Revell At-At WIP... finishing up!

[starks]

Hi guys,
I must have had this model kit for at least 10 years. My wife bought it for me as a gift along with a Revell snowspeeder but I just didn't priorities it until now.

These came pre painted... will be repainted and I figured I would just tidy up a few of the bigger inaccuracies. That was until I really started looking and realised this is about as close to the prototype as that caricature of Lord Vader on the box is to the real thing. Now I'm not a rivet counter and am not concerned with 100% accuracy. I do like things to try and look the part however.

I came across Baloo's thread of detailed drawings to reproduce the head. Some of the guys here (you know who you are) were kind enough to supply higher res copys of his drawings. I have redrawn those in Corel to suit cutting on the laser but am waiting on plastic to continue there so update there soon.

The kit feet are totally inaccurate, have raised lines instead of panel lines and are basically the wrong shape. I wont address the shape too much but am attempting the panel lines and detail. Disclaimer here, I build and paint a kit ok but when it comes to making stuff out of tiny bits of plastic... it's not my forte'.

Here they are versus the studio foot:

I tried scoring new panel lines but struggled too much on the curved surface. I decided to make styrene strips to glue over the top. Now the laser is not particularly good with styrene as it melts but figured maybe I could get an engave of linework. I made a carboard template and drew it in Corel and managed this. a few holes and melted edges but we can work with this. sorry it's dark... was hard to photo.

From here I scored the lines a little deeper, cut these out and glued them around the foot like so:

Made a bunch of pieces that go above the 'toes' from styrene box and strip.

I sanded off the shock absorber mount, added a new one and filled the gap between the styrene detail strip and the foot upper. and a light prime to show the looming results.

Still some finishing work to do here and work on the upper foot section but hopefully this is a strong improvement over the kit foot and I'm not embarrassing myself too much. Currently finishing up this process on the other 3 feet.

Cheers,
Josh

 

[Analyzer]

Nice!

A few key things here and there really go a long way to making this kit shine

 

[starks]

Nice!

A few key things here and there really go a long way to making this kit shine

Thanks! hopefully I can achieve some decent results.
Cheers,
Josh

 

[starks]

Ok, I have made some progress on the head. I said in the beginning scratch building is not my forte' so there is a fair bit of effort so far.


Using Baloo's profile shots and cross referencing his layout of pieces I drew my own in Corel that I cut out of 1mm acrylic on the laser. I moved away from Baloo's plans in a few areas to make, what I thought, construction easier. Notably the rear section of the head has the bar attached with upper and lower sections making it simpler to jigsaw together. These gave me a great starting point. Did not fall together, has required some fitting and sanding but overall a big help. I'm happy to post this file up to help anyone that might be able to use it.

Since then has just really been jigsawing everything together. Now this is not finished, still needs further construction, filling, a few more details and lines scored. I sprayed some fine surface primer on there to highlight the details and see the imperfections to rectify.
In acrylic:

and with some primer:

and next to the Revell head:

Hopefully this is headed in the right direction. I feel it is much closer to the studio model now.

Cheers,
Josh

 

[Analyzer]

Huge improvement!

I would not mind a copy of the file either if you are offering

 

[starks]

Huge improvement!

I would not mind a copy of the file either if you are offering

That's no problem at all. I will take a break from the model tonight and sit down and clean the file up to send out. I need to learn how to post it here on the thread.


When I eventually display this I would love to have a snowspeeder making his first loop around the legs. Does anyone know of a snowspeeder which would be in scale? This is 1/50 something assumably. That seems too big if you ask me. I would have thought 1/70 ish more feasable.

Cheers,
Josh

 

[Analyzer]

That's no problem at all. I will take a break from the model tonight and sit down and clean the file up to send out. I need to learn how to post it here on the thread.


When I eventually display this I would love to have a snowspeeder making his first loop around the legs. Does anyone know of a snowspeeder which would be in scale? This is 1/50 something assumably. That seems too big if you ask me. I would have thought 1/70 ish more feasable.

Cheers,
Josh

The Revell AT-AT is definitely closer to if not spot on for 1/72 based on height if upscaling from the Bandai 1/144 AT-AT size. although some claim is as 1/53.

That being said, there is the Revell pocket Snowspeeder which is around 1/53 or so, maybe as small as 1/57.

There is also a DiAgostini diecast Snowspeeder from their vehicle collection that is something like 1/70 scale. It is a great match size wise

However, it has no interior as the canopy is solid and the glass just painted black

There is also the RetroSF snowspeeder

Rebel Speeder (Grey Markings) - RetrokiT

1/72 resin kit of the Rebel Speeder as seen in Episode V

retrokitonline.net

Rebel Speeder (Red Markings) - RetrokiT

1/72 resin kit of the Rebel Speeder as seen in Episode V

retrokitonline.net

 

[Analyzer]

Forgetting about scales and using a more visual comparison of relative sizes

here is what we would consider the "standard candle" of a Bandai 1/144 AT-AT head to snowspeeder ratio

Here is the ratio between the Revell AT-AT and the RetroSF 1/72 Snowspeeder

And here is the Revell AT-AT with the Revell pocket kit snowspeeder

And here the Revell Snowspeeder on the left with 1/72 REtroSF Snowspeeder to the right of it compared to relative sizes of the Bandai 1/144

From left to right Revell, DiAgostini, RetroSF

 

[starks]

analyzer

Forgetting about scales and using a more visual comparison of relative sizes

here is what we would consider the "standard candle" of a Bandai 1/144 AT-AT head to snowspeeder ratio
View attachment 1449271

Here is the ratio between the Revell AT-AT and the RetroSF 1/72 Snowspeeder

View attachment 1449272


And here is the Revell AT-AT with the Revell pocket kit snowspeeder

View attachment 1449273

And here the Revell Snowspeeder on the left with 1/72 REtroSF Snowspeeder to the right of it compared to relative sizes of the Bandai 1/144
View attachment 1449274

From left to right Revell, DiAgostini, RetroSF
View attachment 1449275
View attachment 1449276

Fantastic comparison shots!
You confirmed my feelings about the scale so thats good to know. I cant see a 1/53 person standing inside that head very well.

I'm thinking the Retro speeder may be the way to go. That deago one is nice also but given an option would prefer to see a cockpit.

Needs to be added nice job on those speeders Analyzer and couldn't help but notice your work updating the Revell At-At head. That's a huge improvement and the build in general is on point, very well painted! It shows what a decent kit it actually is.

Moving foward, and being sensible, what other areas do you feel need work?

Cheers,
Josh

 

[starks]

ok hopefully these work. I've exported them to JPEGs. If another file type is required I may need to email it to those who need it.
Some of these pieces will be a little oversized and require sanding after gluing together. These will definetily allow you to create the upper portion of the head...as you can see I achieved, but as I only initially drew these for myself some parts need a tickle

If there's a better way to upload the files and someone can let me know how I'm happy to do it.

Cheers,
Josh

 

[Analyzer]

Moving foward, and being sensible, what other areas do you feel need work?

I think the head and the feet are the two biggest problem areas and you have addressed those issues quite nicely

For guns people have used the Tamiya 1/48 WWII German Flak VIERLING It seems perfect for the size
In this case the builder also found some after market brass barrels for the parts

Revell AT-AT upgrades WIP

I've been working on the Revell AT-AT kit for about a year now. I got it for about $20 thinking that it would be quick build in between more intense projects, but you know how that goes. ;) It's so darn big and close to being accurate I couldn't just build it as is, and every upgrade leads me...

www.therpf.com

The other issue is raised panel lines. I rescribed most

I basically did a bunch of quick fixes on the first one
I have a second one I am building and I plan to go to town on it, building an interior as well

 

[starks]

I think the head and the feet are the two biggest problem areas and you have addressed those issues quite nicely

For guns people have used the Tamiya 1/48 WWII German Flak VIERLING It seems perfect for the size
In this case the builder also found some after market brass barrels for the parts

Revell AT-AT upgrades WIP

I've been working on the Revell AT-AT kit for about a year now. I got it for about $20 thinking that it would be quick build in between more intense projects, but you know how that goes. ;) It's so darn big and close to being accurate I couldn't just build it as is, and every upgrade leads me...

www.therpf.com

The other issue is raised panel lines. I rescribed most

I basically did a bunch of quick fixes on the first one
I have a second one I am building and I plan to go to town on it, building an interior as well

Knowing your building skills I can't wait to see you tackle another At-At.

That build you linked to is nuts haha. It is great to see but man what an exercise. Its a lot of reinventing. I cant see myself going so far on this build but could easily upscale my drawings and do a studio scale one day!
But yes great info on the guns.
There is these on shapeways

ATAT REBELL CHIN GUN SET by TonyRR on Shapeways

Check out ATAT REBELL CHIN GUN SET by TonyRR on Shapeways and discover more 3D printed products in SciFi.

www.shapeways.com

Ive bought a few pieces from Antonio now and have all been top notch.

I really appreciate your input and advice!

Cheers,
Josh

 

[Hagoth]

I want to watch this one! Great job on the remodeling of the head.

 

[JediMichael]

Never a huge fan of Revell, but fixing things up can make it much better.

 

[starks]

I want to watch this one! Great job on the remodeling of the head.

Thanks! Its been quite a challenge so far but quite enjoyable achieving some progress.

Never a huge fan of Revell, but fixing things up can make it much better.

I actually haven't had much to do with Revell kits in more recent years. I built a few 20 years ago and can't say they were great but the fit on this seems far superior to back then.
They seem to have the proportions pretty close but just a shame they fell so far short on their detail for the head and feet.

Cheers,
Josh

 

[Sym-Cha]

So I took some screen grabs from youtube of the Hoth Battle scene ... and it feels to me ... the snow speeder is quite small in comparison ... perhaps even a tidbit smaller than the RetroSF suggestion made by Analyzer ???

Nice upgrades sofar Josh

Chaïm

 

[Analyzer]

It's been suggested that the 1/144 Snowspeeders may be a bit big for 1/144

It could also be that the Bandai At-At is on the small side for 1/144

In a way I almost feel like the better pairing is the 1/144 Speeders with the MPC AT-AT (which is around 1/110 I think)

As far as the Revell AT-AT and 1/72 range, there may be some 3D printable speeders but I am happy with the RetroSF one

 

[starks]

So I took some screen grabs from youtube of the Hoth Battle scene ... and it feels to me ... the snow speeder is quite small in comparison ... perhaps even a tidbit smaller than the RetroSF suggestion made by Analyzer ???

View attachment 1449726

View attachment 1449727

View attachment 1449728

Nice upgrades sofar Josh

Chaïm

Thanks Chaïm ! And thank you for the kind words. These pictures are a great help. And I like information added to the thread to help others in the future. The big thing that actually just stood out to me was the detail on the front edge of the legs in that second photo.... that's not on the Revell model.

That first picture is exactly what I envisioned building as a diorama so thats great! All feet on the ground so don't have to do undersides... and one rear left foot covered in snow even better so I can hide my one foot that just wasn't quite right haha.

On topic of snowspeeder scale. I see a continuity error here. You're correct even the retro does look too big in those shots of the speeder whipping around the legs. But not so much when under the foot... I would say it is actually quite reasonable. Back to the old chestnut of a film was not meant to be analysed this intently.
By the way am I seeing this incorrectly or does that speeder have grey markings on top and red on the bottom?

I dont have the ability to 3d print so am a little stuck to what I can buy and I feel the retroSF kit should be close enough.

Analyzer talking about older kits I recall building an AT-AT as a young teen. But I cannot remember the make. I remember the head and neck had a rubber band in place to aid in articulation.... which weakened and broke after some time. And the kit came with 2 scale snowspeeders. Do you recall this kit?

Cheers,
Josh

 

[Hagoth]

Analyzer talking about older kits I recall building an AT-AT as a young teen. But I cannot remember the make. I remember the head and neck had a rubber band in place to aid in articulation.... which weakened and broke after some time. And the kit came with 2 scale snowspeeders. Do you recall this kit?

Cheers,
Josh

Not Analyzer of course but I do know the kit you are talking about. I have two of them. It was the Return of the Jedi MPC kit. Here are pictures for scale to a piece of paper. Snow Speeder seems too small per the foot picture above but about right for he head shot. Seems I have misplaced one of the speeders.

 

[Analyzer]

Yep, that is the one

And that snowspeeder is almost the same size of the Bandai 1/144 Snowspeeders, just a tiny bit smaller despite the AT-AT being larger than the Bandai one

I guess since the 80's when that kit came out, it has always been my frame of reference for the relative size of the AT_AT vs Snowspeeder

It may be technically flawed, but it is not far off. For a long time the AT-AT was undersized and that why the 1/144 F-Toys AT-AT wound up so small