Tiny Walker: Bandai's AT-M6, 1/550 scale

I'm by no means a Star Wars fanboy or have any Star Wars doo dads in my work cave and office nor have I watched one episode of the new Mandalorian series. Along with my future wife, I did join the jubilant sidewalk party while waiting in line the night the first Star Wars movie opened at the long gone and beloved Cornet Theater on Geary Street in San Francisco, May 1977, if that gives me any cred.

Here's a photo by Greg Fong of the SF Chronicle taken back in the day of the Cornet. Note the folks leaving the theater after watching the film with the rest of the crowd waiting for the next showing.

When I saw this mini Bandai Empire Walker AT-M6 kit for five bucks a few years ago I couldn't say “no” even though I have never had any interest in building a Star Wars model. “Return of the Jedi” Walker series have always been my fave. I dove into this kit just for yuks on a whim a week ago and was surprised what fun this was to build. Heaps of fun! And now I see Bandai is about to release a fully articulated 1/144 Walker in March. Hmmm.

First time I've ever seen instructions printed on the underside of the box lid! All the parts snap together perfectly, although I did use a little glue where I felt it was needed and left off the guns until the last minute. The legs do articulate a tad at the body joint and should they fall off, just pop them back into place. Fit is great.

Bandai's realistic detail is just awesome at this scale which is roughly 1/550. And most amazing, these Walkers only stand about 65 mm (aprox 2.5 inches) in height when finished, so one could build an entire herd of them and hardly take up any shelf space!


The big fun is all in the detailing. This is where I took my time. I painted all the parts Tamiya Dark Sea Grey XF-54. Then I went back in and highlighted the panels, legs and guns etc with Tamiya black panel line accent first. The rest was accented using combinations of Tamiya panel brown, MIG fresh mud, Fresh Engine Oil, and MIG pigments black and airfield dust. Red windscreens were done with Tamiya transparent lacquer followed by two light coats of Testor's Dullcote.

I gave this tiny Walker model to my 7 year old grandson who is a third generation Star Wars fan. He keeps me up to date although I have no idea what he's talking about.