Snowspeeder (modeling with kids)

Cutting the parts from the parts tree, fitting and gluing Interested the owner of this model.
The kit came with paints, glue and brush, which was the only thing we used in the weathering phase. 

I dipped the canopy in in Pledge "Future", In the future I'll only use the AK equivalent, as the floor wax is not good in the long run. 

Clamps from Lidl came in handy when gluing the parts 

After studying Empire strikes back, we decided that MRP-246 Light arctic gray was the proper shade for the fuselage.
MM 4795 Panzer swarzgrau for the rear cooling fins, with black shading to the recessed parts.
MM 4723 US Army Hello Drab FS34031 (F) for the crew tub.
I airbrushed all of them, thinning with MRP thinner 

Pre shaded with black, no primer asthe plastic is white and I'm using lacquer's, so they'll stick on with out it. 

Shading showing nicely through the MRP paint, which airbrushes bountifully and is so easy to control, as it's not too opaque.
I love lacquers! 

Bad picture of the painted and gloss coated tub. The color is really a little greenish dark gray. 

Tested AK 3 gen Gloss AK11239.
Got a few runs but other than that it worked pretty well. Adjusting the thinning ratio fixed this... and slowing down 🙂 

Got a better result on the bottom half, as the slopes aren't that steep, so no runs. 

I think the project owner placed 1 decal, with some coaxing.
Decals performed well, aided by Micro lotions.
I used stamp tweezer's for handling and a Citadel drybrush for placing the decals.
On the smallest decals there was a bit of excess carrier film, no other complaints. 

This is the decal placement and painting guide.
WHAT are those black markings?
Re-checking the film reference, only Lukes snowspeeder has black markings on the underside, but there is no evidence that they are as depicted here. I don't know where Revel has gotten the idea for this painting instruction. Especially combining orange and black markings and the underside pattern is completely bogus. 

As there were no decals (Why Revel?) I masked the underside, using onscreen movie footage as a reference. 

Eyeballing the paint mix as close as possible to the decal color, this was what I could cook up. The hue could be a bit brighter, other that that it's pretty close 

Pilot and weapons officer front office's after a dark wash with Oilbrusher 

Tested picking up the detail, by highlighting with Mig Polished steel pigment.
almost impossible to photograph well, with a phone camera 

Junior likes weathering and is applying black Oilbrusher to the swarzgau parts. 

Here you can see the correct color of the crew tub and the polished metal pigment, on the tub sides. I think it looks fabulous and like the product. 

Crew tub wash, highlights the molded detail nicely.
All of the control panel and side detail is completely wrong but what ever...
One more curious thing about the decals, there is none for the black recessed 2mail slot" on the front. 

You can just see the gunmetal pigment on the cable "hole".
There is nice definition between the swarzgrau fins and the black wash in the shadowy recesses.
The engraved panel detail is great for a detail enhancing wash. 

Test fitting the fuselage parts and eyeing what can be seen of the crew. 

Kit owner had control of the weathering. Starship filth being applied on other surfaces except the guns, as they have ventilation slits, they got black brusher. 

Looking like it took a swim in a muddy puddle. 

Direction of airflow clearly visible. 

 

Ok, I intervened and toned it to something more screen accurate, but kept it dirty. 

 

Everything sealed under AK 3gen matt varnish.
Worked very well. 

 

Tamiya normal and for curves tape used on the canopy masking 

 

Masking...sigh. 

AK masking putty and a stick for a handle 

This time I used primer.
Ammo One shot white, just to be sure the clear part wouldn't craze or melt.
Not that used to working with this stuff. Maybe sprayed it on too thick, or it is too thick. 

Same treatment as the fuselage. MRP main color, AK gloss, decals, dark washes and top coat.
This time MRP-127, which was a mistake.
There is something wrong with the one I have as it reacts / cracks all lacquers it's sprayed on. The other 3 super clear MRP varnishes don't do that.
Now we have this frozen / ice buildup effect on the canopy.
It's cold on Hoth! 

The figures are quit... basic.
Not much of them can bee seen through the canopy so didn't spend too much time on them.
Junior didn't want to hand pain either and left it to me... so we have Wedge and his back seat companion Jonson in Rogue 3. 😄 

 

Last view of the tub 

Completed 

Completed 

Completed 

Completed 

Completed 

Completed
Nice result for experimental techniques.