I got a bunch of Legion stuff for Christmas and I finally got to the Downed AT-ST, but the base (to which everything is glued) is pretty warped. The warp is severe enough for it to rock back and forth when placed on a table. For the smaller pieces it wouldn’t be too much of an issue to dunk them in a glass of hot water, but the base is quite large. I looked on line (even YouTube) and there are a lot of places to purchase the Downed AT-ST and even a lot of unboxing videos, but nothing that I could find about assembly or painting.

Did anyone else run into the warped base issue? If so, what did you do, did you power through or figure some way of warming it to correct the warp?

Mine is slightly warped, but not enough to be an issue for me.

You could try mounting it to some kind of styrofoam base, perhaps a 1/2" thick, and then score out the footprint as necessary to get a "flat" placement.

If it is soft plastic, you can use hot water to fix it. https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/402259.page

22 minutes ago, Rocmistro said:

Mine is slightly warped, but not enough to be an issue for me.

You could try mounting it to some kind of styrofoam base, perhaps a 1/2" thick, and then score out the footprint as necessary to get a "flat" placement.

Not ideal as it would lift the downed At-st and kind of look like it’s on a pedestal, but thanks for the suggestion, I’ll keep it in mind if I can’t think of anything else.

22 minutes ago, Mokoshkana said:

If it is soft plastic, you can use hot water to fix it. https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/402259.page

Yeah the hot water would be great, but the base is quite large. Think two DVD or Blu Ray cases side by side (that big). I would need a really big glass for that and plus I’m not sure how long it would take being submerged to make it supple enough to re-mold (it’s also very think plastic). Hence my problem. 🥺

13 minutes ago, JediPartisan said:

Not ideal as it would lift the downed At-st and kind of look like it’s on a pedestal, but thanks for the suggestion, I’ll keep it in mind if I can’t think of anything else.

Yeah the hot water would be great, but the base is quite large. Think two DVD or Blu Ray cases side by side (that big). I would need a really big glass for that and plus I’m not sure how long it would take being submerged to make it supple enough to re-mold (it’s also very think plastic). Hence my problem. 🥺

Just use a bowl, or fill the sink up with boiling water, drop it in, pull plug and run cold. hey presto... if need to hold it in place a couple of spoons should help. if it's not flat, use a frying pan or saucepan... is what I do for large bases

Not ideal for January, but I just left mine outside on a cookie sheet in the sun while I was at work and it flattened out

19 minutes ago, Soontirbeblownup said:

Just use a bowl, or fill the sink up with boiling water, drop it in, pull plug and run cold. hey presto... if need to hold it in place a couple of spoons should help. if it's not flat, use a frying pan or saucepan... is what I do for large bases

Thanks, I’ll give it a shot. I was thinking about something like that, but wasn’t sure if how water would work as it’s much thicker than a bent lightsaber or gun. 😁

3 minutes ago, KommanderKeldoth said:

Not ideal for January, but I just left mine outside on a cookie sheet in the sun while I was at work and it flattened out

lol the low tech approach. Makes me wish it was summer. 😁

6 minutes ago, JediPartisan said:

Thanks, I’ll give it a shot. I was thinking about something like that, but wasn’t sure if how water would work as it’s much thicker than a bent lightsaber or gun. 😁

Just might need to let it soak a while. I've done thicker stuff before, Rancor base for IA was wonky and one peg was out of shape too somehow. went really soft after a minute or so

1 minute ago, Soontirbeblownup said:

Just might need to let it soak a while. I've done thicker stuff before, Rancor base for IA was wonky and one peg was out of shape too somehow. went really soft after a minute or so

Cool, thanks. I’ll definitely give it a shot. 🤞 😁

13 minutes ago, Soontirbeblownup said:

Just might need to let it soak a while. I've done thicker stuff before, Rancor base for IA was wonky and one peg was out of shape too somehow. went really soft after a minute or so

+1

After 30minutes in very hot water the base will be warm enough to be dis-bended.

Also. After this operation, better to place the base on a very flat surface and let the temperature getting lower slowly. And i recommand to place something heavy on top of the base to avoir it to re-bend while cooling.

The good thing is if it do not work during the first try, you can have a second attempt, it will not destroy the downed at-st more than it already is

Maybe this is why they made the bunker roof in the new expansion two pieces? So it would be easier to adjust without serious warping.

Use a blow dryer. Set the AT-ST on a flat surface and shoot at it from all angles until it's flat.

8 minutes ago, SailorMeni said:

Use a blow dryer. Set the AT-ST on a flat surface and shoot at it from all angles until it's flat.

Be very careful using this method or any sort of heat gun. It is very easy to melt the plastic if one is not careful.

@JediPartisan , very easy solution. Go to amazon or some other online retailer and buy an air conditioner filter. (as pictured). Get one made of 1/4" -3/16" open cell foam. I use this stuff for Armada to get acrylic tokens to fit some of the parts designed for cardboard. It works great.



The material should be firm enough to fill the gaps left by the model while still laying down flat under the model.

They come in big sheets so it should be as easy as cutting out a shape similar to the base and gluing it.

Good luck!

https://www.amazon.com/Frost-King-Conditioner-Filters-Open/dp/B000BO68BU/

22 hours ago, JediPartisan said:

Thanks, I’ll give it a shot. I was thinking about something like that, but wasn’t sure if how water would work as it’s much thicker than a bent lightsaber or gun. 😁

lol the low tech approach. Makes me wish it was summer. 😁

You might be able to leave it in a window if you still get decent sunlight where you live. Might tide you over until warmer weather.

If you have a deep baking dish or large Tupperware you might be able to use that for the hot water trick- maybe weigh down the base with something dense?

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I plugged my sink, and heated water in a kettle then submerged the base. I pulled it out with bbq tongs and put it on my counter. Worked like a charm,

I put mine in very hot water, then flattened it, then submerged it in freezing water. Didn't fix the warp, so I tried again. It's still warped, and it's painted now so no more hot water!

I guess, after heating, I should have left it on a flat surface with something weighing down on it.

On 1/22/2020 at 7:31 PM, ScummyRebel said:

Maybe this is why they made the bunker roof in the new expansion two pieces? So it would be easier to adjust without serious warping.

The bunker is hard plastic (hips) and the AT-ST is soft plastic (vinyl) so won’t warp in the same way. It’s likely in two pieces to save material as otherwise it would be one giant lump.