Converted Star Wars toy

-
Back in the 1980s, Palitoy in the UK (Kenner in the US) released a series of small vehicles for their Star Wars figures. The range was called Mini-Rigs.

The Mini-Rig vehicles, which did not appear in any of the three films of the Star Wars original trilogy, were fairly inexpensive models designed to carry one character and thereby increase play value at a lower cost than the larger toy vehicles.

One such Mini-Rig was the MLC-3 Mobile Laser Cannon, a small, one-person tank used by the Rebel Alliance on the planet Hoth.

The original MLC-3


A few years back, I managed to pick up a MLC-3 from eBay. It was missing the transparent dome and as a result was relatively inexpensive.

Somewhat inspired by a TX-225 GAVw "Occupier" combat assault tank (seen in Rogue-One), I decided to convert the MLC-3 into a tank for 28mm gaming.

Now, in what might appear to be sacrilege to Toy Collectors, I took the off the lifting hatch. I then used plasticard to fill gaps, to cover the various holes and to suggest crew access hatches.

Once the filler and glue had dried, I then undercoated the tank with primer. I then tried weathering with a variety of grey paints to give it a used look. I held off adding mud/dust as I didn't want to tie it to a specific geographical area.

The tank can be used as a tank, a cargo transport, a troop transport or even as an anti-aircraft platform (the guns move up and down!).

So, a toy from the 1980s now has a new lease life for 28mm Star Wars gaming.

Location: Southampton, UK

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ambush at the Canyon - A Fistful of Lead game.

-
Image
Woohoo, first game of 2024! This time we dived into the 'For a Fistful More: Scenarios for Fistful of Lead' scenario book. Picking the first scenario ' The Waterin' Hole ' as the basis for the game. Whilst on a manhunt for the 'Bad Hombres' gang, Marshal Bill and his posse have stopped for some rest and much needed meal. What the Marshal doesn't know is that the 'Bad Hombres' led by Ricardo are about to spring an ambush in the canyon. The posse start surrounding the camp fire. The 'Bad Hombres' start on the high ground in the canyon. Also, they took up the option of  placing a gang member in reserve, with the caveat that he turns up at one end of the canyon within the first three turns. Marshal Bill would get 5 Renown points for killing or capturing Ricardo. Also, he would get 1 Renown point for each of the 'Bad Hombres' killed or captured. The 'Bad Hombres' had different victory conditions. Ricardo couldn't leave the ...
Read more

Massacre at Briar's Bend - A Fistful of Lead Game

-
Image
Another scenario from 'For a Fistful More: Scenarios for Fistful of Lead' with the third scenario "Massacre at Briar's Bend". This time, Marshal Bill and his Posse get to have a rest, as for this scenario, it is Native American Braves versus the US Cavalry. A Cavalry patrol has set up camp amongst some rocks by a river. The Cavalry are armed with (not so trusty) carbines and pistols. In this scenario, if a carbine suffers a '1' when shooting, the player rolls a dice and if the result is odd, then suffers an additional 'out of ammo' token. The Braves start in two group of 5, in the opposite corners not covered by woods. To add a bit of drama to the game, the game length would only be determined at the start of Turn 6. Rolling a D10, a result of 1-6 would mean the game lasts 6 turns, any other result would the number of turns the game lasts. The Campsite The Braves on the other side of the river used both their turns to advance to the riv...
Read more

Dead Set Britain

-
Image
Cruising through the empty streets, Jezza and the gang stumbled upon a promising spot for exploration: three houses and a construction site that looked ripe for looting.   They pulled up in the Transit and quickly devised a plan. Jezza and Captain Slow would tackle two of the houses, while Hamster and Stig would take on the remaining one and the construction site. Turn 1 Captain Slow sprinted to the first house. Finding the front door locked, he took a chance and kicked it in with a crash. Jezza bolted past him, heading straight upstairs. Meanwhile, Stig leapt out of the Transit and dashed to take cover behind a maroon Rover parked on the street.   Hamster quickly realized the commotion had attracted the attention of the zombies nearby. Without hesitation, he pulled out his trusty pistol and fired at one of the undead. He missed, but the shot did its job—drawing the zombies toward him instead. Turn 2 Jezza and Captain Slow charged upstairs tow...
Read more