Okay, first the recipe. After the usual cleaning and prepping. I base coated both vehicle & base with Games Workshop Chaos Black Spray. The detailing was then done using a mixture of Citadel and Formula P3 paints and all emblems/wording/warning signs except the skull emblem on the bottom of the snowspeeder were hand painted. The skull emblem was done using a stencil to trace the outlining.

If you are wondering why I decided to put a skull emblem on the bottom of the snowspeeder where it's hidden. I wanted to include a skull motif on the snowspeeder to give it a more menacing look and it was also the only part that was large enough to accommodate it. Imagine if you are rebel trooper and the assault speeder flies by strafing you and you see a sinister looking skull motif staring down at you.

As I found the Hot Wheels stand rather plain looking with it's clear plastic and also making the snowspeeder look out of proportion. Yea, I know it's meant for kids to slip onto their finger but it still looks weird. I decided to create a custom base by gluing the Hot Wheels stand to a wider base and adding gravel to give the illusion that the snowspeeder is travelling over rocky terrain hence creating a mini diorama.

Decided to paint the Hot Wheels stand as well while painting up the base since the clear plastic was such a turn off and yes the Hot Wheels & Star Wars logo was hand painted as you couldn't really see it on the original clear plastic.

A coat of clear gloss and then flat varnish was applied to both vehicle and base to protect the paint from chipping and to give it a semi satin finishing.

Finally, here's a short story that explains how the assault speeder came into service. At least in my version of Star Wars :)

First Order Assault Speeder

The assault speeder was one of the first technological innovations that would mark the rise of what would be known as the First Order.

When the remains of the Galactic Empire retreated into the Unknown Regions following it's defeat on the planet Jakku and the signing of the Galactic Concordance. Infighting began with the remaining Moffs blaming each other for the predicament they were now in and each one attempting to Unite the shattered Empire under their rule through use of force.

At the time, Supreme Leader Snoke having gain the trust and cooperation of the Crimson Death Knights Legion began making plans to unite the various fractured Imperial forces under his leadership.

Unfortunately, while the Death Knights were considered the elite of the elite. They were few in number with only less than 10,000 troops available and had few heavy vehicles at their disposal following a series of highly classified missions before the Battle of Endor that had severely depleted their ranks.

In contrast, even the weakest Moff had at least fives time the number of troops at their command making a direct confrontation suicidal.

To counter this, the Death Knights reorganized themselves as a highly mobile strike force with the main objective of quickly getting in and neutralizing the Moff and key officers loyal to him before the forces under his command could mobilize. This would serve two
purposes one to minimize losses on both sides and to demonstrate their superiority to intimidate regular Imperial forces.

A series of light class assault vehicles were needed and while the 74-Z speeder bike performed admirably, it lack the necessary firepower to eliminate heavily armored war machines.

To this end, Death Knights technicians began converting the Light Infantry Utility Vehicle (LIUV) to a dedicated light assault vehicle.
A customized X-56 laser cannon was permanently attached to the front hull and the strorage area was fitted with a dedicated power generator for the cannon along along with additional coolants to prevent overheating.The cannon had a wide view of fire and could be elevated to target aerial threats.

Sophisticated targeting scrambles were installed into both assault and bike speeders to disrupt enemy targeting systems.
The speeders were assigned into 'Wolf Packs' which consisted of three assault speeders and two speeder bikes. The bikes were to eliminate infantry forces while the speeders would handle armored and aerial threats.

The Wolf Packs were first deployed against Moff Kalish forces who boasted a sector army numbering 150,000 and possessed one of the largest arsenals of warmachines within the Empire.

During the battle, Kalish massive warmachines were hampered by the nimble Wolf Packs and could do little to defend themselves while their infantry escort were torn apart by the speeder bikes.

While Kalish officers tried to restore order to the panicking force. A squad led by Snoke himself infiltrated Kalish's command bunker and executed him for treason. With Kalish dead, his forces soon started surrendering seeing no reason to continue fighting with their commanding officer dead and pledging an oath of loyalty to Snoke after appealing to their sense of honor and loyalty to the Empire.

Having proven it's mettle, the assault speeder and it's formation would be adopted by the rest of the Imperial forces up to the present day of the First Order.