Questions about 1/48 Bandai AT-ST

Modeling Subjects Science Fiction
1

Gents,
I won this fine kit in my club raffle, and am halfway done. I have a few questions at this point:

  1. I don’t think even with my Tamiya Superfine airbrush that I can get into all the tiny nooks and crannies of the sub-assemblies for priming and painting. Do I need to unassemble some of the subsections and then put back together after paint? Will paint on the locking tabs of the parts cause the fit to be too tight, and not a perfect fit like they are now?? That’s gonna be a lot of masking :wink:

  2. Is there any generally agreed upon FS# or anything for the exterior? I have Gunze and Mission Models paints, would rather not fiddle with the mix recipe bandai gives.

  3. How visible will the cockpit be? I’m building this for a contest and would rather spend the time on weathering than on doing the cockpit if it’s not visible. Can a judge get his dental mirror into the openings on the front? [:)]

  4. What’s the deal with the decals? Looks like a nice set by Bandai, but they have no placement guide in the instructions, and I’ve searched online and YouTube and can’t find a single model that uses them. Might set my model apart on the competition table if I can find a reference on where they go.

Thanks in advance and thanks to Bandai for a great kit, I already bought a couple more of their Star Wars line.
Michael Smith

2

Here’s a WIP I did on one last year should answer some of your questions she won 2nd in sci fi at the IPMS Roscoe Turner show. http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/6/t/177442.aspx

3

Thank you sir!

4

Anyone have any ideas about the decals for this kit? I have searched and searched and can’t find a thing…weird.

5

In the movies the AT-ST didn’t have any unit markings on them. Now in the old canon that Disney is now saying isn’t lore anymore and now calls hundreds of books etc. legends and they have been picking and choosing what they want from them. In these “legends” you can find AT-ST’s in different unit markings and paint schemes, including some black and red flame thrower mounted walkers that are really cool. Dig around a bit more and take a dive into just how deep the Star Wars universe (use to) go. If you can’t tell I’m not to happy with the way Disney has handled SW but they can redeem themself they are going to bring back the clone wars hope it’s as good as the originals and alot better than Rebels.

6

The decals in the kit are limited, imperial symbols and a blast mark. The at-st in the movies do not have any markings. The blast mark decal can be used to portray the at-st that Chewie and the Ewoks hijack. As for the interior you can not see much through those windows, unless you plan to light the interior.