So I guess this is my first completion of 2023. Although it hardly counts as such. This is the old MPC snap together box scale, (1/54 per Scalemates) All Terrain Scout Transport. I had built the basic kit many years ago and started painting it for an April Fools theme at OC IPMS. But my painting skills at the time were not up to what was needed for the end result envisioned, so I just set it aside partially painted. So yesterday at IPMS Phoenix the theme was Star Wars/Star Trek/Battlestar Galactica and I remembered that I had this one sitting around and decided to finish it up. The kit comes with the armored flaps over the vision ports molded shut, so I created some new ones out of sheet plastic to match the shape, then drilled open the ports. Then I glued the new flaps in the open position and proceeded to do a rapid and complete exterior repaint into a standard Imperial look. Once the painting was done, I added some “glass” in the open vision ports using Micro Krystal Klear, and lastly followed up with some slight weathering.

Thank goodness for quick drying Tamiya acrylics with lacquer thinner. Not bad for an afternoon’s work.