Bandai release schedule

Am I the only one who'd be excited for a Bandai Twin Pod Cloud Car? I always liked the idea of displaying two of them alongside my Fine Molds 1/72 Falcon.

If Bandai ever does the TIE Bomber, I wonder if they'd be clever enough to offer the option of flipping the solar panels to convert it into Captain Needa's shuttle?View attachment 698834

A cloud car in 1/48 or 1/72 scale (basically something similar in size to the 1/72 X-Wing / Y-Wing, 1/48 Snow Speeder, etc) would be an instant buy for me. I wouldn't be interested if they did it in "mini" size though. That said, I think the mini kits are super cool. I'm amazed at the detail they pack into the kits and am very happy for the enthusiasts out there who enjoy this scale. I have a wish list a mile long but I'm hoping we see a TIE Bomber and B-Wing soon to round out the core fighters of the original trilogy.
 
I may be disappointed in the size, but I'm still buying one, or three! I have every Bandai vehicle kit so far and I don't plan on stopping. You know one of the great things about this kit? One red LED to light it up!
 
One red LED to light it up!

I thought the same thing! The only question, however, is where to install the coin battery and how will it be accessible. Bandai's engineering is usually so tight that it's hard to find ways to make removable panels. I'm still trying to figure out how to light my R2 and BB-8 figures.
 
I saw this on eBay this morning - pretty cool - almost makes me want to buy 3 of the mini star destroyers :)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/acrylic-dis...r-Destroyer-model-kit-Star-Wars-/252703440995

m2elAxmEwyXpx2jYyw0SkaA.jpg
 
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I thought the same thing! The only question, however, is where to install the coin battery and how will it be accessible. Bandai's engineering is usually so tight that it's hard to find ways to make removable panels. I'm still trying to figure out how to light my R2 and BB-8 figures.

I doubt the legs will be solid. Use ultra thin magnet wire and run the wires inside the leg to the foot where your button cell hides! Or, you could make a removable hull panel and hide everything inside the body. Hold the panel in place with tiny magnets. That's what I did on my lighted Bandai Falcon.

Easy!:D
 
It seems Bandai is including a shock absorber mechanism (springs?) in the foot pad, so there might not be room there. Yeah, the easiest solution would be to put it somewhere in the body, but I don't want the panel seam to be obvious. I'm sure I'll figure out something. At least there won't be major proportion and detail surgery required, like on the old AMT kit.
 
I may be disappointed in the size, but I'm still buying one, or three! I have every Bandai vehicle kit so far and I don't plan on stopping. You know one of the great things about this kit? One red LED to light it up!
Good point, in 1/144 I see modelers buying multiple AT-ATS for dioramas.

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I wish that they would supplement a bit more with some extras. One would think that a 1/144 ATAT should come with two snowspeeders, a rebel laser turret and a shield generator.

Slave one should come with a bespin landing platform. (Not that 1/4 debacle)

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Although I was initially disappointed by all the small scale releases I have to honestly admit that like and addict I will continue to buy Bandai kits!

Their attention to detail and superbly engineered kits are just too good to pass up!
 
I may be disappointed in the size, but I'm still buying one, or three! I have every Bandai vehicle kit so far and I don't plan on stopping. You know one of the great things about this kit? One red LED to light it up!

Good point, in 1/144 I see modelers buying multiple AT-ATS for dioramas.

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I believe this what Bandai is looking for regarding sales. You might please the small subset of target buyers by doing a big kit, but your going to get a hell of a lot more business from a much larger group of people buying multiples of a kit that is more reasonable size.

What I am describing is display scale, not box scale. Vehicles with a smaller footprint (snowspeeder and AT-ST) are 1/48, others like the X-wing and TIE fighters are 1/72, larger vehicles are 1/144. The finished models typically fit in an approximately 6x6 inch square.

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So, box scale it is then?

The 1/144 AT-AT fits in with most of Bandai's other SW vehicle models as far as shelf space needed to display it. Other than the 1/48 x-wing, do any of the other vehicles take up much more than a 6x6 inch area?

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As mentioned earlier, it is very clear they are approaching these kits much like a scaled up mecha collection.

This is the same approach as the box scale kits we've seen from other model companies like AMT and Revell, the only real difference being they are sticking to established scales (1/48, 1/72, 1/144, 1/350 etc...) rather than winding up with odd scales (like 1/55, 1/79 etc) as in Revell's case Basically you produce a kit that is the largest established scale it can be and still fit in a desired "box" footprint on a display shelf

This doesn't mean they won't break that format with scaled up releases here and there, but for the initial waves of each subject they are sticking to the display shelf "box scale" plan.

They can then use those as a springboard to finance some of the "riskier" or more niche larger scale things that will appeal to the more "focused" modeler.

They have done it with the Yamato line and based on the comments from the BlueFin guy earlier, they will be unveiling one of those larger kits later this year
 
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I wish that they would supplement a bit more with some extras. One would think that a 1/144 ATAT should come with two snowspeeders, a rebel laser turret and a shield generator.

Slave one should come with a bespin landing platform. (Not that 1/4 debacle)

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And flea sized rebels to stomp on!!!
 
Definitely going to vote with my dollars.


I'm buying at LEAST 2 little AT ATs. Jakku junkyard here we come!



OMG YES!! Of course its so obvious now... Rey lives in an AT-AT and the 1/144 Falcon comes with 2 Rey's and BB-8. Right im getting one of these lil AT-AT's now too!

Id still love a 1/48, a dio that size, with that much detail and big snowspeeders would be so cool. Ive actually lost count of how many Bandai Star Wars Kits ive got now 60+ i guess lol.
 
the japanese description say "the side plate is removable". I dont't know what plate is, but maybe the battery can be put there...

Interesting. I wonder why they'd have a removable plate since this isn't a in-world feature on the "real" At-ATs. Are they anticipating people lighting it, like they did the Falcon? Maybe they plan to have a stand attachment point like the poop-chute attachment on the 1/6 stormie. If there's a removable panel, problem solved. It's an intriguing development.

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OMG YES!! Of course its so obvious now... Rey lives in an AT-AT and the 1/144 Falcon comes with 2 Rey's and BB-8. Right im getting one of these lil AT-AT's now too!

Brilliant! Add in a scratch-built (or Shapeways) Rey Speeder and you've got something amazing.
 
My guess is (and this is a very wild one) that the panel will reveal the interior of either the cockpit (like on the AT-ST), the main compartment box (main body) or just a small portion like the removal cone on the Y-Wing. An open body shell with interior would be awesome though; it might look like a cut-away version. :)
 
I've managed to pick up every one of the 1/72 scaled ships from Bandai and will continue to do so.

But I'm not really interested in the tiny 1/144 line or the figure lines. Hoping for an announcement soon for the large (3 foot) Star Destroyer, though. Here's hoping that Dragon comes through with the 1/35 line of AT-AT, AT-ST and Snowspeeder!
 
Re: side plate removable. My best guess is some armor plates are removable for the harpooned AT-AT on the ground scene. Look at the pic from taghobby in the top right corner, I see some missing (darker) on the top and left side.

ESB scene for comparison:
Bildschirmfoto 2017-01-17 um 19.59.17.png
 
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