Hi all.  I recently dove back into collecting Lego (specifically Original Trilogy Star Wars) and subsequently I’ve been lurking around these forums a fair amount lately.  I figured it was about time I introduced myself and thought this would be a good start.

I never really had a dark ages, but I was a very casual collector for years - sometimes building stuff from my imagination and maybe picking up a set here and there that caught my eye (Batman, BTTF, Ghostbusters, Wall-E).  Star Wars has always been a huge part of my life, but it felt like a slippery slope with so many Lego sets each year to choose from.  I had picked up a few back in 1999/2000 when they first came out, but I was a student then and couldn’t afford the larger more elaborate ones that I really wanted.  Over the past few months I’ve made up for a lot of lost time.  I started with everything currently in stores, and through sites like eBay and Bricklink I’ve managed to pick up most OT sets from as far back as 2010 (around the time white pupils first started appearing).

One of my all time favorite Star Wars vehicles is the AT-ST.  I obviously missed out on the awesome UCS version, as well as the few less inspired versions that have appeared over the years.  When I read there would be a new AT-ST to coincide with Rogue One I was excited, and when the first images started to appear I was generally happy with the look.  There were a few unusual build choices, in my opinion, but I figured some of that could be the difference in time period from RO to ROTJ.

I’ve kept all of my builds “official” thus far, but as primarily an OT collector, I really wanted a signature Endor AT-ST.  After building 75153 for myself, I felt it was a good set that got most of the way there.  I have a bunch of bricks in bins, so I ended up making a few modifications.  Though subtle, I think they help to take an already very nice looking model and push it toward the classic AT-ST that I was looking for.  Here’s what I changed:

- First I swapped the “eyelids” with light blue grey 2x2 square flags.  I’m not sure if this is a change in the Rogue One film, but these were the main offenders for me in terms of accuracy. 

- I moved the dark stone grey 1x1 with clip “toes” up to the roof and added the missing front rail, a spare light blue grey Bar 6L with Stop Ring that I had.

- I changed the face plating, adding new 2x3 wedge plates under the eyes and a 2x4 tile in the center.  I added a light blue grey 1x2 plate under the cheese wedge between the eyes to give the windows a bit more height.

- Lastly, I added upside down 1x2 plates with clip on top as the new Toes.  I’m not completely satisfied with these and will keep looking for other options, but they work for now.

Again, nothing major, but I’m happy with it and I think it feels like it could be prowling the forest moon of Endor.  I’ve seen so many cool MOCs and modifications on these forums, so I thought I would share one of mine with you all.  Let me know what you think, and if you have any other suggestions for improvement.  Thanks!

Welcome to EB! Your modification is looking great! You make me really want to get that set. Thanks for sharing!

subtle but good

Well done! I am waiting my AT—ST to arrive to start modding. I had thought about some of those mods like the 2x4 tile in the center. Great minds think alike. Your eye lids looks great! I think I will copy them as I have the pieces requiered. But my major mod will be to add a second pilot inside. Do you think is feasible?

5 hours ago, PaulPrime said:

Well done! I am waiting my AT—ST to arrive to start modding. I had thought about some of those mods like the 2x4 tile in the center. Great minds think alike. Your eye lids looks great! I think I will copy them as I have the pieces requiered. But my major mod will be to add a second pilot inside. Do you think is feasible?

Larry Lars managed to do it with the walker that came with set 8038, which compared to this is considerably smaller…

AT-ST from 8038 modified into a two-seater by Larry Lars, on Flickr

 

It should be doable at least with drastic remodeling of the side panels

Looks great, you managed to improve an already decent set. The eyelids are a very welcome addition.

I was thinking of doing some mods myself, but I don't have many spare parts lying around, so I only replaced the railing with a spare bendable rail from Luke's speeder from the cantina set.

 

Good set of changes - they make a real difference and really help lift the set - mine is on its way and Ill do a similar set of changes.  Thanks for sharing and detailing the changes out.

5 hours ago, LiLmeFromDaFuture said:

Larry Lars managed to do it with the walker that came with set 8038, which compared to this is considerably smaller…

AT-ST from 8038 modified into a two-seater by Larry Lars, on Flickr

 

It should be doable at least with drastic remodeling of the side panels

Interesting! I wouldn't wanna be one of those drivers though. Too claustrophobic.

Thanks everyone!  

PaulPrime - I think it would be possible.  It's pretty tight toward the top of the cockpit - they built up the inner walls 5 plates high to attach to the frame, but there's a lot more room toward the bottom.  I might give it a try, but then I'll need another Pilot!  

Modding the interior to be a two-seater is actually pretty easy.  The biggest problem was the white hooks and the grey loops they go into on the walls.  Those things were right next to the pilot on both sides, meaning they would push him towards the centre.  After a bit of playing around though I discovered they can be moved all the way to the back, below the technic joint. This location is just as strong as the forward position and there's no greater gap at the front (even with minifigs pushing against the walls).

To make this modification I removed the 4x4 plates on the walls (along with the other platey bits attached to them) to widen the cabin.  I also removed the black and dark grey "floor spine" beneath them.  I then replaced the curved arches with a 2x4 brick and put the white hooks on top of them.

After that it just took 4 jumpers and some 1x2 and 1x3 plates to build the seats and reinforce the joints to the walls.  Oh, and a 1x2 brick in the back to fill in a hole where the spine once was.

I don't think the red spring-loaded blasters will work anymore as I removed the pushbutton bits from the back as well, but I don't really like those anyway (especially after shooting myself in the eye.  The warning on the box is true! It can happen!!!)

The brown was mainly because that was the closest bin to my table at the time (plus the contrast helps show where I changed things in the picture).  With a little cleanup (removing that giant grey step-like piece bracing the rear wall) you can easily get a third seat in, or even remove the 2x5 platey seats and you could have ewoks standing in there with chewbacca in the back :)

Now if someone can figure out a better (posable) leg structure that would be ace ;)

Edited October 4, 20168 yr by woodat

Amazing mod I just bought an AT ST and I plan on making these changes. Am I the only one wjo thinks its slightly too tall?

I also plan on removing the flick fire missiles next to the main guns. They don't look that bad from the front but theybdo from the side.

I haven't built the set yet,but I'm wondering if it would be possible to move the 2 2x4 wedge plates on either side of the "face" down 1 stud? This would bring the thin end of the wedge in front of the shooters and either side of the "chin" cannons. I feel this would be more screen accurate but wonder if this would be possible due to the angle of the side walls. A 1x2 plate could then fill in the gap above. 

 

In in this area, I also feel the chin cannon is not particularly accurate - I intend doing a bit of work here too!

12 hours ago, Forresto said:

Amazing mod I just bought an AT ST and I plan on making these changes. Am I the only one wjo thinks its slightly too tall?

Yes and no.  Actually I think the entire thing is slightly too bulky, especially in the leg and foot region. I actually think it'd be nice if the legs were a little thinner, though obviously that's no easy feat.  If I remember correctly the Endor AT-ST from the films had thicker beefier legs than the Hoth AT-ST, and this certainly feels more like one of those.

On 2/10/2016 at 10:50 AM, Bley Harvest said:

Hi all.  I recently dove back into collecting Lego (specifically Original Trilogy Star Wars) and subsequently I’ve been lurking around these forums a fair amount lately.  I figured it was about time I introduced myself and thought this would be a good start.

I’ve kept all of my builds “official” thus far, but as primarily an OT collector, I really wanted a signature Endor AT-ST.  After building 75153 for myself, I felt it was a good set that got most of the way there.  I have a bunch of bricks in bins, so I ended up making a few modifications.  Though subtle, I think they help to take an already very nice looking model and push it toward the classic AT-ST that I was looking for.

Thanks for sharing your modifications. I was thinking of passing on this model until I saw how good it looks with the 2x2 flags for eyelids. BTW, the toes you've used work great and look perfect with 1x1 cheese slopes underneath. I have incorporated all of your changes along with making a few more essential mods.

Cosmetically I colour-swapped out all the brown, yellow, and trans red, and I also replaced all the stickers with printed parts or brickbuilt solutions (including the cockpit controls and rear exhaust vents). But the two critical modifications were modifying the cockpit to fit two figures, and modifying the internal mechanism so that turning the rear knob left turns the head left (instead of right). I have also built around the exposed spring-loaded missiles at the sides using 1x2 brackets, and added the needed circular parts beneath the chin-mounted blasters.

Modifying the cockpit to fit two figures is straightforward, and so easy and obvious that one wonders why the set designers settled for a single seat. It was just a matter of adding four jumper plates for the seating offset, adding an extra backrest piece, and then reducing the layering on the inside of the side walls. As noted in a previous post, the forward side wall connections must also be moved. I have simply moved them forward one stud (rather than moving them to the rear).

Edited October 7, 20168 yr by BrickMonkeyMOCs

Thank you very much guys for sharing your modifications, especially Bley Harvest, LilMe and Woodat for the pictures. I think it's a good moment to share my own mods. I have shameless copied some of yours but I have also find some solutions that may be interesting for somebody. In that case please use them, or let me know if you need some more detailed pictures. These are some quick shots just after I finished building the little chicken. I started last night and stopped following the instructions around bag 2.

General view. I have added some plates, removed the hammers which hold the side weapons and put 3L bars instead, removed spring shooters and extended the "chin", and completed the railing on top. Nothing complicated.

Inside view. I just had to add the second driver, it is so obvious that I can't understand why it was not included in the set. I think all of us share this impression. I have put the forward attachments for the side panels back, and changed a LOT of how the interior is constructed just to get a cleaner look. I hate my drivers holding air so I added a steering bar.

It was also very important for me that the drivers could actually see through the front windows. I am very happy on how this objective was achieved.

I'm sure I will keep modding my AT-ST, but for now I am satisfied. I would like to see more modded chickens so keep this thread alive.

Cheers!

Edited October 8, 20168 yr by PaulPrime

On 5/10/2016 at 8:12 AM, Richpepperell said:

I haven't built the set yet,but I'm wondering if it would be possible to move the 2 2x4 wedge plates on either side of the "face" down 1 stud? This would bring the thin end of the wedge in front of the shooters and either side of the "chin" cannons. I feel this would be more screen accurate but wonder if this would be possible due to the angle of the side walls. A 1x2 plate could then fill in the gap above. 

Well, noy only it's possible, it looks fantastic and the gap between the side plates is almost closed. I will keep the face this way, thanks for the idea!

19 hours ago, BrickMonkeyMOCs said:

 BTW, the toes you've used work great and look perfect with 1x1 cheese slopes underneath. I have incorporated all of your changes along with making a few more essential mods.

They work great indeed!

On 10/2/2016 at 3:47 PM, BrickHat said:

Interesting! I wouldn't wanna be one of those drivers though. Too claustrophobic.

And likely to get crushed by two trees.

4 hours ago, PaulPrime said:

Well, noy only it's possible, it looks fantastic and the gap between the side plates is almost closed. I will keep the face this way, thanks for the idea!

 

Finally got round to building mine today and did a few mods immediately - inspired mainly by this thread!  I have to say I'm really impressed with the build - it looks fanatastic.  Here are a few of my changes:  

• Changed the face as previously discussed but also added the 4x4 modified plate to simulate the design seen on the ones in ROTJ. I really like the look of it.
• Added the top rail but I've stuck with the original eyelids
• Chin gun - I thought it was too small - the on screen barrels are much longer.  Also added the equipment below the guns which I remember being fairly prominent on my old kenner vehicle.
• Added the 'plastron shields' (according to my cross-sections book) under the chest plus a bit more greebling to the body and hips.
• Tried a million variations on the fence-cutting toes but finally settled on this - looks better for real than in the photos.  I just wanted something with a gap or clip to simulate the cutters.

I haven't touched the interior yet and I feel there'll definitely be more tinkering yet!  I really hope this thread continues so we can work towards perfection!

Edited October 8, 20168 yr by Richpepperell
added images

6 hours ago, gotoAndLego said:

And likely to get crushed by two trees.

Whoa!  Looking back on that scene, that was a brutal way to go…

One particularly good cosmetic enhancement I've found is to use a 1x2 LBG ingot on a 1x2 up-bracket placed between the eye-ports as the front sensors.

I've also used a few of the same parts in place of the 2x4 tiles on the legs

Edited October 9, 20168 yr by BrickMonkeyMOCs

10 hours ago, Richpepperell said:

• Chin gun - I thought it was too small - the on screen barrels are much longer.  Also added the equipment below the guns which I remember being fairly prominent on my old kenner vehicle.

I checked some pictures of movie models online and you are totally right. I used discs and round plates to give the impression of several gears below the chin cannons. In addition, I was not satisifed with the flags as eyelids, they look great in the pictures but in person I found them too big. They are supposed to cover just the "eyes" so the square flags should be 1x2. I used hinged plates and I like the look more. Bad thing is they have studs, but this Lego so they don't bother me. At least this solution is more accurate than the original eyelids.

I'm having a lot of fun with this thread and the continuos improvements. I love this forum.

29 minutes ago, PaulPrime said:

I checked some pictures of movie models online and you are totally right. I used discs and round plates to give the impression of several gears below the chin cannons. In addition, I was not satisifed with the flags as eyelids, they look great in the pictures but in person I found them too big. They are supposed to cover just the "eyes" so the square flags should be 1x2. I used hinged plates and I like the look more. Bad thing is they have studs, but this Lego so they don't bother me. At least this solution is more accurate than the original eyelids.

I'm having a lot of fun with this thread and the continuos improvements. I love this forum.

My next job is to add the armour plates to the front of the hips - looking forward to any solutions you have for this cos I've been failing at it for about an hour now!

1 hour ago, Richpepperell said:

My next job is to add the armour plates to the front of the hips - looking forward to any solutions you have for this cos I've been failing at it for about an hour now!

I am failing to find a solution for that. I thought about robot arms at the end of the 3L bar to hold another bar in front of the hip and then... I'm stuck. I don't know what piece/s could work to resemble armour plates. I will share this picture of my failed attemp just in case somebody could develope a working plate based on it.

Edit: The pieces for the original eyelids doesn't look too bad, but they are square, not curved.

Edited October 9, 20168 yr by PaulPrime

The robot arms inspired me - I'm pretty happy with this, especially from the front.

 

16 minutes ago, Richpepperell said:

The robot arms inspired me - I'm pretty happy with this, especially from the front.

I'm glad my fail inspired you. Now I have to order a couple of those slopes and copy your hip plates as they look awesome!