculptor (If you recognize them, please let me know, so I can tag then, since they're great sculpts). The worn armor effect was done by priming in Krylon white, then hairspray chipping with a base of Tamiya 50/50 Sea Blue & Light Grey and then doing their unitards in Pavement grey, after which I applied an overall wash of Secret Weapon Soft Body Black to provide shadows and tone down the blue in the Tamiya paint.

I will go on record as saying that this project made me a fan of Vallejo Red which, prior to this, I found much too dark and desaturated. However, because handpainting all the lines on their armor required multiple thinned coats, I found built up the deep red color tone. Blasters were done in Vallejo Dark Grey and Black Brown, with Vallejo Air Aluminum chipping, washed with Black acrylic ink wash.

Echo's green helmet lighting is done using glazes of Vallejo German Camo Bright Green and Park Green. Hunter's shock dagger was done using glazes of Apple Barrel Golden Sunset (proving that yes, you can use craft paint to achieve cool effects!). Crosshair's sniper barrel burns were done by (going from base towards tip) with AK Gunmetal, AK Astral Beryllium, and finally TurboDork Laserface.

Tech's white suit was mostly done with an airbrush and zenithal shading of Tamiya White & Light Blue. He was given the same unitard, red accents, and blaster colors as the rest. I opted not to OSL his wrist computer (done in Vallejo Turquoise) since he didn't need a pop of color!

The skulls are all old GW Cadian waterslide decals, which I'm unfortunately running low on. After doing all the handpainted red lines, I opted not to handpaint the Aurebesh '99' on anyone but Wrecker's helmet.

I hope you like these. They were fun to paint, look great, and will make great "Rebel special forces" on the tabletop.