Rebel Alliance AT-AA Walker

[AeroplaneDriver]

I have to confess to being in a bit of a modeling funk over the past few weeks.  I lost my mojo as they say.  I started a couple of kits that turned out to be disappointments one because of unexpected fit issues, the other because an eBay seller sent the wrong camouflage masks and I'm terrible as masking hard edge camo without them.  So both got boxed back up and put on the shelf for another time. 

So how to break the funk..?  I've found before that a Bandai Star Wars kit is the perfect medicine...



Throughout the galaxy Imperial Walkers were seen as a symbol of oppression during Palpatine's reign.  But walkers occasionally found there way into the Rebel arsenal too.  Though AT-ATs in Alliance service were relatively rare, many AT-STs were captured either in skirmishes with smaller Imperial outposts or during daring raids on Imperial transport ships. 

In Rebel service AT-STs were often modified with custom weaponry and other special equipment.  One such modification saw the AT-ST's two main blasters replaced with a single Heavy Blaster Cannon, becoming an All Terain Agile Assault walker (AT-AA).   Thought rate of fire was slower a well placed hit from this cannon could cripple an AT-AT.  Other modifications included the fitting of concussion missile launchers and advanced sensors.  Astromech droids were also routinely carried as on many Rebel starfighters.





Cockpit is quite nice, but the seats had Bandai's trademark slots in them to fit the two Imperial drivers.  Since my build with not have drivers I fashioned some seat cushions from blu-tac and added harnesses.  I added a few other little details from styrene stock and bits of sprue, but over all it is gorgeous out of the box. 



BFG WiP.  The main part of the gun is the barrel from a 1/35 Tamiya Walker tank.  Some bits of tube and rod make it look busier and some cabling will be added later too. 

For now it's mostly wearing Tamiya Gray Primer, which is a fair match for the Imperial gray color.  My plan is to paint over this with the lighter, warmer gray that Rebel ships wore with the kind of colorful markings seen on star fighters too.  I plan on some heavy chipping to reveal the Imperial gray beneath and of course some blaster hit scorching showing that this AT-AA is a veteran of many battles.

[buzzbomb]

Refreshing take on the Star Wars Universe

[Old Wombat]

 

[Captain Canada]

Nice one ! I like how you used the gun parts from a Walker tank lol.

[AeroplaneDriver]

Nice one ! I like how you used the gun parts from a Walker tank lol.

That didn't even click until you mentioned it!   

[rickshaw]

Interesting.  Never really understood the preference for walkers.  Seem to have far too heavy a curb weight to me, on those tiny little feet.  However, that is me.   

[AeroplaneDriver]

A little progress today.  The puny concussion grenade launcher on the right "cheek" has been upgraded by the rebels to a concussion missile launcher.

[Captain Canada]

Lots of fire power now !

[Rick Lowe]

Cool!

Probably a bit late, but I'd be a little concerned about the stability and potential for 'leakage' of the blu-tack over time.
There again, I've also seen it dry out and go hard, so YMMV... *shrug*

[AeroplaneDriver]

Cool!

Probably a bit late, but I'd be a little concerned about the stability and potential for 'leakage' of the blu-tack over time.
There again, I've also seen it dry out and go hard, so YMMV... *shrug*

I've used it for seat cushions and similar for years. Never an issue. It always just dries out. 

[Rick Lowe]

Cool!

Probably a bit late, but I'd be a little concerned about the stability and potential for 'leakage' of the blu-tack over time.
There again, I've also seen it dry out and go hard, so YMMV... *shrug*

I've used it for seat cushions and similar for years. Never an issue. It always just dries out.

Fair enough, voice of experience and all that.
I was just thinking of some of the other horror stories I've heard about various things that have leaked over time.

Hmm... I have some which has been used for so long that it's lost it's stickability, so that could be a better use than throwing it in the bin... thanks for the tip. 

[AeroplaneDriver]

Well she's done and looks good on the shelf.  My "finished" pics tonight were a bit rushed so I'm going to wait until tomorrow for the final reveal with better pics, but just to throw out an update...

I thought one of my SW kits had a Rebel Alliance "Firebird" emblem decal.  It did not.  So I decided to try my hand as making a mask and painting it.  I printed out the emblem and cut it out with a new 11 blade.  Then I stuck it on a strip of Tamiya tape and cut around it to make a mask.  Test painted on my A-4 paint mule and was happy so pressed on. 

It's not perfect by a long shot, but it's good enough to pass as an emblem painted by a rag-tag bunch of rebels! 

Final reveal tomorrow! 

[AeroplaneDriver]

All done! 

[buzzbomb]

Simply executed and perfect to theme

Nice work

[Jesse220]

Wow