I've been searching for a long time for this model. Since AMT/ERTL annouced that they were stopping production on all Star Wars models, I was devistated. But thank God for eBay! I found one, put in my bid and won and it came in the box still sealed and I couldn't wait to get it open!

Personally I hate the SNAP-TOGETHER models, but hey, this is Star Wars and how could I not like this one. I ripped open the box and took a look at it. I began to put all my references together which consisted of watching the movie and using the trusty freeze-frame technique. I decided to go ahead and make the main one that Chewbacca stole. Now that I had the references, I needed to decide on the paints to use and the alterations to make. Since the color was WAY too light, it had to be darker, a Dark Gull Grey I ended up using. I would need to cut out the "eye" holes for the front hatch covers, and make a railing. Since this is snap together, it went together quite easily.

I put all the main sections together; the drumsticks, the body, and left the head separated because they made it in such a way that it would need to be puttied badly and that was where all the "extra" detail was going go.

First I cut out the hatches on the front, this was a tremendous feat with just a hobby knife (my Dremal small bit holder is missing). I tried to get them to match perfectly and I think they came out pretty well.

Next I cut out the hatch covers in sheet styrene, I cut four pieces, two pieces were for the outside of the cover and two were slightly smaller (about an 1/8 inch) for the inside of the cover and glued them together. This gave the illusion of a much more sturdy and heavy hatch covering.

Next I took some extra sprue and stretched it out until I had about 1/16th inch diameter peice and cut two rods about 1/4 inch long. Then I cut one end off on an angle and glued them to the bottom of the hatch covers at an angle. I let them dry.

The top railing took a little bit more planning. I cut 4 more rods about 1/8th an inch long and then took some more sprue and stretched it out until I had a good long piece. I cut it at about the right length, and bent it into a shape that looked like it would fit on top of the kit. I cut the ends so they would match and glued them together. I glued the 4 rods to the railing that I had made (in the movie there were only four). I let the whole assembly dry overnight.

While the scratch built peices were drying, I began to drill out the cannons on the bottom front with the tip of my hobby knife. Looking closer at the right mounted cannon in the movie I noticed it looked more like a gatlin gun and decided to drill out a few holes there that are kinda hard to see in these next two photos.

Here's a closer view. You can see the arrangement but my camera doesn't do it justice.

With the body and the legs done and together I proceeded to do my putty work. I filled in all cracks on the legs and the main body and noticed that on the back there were two "engine/exhaust" ports that weren't added to the kit. So I cut out a couple of peices in sheet styrene and glued them into place. I attempted to eyeball them into place. and let them dry on the body.

Next came the FUN part. I put the head together and glued it into place (didn't want the snap fitting to come undone). I then applied generous amounts of putty to fill in the crack. I let it dry and then snaded it down. It still didn't come out right. I may end up gluing a piece of paper over the sides and painting over it later to eliminate that sanded over putty look to the panel on both sides of the head.

I then began painting. I used a base coat of Testor's Model Master Dark Gull Gray (FS 36231) all over the legs and body (I'm saving the head for last). I wanted a nice finish to it so I pulled out and dusted off my old airbrush (luckily I still had air in the can). I filled the cup and sprayed the legs and body. I think this color is the closest match to that used in the movie. I began to detail the the feet.

I pulled out an old painting trick from my childhood days. I combined dark brown, a bit of green and talcum powder into a plastic lid from a coke bottle and viola... MUD. I brushed it on thick and it looked just like mud from the lots of wear and tromping around the jungle. But you've got to be quick in using it. It will dry quickly and could easily get out of control before you know it.