Me neither, i am starting to think it won't show.

Yeah, I haven't heard any news about that AT-AT in about year and a half. :-( Thinking that's vaporware. 

I have the AMT kit and will settle for that. I would pay that sort of money for a kit, but it would have to be very special. I think we all have to justify to ourselves when it comes to paying big prices for kits, but if the subject is right for us, why not.

I am waiting to see what price tag Dragon will be putting on the AT-AT. I'm thinking in the region of £150, but we will see.

I'm on the fence. Sigh. $400 for a model is pushing crazy territory, but on the other hand, it's Bandai, and if the Falcon is anything like their other SW line, it will be an amazing kit.

My only rationalization is that since building the FM kit back in 2006, my skills and tools have improved, and I've always wanted to try again... :-)

PB

Those big Falcons are damned expensive. I had considered getting the FM kit, but i just can't justify that price for that subject. But i am looking forward to seeing bandai kit getting built.

I'm still trying to get some info on the Dragon AT-AT, but no new news on that. I am starting to get the feeling this may be anotehr Dragon promise that does not show up.

I try to have fun with weathering. Just throwing stuff at the plastic and seeing what sticks. :-)

OK, so Bandai dropped their big kit announcment and it is....drum roll.....

1/72 Falcon!

Good News:

1/72 Falcon!

It's Bandai, so you know the detail will be insane.

Apparently comes with a lighting kit.

Apparently comes with Han, Chewie, Leia, etc figures

Bad News:

1/72 Falcon--I already have the FM Falcon, so was hoping for a big SD.

List price is approx US $360 to $389

Apparently a Web/online Japan only exclusive, so getting it outside of Japan might be difficult. :-( Any eBay or other resellers who do get their hands on it will probably charge a mint, unfortunately.

Here are links:

Bandai Falcon Page

Video

Your right there PB, theres no real right or worng. I'll deffinetly have to do some experimenting.

Thanks for the compliments, guys! :-) :-) 

Bish, I'm sure you're right about AK being Spanish. I'm not sure why I thought they were UK. 

In any event, I just like playing around with different mediums and effects until something works. In many cases as I'm washing, dry brushing, and just generally making a mess, I end up with a "happy accident" that looks unintentionally not horrible. But that's the great thing about weathered sci-fi subjects--if you make a boo-boo, you can just say "well, that big finger print in the paint? It's battle damage!" 

Porkbits

Thank you, sir! :-) 

If you mean that sort of darker gray staining, it's AK Interactive's "Winter Streaking Grime." I started using their armor weathering paints recently, and really like them. You can just smear around and get a great random dirty effect. I think AK Interactive is UK based, too.

PB

 

Thanks PB. I have that streaking grime along with most of the otehrs, would never thought it was that. But then i have only use it for streaking on German armour. Looks a lot differant on light grey. Think i will have to start experimenting with the differant effects.

I always thought they were Spanish. I know the prices on their site are in Eruo's, but the site has no contact details.

Flory and Alclad are both based in the UK.

Thanks PB! Love how the leg and foot looks. As you say it's hard to make something that small look gigantic but you've done a great job! Looks massive, worn, and battered to me. 

Thank you, sir! :-) 

If you mean that sort of darker gray staining, it's AK Interactive's "Winter Streaking Grime." I started using their armor weathering paints recently, and really like them. You can just smear around and get a great random dirty effect. I think AK Interactive is UK based, too.

PB

PB, your doing a great job on the weathering. I really like the effects you are useing.

That darker area on top on the foot, how are you getting that effect. I sawsomthing similar on the snaowsppeder and really like that.

Just a small update:

Spent weekend bench time experimenting with weathering the AT-AT, and think I finally figured out an approach that works. Despite being a huge piece of machinery in imaginary real life (?), it is an unexpectedly tricky bugger to weather becasue of the small scale, so less is definitely more in this case. 

Thanks for looking and hope those in the U.S. had a good Memorial Day weekend! Marched in the town parade with my kids (little league and boy scouts) and paid my respects to the fallen at a ceremony at the local cemetery.

PB

Thanks, guys! :-) 

No pre-shading on the SD, but I might pick out some panels here and there and paint them a slightly darker shade.

Yeah, those look fantastic PB! Love the pre-shading on the AT-AT, can't see the SD quite as well but I assume it's there too. 

I like that PB, good choice of colour on the AT-AT, with the pre shading it looking really good.

Hey, gang:

Just a quick update from the Porkbits Imperial Shipyards and Skunkworks.

After some more assembly and preshading, finally getting top coats on the AT-AT (MM light gray) and (mix of MM light gray and flat white) on the SD:

After painting a few more bits on the AT-AT, I'll seal it with Future and then start weathering (fun part).

Hope everyone is well.

PS--Did I mention I REALLY love these Bandai SW kits? :-)

PB

Cool, thanks for the info. 

Thanks guys, I need to get some Stormtroopers painted next. 

PB: It's Star Wars SAGA edition from WotC. I looked for a good introduction to the game but couldn't find one. Still if you want to know more you might read some of the reviews at the Amazon site: 

https://www.amazon.com/Revised-Core-Rulebook-Star-Roleplaying/dp/078692876X/ref=pd_cp_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=078692876X&pd_rd_r=T2G57GCE1THASBPCXV1T&pd_rd_w=9s1aZ&pd_rd_wg=M7o0m&psc=1&refRID=T2G57GCE1THASBPCXV1T

Nice figures there G, some great imagination. Thanks for posting.

@Bobby: Go, Matthew! Man, R2 and R5 look great right of out the box. Gotta love Bandai's kits. So awesome that you got your son involved in SW modeling. Now I'm thinking I should get that same kit for my twins (they could each pick one to build) for their bdays. Hm.

@Gamera: Very cool figures. I like that Crushotron...this made me lol: "last session we tried to sneak into an Imperial facility and he painted himself white like a Stormtrooper and stuck press-on letters spelling I-M-P-E-R-A-L (he only had one I) on his chest. Upside down since he was sticking them on while looking at them..." So is this a home-baked RPG you're playing? (I don't have much experience with table-top RPGs/DnD)

Had only a little time to work on the AT-AT over the weekend, unfortunately. Hope to get some more benchtime in tomorrow during my lunch break.

PB

Gamera!  Those are very cool!  

BTW: a little off subject but hopefully ya'll will excuse me.

I've been working on miniatures for our SW RPG game. Pardon me since I'm not the greatest painter and I don't think the photos are that great either. Anyway they're all 28-32mm figures from a couple of companies.

From left to right:

The Twi'lek Jedi, modified from an Infinity generic alien figure. I had to make the head-tails from putty. We don't know much about her yet other than she's purple and since this is set at the beginning of the Rebellion Jedi have a price on their heads so she mostly wears a big robe with a hood. I liked this figure better though and the player likes it too so who cares if it's totally accurate.

Marco the human soldier: Paranoid and a little twichy he wears full body armour and a mask. Apparently it's not a fully-sealed suit like Bobba Fett but we still haven't seen his face. Another Infinity figure, the player picked out the figure and told me he wanted urban camo, so that's what I went with. As the only human in the party with the Empires human first policy he ends up being the spokeman for the party. Which is a riot since the player is of the 'less talky, more shooty' sort. 

Crushotron 2000: A former labour/heavy lifter droid reprogramed for the arena. A sorta Rock-em Sock-em Robot Wars sorta guy. And for some reason he talks like American wrestler Randy 'the Macho-Man' Savage. Not the fastest CPU, last session we tried to sneak into an Imperial facility and he painted himself white like a Stormtrooper and stuck press-on letters spelling I-M-P-E-R-A-L (he only had one I) on his chest. Upside down since he was sticking them on while looking at them... Old Wizards of the Coast D&D figure for a dwarven golem.

HK-57: My character. Based off HK-47 from the Knights of the Old Republic games. He's an assassin droid built to look like a protocol droid because as he says 'no one notices protocol droids- they're like furniture. You don't notice them till the sofa is pointing a high-powered blaster rifle at your head.' His current plan is: 'Palapatine is the most powerful being in the galaxy. Therefore anyone who assassinates Palapatine will become the greatest assassin ever!' There is a figure of the character available but I didn't want to pay ten-twenty bucks for a cheap poorly-molded plastic figure when I had this nicely detailed one from Reaper already.   

Not shown since these guys bought their own figures and I didn't paint them: 

Zhak the Clanless: Gran sniper. I don't know much about him yet other than it seems having three eyes he gets big bonuses as a sharpshooter. 

Warlug the Gamorrian soldier: Don't know much about him either other than he speaks no Basic and is pretty keen to kill anything that gets in our way.

Gamera

PB: Looked up the Cavern Angel X-Wings last night and cool! That's an interesting scheme, I like the bold black and white markings. Though seems to me for these guys Z-95 Headhunters would have made more sense but hey what do I know!?!

Bobby: Ohhh, those are cool! Great to see the kids take an interest in building stuff, one of my nephews sorta likes models but the other two have no interest. And that's some nice work too, I wish I'd been that good at that age. 

 

Thank you!  It has been great doing them with both of them....not sure if it will stick, but I'm loving the moment.

PB: Looked up the Cavern Angel X-Wings last night and cool! That's an interesting scheme, I like the bold black and white markings. Though seems to me for these guys Z-95 Headhunters would have made more sense but hey what do I know!?!

Bobby: Ohhh, those are cool! Great to see the kids take an interest in building stuff, one of my nephews sorta likes models but the other two have no interest. And that's some nice work too, I wish I'd been that good at that age. 

Bish

Nice builds there Boddy. I did not realise those droids were that big, i thought those were only 1/12th scale but they look a lot bigger than that.

 

Thank you Lord Bish,

They are 1/12 scale, but they are pretty good size.  They have a place of honor in Matthew's room now.  LOL!  He is very proud he got to help build R2-D2.  He did a lot more on the U-Wing fighter.  The Bandai kit was a bit too  much for him to sit and read, so I set up the parts and he finished them.  The Revell kit only had a few steps and went together very quickly.  And he was able to look at the pics on the instructions and figure it out, so he had his hand in on the fighter a lot more.  He is a SW fan and loves all droid things.  So him doing the R2 unit was a big deal for him.  I've not been a fan of "snap fit" kits, but both the Bandai and Revell kits surprised me.  The Bandai kit blow my mind with the detail, fit and sticker thickness.  The Revell kit was great too and you could really take that one, and do a complete model with it.  The detail is there for some very nice weathering too.

Next up....Star Destroyer and I think the Stormtrooper!

Nice builds there Boddy. I did not realise those droids were that big, i thought those were only 1/12th scale but they look a lot bigger than that.

Hey everyone!  What an awesome GB!  And great stuff being built!  I have been so inspired...I had to do more SW builds!  LOL!  Well, I promised Bish I would do more then one, and my daughter helped by doing one of her own!  Well, my son wanted in on it and he has been bugging me to put together the Bandai R2-D2 and R5-D4 kit I got (which now resides in his room...he loves SW and ALL droids!).  We had fun putting it together.  He pressed pieces together and has told everyone he built R2-D2!  Great time together!  Well, when I got home tonight...he wanted to do the Revell U-Wing fighter I got.  So we did that one too.  That took all of about 10 minutes to do and he is so proud that he has done 2 SW kits now.  LOL!  He's awesome.  So here are the Bandai R2-D2 and R5-D4 kit and the Revell U-Wing fighter.

The Bandai kit was amazing.  The fit was really good for a "snap fit" kit.  All the parts fit tight with the exception of one or two.  A drop of Tamiya thin and she was good to go.  Now the stickers were the big surprise to me!  I was expecting regular sticker thickness...no!  These are almost decal thin!  The went on very well and I was pleasantly surprised.  Made it easy for the little to put one or two on also.    The Revell kit was SUPER fast to put together.  It basically builds into a toy with light and sounds, but it could easily be glued, repainted and detailed up a lot to make a spectacular model.  So overall, I'm pretty happy with both kits.  I still have the Revell Star Destroyer to put together with my daughter and the Bandai Stormtrooper and TIE Stryker kits to do.  And I will be looking into getting ALL the Bandai kits.  Hope you enjoy!  Thanks for looking.

Ye, i can't imagine theres much if any differance, apart from markings. I looked on Wookieepedia and that does not mention any changes.