75322 Hoth AT-ST Leg MOD for poseability

[ArchieNov]

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased the Lego Hoth AT-ST 75322 and just like other people, I was disappointed by the lack of meaningful poseability in the legs. This has always been the case for Lego AT-STs because of how top heavy the design is, and I keep hearing that the reason Lego fixes the leg positions because otherwise it won't be able to stand properly. And whenever I tried looking for Hoth AT-ST mods, they never address the leg poseability. 

However, I still wanted to have the ability to pose my AT-ST other than just standing next to my UCS AT-AT. And even though I have severely limited knowledge in building custom MODs and the different kinds of Lego parts available, I tried to see if I could indeed give my AT-ST the leg joints it deserves. And much to my surprise, I was actually able to do it with a few simple modifications using fairly common parts.

I can now have my AT-ST in different poses such as walking, looking up/down, standing tall, crouching low, etc. And it has no problem holding its pose as the joints are stiff enough, especially in the ankles. As for how it looks, personally I think it's fine and looks better than the stock, even though I had to widen the thickness slightly at the shins. But of course that is subjective. If any of the more capable builders out there can improve upon my design, you are more than welcome. I just request that you kindly give me credit and share your improvements on the design with me so I can also learn from you.

One thing I'm still undecided on is whether I should shorten the legs or not. In the video, I retained the height of the stock Lego Hoth AT-ST. But at that height, its head is coming out to be around 2 studs taller than the top of the UCS AT-AT's knee joint. Based on a size comparison chart I saw, it's only supposed to be as tall as the knee. So I tried shortening the legs in the picture below, but am not sure if this is more or less accurate to the actual model. Let me know if I should keep the legs as long as in the video, or make them as short as in the picture.

 

Edited January 17, 2022 by ArchieNov

[Kage Goomba]

Nice work!

[JekPorkchops]

It's a nice MOD. I would probably keep the legs long as in the video, as otherwise the proportions are off and then it doesn't look like a Hoth AT-ST anymore. A Hoth AT-ST exactly scaled to the UCS AT-AT would probably require a total rebuild.

Edited January 17, 2022 by JekPorkchops

[ArchieNov]

17 hours ago, JekPorkchops said:

It's a nice MOD. I would probably keep the legs long as in the video, as otherwise the proportions are off and then it doesn't look like a Hoth AT-ST anymore. A Hoth AT-ST exactly scaled to the UCS AT-AT would probably require a total rebuild.

Thanks for the feedback! I will keep the legs long then :)

[ArchieNov]

In case anyone wants to see what I did, here are some close up pictures and a short explanation

The first picture is the partially disassembled view while in the 2nd one, I've highlighted the areas where I've made changes. The parts encircled in red are new parts, while the ones in blue are existing parts that I just rearranged. There may be additional parts outside of these that are required to make the mod, but it is up to you what parts you want to use as these are mostly aesthetic.

Blue areas:

For the 7x3 angled technic liftarm on the upper leg, I just flipped it upside down so that there's no more restriction to bending the knees forward

I moved that sloped brick assembly below the knee 1 stud up

Red areas:

You need to replace the liftarm that connects to the foot with a 7x3 angled version (same type as the one used in the upper leg)

You also need to extend the lower leg by adding a 1x1 brick, plus a 1x2 technic brick with the 2 pin holes

The other encircled parts are self-explanatory. These are what will give the hips and ankles their articulation when attached.

Then here are close ups of the hip and ankles so you can see better how I connected them.

 

 

Edited January 19, 2022 by ArchieNov

[cheech]

Looking great!!!

i moded mine too.

 

 

[Johnny1360]

Looks good, can it pick up it's feet and step over those obstacles, or does it have to just plow through and kick them out of the way?