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Mini scale: a blog about models and minis

My Kind of Scum!

4/20/2020

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I had admired this Boba Fett model kit for quite a while, but was intimidated by the amount of weathering on his armor. Similar to his ship the Slave I, Boba Fett's personal armor has sort of the quintessential lived-in Star Wars look. For weathering enthusiasts, these types of projects are a joy but also majorly intimidating. In other words, the perfect project to end last summer's productive run of model building!
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As usual, the assembly process was as streamlined and simple as all of the Bandai Character model kits. I decided to keep the molded colors for the most part, and I weathered straight onto the molded plastic before any clear coats. The main benefit of this method, if you use acrylic paints, is that you can scratch away paint marks for realistic-looking wear and tear. All of the silver marks that you see on the green, red, and yellow armor pieces were weathered in this manner. For the grey undersuit, I used a dark grey acrylic wash to enhance the creases and folds as well as give it a slightly dirty look.
The cape options included in the box were pretty weak, so I cut off the cape from my old Black Series Boba Fett figure and glued it to this figure, which was a perfect match and quality soft goods. This looks far more authentic than the weird rubbery one Bandai includes with the kit. I am sure you could find other custom cloth goods capes around the internet as well.

Another enhancement I made to the final figure is the stand. I purchased one of the action bases that are designed for the Gundam figures but work with other Bandai kits because this kit is begging to be displayed in an action flight pose. We never get to see Boba Fett do much action or jetpack flying in the movies, but our imaginations ran wild with the potential of his sweet armor.

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Finally, I used a combination of detail painting and decals to finish off the small areas on his wrist gauntlets, jetpack, helmet, belt, and blasters. As you might know from many previous posts, the Bandai decals can be very difficult to work with, so I have moved to painting as much as possible. The only decals I used were for the symbols on his shoulder and chest plates, and the details on his helmet. This kit has become my new favorite of the character models because it just looks so cool. If you can find this kit, I highly recommend going for it. You will be happy you gave it a shot!
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Snow Falls on My First Diorama

8/28/2019

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 This past winter I got brave. I branched out and decided to build my first diorama. I had purchased the AT-AT model kit a while back and then found out that the Snowspeeder and AT-ST mini kits came in the same 1/144 scale. It was clearly a match made in heaven. I knew it was time to experiment with diorama building. 

Part of the reason I started with Hoth as a diorama subject was because of the straightforward appearance of snow. I knew I could get away with buying minimal new product and have to do little shaping for a decent result. I used Tamiya's Snow Effects products, which I would highly recommend. I used a bottle and a half of Snow Effects and about one bottle of the Powder
Effects for the top layer. The surface of the diorama is about 12in x 18in. At the time I did not own any small spatulas, so I just used craft sticks. I would recommend the spatulas for easier application.
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I based my diorama on the scene in Empire Strikes Back when the walker stops, sticks its back leg out, and shoots down a passing snowspeeder. I remember being surprised and impressed with that shot when I first saw the movie many years ago, and I thought it would make a great diorama scene. Thankfully the AT-AT model kit has great pose-ability, and I was able to stage a decent reproduction.
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The model kits themselves were all great builds. The small Vehicle Model line of kits from Bandai make great diorama models, with an extra quick assembly time. I was most impressed with the ability to pose the walker in a variety of positions, including crashed. I have seen plenty of great builds with downed walkers from various other scale modellers. If I had an unlimited budget and space, I could see a nice Battle of Hoth diorama with multiple walkers and snowspeeders all over. No worries, however, because I am very happy with the results for this diorama. Check out the slideshow below for a few more pictures.
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    Model builder, board gamer, and all around lover of small scale stuff.

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