Hot chicken Jedha

There’s another citadel temple city on the moon Jedah. And the Empire is occupying this city as well as can be seen from the Imperial Star Destroyer overhead. (Robin Rowland)

According to Wookieepdia, there is more to the moon Jedah than just the NiJedah Holy City destroyed in the movie Rogue One A Star Wars story:

Many settlements on the moon, such as the ancient Holy City, sat atop the world’s natural mesas…

So the model above is my latest semi-canon creation. The mesa temple city is scratch built. The Star Destroyer is the Hot Wheels model.

This all started one evening when I had a speaking engagement and so, with no time to cook, I picked up a whole hot roast chicken at the local supermarket. Delicious. Then I noticed something. Hey, I thought, in my sometimes off the wall way, that container resembles that city from Rogue One.

A hot chicken container that resembles that ancient desert city from Rogue One –or that’s what I thought over dinner. (Robin Rowland)

After I got the black plastic “mesa” out of the dishwasher, I went to my stash and pulled out the Star Destroyer I bought a year or so ago cheap at a dollar store, just to see if would work.

Hot Wheels Star Destroyer on top of a one-time chicken container. (Robin Rowland)

Given the huge size of a Star Destroyer and its size in relation to the Holy City, it was clear that this model city would be a larger mesa and settlement that one in Rogue One.

Screengrab from Rogue One showing the huge Star Destroyer over the Holy City of Nijedha.
The Star Destroyer leaves NiJedah as the Empire evacuates its forces prior to the destructive attack from the Death Star.
The same scene using with the model. The stand has been erased in Photoshop. (Robin Rowland)

The next step was to turn the chicken container into a city on Jedah.

Top view. Buildings were added using scrap plastic, tops of tubes, the top of a dental floss dispenser and chopped up Evergreen plastic strips. (Robin Rowland)
The iconic domed buildings found on Jedah and Tatooine are bits of sprue. (Robin Rowland)

The Star Destroyer was repainted and weathered.

Then I built up the city, painted it, weathered it. Then it was glued onto a foamboard base and the desert landscape was added.

The Jedha model city. (Robin Rowland)

The Star Destroyer on its Hot Wheels stand. (Robin Rowland)
The city and the Star Destroyer. Stand removed using Photoshop. (Robin Rowland)
Front view of the mesa, the city and the Star Destroyer. (Robin Rowland)
Jedha model opposite view. (Robin Rowland)
Jedha model with the Star Destroyer on its stand. (Robin Rowland)
Jedha model and Star Destroyer (stand removed by Photoshop. (Robin Rowland)
Top view of the mesa city. (Robin Rowland)

The GT-1350 Smuggler Interceptor

(Star Wars non-canon; non-Legends)

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A Star Guard “smuggler interceptor” using the military version of the Corellian Engineering YT 1300 light freighter which I call the GT-1350 chasing a smuggler in an original YT-1300. (is it the Millennium Falcon or another smuggler using the YT-1300? Who knows.) Have you ever noticed that the Millennium Falcon always out聽 flies聽 and out maneuvers a Tie-fighter?

PREMIS

About thirty odd years ago I co-wrote two books, King of the Mob and Undercover, about Prohibition in Canada and how Canada smuggled illicit alcohol into the United States from 1919 to 1933.

One of the things I found out during my research was that in the early days of聽 Prohibition the United States Coast Guard was ill prepared to intercept many of the faster boats that聽 opportunists and later gangsters used to smuggle alcohol either from Canada or the French islands of St. Pierre et Miquelon (off the coast of Newfoundland). But if the US聽 Coast Guard was able to seize one of the smugglers and the specifications were acceptable the seized vessel was turned into a Coast Guard smuggler catcher. The Coast Guard also purchased fast boats that were the same as or similar to those that were used by the smugglers. The Royal Navy used a similar policy in converting fast sloops to pirate catchers during the pirates of the Caribbean era.

So one day I had the idea of turning my Star Wars Command Millennium Falcon into a “smuggler catcher.”

The Star Guard聽GT-1350 at a landing pad on a planetary base (Robin Rowland)

Since the Star Wars Command Millennium Falcon is marketed as a child’s toy, it runs on wheels and there are three gaps on the underbelly. Also while detailed, the Star Wars Command Falcon is crude compared to the higher quality models on the market.

So it sat on the shelf for a couple of years until I had the idea of making it a “coast guard” interceptor.

Scenario

Time:聽 The late “Old”Republic at the time Lando Calrissian and Han Solo were flying the Millennium Falcon.聽 The time was becoming more lawless after the Sith Wars.聽 聽Smugglers were found working all sections of the galaxy.

Remember in all the now forty years of Star Wars, according to both Star Wars canon and Star Wars Legends, the Corellian Y-1300 light freighter was a standard production model, so there must have been lots of them around, even though Star Wars, so far,聽 has had only one Millennium Falcon (and I am pretty sure the fans would want only one Falcon)

Place:聽An alliance of several star systems under the banner of the Republic.聽 Since all these systems are quasi-independent, while they are overall affiliated with the Republic military, like 21st Century nations on Old Earth, they have their own police forces and system patrols commonly known as “Star Guards.” With the rise of the Empire all local forces were Imperialized.

That system is cracking down on smuggling of all kinds, from arms to drugs to luxury goods.聽 They find that their regular patrol ships are too slow to intercept the Corellian Engineering Corporation’s classic, respected and souped up YT-1300 light freighter.

The local government then decides it needs to “set a thief to catch a thief” and it obtains (and here the reader can choose one of two options)

1)the government buys a YT-1300 light freighter聽 (or managers to capture a YT-1300, probably on the planetary surface)聽and modifies it to Star Guard requirements and specifications.

OR

2)the government orders a military version of the YT-1300 the GT-1350 from Corellian Engineering, modified to Guard requirements and specifications, including, of course,聽 fast and powerful sublight and lightspeed engines.

The Star Guard interceptor at its landing field at night.

The Mission

The Star Guard interceptor has three missions

  1. Smuggler chaser
  2. 聽Routine policing and system star guard duties including maintenance of聽 navigation beacons and other vital sensor systems.
  3. Search and Rescue

(just like 21st century coast guards on Old Earth)

The GT-1350 Smuggler Interceptor

A modified version of the popular YT1300fp version popular in the late Republic.

Normal complement is a crew of five to seven.聽 That would include a pilot and co-pilot,聽 who doubles as a shuttle pilot. The third regular crew member is a sensor and navigation specialist and when necessary, gunner.聽 Depending on the mission the GT-1350 can carry Search and Rescue Technicians,聽 Navigation aids engineers and technicians or Special Weapons and Tactics聽 Teams who are trained in boarding and capturing intercepted space ships. The GT-1350 can also normally carry up to seven or eight passengers or if required up to fifteen passengers/intelligent beings on a rescue mission (although that would mean the vessel would be crowded until it could rendezvous with relief vessels.)

Special bays

The GT-1350 has replaced the cargo bays with

1)a shuttle bay for a one person/intelligent being shuttle craft

2)drone bays that can carry a number of sensor drones with different missions such as sensor probes and search and rescue probes.聽 Or it can carry navigation and other in-system beacons,聽 just like coast guards today act as buoy tenders and maintain other aids to navigation.

3)The third bay聽 carries a high powered sensor dome that can be extended from the underbelly and used to focus on target areas of the mission

(These bays cover the wheel wells on the Star Wars Command toy Falcon)

Colour scheme and livery

Until the Empire “Imperialized”聽 the galactic police and military,聽 Star Guards continued the tradition from Coast Guards on Old Earth where each nation often聽 had their own colour scheme based on a mixture of mostly white and red ( usually not including some specialist vessels)聽 US Coast Guard,聽 largely white with some red except for icebreakers which are mostly red, Canadian Coast Guard with red hulls and white superstructure, Russian Coast Guard all red, China Coast Guard mostly white, UK Coast Guards white hulls and buff superstructure etc.

For painting this GT-1350, I used a slightly modified Canadian Coast Guard colour scheme, making most of the hull red with major parts white and equipment areas in buff or black.

For the livery I wanted something that would seem both futuristic and familiar. As with earlier projects I created the planet in the Solar Cell Photoshop plugin as a symbol for the star system where the ship is based. The stars and other symbols came from various dingbats to create a more alien look.聽 聽I decided to use the English “Star Guard” since I found the terms System Guard, System Patrol and other variations awkward and I wanted something that suggest a galactic version of a coast guard. (But it’s also a tribute to Andre Norton’s Star Guard which, of course has nothing to do with the Star Wars universe and is a completely different story).

The underbelly of the Star Wars Command ship showing the colour schemes, livery and shuttle/sensor bays.聽 The majority of the hull is painted red while the “superstructure” is painted white with some areas, including the landing gear in buff or black.

The toy becomes a sort of model

 

The Star Wars Command toy Millennium Falcon disassembled with the wheels removed.

The disassembled model was primed. I then inserted the shuttle (forward bay) and the drones (upper bay in this picture) port side on the model. The shuttle and the drones are 1/2500 Star Trek 3D printed shuttles I bought from Shapeways for another project but decided they would be of better use for this project.

The underbelly of the GT-1350 before decals were added. You can see the sensor dome on the bottom left.

A view of the front. Note the star decal.

The port or left side after decals were added. One question I thought about was whether to weather? In the end I decided to weather the ship. As a military vessel under most circumstances, it would be better maintained than the Millennium Falcon’s often jury rigged repairs. On the other hand the George Lucas vision of the Star Wars universe calls for a certain dirty, aged, weathered look.

The aft/rear view of the GT-1350. The toy blue of the engines was washed in a couple of shades of blue. The other ship is the Star Wars MicroMachines Millennium Falcon. (normally used on my earlier project based loosely on The Empire Strikes Back and borrowed for the photo shoot.)

The landing gear are from N Scale model railway telephone poles, which were just the right size to fit into the screw holes on the toy Millennium Falcon.

The photo

 

The completed GT-1350 Smuggler Interceptor chasing a YT-1300 smuggler. Taken on the black stands you’ve seen above and a black sheet of poster board.

LED light to the right to produce star light.

Taken with a Sony Alpha 6000 at various focal lengths on aperture priority to produce greater depth of field mounted on a heavy duty tripod.

Starfield photoshopped Hubble image from NASA.

Star Wars in camo II. A forward observation post on the front line

I began recreating science fiction models about two years ago for a couple of reasons. One I wanted a creative outlet that was somewhat separate from my career as a photographer, journalist and writer. That鈥檚 so I could relax and have fun. Second, as a kid in the 1960s inspired by Star Trek, the Original Series, I had built the kits and scratch built my own models and now that I鈥檓 retired I wanted to start again.

I began following various modellers and toy photographers on Instagram and came across the amazing work by Matthew Callaghan, a U.S. Marine photographer who also has a hobby of recreating scenes he is familiar with using the larger size Star Wars figures in photographs that simulated the reality of combat in Iraq.

Callaghan鈥檚 work immediately struck a chord, and not just because I am working on my own Star Wars model projects. From September 2003 until I retired in March 2010, I was the photo editor for CBC News, based in Toronto. That meant as soon as I got into work and for the rest of each day, I would see the photo feeds coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan from the Canadian Press, the Associated Press, Reuters, Getty/AFP and Canadian Forces Combat Camera.

I worked closely with CBC reporters, producers and technicians based in Kandahar, many of whom would be filing their photos back to me in Toronto. Finbarr O鈥橰eilly who was embedded with both the Canadian and US Forces, including the Marines, was once one of my students at Ryerson University School of Journalism. He is co-author of Chasing Ghosts聽 along with former Marine Thomas Brennan.

At CBC, as editor, I worked on an Afghanistan project with photographer Louie Palu who was also embedded with both the Canadians and Americans in Afghanistan and is known for his portraits of Marines and is author of the new book Front Toward The Enemy.

I had just started working on my Star Wars camouflage project and was looking for an idea for doing some kind of similar combat simulation , inspired by Callaghan鈥檚 gritty and realistic photos of the Storm Troopers

I work with Star Wars Command figures which are much smaller than the larger figures most photographers work with. I noticed one of the rebel fighters from Hoth with a pair of galactic binoculars and that gave me the idea of recreating, in Star Wars terms, one story of my father in the Second World War, when he was a British artillery officer in Malaya, fighting the Japanese.

The battle was at Kampar . My father鈥檚 88th Field Regiment of the Royal Artillery was defending the outer British perimeter.

As Wikipedia says:

Major General Archie Paris (temporary commander of the 11th Indian Division) had to defend a line from the coast through Telok Anson (now Telok Intan) up to the defensive positions at Kampar. The defensive perimeter at Kampar was an all round position, straddling Kampar Hill (Gunong Brijang Malaka) to the east of Kampar town, overlooking the Japanese advance and well concealed by thick jungle. Paris placed artillery spotters on the forward slopes protected by the 15th/6th Brigade on the western side of the position, and the 28th Gurkha Brigade covered the right flank on the eastern side.[2] The two brigades were supported by the 88th Field Artillery Regiment, which was equipped with 25 pounders, and the 4.5 inch howitzers of the 155th Field Artillery Regiment. Once the 12th Brigade had passed through Kampar Paris sent them to cover the coast and his line of retreat at Telok Anson.

My father, Lt. Frederic Rowland, was one of those artillery spotters. For his actions that day he was awarded the Military Cross.

What the citation doesn鈥檛 say was that my father was in a spotter dugout along with two 鈥渙ther ranks鈥 connected to the artillery headquarters with a field telephone. At one point a mortar round landed right in the dugout. The two men with my father were killed instantly but in the random nature of the universe, my father had barely a scratch, although he would tell me that most of his uniform was blown off. He had to crawl out of the dug out to re-splice the severed telephone wire and then crawled back into the dug out to call in the artillery on the advancing Japanese tanks.

Later as a prisoner of war in Changi Jail, Singapore, he commissioned the war artist Leo Rawlings, who later became famous of his drawings and paintings of POWs聽 to recreate the action at Kampar. Here is a detail of that painting. The two spotter positions, black box, are suggested with just a couple of strokes of a water colour brush.

RELATED

Star Wars in camo I. If you were a Storm Trooper wouldn鈥檛 you want some camouflage?

The first step was to paint the Hoth rebel figures not in winter white but in the Second World War British uniform colour (somewhat) from Vallejo paints, with a couple of appropriate adjustments.

Here’s a close up of the spotter officer, the forward observation post commander, as he might appear in a WWII photo, using the Kodak Tri-X filter from Perfect Effects.

Instagram

A contemporary digital image of the聽 spotter officer and his two men with an R2 unit in the background.

Of course, I added聽 an R2 unit, which I call R2C1 (C for camouflage model) plus one other soldier, a reinforcement.

So I started, as with some other projects, with a聽clear blister pack provided an idea for a futuristic popup but portable armoured forward observation post, complete with all kinds of high tech communications gear.

Then I added a coat of grey auto primer on both sides.

Then some dark brown camouflage super flat spray paint.

Then I found the right position for the figures.

I created the com panel using the web and reduced the images using Photoshop, then reduced the entire image even further to fit on to a square on the inside of the original blister pack.

You can see that AT-STs are approaching just like Japanese tanks were attacking my father’s FOP.聽 Given the tech of the galaxy far, far away they are in communication with rebel headquarters and have multiple sensors, rather than binoculars and a field telephone connected by a wire. And yes the multi coloured buttons on the panel are from the Star Trek Original Series bridge <grin>.

 

The R2 access panel was created the same way.

 

 

Combat is never found in a clean environment. So I wanted to dirty up the scene. The fallen trees are from hothouse tomatoes, painted black as if they鈥檇 been scorched. I laid down a layer of standard ground cover, including some grass. Then it was all covered up with a mixture of about one third ashes from my barbecue, one third talcum powder, and one third a mixture of fine model railway ballast and fine rubble.

 

 

 

 

As well as the standard photographs, I wanted to duplicate a Second World War look with black and white and some old style photographs plus two water colours, one where I tried to duplicate the limited colours available to Leo Rawlings as well as the kind of quick watercolour painter that was common in that era.

To duplicate the Rawlings watercolour from the image, I first used the charcoal and chalk filter in Photoshop, then added a sepia photo filter. Next I duplicated that layer and used the Jixipix watercolour filter. It was a bit bright, so I used the lighten tool under the Photoshop saturation adjustment, then adjusted opacity to bring out more of the chalk and charcoal layer.

This follows the style of the “quick sketch’ watercolour used by some war artists from the Napoleonic era to the Second World War and probably even today. Created using the Jixipix water colour filter.

The front of the forward observation post as it might have been captured on old Kodak film, using a VSOC Lightroom plugin.

Another view that duplicates a faded colour photo from the era, no filters, desaturation in Photoshop.

And a couple of gritty black and white images.

Star Wars in camo I. If you were a Storm Trooper wouldn鈥檛 you want some camouflage?

First this is completely non-canon (so far) and non legends. I fell in love with Star Wars the moment in 1976 I saw the original trailer 鈥渢he story of a boy, a girl and a universe鈥 a billion years in the making and it鈥檚 coming to your galaxy this summer,鈥 months before the movie was released. Of all the scenes in all the Star Wars movies in all the galaxies, my favourite scene is still Luke Skywalker walking out to watch that double sunset on Tattoine. So this is just a bit of fun with a series I love.

The double sunset (Lucasfilm/Disney)

When I began to transfer my love of Star Wars into model making (as you will see on the right hand menu) I began to wonder for the first time (about the same time that Star Wars Rogue One came out last December) why after so many years, the Storm Troopers are still in white body armor?

Star Wars Command figures one painted in a light green camouflage, and on the right a standard issue white armour Storm Trooper. Who has a better chance to survive a battle? (Robin Rowland)

Instagram

Now I鈥檝e worked in movies and television for 40 years (most of that time in TV news). Always the most important thing is 鈥渢he look鈥 which is part of the production ethic and creates an atmosphere for both the actors and聽 the audience. John Mollo, who passed away just a couple of weeks, created the original costumes and most of the look of what came to be called 鈥淎 New Hope.鈥聽 based on concepts by John McQuarrie .

Mollo won an Oscar for his work on A New Hope, and the white armored Storm Troopers became iconic, along with Darth Vader, CP30 and R2D2. So I am sure Lucasfilm and now Disney stick with what works. Later movies have enhanced 鈥渢he look鈥 but haven’t changed it. But maybe it’s time to question if that white look is still working?

In this promo for Rogue One, the Storm Troopers are charging across open water in their white body armour while the opposing rebels aren’t wearing camouflage, their dark clothing is closer to the terrain. Would you want to be one of those Storm Troopers? (Lucasfilm/Disney)

Now if we take it from the point of view of the Empire and later the First Order, we have to ask whether the upper echelons of the Empire or First Order actually have any respect for the Storm Trooper grunts?聽 (Even if they are the movie “bad guys.”)聽 Both Galactic Powers have spent billions of credits over the decades on聽 new聽 but vulnerable Death Stars ( a clear waste of taxpayers’ money),聽 then bigger and bigger and even bigger Star Destroyers.聽 There are new and advanced Tie Fighters and other space craft. But the poor Storm Troopers, what about them?聽 They haven’t had an equipment upgrade in 40 years.聽 (The equivalent聽 would be using Vietnam era or perhaps even Second World War聽 technology聽 in today’s聽 fighting)聽 So, imagine, James Earl Jones in his Darth Vader voice echoing Donald Rumsfeld鈥檚 infamous 鈥淵ou go to war with the Army you have 鈥 not the Army you might wish you have.” After all whether they鈥檙e clones or draftees, the Storm Troopers are no more than Imperial/First Order blaster fodder.

If you were a Storm Trooper in the Endor System wouldn’t want some camo? (Starwars.com/Lucasfilm/Disney)

Why even have body armor when a rebel fighter in grubby clothes can take a Storm Trooper out with a blaster or if he/she is a Jedi in some robes can take you down with a lightsabre? What good is body armor if聽 the blind master聽 Chirrut 脦mwe, can take out an entire Storm Trooper platoon?

What good is body armor against a blind man and the Force? Rogue One (Lucasfilm/Disney)

Just having the聽 Imperial/First Order soldiers in cloth uniform could be just as effective (and much more easy on the mobile credit dispensers of the war-burdened galactic taxpayers).

Any scene in any Star Wars movie, the white clad Storm Troopers stand out in any environment. Even if rebels or other enemies have super tech sensors in that galaxy far, far away, most of the battles are line of sight, which means the Storm Troopers are easy targets even for the most inexperienced rebel fighter.

While Storm Troopers may have superior fire power and some air cover, they usually lose in the end. Rogue One. (Lucasfilm/Disney)

So I let imagination run and here is the result, if you are drafted or recruited as a Storm Trooper, wouldn鈥檛 you want some camo?

RELATED
Star Wars in camo II. A forward observation post on the front line

Would you like to suddenly meet an AT-AT driver on a jungle trail? Star Wars Command figure (Robin Rowland)

 

An AT-AT makes its way through an alien jungle. Star Wars Command figure (Robin Rowland)

The rebels or perhaps an other enemy successfully downed the AT-AT so the driver has to make his way on foot. Star Wars Command figure (Robin Rowland)

Adapting to different planets may mean adapting the camo on the body armour to suit the situation. Star Wars Command figure (Robin Rowland)

Another view of the darker camo body armour. Star Wars Command figure (Robin Rowland)

A Storm Trooper in the brush of the Forest Moon of Endor. Sure stands out. Wouldn’t you rather be green trooper? (Lucasfilm/Disney)

I call this R2 unit R2C1. It’s “C” for the camouflaged model. Star Wars Command figure. (Robin Rowland)

Another shot of R2C1. Star Wars Command figure. (Robin Rowland)

Opposing the Storm Troopers are rebels in their own camouflaged bush uniforms. Star Wars Command figure. (Robin Rowland)

Another rebel fighter in the bush. Star Wars Command figure. (Robin Rowland)

The rebel fighters are part of a related project,聽 a forward observation post diorama which you will find in Star Wars in camo II.

The rebel in the same dark forest as the AT-AT driver. If they meet their camouflage will help both survive. Star Wars Command figure. (Robin Rowland)

The Storm Trooper with the light green camo armour aims his blaster. Star Wars Command figure. (Robin Rowland)

The Storm Trooper aims. Star Wars Command figure. (Robin Rowland)

Catching the Storm Trooper from on high (perhaps from a drone) Star Wars Command figure. (Robin Rowland)

A Storm Trooper in white is definitely an easier target for a rebel. Star Wars Command figure. (Robin Rowland)

Another side by side look at a Storm Trooper in camo and a second in traditional white. Star Wars Command figure. (Robin Rowland)

In the Navy

Another idea I had and am working on in a future project that if there is a Storm Trooper ground army, there might also be a Storm Trooper Navy.

A naval Storm Trooper. Star Wars Command figure. (Robin Rowland)

Disney is branching out from the original Star Wars story line with the announcement that director Rian Johnson will create a new trilogy somewhere in that big galaxy far, far away, that is a separate story line from the Skywalker family epic. As Ben Child wrote in the Guardian “it also suggests that Johnson is the man to take Star Wars into the kind of dangerous new territory that might be required if these movies are to last another 40 years鈥 Star Wars directors cannot make movies about Death Stars, fallen Jedi and Skywalker scions for ever; they must eventually begin to truly expand the universe. New worlds, races, supernatural phenomena and coteries of evil are needed if we are to be remotely interested in a galaxy far, far away in the year 2050. ”

For the various shots I used a Sony聽Alpha 700 with a Tamron 70-300 in macro mode and a Sony Alpha聽 77 with a聽 100mm lens in macro mode and a Sony Alpha 6000 with a Sony 18-55 E Mount.

The hunt for the Millennium Falcon – the diorama

Once again the Millennium Falcon is on the run. Once again in this non-canon, non-legend Star Wars Micromachines diorama, the Falcon is trying to hide out in a crater on an unnamed, uncharted minor planet at the edge of that galaxy far far away, perhaps in the mysterious “Unknown Regions.”

The Millennium Falcon hides at the edge of the galaxy. (Robin Rowland)

The Millennium Falcon hides in a small crater on a minor planet in the middle of galactic nowhere. (Robin Rowland)

Unfortunately for the Millennium Falcon crew and passengers, a bounty hunter comes up over the planetary horizon.

A Slave 1 class scout vessel comes over the horizon of the minor planet right over the Millennium Falcon. (Robin Rowland)

 

The Slave 1 class scout hides in another crater, while waiting for the Super Star Destroyer to arrive so the bounty hunter can collect a reward.. (Robin Rowland)

The Super Star Destroyer appears in orbit over that minor planet where the Millennium Falcon is in that crater. (Robin Rowland)

So what happens next? I’ll leave that to your imagination.

Creating the dioramas and photographs

All the models are Hasbro Star Wars Micromachines that were part of a Hasbro Star Wars Micromachines Epic Battles 48 piece set that fortunately was on sale at half price in my local supermarket.

Rebelscale.com lists the MicroMachines Millennium Falcon at 1/682 scale, the Slave 1 at 1/551 scale 聽and what Rebelscale calls the Imperial Star Destroyer (if it is the same as the Super Star Destroyer) at 1/23529 scale.

The problem with the Millenium Falcon MicoMachine is that the detailing is way out of scale, especially compared to some of the other models. Also the shiny “vinyl plastic” (according to Rebelscale) didn’t really work for the much loved but by now old and beat up Millennium Falcon. 聽The model was first painted with Krylon white primer, 聽then 聽lightly sprayed with Krylon Ivory Satin. 聽I added detailing using sharpie style art ink pens. I then sprayed with Krylon Matt finish. 聽Some of colours of those inks run when sprayed with the matt finish (especially reds). 聽After the matt finish had dried, details were touched up with the pens.

I left both the Slave 1 and the Super Star Destroyer as is.

The base is聽the Lunarscape vacu-form crater mold from 聽Amera Plastic Mouldings聽聽from聽Low Prudhoe,聽Northumberland, in the UK.

The sheet of plastic was first covered with Krylon white primer. 聽Then I brush painted a thin grey wash with ordinary (not modeling) arcylic artists’ paint. 聽 I then sprayed the surface with Krylon Fusion for Plastic white paint and Krylon Make it Stone textured grey paint, two handed, at the same time. 聽 Finally I finished off with a quick pass of the Krylon Ivory Satin to give the surface some variety. 聽Serendipitously by that time the Ivory Satin can was almost empty and the spluttering spray left lumps of paint which became the surface rocks.

The spray painted Amera Lunarscape with the Micromachines Millennium Falcon (Robin Rowland)

My work table is grey and some what dirty as you can see. 聽I pinned a black cloth on the wall in preparation for photography. The light for this image was daylight through a window to the left.

Setting up the shot of the Millennium Falcon and the Super Star Destroyer (Robin Rowland)

To take the photograph of the Millenium Falcon and the Super Star Destroyer the Star Destroyer model was on a platform (actually a pile of books) also covered in black cloth. 聽The main lighting for the shoot was an LED video light high on an extended light stand at the door to my workroom. For this shot the overhead light was also on.

All closeup images were taken with a Sony Alpha 77 and a Sony 100mm prime macro lens.

I wanted imaginative backgrounds, like the covers of 50s-70s science fiction paperbacks, so I choose public domain shots from NASA.

The barred spiral galaxy NGC 6217 (NASA Hubble)

The barred spiral galaxy NGC 6217 was photographed on June 13 and July 8, 2009, as part of the initial testing and calibration of Hubble’s ACS. The galaxy lies 60 million light-years away in the north circumpolar constellation Ursa Major.

The NGC 4536 galaxy, captured here in beautiful detail by the Hubble鈥檚 Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Located roughly 50 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo (The Virgin), it is a hub of extreme star formation. Released April 14, 2017聽聽ESA/Hubble & NASA

HH 901 and HH 902 in the Carina Nebula Star-forming Pillars and Herbig-Haro Objects with Jets聽 Taken in 2010 by the Hubble the region is two light years across and聽7,500 light-years away from Earth. ESA/NASA

Photoshop

For both the Slave 1 and the Super Star Destroyer, 聽the NASA image was added in a new layer, then the eraser tool was used to reveal the spacecraft which were lighted the same way as the Millennium Falcon on the surface.

The “line” between the Lunarscape craters and the work table was blended using a combination the blur tool, the clone tool and the healing brush tool.

 

“Do or do not. There is no try” – the diorama

Yoda and Luke Skywalker on Dagobah after Yoda lifts the X-Wing from the swamp, (Robin Rowland)

For my second diorama (the first was the Emperor Palpatine and his guards) I tackled two scenes, from different perspectives from The Empire Strikes Back.

Photographed from one side, young Luke has arrived at the swamp world of Dagobah and has met Yoda.

Welcome to Dogabah, young Luke. (Robin Rowland)

Shot from the reverse angle and using forced perspective, the frustrated Luke Skywalker has just watched Yoda use The Force to raise his sunken X-wing fighter from the waters of the Dagobah swamp.

Both Luke and Yoda are Star Wars Command figures, painted in the appropriate colours. The Luke figure, unfortunately, is one of the poorest in the Star Wars Command line, compared to other personalities and even ordinary stormtroopers.

The snake (the creature that ate and threw up R2 D2) is from a $2 packet I bought at a dollar store. The flying creature was a lucky addition to the background shot I chose.

Here is the concept art of the scene from the official Star Wars site

How I did created the diorama

I started with the X-Wing which I painted in the standard colour scheme. The tiny R2 unit on the model was removed since on Dagobah, R2-D2 was with Luke. Military modellers often dip figures in Miniwax wood stain to bring out details. Usually I use a light stain, Minimax Fruitwood. This time I used the darker Walnut stain and rather than cleaning most of the stain, I let it drip into the a small aluminum pan.

Yoda also was dipped but he was wiped clean.

For the X-Wing I then added deadfall Witch’s Hair lichen (Alectoria sarmentosa)聽which is common in northern British Columbia where I live.

I then built the diorama using standard materials, with one exception. The styrofoam base was small so instead of commercial model water, I used several layers of standard food cling wrap (which actually comes with a slight blue tint in a private brand version) to make the snake/monster emerge from the water. I painted the layers of cling wrap with a light brown wash.

Here’s how the diorama 聽looks.

To photograph from different angles I then chose photos that would work as backgrounds.

Did I visit Dagobah? I wish.

The background images were photographed during a canoe trip in Okefenokee National Wildlife Refugee in south Georgia, ten years ago in April 2006. 聽The photographs were printed on Epson matt paper so there would be no extraneous reflections

Background image for Welcome to Dagobah

Background image for Do or do not, There is no try.

Finally here is the X wing on the diorama 聽showing the aft end of the star fighter.

Close up images shot with a Sony A77 and Sony 100 mm macro lens. 聽Others shot with a Sony 6000.

An Imperial AT-AT on patrol in swamp

An AT-AT on patrol in swamp, planet unknown. (Robin Rowland)

Star Wars Command AT-AT photographer in the woods near my house. Now that it’s spring will be able to do more outdoor photography where appropriate (the small approx 54mm Star Wars Command figures don’t always blend into a real world setting as easily as the larger 3.5, 6 and 12 inch figures).

Shot with Sony A700 and Tamron 70 to 300 on macro mode.

Why did I enlist in the snow troopers?

Why did I join the snow troopers? Snow trooper patrols in cold rain after a heavy snowfall.

A Star Wars Command snowtrooper figure, painted, photographed in rain after a heavy snowfall, Sony Alpha 700 Tamron 70 to 300 on macro mode.

In memory of Princess Leia

Star Wars Unleashed “vintage” (2007) figure of Princess Leia from what is now called Star Wars III A New Hope, released in 1977 and played by the late Carrie Fisher.


The Star Wars Unleashed Battle Packs were released by Hasbro between 2006 and 2008 and were roughly within the range of 54mm classic toy soldier figures (or 1/32 scale).
Unfortunately for modellers and war gamers when Hasbro manufacturers the various kinds of smaller Star Wars figures they are not always consistent to those scales, some larger, some smaller. The Star Wars Command figures that I feature on this blog, are supposedly in the 54mm range but are usually about 50mm, to small to mix and match.

The Star Wars Unleashed Battle Pack figures, of course, came out long before the movie Star Wars The Force Unleashed, which has its own set of figures in other scales.

Taken with Sony Alpha 700 with Tamron 70 to 300 on macro mode.

Carrie Fisher passed away on December 27. 2016 in Los Angeles after suffering a heart attack.
(The Leia figure I had ordered had not arrived at the time of her death)

A lone Imperial AT-AT on dawn patrol

As the sun comes up this lone Imperial AT-AT (All Terrain Armored Transport) sets out on patrol on icy world. Although this Imperial combat walker is 22.5 metre high, carries a crew of four and up to 40 snowtroopers as passengers, it looks insignificant against the landscape. (Robin Rowland)

The journey is uphill into the mountains. (Robin Rowland)

Through a mountain pass. (Robin Rowland)

The Imperial Walker All Terrain Armored Transport, a symbol of the might of the galactic empire.

An attacking AT-AT coming out of the blinding early morning sun would strike fear into any group of rebels. (Robin Rowland)

The patrol continues. (Robin Rowland)

Not all the walkers return safely from their mission. The crew and passengers of our AT-AT have to pass one that didn’t make it (Robin Rowland)

A rebel snowspeeder in its own dawn patrol spots the AT-AT so their troops are warned. (Robin Rowland)

The AT-AT reaches the limit of its assigned patrol and turns and heads back to home base. (Robin Rowland)

Details

Hasbro Star Wars Command AT-AT. This time after spray panting with white primer, i used a series of washes, first a couple of diluted grey washes, then a grey wash mixed with white and blue, then I added a steel colour to the grey wash and the finished off with a final grey wash.

All images were taken in my front garden in -15 C (wind chill -25 C). In the current cold snap I noticed gorgeous light on Sunday as the sun came up over the mountains of Kitimat. Monday was cloudy but today Tuesday was perfect. Cameras. Wide shots taken with Sony Alpha 6000 with 18 to 55. Medium shots with Sony Alpha 6000 and Sony Alpha 77 and close ups with Sony Alpha 77 with a Tamron 70 to 300 set on macro mode. The one problem was that when I tried to create tracks, the snow was so soft that in most cases, all that came of it was a big hole in the snow that didn’t look right. Also the wind kept blowing the model over.