Ok – confession time – I am a HUGE Star Wars Nerd. I know, you are all shocked, but let’s continue despite that!
Jokes aside, Star Wars was a huge part of my life growing up. Being an 80’s kid I watched the movies, played with the toys, and my life long love for Sci-Fi was born. I started to assemble scale models in the late 80’s and early 90’s and unfortunately, there was not a lot of Star Wars kits readily available to a kid in Small Town, Canada and those that were available, were absurdly expensive – I’m looking at you MPC Millennium Falcon!
As most hobbies go, I eventually got busy with life and family and I put away my modeling supplies for decades. Fast forward to 2016 and I friend of mine decided that he needed a hobby and started to dip his toes into the modeling world. He armed himself with an airbrush and some paints and got his first model – a Bandai AT-ST. He was so impressed with the model that he told me about it and to be honest, I poked fun of him a bit. Here we are, in our 40’s and he is playing with models?
Well, I am here to say I was wrong. I got one of my own to give a try and I was hooked. The accuracy, the ease of building it, and the sense of nostalgia it brought me got me instantly hooked. Now I own most of the Bandai line of vehicles and have built them multiple times.
Bandai’s 1/72 TIE is small but highly detailed. The kit is comprised of 8 runners that make up the body, the solar wings, hatches, the pilot, laser beam effects and a display stand.
The instructions are printed in Japanese but are so well illustrated that you don’t need any translation to be able to assemble this model. It is the typical “roadmap” style of instructions which means that it folds out. I am not a huge fan of this style of instructions as I have a limited space to mode in. I prefer stapled booklets, but this is compact enough I can fold it easily and make space for it. It is important that you follow Bandai’s assembly instructions. Because this is a snap-together kit, some parts must be assembled in a specific manner as they can not be installed after other parts are snapped together.
As I said above, it is a snap-tight kit. Don’t let that fool you. This is a quality model and should not be considered a toy in any way. Bandai engineers are brilliant. Seam lines are designed in such a way that they look natural. If you buy a tube of Tamiya putty to fill and sand seam lines on Bandai kits, it will sit unused!
Surface details are crisp and surprisingly clear for a model so small. 1/72 is a tiny scale for a ship this size, but Bandai has found a way to scan and scale details down without losing any. As expected, the moulds and tooling are brand new, so there is not a bit of flash on runners, and the plastics are strong and cut cleanly from sprues without stress marks.
The parts come coloured on the runners, with fairly screen accurate colours – rivet counters will debate the true colour of a TIE – but for most fans, you could do a straight out of the box build and be happy with the colour call outs. The kit comes with both waterslide transfers and stickers, so this model will appeal to both the beginner and more advanced modeler. The stickers are noticeably thicker than their waterslide counterparts, so they will not conform to surfaces as well.
Clear parts are strong and well made. You also have the option of omitting the clear parts totally and following the ILM tradition of not using canopies on their filming models – it created glare under bright studio lights while filming. Have no fear when separating parts from the sprue – they will not crack or show signs of stress marks if you use the proper tools.
I LOVE the display base with these kits. The first run of the 1/72 “fighters” all sit on Death Star tiles. This little added touch is really what makes these models visually interesting. It connects the mode directly to the scene it was featured in. They are well detailed as the model itself and a number of garage kit builders have gone so far as to create latex moulds of them to cast resin parts for dioramas.
There are a few very minor pitfalls of Bandai models. Because they are snap together and have such tight tolerances (to avoid visible seam lines), if you are heavy handed with the paint you may not be able to snap them together fully. I recommend that you only paint the surface of the part and not the sides or anywhere it will snap to another part. I learned that the hard way. If you do find it a tight fit, a quick scrape with the X-acto will remove the paint. The other caution is that Bandai plastics to not react well to enamel washes. It can break down the plastic and make it brittle. I have never experienced this myself as I always prime and paint models and seal with varnish before washes, but I have read several accounts where joints of models have become brittle and snap. Lastly, you will probably need some glue for the very small parts. Yes, they do snap in, but if you have to remove the part or you bump the model the parts can come off. A little bit of Tamiya thin will set it in place and remove that worry.
Overall, amazing model. I love it, and all Bandai models for that matter. Sure it is small, but it fits in with their 1/72 line and it is highly detailed at that scale. Fit and finish are amazing and if you put a little research into your colour callouts, you can have a very screen, accurate model.
Grab one for yourself and you will be hooked!
