AMT 1/72 Razor Crest

The 1/72 Razor Crest is quite big with sizeable 13″ length. As mentioned (somewhere) on the Internet, both Revell and AMT were given the data of the model. In the end, Revell came out first in 2021 while AMT was in 2022.

AMT 1/72 Razor Crest
The moment Starship Modeler announced that the AMT model is in their stores, I bought it immediately.
I was looking for the Revell version which came out in 2021 but did not have any luck as they were either sold out or, unable to ship to Malaysia.
So, the AMT version was easier to get than the rare Revell.
John Lester of Starship Modeler also gave me a very nice souvenir
This is the back art of the box which portrayed the model in its finished state.

REVELL vs AMT

By now, everyone would either have a Revell or an AMT or even both. So, yes, they would be making comparisons between the two. Just like when Bandai’s 1/72 Millenium Falcon was compared with the decades earlier Finemolds. For my own, I am just going to highlight the main differences.

IN A NUTSHELL

Revell

  1. Crisp surface details
  2. Has an interior
  3. It was not designed for lighting so you’d need to get aftermarket or 3D printed parts from third party peeps.

AMT

  1. Soft surface details
  2. Has no interior but an upturned bulge to take in the rod
  3. The model, especially the Engines, are designed for lighting
  4. It has Grogu in the Cradle
  5. Two version of decals, plus one for the cockpit floor.

The decals for the Razor Crest is much better than Revell’s but we have never seen a ‘Like-new’ Razor Crest in the show.
Another plus point is that there is a decal for the cockpit’s flooring.

LIGHTING THE FRONT

Lighting the model is quite straight forward since there are no flashing lights or any complicated sequences. All in all, there are actually 6 red lights. Two on each of the engines and two more in the front as, maybe, front lights. Then there are the two engines which is the highlight of the model. As I do not have a Revell, I cannot say much about the interior lighting though. But it definitely needs warm white lights.

The AMT model has two 3mm holes which you can insert a pair of 3mm LEDs. However, there is a slight problem. If you use a normal 3mm red diffused LED in there, it is too long. The only solution would be a 3mm flat-top. Since I do not have that, I would need to improvise.
I glued two pla-plates to give me a 2mm thick buffer. Then I drilled two 3mm holes to match the model’s original holes.
Although the 2mm pla-plate is too thick, the final result looks OK to me.
I soldered the two red LEDs in parallel and used a 330 Ohm resistor. The current is way less than 10mA but it is still brighter then I wanted it to be.
To finish it off, I would need to light block both the front of the model and the panel.

LIGHTING THE ENGINES

Still Fishing
Piscean Works