ESB AT-ST BUILD: "ka chung, ka chung, ka chung…"

Scott Graham

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RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
This is Allan Hansen's partially built project that I've taken over. Allan had built the head and top of the chassis - some of the most difficult and important areas to scratch and modify kit parts. Also, the kit parts were ordered very neatly into bags representing the subassemblies, which helped move things along in an orderly fashion. Allan also made possible placement of non-canon symmetry in some of the head parts on the right side of the head by using magnets to hold them on or pose it with them off, as is the stop motion puppet. Even the chin guns are held on with magnets. Allan is also the first person to develop the armature, which for this version was made possible by Quincy Cutshaw.

Since all of that was taken care of, I've completed most of the rest of it the last two weeks. These pics show it as of last weekend. Since then I've made a couple of mistakes that I'll just have to live with. Hopefully they're not too noticeable and can be put down to "interpretation". Everyone seems to build them a little differently and makes them a little more neat than the original - which had hot glue blobs especially all over the right thigh area. The original was built in such a rush I'm surprised it held up for filming!

I'll post pics of this weekend's progress in the next day or so. I'm just placing the hoses and such now. They're the last parts to go on it. Oh yeah, and the little part that goes under the nebelwerfer arms in the upper thigh area. The feet and engine areas are just fit in place, no glue yet.

I ended up scratching the inner thigh plate that had me scratching my head and on an intergalactic search of obscure kit parts trying to find it. Life's too short, and I had to move on.

For the most part I wrote with pen on parts then eyeballed x-acto-ing or razor blading the cuts on parts. Only in one area did I waste an AMT flatbed part by cutting it incorrectly.

Now I have my own unstarted AT-ST to figure out what to do with. One of the reasons I never started it was the challenge it took to cut and glue the head correctly to begin with. I'd like to make another, using this as reference. The other might be idealized and symmetrical instead of asymmetrical like this one. All I know is I can't get enough of building these. I also have a Neisen version I made a diorama of.

So far I've had a blast with this! Thanks for the opportunity Allan and happy motorcycling. :)
 
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Many thanks on this build also to Quincy Cutshaw for putting together the armature and parts list. He was following up on what Allan, Lee, Jason and Julien had found earlier. With the armature drawings originally coming, I believe, from Allan. And Guy recently found one of the last remaining parts to ID.

I've looked at all of your builds constantly to help see what's going on with this thing. Thank you all.

More pics later today of it nearly done!
 
Updated pics-part 1. Hoses in place, but not permanent. I can't figure out where the large rear one belongs quite yet.
 
Thanks guys!

I just noticed looking at reference that the inner areas of the toes, made from M5A1 kit parts should be different - one thing added to the "do over" list.
 
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Looks wonderful - I love seeing more of these!!! Which hoses are you having a question about? You have all my pics?

P1040458.jpg
 
LOL, yeah. Horrible glue blobs! That part of the original makes anyone happy when we deviate from the prop.

My right side front thigh part is at a little different angle too, but I'll live with it. That's a tricky area that everyone does a little differently.

Yes, I have the reference. Awesome stuff that. I kind of went with the spirit of the original in not being overly anal, and I hope it worked out well. I'm still going to go back and fix some stuff lacking with the claw/under toe shroud area. Maybe hit the front of the left thigh with the proper styrene disk base. And probably try to get those huge dimples around the plastruct parts to chill out a bit, but filling and redrilling will be tricky to pull off.

Hoses: the F1 1/12 clear hoses are too thin. Maybe the black hoses in the kits were clear in the good ol' days?

I've got some flexible clear vinyl hose coming in that's used for fishing lures. Hopefully it's twice as thick as the F1 stuff, or else I've got another source lined up just in case.

I've got to say also that Scott Janish's find on the B-29 parts for the toe shrouds (I think that's how it went. Please correct if I'm wrong) worked out well. I kind of drew on them then went at them with a razor saw. I'm happy with how they turned out.
 
You know what...with that pic I realize that the flak part was supposed to go over the top of the disk. Oops. Not sure if I'll go back and fix it though. Another thing on the list...
 
And there's no morser part riding the top of the right thigh, but most of us add that part...it just seems right to do it. Otherwise that knobby part up front just rides the glue blobs!
 
Yeah, I built one, and am working on a second one for me... I'm going to flesh mine out more, since I already did the "screen accurate" version! The original is clearly bent, broken, and unfinished. I would have LOVED to have seen the original static model before it got broken up to make the posable prop.
 
I say again, ALLAN HANSEN knocked this way out the park, the armature design is so spot on now, our V1's are damn close, but this V3.1 is off the hook.
The build group from way back as a whole, worked long, and very hard on this project, you all know who you are!
To add, it wouldnt have been possible either without some really good groundwork from Jason, obtaining mush needed ref pics, so much was learned!

lee
 
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