Republic LAAT Carrier

Well, I opted to take another commission. Even though for my last commission the buyer backed out, I did end up selling the LAAT Gunship. And the person I sold it to has become a good friend and a 3D print-man for me. He and others are making a lot of figures and customs for the Micro Galaxy Squadron line at 1/72 scale. So, he asked me to build and paint a LAAT Carrier that he printed.

The LAAT/c 3D model is incredible in detail. Moreover, it's very intelligently constructed. If everything fit together perfectly, you'd think you were building a regular styrene kit. However, not everything fits. The tolerances must be really tight because I've had to do a lot of sanding already. Time will tell if it gets easier or if I end up pulling my hair out.

Still, this is one of my favorite vehicles, and I'm going to enjoy customizing the LAAT carrier into truly nice model.

See final model.

1 – canopy glass

The 3D printed kit had a solid canopy. So I heated a thin clear styrene sheet over a candle and pressed it down over the canopy as a mold. It took about 30 tries and some burned fingers to get a "close" enough version.

2 – Hull assembly

The hull has slots with bracers to align everything. However, I had to do a lot of resin sanding to reduce the support points. So that means, I had to wear a mask and sand outside as much as possible since resin dust is dangerous.

3 – Hull mockup

Not everything is attached yet, but you get the idea. I'll have a fun time filling all the gaps, but it's not impossible. What impresses me most is the size, the LAAT Carrier is one heck of a beast.

4 – Apoxie Sculpt

I used Apoxie Sculpt to fill all the various seams left by the 3D printed pieces.

5 – Sanding the Putty

By adding a little water, you can use an electric sander, like the David Union 400 Sander, to smooth down the Apoxie Sculpt.

6 – First Primer Coat

First primer coat using Tamiya Grey Fine Primer. I then added some more Tamiya Putty to more areas I noticed that needed filling.

7 – Rescribing Lines

After all the putty, I had to rescribe the panel lines. I relied mostly on the saw and UMM Scriber. In some areas, I had to go back and reapply some more putty.

8 – Black Primer

I reprimed it in Mr. Finishing Surfacer Black. This will create shadows when I apply the basecoat, which will look fantastic on the end product.

9 – Stencil Mottling

Now, I used splatter stencils to create random patterns using an airbrush and Tamiya White. When I spray the base coat over this, it will create a worn and faded look.

10 – Masking for markings

It took a lot of tape, but I finally got the lines marked off for the teal color. Before spraying, I dabbed some Mr. Mask Sol Neo with a sponge, which when rubbed off, will look like paint chips afterward.

11 – Tape off, chips look great

Taking the tape off is so satisfying. At this point though, I noticed the colors looked off, and it annoyed me.

12 – New filter applied

I realized I probably didn't add enough brown to the white base, so instead of throwing it away, I added a filter/glaze. For this, I used an acrylic wash that I thinned down further with water. I also finished the red paint and started the weathering with grime around the pipes/engine bits.

13 – Adding decals

Time to add some decals. I thought about airbrushing the markings from stencils, but I think the decals look better in this case. I'm also adding a lot of other little decals based on some artwork I found. It may not be 100% accurate, but it will look authentic.

14 – Painting the cockpit

I finally painted the cockpit using greys and browns for a supposed leather chair.

15 – Cockpit HUD view

I killed one decal on the screen, but most of the other bits were hand-painted.

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