This is the 1/6 scale Stormtrooper by Kaiyodo. It might seem strange to you, but this kit was one of the more, uhm, awkward kits that I have built in the last few years. One would think that a figure like this would be straightforward--and so I approached it in the end--but the simple black and white scheme left me worried that it would look too toylike when it was done. I agonized over whether to add shading and how to go about the process. Should I use slightly varying shades of white on the armor, or should I use a transparent smoke to shade in the shadows? Would this make him look too "dirty"? Everyone is accustomed to seeing these characters in spotless, polished armor. This debate actually caused me to rebox the kit for nearly a year as other projects garnered my attention.
As it turned out, I opted not to use any additional shading. Why? Partly, it was due to a quickly approaching model contest deadline for which I had only one unfinished entry in the works. This was a figure I could finish quickly if I forgot about the shading issue. For the other part, it was because I still hadn't decided how I wanted to treat the problem. As time permits, I can always go back and attempt the shadowing if I decide it's worth the effort.
Shortly after I bought the kit, Charlie Dunton of CDProductions offered a resin base with a raised Imperial symbol for kits such as this. The timing was perfect. Shown above is the base painted in Alclad Chrome with Tamiya Transparent Blue over the raised portions. The figure is pinned to the base using a brass tube in each heal, leaving the figure able to be removed from his mounts at any time.
This is the 1/6 scale Stormtrooper by Kaiyodo. It might seem strange to you, but this kit was one of the more, uhm, awkward kits that I have built in the last few years. One would think that a figure like this would be straightforward--and so I approached it in the end--but the simple black and white scheme left me worried that it would look too toylike when it was done. I agonized over whether to add shading and how to go about the process. Should I use slightly varying shades of white on the armor, or should I use a transparent smoke to shade in the shadows? Would this make him look too "dirty"? Everyone is accustomed to seeing these characters in spotless, polished armor. This debate actually caused me to rebox the kit for nearly a year as other projects garnered my attention.