[WIP] T-65 X-Wing

[Kendo]

Hello guys ,

I am currently working on an X-Wing moc. The focus is to get it as close to the movie version as possible ( while strictly keeping it minifig-scaled ) , without caring about action-features , play value/"swooshability" etc . While waiting for a couple of Bricklink orders , I decided to post some WIP photos of what I have so far . Do have in mind that many of the parts' colours are substitutes while waiting for the correct coloured ones ( such as the brown nose and every white piece in there ) . Lastly , I 've decided to go with light bluish grey and not white for the main colour . I know this debate has been going on forever , and fully respect the people who want it white , but for me light bluish grey not only represents the actual colour a bit better , but also provides that battle damaged - real world and not CGI feel that I love about the original trilogy ( it's a real, living world , with real vehicles and that sets it apart as the best in the sci-fi genre , imo at least ). Anyway , enough indirect prequel shots fired , here are some pictures , please share your opinions and/or suggestions (sorry about the medium-low level quality , a friend borrowed my camera so I had to make do with my phone ) .

There's also and LDD file I made which I'm attaching , it's not quite the whole thing , it's more of a sketch-up of how it's going to look without caring about how everything will connect ( as it is better to find that out when physically building it , when illegal and unorthodox connection techniques can be used ) , so have a look there , as there's much more than I've shown built in the photos above ( almost the whole thing , or at least the first version of it ) . Finally , note that there's going to be a "88295" part (http://www.bricklink...colorID=66&in=A) stuck on the "85861" parts on each of the four laser-canons , they're just not available in LDD so I couldn't show it there . Please share your opinion , recommendation or any other type of feedback guys , I really need it and will truly appreciate it . Thanks for looking !

 

Edited January 2, 2019 by Kendo

[atlas]

Wow, this is looking great. I've never seen that technique used for the cannons before, I also really like that you've decided the brick build the cockpit rather than use the crappy Lego version that comes with the new x wings. You've got some great angles going on. One thing i would suggest though is just to put another wedge plate in top of the wedge bricks next to the engines. Also, I haven't look at the lxf so I'm not sure it is possible, but the constant 2 wide tiles down the nose look a little bit thick to me. If you found a way to have it start at 2 wide at the cockpit front and go down to 1 wide where it meets the nose cone that would look incredible. Keep going, I would love to see some more updates !

Edited June 8, 2016 by atlas

[Tyutyu]

Looks good. Let me ask: Do I see custom/modified/cut down Lego parts in there?

[Kamil Z]

Love the overall shaping so far and I cant wait to see some more updates!

[atlas]

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Edited June 8, 2016 by atlas

[Kendo]

Thanks for the comments guys , keep them up ! I'd love to hear as many opinions as possible !

@Tyutyu : Yes , forgot to mention that , I had to use a modified part , it's just a 3x12 cut in half , nothing fancy , it's something I think TLG should actually produce , and it's quite likely they will with all the similar ones they put in the racers theme , but well , I use modded parts , I expect purists to come to my house and burn me in the pyre any minute now

@Atlas : About the 2-wide tiles issue , I though so too at one point and looked at alternatives , but a close examination of various schematics showed me that the particular area's width decreases so slightly that there's no need to do that , as long as I portray it with the 47397/47398 pieces ( I hope you understand what I mean , it's kind of hard to put to words , I'd actually need to physically show you in order to properly explain it ).

@Kamil Z : Thanks man , next update coming in a week or so when my BL orders arrive

Keep commenting guys !

[Ed9217]

The shape of this is already looking nice, very smooth. Look forward to seeing this progress.

[Kendo]

Thanks for the comment ! Glad you guys like it . Please keep up the feedback , it really helps me .

[Spoddy]

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Edited February 17, 2021 by Spoddy

[Kendo]

Sadly I'm using many illegal/unorthodox techniques. It's the only way to get the shapes and angles right in this scale. If you guys are interested I can make instructions for it when it's done , LDD can't show the illegal connections that will be used. The wings will probably just be on hinges , since I don't want to ruin the accuracy with a knob to turn for a gear function. Keep the feedback up !

[Ber Teh Unicern]

Wow, nice! Can't wait to see this thing finished!

[Kit Bricksto]

This is looking very good so far. I am very happy to see that X-Wings are growing more popular again and more people are building their own versions.

I'll try and follow along your build and give some advice whenever I can. :)

I think the problem atlas mentioned can be solved another way. agree that the whole nose section looks a bit wide. If you could move the wedges on the sides down by half a plate or a whole one without creating any problems with the parts underneath, I think that might help a lot.

[joebiwankenobi]

Beautiful slopes!

[Arthur Schopenhauer]

The glimpses so far look very promising :) obviously we're waiting to look at the finished model. In particular I think you're capturing very well the feeling of the rebel spacecrafts, both bold and (a little) distressed :)

Moreover i agree with you on the choice of light bley instead of white, for the reason I've just explained :)

[Kendo]

Thanks for the comments guys guys ! I had a bit of progress and now that 2 out of 3 BL orders are here I'll post an update on the next couple of days.

@Kit Bricksto (awesome name dude) : I totally get what you're saying . That way the wedges can be slightly angled inwards so it will get more narrow towards the front . That's a great idea and I'll consider it , but first thoughts are that I'm already fine with the small amount of "getting narrower towards the front" effect that the parts create as they are angled , and on a more technical note , it will be extremely hard or even impossible to achieve while keeping the 92946 parts on the bottom of the nose ( the ones that are currently black ). Nevertheless play with the idea before completely dismissing it , as it is a really good one.

@Joebiwankenobi : Thanks for the comment man !

@Arthur Schopenhauer : I'm so happy you get that , because capturing the general "feel" of the model is just as important to me as all the angles and techniques . And the reason I chose Light Bluish Grey is exactly as you said : it compliments and captures that feel.

Keep the comments and suggestions up guys , this is making the process much more precise , fun and creative .

P.S. I'm on vacation for the next couple of weeks so building will greatly speed up !

Edited June 27, 2016 by The Caped Crusader

[Kit Bricksto]

Cheers, you're actually one of the first people to say so.. :D

I didn't exactly mean that. I think that it looks a bit strange having the edges of the wedges (rhyme wasn't intented :D) that tiny bit higher than the tiles on top. It doesn't matter that much in the back but right at the brim of the nose it doesn't look very good. I know how hard it is to get that right as I struggled with it for a long time on my T-70.

You might like to look at this guys fantastic T-65 here: He even has some instructions in his photostream and his design is quite similar to yours.

Keep building and trying things, you'll get there eventually! :)

[Kendo]

Oh , I see what you mean now . That guys X-wing is pretty good , he uses almost the same technique as I do on that area ( although he posted it only one day later than I posted mine so there's no chance it's a "borrowed idea" , just minds thinking alike ). In his version the problem doesn't exist because the 2x4 tiles for the top part are 1 plate higher . that way the can't be lower than the top of the nose though. I think I can achieve middle ground with mine with both the wedges not being higher than the top , and the top not being as high as the nose. I'll get working and will update you guys by Friday .

[Kendo]

Hey guys , sorry for the double post but I think it's excusable since this is an update (just a small one though). I worked on the angled part in the belly , and added a couple of tiles on the top of the cockpit . Please ignore the ugly "inside" of the cockpit , it will of course , be fixed , but I think I'll leave it for last. I also finished the main cannon on the wing. I am 100% sure about the techniques I used , but I'm not sure about the length . Please comment what you think about it .

Personally , what bugs me and will probably be changed soon is that 2x4 wedge below the dark red tile. The angle isn't right , it should be replaced with a 2x3 wedge , and then the angle will be perfect . My problem is that if I do replace it with a 2x3 , it will (obviously) not be as long , and won't cover the whole area. I have an idea that fixes both problems , I'll test it out tomorrow. Please comment your opinions and/or suggestions guys , it really helps .

[dmaclego]

Please comment your opinions and/or suggestions guys ,

Hi,

Having built my own X-wing (and waiting for the last BL order before publishing it), I'm quite familiar with this vessel at the moment and I noticed something about your model.

I hope you don't mind - I copied one of your photos and modified it to illustrate my point. Please, take a look.

In your model, H1 more or less equals H2 (even if the white cockpit outline I drew is a little exaggerated). In real X-wing (if there is such a thing ;) ) it is not so: section H2 is twice as tall as H1.

It won't be easy for you correct this mistake, considering the technique you've chosen but I think it would improve your model tremendously.

Good luck!

[Kit Bricksto]

I like where this is going.. Keep up the great work! :)

[Kendo]

Hey guys , new ( kind of late ,but I got a new job and went away on holidays for a while) update on the X-Wing.

The body is next to complete ( only have the right side panels on so I can access the inside , as I'm trying to make some connections stronger). I'll probably add rigid hoses to cover the gaps between the panels. I also added PF lights to the exhausts , the photo doesn't showcase them that well but they shine in the iconic pink/purple colour. The big engine parts are ideal for hiding the cables , they won't be visible at all in the final model. The two main things that remain are the greebling on top, behind R2 ( I really need to buy the newest R2-D2 version - I only have the old one ) , and the detail in the back. S-foils are stuck in attack position for now since that's what you really want for displaying an X-wing , but I'm playing around with ways to make them close up for flight too. The stand is obviously thrown together in seconds just for now , I'll build a proper one soon enough.Finally , please ignore the hose on the canopy not being as bent as it needs to be , these things are tough to bend properly , but I think I have a solution . As always, please help me improve this by commenting your opinions and suggestions , it really helps a ton ( Also, click the images to see a better resolution on flickr) .

[Arthur Schopenhauer]

So far, so good! Very nice angles and, as I said at the last update, very "rebel-esque" model! I'm waiting for more updates, keep up the good work!

[La Chupacabra]

What is that part on the laser cannon? Is this LEGO?

[Kendo]

@Arthur Schopenhauer : Thanks for the comment man . The next update will probably be the finished thing !

@La Chupacabra : Do you mean this one [ http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=88295&colorID=66&in=A ] ? If so , it's a minifig shoulder armour part from some Prince of Persia sets .

[BrickJagger]

Glad to see that you're still working on this. I like how you incorporated the engine lights.