JaseGill Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 1/48 Bandai Star Wars Snowspeeder. Bandai Kit Ref: 996692 Priced Yen 1,920 (about £15 before pnp and customs if they get you). Anyone who knows me knows I love Star Wars. I have done since I was 6 and saw it in the cinema in 1971 when it was released. When Bandai said they were the new official kit suppliers my heart kind of sank, the kits that were done by Fine Molds were great and I had high hopes for more. Given Bandai's reputation as a toy manufacturer I cant say I held out much hope. How wrong was I! Ive had the lot on order since I saw the 1st reviews and this is my 1st review here of one of these kits. I have the rest. It is just that Jim seems to have beaten me to the gig every time. Must have less to do than I do Though he's a bit busy right now so I figured I'd jump in and review this whilst I can get a word in edgeways. The Box. The Kit comes in a great sturdy glossy little box with what I think is really nice cover art. Oh how I wish they would do the At-AT walker in the background in the same scale. That'd make a great diorama. The box looks like this: The Instructions. The Instructions are up to the same standard as the other kits. That is that they are in Japanese and anyone who wants to read them needs a translator. The pictures and markings for each part though are very clear, the build looks really easy and they have put in some good presentation on the diagrams and illustrations. The Sprues. There are only 5 sprues. This isn't a big kit. What is there though is exquisite. I have built the Fine Molds kit in the same scale and this is up there for detail. I'd say its almost a copy but there are subtle differences and the feel of this kit is of a much more modern one (who'd have thought the original Fine Molds one is about 6 years old now?). As Jim mentioned in one of his reviews that somehow on the 1st sprue Bandai have managed to mix black kit parts with clear. It is amazing how they did this and some may see it as a gimmick. I guess it is but it doesn't make it any less impressive to me. There is a base and stand included on one sprue and in all cases the moulding detail and the panel lines are very even, crisp and up there with any other manufacturers kits I have seen. All the other sprues are as standard, except the clear Red/Pink one. This has some simulated laser shots on it so once can show the ship in action firing the forward guns. Pictures of the sprues are below: The Decals. These are really nicely done, thin and look to have little carrier film if any in some cases. Final Thoughts. Because I don't read Japanese and given the coloured nature of the sprues it makes me wonder if Bandai, like the other kits they have released recently, give the less experienced modeller the chance to do the whole kit unpainted with the sprues being coloured and no need for paint? This does seem the case when you look at it and from a viewpoint of encouraging less experienced and young people into modelling I think its to be applauded. Of course those amongst us who like a bit of fun can really go to town on Star Wars. Everything is weathered to within an inch of its life and that battered lived in look (at least for Rebel items) is almost encouraged. There were rumours that Bandai were going to ban shipping outside Asia Pacific (Revell have the Star Wars Franchise rights in Europe and the USA). I really hope they don't as these are some great little kits. I myself, as I wrote above, love Star Wars but having built the Fine Molds one in the same scale (and having enjoyed every second of that) did wonder if I wanted to build this kit too. Then I saw the following picture.... Its a promotional image from the Computer Game Star Wars: Battlefront and as soon as I saw it I knew I needed a 2nd Snowspeeder. This'll be my inspiration for the next build. If anyones interested the Fine Molds one I built is this one: In summary anyone who loves Star Wars will be thinking of getting this Im sure. If you are not you should.For anyone else I guess its down to whether you like the look, fancy something different or just want to weather the life out of something and if you do I think this is the one, or one of the ones, for you. Highly Recommended.I bought this from Hobby Link Japan but it can be found on some importers sites. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wackyracer Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Thanks Jason. Didnt realise they had this as well. Going to have to bite the bullet soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaseGill Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 Its great Aaron. Well worth a go J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators James H Posted June 2, 2015 Administrators Share Posted June 2, 2015 What a great little kit. I was put off by it not being my primary scale, but it does look real tempting. Dave showed me a photo of the TIE Fighter too. I reckon more purchases coming. Great review! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarEast Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Guys I live in Japan and would be more then willing to help people get these kits as I can probably source them cheaper than what HLJ is selling them for! If you need a reference check talk to Francisco Guedes as I help guys source OOP Wingnut Wings kits from Japan as the era isn't so popular here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Fran Posted June 3, 2015 Administrators Share Posted June 3, 2015 hum... I really need to get some of these!! James I send you a FB message! Regards Fran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonathanReed Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Nice! Thanks for sharing. That was my favorite Star Wars fighter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wackyracer Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Well that's me done. Just ordered the 1/12 C-3P0, the 1/48 AT-ST! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaseGill Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 Gotta get the 2 other droids too Aaron AT-ST is a really cool kit too. Thinking mine might be marching past the crashed SnowSpeeder J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cib2265 Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Having built the AT-ST recently as a mojo improver (and to upgrade skills on non-oil/enamel techniques, only pastels, pigments and clay washes) Just built this kit last night, took 1 hour 35 minutes to get to priming/painting stage! Here are the english color callouts, I'll use the Tamiya equivalents but with acrylic thinner (dont use lacquers on Bandai kits - they disintegrate) I'll do this one out of the box (maybe add some USN aggressor squadron decals!) and I have another on the way that i may turn into a "SeaSpeeder" in WW2 FAA colors... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave J Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 I use Lacquers on the Bandai Kits.. Its the White Spirits/Turps weathering products that has issues. I had problems with my AT-ST, but nothing with my 2 TIES. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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