Star Wars Snowspeeder - Bandai 1/48 Scale Plastic Model Kit [Completed]

A sense of awe and wonderment is etched into my childhood memories of time spent poring over images of the Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) crew at work. These behind-the-scenes model makers were, dare I say it, chief contributors to the success of the Star Wars franchise. For sure the efforts of ILM's cameraman, optical technicians, etc. are all necessary components of a whole. But at its core, the original Star Wars trilogy was all about the models and how it could transport viewers (young and impressionable or otherwise) into a universe in a galaxy far, far away.  

Wedge Antilles in the pilot's seat of an modified Incom T-47 Airspeeder

What about Wes Janson? Well he's in the cockpit too albeit seated on the back gunnery seat

So here I am, four decades since those days of wide-eyed innocence, still trying to recreate that feeling through scale model kits. Not in a million years could I ever hold a candle to these model-making geniuses. Attempts to mimic what they had done in the past is just the sincerest form of flattery on my part. A homage to the greats of ILM Model Shop if you will.   

Wedge in a money shot moment ala Lt.Pete "Maverick" Mitchell

Upper left air brake flap deployed ... initiate banking turn to the left

I have often repeated this personal modelling mantra, perhaps once too often, that a scale model kit is only as good as its figures. To me everything falls apart if the miniature figurines aren't given their due. In many cases, more time and effort is actually given to the figures than the vehicle itself. A slight bias on my part? That's likely because figure painting is my strong suit. But it's undeniable that in general, one's eye will always be drawn to the figures first before panning to their surroundings. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that painting Wedge and Wes was the most time consuming for me.      

Now this is getting silly ... another shot of Wedge? Thought Janson as he fiddled with the tow cable controls.

Lower hull exposed as the snowspeeder banks to the left

Finally, a photographic closeup of Wes "Good Shot" Janson

Decals around the main thrust nozzles aren't entirely accurate for a Wedge-piloted snowspeeder

One dislike I do have for Bandai Star Wars scale model kits is the plastic display stand that usually accompanies the 'in mid-flight' models. Its thickness and opacity detracts somewhat from the illusion of a craft in mid-flight. Bandai should have made the display stand using acrylic or clear plastic. No doubt that would've added to the overall kit cost, which is likely why Bandai didn't go down that route. Anyway, discerning collectors could always buy aftermarket display stands for the kit. Meanwhile, the base is functional enough. In this instance, it was painted to simulate snow on Hoth.

Bandai Star Wars 1/48 Scale Snowspeeder sans clear parts recreating the lasers

Pure whites of the snow base provide sharp contrast for the off-whites of the snowspeeder hull

Pilot closeups and this overhead view are some of my favourite viewing angles of the snowspeeder  

Weathering was kept relatively light. Those of you who know my work well would know that I usually keep weathering as light as I can in order to preserve the original paint job. Heavy weathering has its uses but only if the diorama or vignette dictates it to be so. For example, if the snowspeeder was a long abandoned craft then heavy weathering would certainly be justified. In this particular display setting, I weathered the snowspeeder to reflect well maintained craft with normal operational wear and tear. Also, no significant snow deposits were added as the snowspeeder was in mid-flight.

No tow cable was deployed in this display version; just a personal preference

Snowspeeder is executing a leftwards banking turn

'Snow' on base was painted white with some light shading for shadows

The snowspeeder's pose is based on that of an airborne craft banking to the left. As such I decided on an assembled configuration whereby the upper left and bottom two air brake flaps are deployed. It is also partly inspired by the Battle of Hoth scene in which Janson had just deployed the tow cable and Wedge was piloting the snowspeeder in a leftwards banking turn (see second last photo).

Side view is perhaps the snowspeeder's least flattering of profiles

Thick unwieldy display stand linking the snowspeeder to the base is most visible at this angle

Pose of Wedge's snowspeeder is partly based on this sequence of scenes

Another out-of-the-box issue I have with this kit is the clear plastic recreations of laser shots. They look lame and doesn't in any way enhance the aesthetics of the scale model kit. I just managed one good shot of the 'lasers' in action (see below). Nearly every other time, however, I had failed to get light to reflect off the pair in a way that made them look realistic.

Bandai Star Wars 1/48 Scale Snowspeeder, including clear parts recreating the lasers

Bandai's Star Wars 1/48 scale snowspeeder is an excellent kit which I had great fun building and painting. It's one which I highly recommend. The level of detail Bandai has put into this kit makes it a worthwhile kit for any modeller/painter serious about recreating a piece of Star Wars in your home. I for one can't wait to get started on the next Bandai Star Wars kit. Hint: It's a land-based walker (also my second favourite land vehicle in the franchise) but it also comes with some of Bandai's worse depictions of plastic figurines. More details soon. For now I wish you a good week ahead. 

Star Wars Snowspeeder [WIP - Snap fitting parts onto the upper hull and a final open-cockpit view]

Snap fitting the snowspeeder's power coupling/convertor, laser activator, air intake, repulsor systems onto the upper hull may be a simple enough task. But the life it breathes into the scale model is immense. At long last, the snowspeeder now looks like it should with the exception of a few missing parts. Yet to be attached are the snowspeeder's canopy, laser cannons and three out of four air brake flaps (one on the upper left wing and one below each wing). Still, the vehicle undeniably looks more like a snowspeeder now. Here then is one final open cockpit view of the almost finished snowpeeder.

Bandai Star Wars Snowspeeder work-in-progress: more parts attached and a final open-cockpit view

Following the previous update, the only new painted parts are the snowspeeder's lase cannons. That leaves the base as the only section of the scale model kit that remains unpainted. But as far as the snowspeeder itself is concerned, all its parts have been painted. They await final assembly (mostly snap fitting with some glue required at weaker joints) and of course the weathering effects process.

Laser cannons are the newest and final snowspeeder parts to be painted

As much as I prefer the view of an open cockpit - undoubtedly influenced by the many hours spent painting the pilots and cockpit area -it isn't much of an option for a snowspeeder that's suppose to be in mid-flight. So short of converting the snowspeeder into a grounded vehicle, that canopy is coming down on Wedge Antilles and Wes Janson. So this will essentially be their final photographic hurrah.

Snowspeeder sans canopy, laser cannons and air brake flaps

Hull generally still looks 'clean' because no weathering effects have been applied yet

Aft section of the snowspeeder looks bare because it's still missing most of its air brake flaps (and decals)

Wes Janson is the focal point of this shot; sadly he will soon be almost completely covered up by the canopy

Aside from the all to obvious canopy, also missing from the upper hull are three of the four air brake flaps found on the snowspeeder. The upper left air brake flap is already on the right wing, deployed in a closed position. All other flaps will be deployed in the open position to contribute to the narrative I'm trying to weave for the snowspeeder's final display position. This will become clearer in the final post in which I'm going to show the movie screenshots that my build version is based upon.

Loving how the snowspeeder looks even at this incomplete stage of its build

Side view of the unfinished snowspeeder in an open-cockpit configuration

Greens of Wedge Antilles' helmet add a dash of contrast to the whole colour scheme

In an open cockpit configuration, the eye is easily drawn towards the pilots

Noticeably absent from the snowspeeder's lower hull are its air brake flaps on both wings

I had actually forgotten completely about the laser cannons. It was only as I was about to post the latest progress update that I noticed the missing laser cannons ... d'oh! Luckily they didn't require much work and were ready in no time to be included in this second last post on the snowspeeder.

Closeup of the laser cannons; seen here after a basecoat, panel lining and washes

Differences in orange hues reflect lighter tones of the pilots' flight-suits versus darker for the hull stripes

Not much is left to really do before the Bandai Star Wars 1/48 scale Snowspeeder is finally completed. Putting together what's left of the unattached parts and painting of the base should be a quick affair. Only the weathering process could extend the date of its final reveal. But even that shouldn't take very long as the weathering will be fairly minimal.  

Star Wars Snowspeeder [WIP - Power/Repulsor/Laser Systems & Airbrake Flaps]

Filling up the snowspeeder's upper hull involved assembling and painting two large units, each of which contains the power coupling/convertor, laser activator, air intake, repulsor and air brake flap. They are basically the second most focused-on eye candy apart from the pilots inside the cockpit. As such it's well worth it to put in the necessary hours to make them look as good as possible. At this stage their paint job is more or less complete with weathering as the only step yet to be done.

Bandai Snowspeeder work-in-progress: Power/Repulsor/Laser System and Air Brake units

Assembly was easy and straightforward with each unit having options to deploy the air brake flaps as well as have certain sections showing its innards. I chose to have the left air brake flap deployed and all other sections completely covered up. Both choices relate to how Wedge's snowspeeder looked inflight during the Battle of Hoth, specifically when it was banking upwards from dive and turning leftwards at the same time. This will require both air brakes on the lower hull to be deployed as well (please refer to the two separate unattached pieces on the lower left quadrant of the last photo).

Assembly of the right unit together with an undeployed version of the main air brakes

Assembly of the left unit together with a deployed version of the main air brakes

One key weakness of Bandai's plastic (used to mould the parts) is that it's susceptible to cracking when exposed to white spirit or enamel thinners in general. I've had many parts break into two after being weakened to the point of brittleness by overexposure to thinners. In fact the smaller trapezium-shaped section on the left unit broke off and had to be reattached with the help of some glue. When this happened I was too busy cursing and swearing to take any photos of the damaged stage. 

Similar to the hull, the whole unit/piece was treated with an enamel-based panel liner ...

... and the excess liner was cleaned up with enamel thinner

Chipped orange stripes put the not quite finishing touch to the pieces. There is still some weathering streaks as well as decals to add before these can really be called one. But those steps will only be carried out once the snowspeeder has been fully assembled. Also missing from these two large units are the laser barrels, which I had inexcusably forgotten about. So that needs doing too.

All painted up and ready to be attached to the snowspeeder's upper hull

Before the snowspeeder is fully assembled and given its decals plus weathering streaks, it will undergo its second dry fitting session. Here, everything except the laser barrels, deployed air brake flaps and canopy will be attached to the main hull. It is essentially the last opened-cockpit look at the vehicle before the final photos are shown. So the end is near and the snowspeeder that took down a AT-AT walker during the Battle of Hoth will soon have its day in the sun ... or is that snow?

Star Wars Snowspeeder [WIP - Initial Dry Fitting of Parts Painted So Far]

When I first started out in this hobby I always grappled with the dilemma of either painting a fully assembled kit or painting individual parts before putting them all together. Of course I now know this to be a false dilemma. There is a third option that lies somewhere in between both extremes. And the Bandai 1/48 scale Star Wars Snowspeeder is a good example of this in which a few sub-assemblies can be build and painted before everything is put together. Using parts already painted so far, which incidentally is only up to Step 2 of 10, I carried out an initial dry fitting that you can see below.

Bandai Snowspeeder work-in-progress: initial dry fitting of parts painted so far

Many parts (e.g. repulsor/power system, air brakes, etc.) are still missing from this initial dry fitting exercise

In my earlier TIE Fighter builds, I had used canopy options sans any clear plastic coverings so as to allow better visual access to the cockpit area. A lack of lighting on the TIE pilots had necessitated my choice then. In contrast, numerous openings on the snowspeeder canopy meant I could now use the canopy option with a clear plastic covering. I'm fairly confident the visibility of the snowspeeder pilots will remain good even after the canopy is firmly attached to the ship's cockpit area.

Canopy openings have been installed with a clear plastic from the inside

Clear plastic on the canopy openings should prevent dust from getting to the pilots

Many parts are obviously still missing from this initial dry fitting exercise. Notably absent are the snowspeeder's repulsor/fuel/laser systems and air brakes. When these parts are attached, the upper hull will have a less monotone look as it receives more stripes of chipped orange paint. 

Upper hull of snowspeeder will eventually undergo weathering with pastels ...

... for the moment it's just basically panel lining on the basecoat ...

... and some chipped orange paint stripes

One key thing I wanted to find out from this exercise was to see how the pilots and cockpit area - as an integrated unit - would look like in relation to the upper hull. In any scale model kit, the focal point of one's eyes will more often than not rest on the accompanying figurines. It is more likely for a badly painted figurine to ruin a scale model rather than vice versa. Based on this early dry fitting, I'm completely satisfied with how Rebel pilots Wedge Antilles and Wes Janson has turned out.   

As of yet, the cockpit area has not been fixed with the canopy

Closeup of Rebel pilots Wes Janson (left) and Wedge Antilles (right) from the side

Getting 'metal' to show from 'scratches' gives the cooling fins a more 'weighty and solid' look 

Orange stripes on the forthcoming repulsor/fuel systems will add more colour to the whole scheme

Bright colour scheme allows the power generator/engine remains visible, albeit barely, through the cooling fins

Although this is only Step 2 of 10 of the build process, I fully expect things to gather pace after this. For one I've already determined which painting/weathering techniques to use in the subsequent steps. That means less time will be wasted on experimenting. Moreover I expect less paint-hours to be spent on the subsequent parts as none should be as time consuming as the two pilot figurines.    

Empty spaces at the bottom right and left corner is where the repulsor generators and fuel tanks will go

Overhead view of the work-in-progress snowspeeder

Bottom view of the work-in-progress snowspeeder

Its stating the obvious but things will look less empty once the repulsor/fuel systems are attached

Rear section of the snowspeeder is also missing its air brakes

Looking back at what has been done so far and what has yet to be done, it's becoming obvious to me that the snowspeeder is going to be a very easy build. It's the painting, weathering and decals that constitute the main challenges for this Bandai Star Wars scale model kit. 

Pilots add a badly needed injection of colours to the whole scheme

Closeup of both pilots from the reverse side angle

So the stage is now set for the final few sub-assemblies to be painted and put in place. Even once everything is in place there is still the weathering and decals to do. Best I get to it then. The weekend is almost over so I bid you au revoir and a pleasant week ahead.