STAR WARS - S.T.A.P. with droid rider

That's a darn good job. I built this one a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....ha ha. I never thought of using flourescent paint for the engines. That looks really good.

Bish and Bill, I remember that droid being a pain to attach to the STAP. The only real headache I remember to an otherwise cool kit. If I remember correctly it was released by AMT and fit problems were par for the course with them in those days....has been with every AMT kit I've ever built. Haven't built any AMT stuff in years so maybe their quality has improved.

Bill, no, its not you. The Droid is a real pain to get on the STAP properly. I have read of others saying the same thing.

I did get another one, so next time round I will hopefully be forewarned and can adjust it as you say.

I know I'm a bit late adding to this post but ........

I too have built this machine. In my opinion, it should be classified as at least a level 3 difficulty or maybe I'm just stupid. And I'm only talking about the vehicle. The droid? Holy crap they weren't even thinking about how it would fit the STAP except that they positioned the forearms correctly for the hands to grab the controls. I only wish I had the foresight to see the difficult joining of droid to machine. I would have made some changes to foot controls amongst other things to make the fit better.

Looks good.  One observation, the engine glow is on the wrong side.  In the movie the "hot" part of the engine is facing forward.  I have not been able to fathom why except that the turbines provide power not propulsion and that it looked cool!

The droid is a pain, particularly getting it on the STAP.  That said, it can be a lot of fun.  Meet T4-2

During a move the Droid was knocked off the STAP. While I was setting up the hobby room, I placed the Droid on the chair from one my daughter's play sets and voila T4-2.

Looks nice !!!    Can't wait for your next Update !

Thanks for all the kind comments. The engines were not as hard as it looks, just a little bit of patience really. The actual turbine part is a seperate piece. With these stuck to a piece of cardboard (for easy handling) they got a coat of gloss black. Once very very dry ( I think I left them for a couple of days and did other stuff) I used strong magnifying glasses, several toothpicks, and Tamiya Lemon Yellow.

I whittled the point a little sharper on the toothpick and then overloaded it with the paint (causing that little bubble you get on the end) and then delicately touched the inside of each section of the engine. This caused a small amount of paint to pool in each section and cause I tried to make the same amount of paint it self leveled and looks even.

After a few days of drying again I touched up the black detail of the fins if needed and then did the exact same process with Lime Green in the centre. I airbrushed the outer cowling with the burnt weathering before I stuck in the impeller parts and there you have it.

I use this technique a fair bit doing cockpit details and aircraft etc, especially on the smaller scales cause the drip of paint does all the hard work for me and has the crispest edges cause of no brush lines at all.

Oh yeah and I have realised the great pain in the butt the droid is, thats why you are seeing the STAP so far cause I got the shits and put the droid back in the box for later when i have the patience, hehehe.

Wow, that's looks really good. Did you paint the engine (the yellow), I like the way that looks, very bright. It'll be a nice looking piece when the droid is finally on it, can't wait!

Jon

I built this years ago and fitting the droid is a right pain. I still have the STAP on its base but the droid was ruined. Was thinking about getting another and trying again.

Looking great...!

I love your build of this kit, in fact those engines are totally awesome. Im wondering how you made them look lit up. Did you make decals for them or is that paint?

Hey, looking good. I've got one of these in my "stash" and just haven't gotten around to it yet. How is the fit of the various parts?

It keeps getting better and better!

Love the overall look and can't wait for the "rider".

Gotta ask- just what is "inside" those engines? Nice contrast for effect.

Assembly of the STAP is under way, engines are attached and detailed

Very cool!

Nice techniques to make the STAP look like a real world vehicle.

So, let's see more!

looking great so far! love the color on the STAP!

The Droid is just Tamiya XF-57 Buff. The STAP was Tamiya XF-52 Flat Earth with some old Rust colour from an old no more label bottle I inherited from a mates HO Railway leftovers. I am not being to technical with the colour scheme, I am looking at the box art and then looking at the movie and then just splashing and spraying.

Looks awesome so far.What base color did you use?