Topic: Bandai Star Wars model kit review.

[JDeck]

I got one a few months back, but haven't taken the time to build it. I will follow this closely. Off to share.

  Yeah I remember you got one, I was kinda jelly. But you should put it together. I know when you open the box it looks very daunting, but the trick with these kits is to just take it one step at a time, that's it really. Id say 4 hours of build time. As a matter of fact I'm not even going to paint or weather this one. I want to be able to pick it up and play with it without scratching the paint or whatever. This is fully articulated and has several displaying options.

[JDeck]

I started building the AT-AT. It went pretty smoothly, I did make a couple of stupid mistakes, so make sure you follow the instructions carefully. Thankfully with these Bandai kits you can pull something apart if need be. First thing they have you build, is the "head". Pretty smooth going, you can slide the top part of the head to expose the cockpit. The cockpit is very nicly detailed, just needs paint. It doesn't come with a General Veers figure, without him, it seems like something is missing. The main guns can move back and forth independently, which is great. The neck can fold pretty high up, to put the walker in a collapsed position.

    Next step are the legs. Initially I thought it would be mind numbing repetative work, but it went quickly. Each leg has about 25-30 parts, and the way the articulation works is really neat. The whole leg is articulated the way it's supposed to be, even the toes move up and down. Each leg has interchangeable inserts, to depict the hydraulics in different positions.
  I've pretty much finished the rest, other than a few finishing parts, so stay tuned for the rest of the review.

[JDeck]

  Alright, so I finished the build. I estimated a 4 hour build time, but I got it done in about 3 hours, meybe less. The undercarriage is very nicly detailed, it has soft plastic hip joints, so the legs can be removed without damage. The body has 2 panels that are removable with mechanical details underneath. This is the most detailed AT-AT kit I've ever seen. It's the ultimate AT-AT. Yes, it's a little small, at 6.5 inches, but it packs a wallop. What more can I really say, it's a great kit.
  I chose not to paint this one. It doesn't really need it. However a black wash would really bring out the detail, and add some realism. The cockpit could use some paint and detailing, as could the underside of the removable panels. 

[hemble]

Another awesome review buddy and I still need to get a few of these for a few endor, Tatooine and Hoth dio's.

Ron

[Tamer]

Nice. I am gonna build mine. Off to share this review. I will get a button made for it for the Imperial Review Archives Section too.

[JDeck]

Another awesome review buddy and I still need to get a few of these for a few endor, Tatooine and Hoth dio's.

Ron

  Thanks bud! That's what I like about the land vehicles, you can make different diorama environments.

[JDeck]

Nice. I am gonna build mine. Off to share this review. I will get a button made for it for the Imperial Review Archives Section too.

  Thank you Tamer! Another thing to keep in mind with these kits, is to be sure to clean off the sprue remnants, just like any other model.   With these the parts fit so snug, you really have to be sure. I just use an exacto knife to carve of the little sprue tags.
   I ordered the 1/144 U-wing and TIE striker, also the 1/144 AT-ST and snowspeeder. I should have a review on them next week.

[Tamer]

I think I have those too, but am not sure I need to go see which scales I have.

[JDeck]

  I got the Bandai 1/144 U-wing and TIE striker kit. When I first saw this kit, I was really excited, because you got a variety of different vehicles in the same scale, and in the same box. Also if you combined this kit with a few other 1/144 kits, you could build a really cool battle of Scarif diorama. I was mostly excited about the Assault Tanks, Star Wars ground vehicles are few and far between. I can see why they did it this way. 1/72 U-wing would be too big, and 1/144 U-wing by itself wouldnt justify a $20+ price tag, so they sweetened the pot.

   The U-wing is the main attraction. The wings fold open and closed. You have an option with the canopy whether to use clear plastic, or just the colored plastic frame. I chose the colored plastic frame on mine. It does come with decals, however I did not apply them, I'm still debating whether or not to custom paint it a different variation, as these decals depict Cassian Andor's U-wing. The kit also comes with a 1/144 Cassian and K2-SO figures in seated position. The kit does come with the landing gear option, but I did not apply it to my model. Not a bad build, no trick parts no hassles.

[JDeck]

  Next is the TIE striker. It's pretty much like the 1/144 TIE fighters that are in the "concept line", pretty basic, compared to the 1/72. But it still is nicely detailed. The solar panels are grey, same as the rest of the fighter. The canopy/windshield is solid cast in a dark grey plastic. So you have to do some painting. It does come with a few decals, but you have to paint it anyway, so its kinda pointless. The wings do, fold upward and downward, like it's supposed to. Overall, it's a great model, but painting is required.

   And finally the Assault Tanks. They are nicely sculpted and detailed. They are a little bigger than I had imagined. The side guns pivot up and down. Each tank has an option for an open hatch with a commander figure, or a closed hatch. The figure is cast in the black/charcoal plastic the same as the rest of the tank parts. This model needs to be painted as well. Overall I really like it. I would like it more if I didn't have to paint the whole thing, but that's the way it is.

[Starchaser]

It's been a bit since I've commented on anything. I love the model commentary and images. Thanks for taking the tie to build and post these. They look great. I particularly like the tanks.

[hemble]

Yet another great review buddy, I have some of these coming and can't wait to build a Jedha dio with the tank and 1/144 AT-ST that I have. Also just a quick one, is the tank commander full body or just the upper torso?

Ron

[JDeck]

It's been a bit since I've commented on anything. I love the model commentary and images. Thanks for taking the tie to build and post these. They look great. I particularly like the tanks.

   Thank you Starchaser. Good to see you back, I hope to see some more customs from you soon as well. I really enjoy building these kits, they are fun to put together. This whole kit took me about an hour, so I'd say it's time well spent. The Assault Tanks are really well detailed, but it's hard to capture without paint to contrast.

Yet another great review buddy, I have some of these coming and can't wait to build a Jedha dio with the tank and 1/144 AT-ST that I have. Also just a quick one, is the tank commander full body or just the upper torso?

Ron

      Thank you Ron! The Tank Commander is just the upper torso, with a peg that fits in the hole.  I have the 1/144 AT-ST coming in today, I'll figure out something to do with all of them. Remember the MPC Battle of Hoth kit I got? Well it comes with a ton of Rebel soldiers, however they are just slightly bigger than 1/144, but its not a big deal. So I might do some kind of battle scene.

[hemble]

Yet another great review buddy, I have some of these coming and can't wait to build a Jedha dio with the tank and 1/144 AT-ST that I have. Also just a quick one, is the tank commander full body or just the upper torso?

Ron

      Thank you Ron! The Tank Commander is just the upper torso, with a peg that fits in the hole.  I have the 1/144 AT-ST coming in today, I'll figure out something to do with all of them. Remember the MPC Battle of Hoth kit I got? Well it comes with a ton of Rebel soldiers, however they are just slightly bigger than 1/144, but its not a big deal. So I might do some kind of battle scene.
[/quote]

Cool cheers mate I have a few 1/144 figures that I can use for the lower half and yeah I remember when you got that and I think they are 1/146 -1/150 scale but hey they will look awesome with the Star Wars kits.

Ron

[JDeck]

Yet another great review buddy, I have some of these coming and can't wait to build a Jedha dio with the tank and 1/144 AT-ST that I have. Also just a quick one, is the tank commander full body or just the upper torso?

Ron

      Thank you Ron! The Tank Commander is just the upper torso, with a peg that fits in the hole.  I have the 1/144 AT-ST coming in today, I'll figure out something to do with all of them. Remember the MPC Battle of Hoth kit I got? Well it comes with a ton of Rebel soldiers, however they are just slightly bigger than 1/144, but its not a big deal. So I might do some kind of battle scene.

Cool cheers mate I have a few 1/144 figures that I can use for the lower half and yeah I remember when you got that and I think they are 1/146 -1/150 scale but hey they will look awesome with the Star Wars kits.

Ron
[/quote]
   Yeah I think anything within 10% out of scale is fine. I can put the larger pieces in the foreground. I think the Death Star tower cannon, that comes with the A-wing, works pretty well with the 1/144 scale as well. I might do some kind of battle of Scarif non canonical battle scene.