Finished AT-AT Rocker Reveal!

It's done!

 

As I said in my last update, painting the AT-AT rocker was the hardest part for me - just figuring out how much detail to include, and how to simplify the lines to make it a little cuter.
 

I quickly figured out that free-handing the lines was never going to work, so John stepped in and taped off all the boxes on the body for me. (I just winged it on the legs - can't you tell? ;))
 
We added a seat back and extra sturdy T-bar handle for safety, plus some extra-long bumpers on the bottom rails to prevent the rocker from rocking too far. (You can just see the bumpers in my first photo.)

The rail bumpers might not be necessary for an older and/or more adventurous child, but our 4-year-old test subject Isaiah was afraid of rocking backward, so the stops helped him feel more secure. The bumpers are glued on with construction adhesive, so they're quite strong, but in the future they can be popped off with a hammer.

The only non-paint detail is a thin red holographic strip I added for the "eye." It looks pretty sweet when it catches the light:

As I said, little Isaiah (son of my Wrecky minion Julianne - and resident of the Ninja Nursery, if you remember that!) was afraid of rocking on the AT-AT, even though he loved it and kept standing next to it and patting it. So to help him feel brave, I got him a Vader mask and cape. And, hey, never underestimate the power... of a Vader mask and cape:

 There's our brave little Sith!

Isaiah is rocked all the way forward here, so as you can see the bumpers really prevent it from going very far. (He didn't want to rock backward at all. Heheh.)

If you missed it, you can see some construction shots of the AT-AT here. Oh, and I still don't have a pattern for you guys, but I promise it's on the to-do list! [UPDATE: It's done! Finished pattern & instructions are now available as an instant download here on Etsy.]

And finally, here's the funny part: I have no idea what to do with this now. I'm sure I'll have plenty of folks volunteering to take it off my hands, but the thing weighs a ton and would be a huge pain to ship. I'm thinking I might ask the local 501st if they'd like to auction it off at MegaCon later this month, so the proceeds can go to charity. So, if any of you have a contact at the Orlando 501st I can ask - or a better idea of where this might do the most good - just lemme know in the comments, k?

[UPDATE: Thanks to you lovely commenters, I'm now working with the Florida Garrison of the 501st to organize a silent charity auction for the AT-AT at MegaCon! I'll post more details when I have them. Thanks, guys!]

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