[MOD] Cheap Upgrade to U-Wing 75399 - Better interior & cockpit view

[radmiralthrawn]

I love the U-Wing. It's one of my favorite Star Wars ships and while Lego's most recent model was sleek and modern, I kept feeling like it could be improved with relatively little needing to actually change.

My first crack at updating the ship used only the pieces from the original set and it fixed a majority of the issues I had with it. The pilot didn't have to lay down anymore, it had a pass-through from cockpit to troop bay and it could hold 3 passengers instead of 1. But I still wasn't completely satisfied.

The biggest thing I was still missing was the pilot's view out the lower front window. I also had some minor aesthetic changes I wanted to make to bring the engines closer together and to eliminate some gaps in the doors. The end result uses just 9 pieces to get the essential upgrades, or 21 for a little extra polish. With the full 21 piece MOD coming out to just ~$1.75.

Link to Free Instructions on Rebrickable

This new and improved U-Wing has all the features of my original alt build plus:

• Pilot now has a view out the lower front window
• Engines are closer together with less vertical gap
• The gap between the doors and the fuselage (when the wings are deployed) has been eliminated
• More headroom at the rear of the troop bay
• All original Lego play features still functional and it's still sturdy and swooshable

I'm very happy with the result! The only missing feature left is the sliding doors, but that would be a much bigger (and more expensive) MOD and I wanted to keep the costs low and maintain the sleek profile of the original set.

Room for 3 in the troop bay!

 

More accurate views from the cockpit! Pilot or K-2SO can sit upright in the cockpit, can see out the lower window and into the troop bay, and the troops can see out the lower front window as well!

I also wanted to shoutout RonMcphatty and his U-Wing Alt Built which served as a fantastic jumping off point for my take on it. His designs are always phenomenal and have inspired me to get more creative with my own builds. Also a big thank you to Clone OPatra for shouting out my original Alt Build in their U-Wing review.

Edited January 31 by radmiralthrawn

[Mandalorianknight]

Hey! I remember reading Clone OPatra's review back when it came out and being impressed by what was essentially an objective upgrade of an alt-build to the U-wing. This mod is excellent as well, though honestly I think your username is the best thing in the post. Radmiral Thrawn is hilarious.

[radmiralthrawn]

Thanks! That alt build was kind of my gateway drug for getting into Rebrickable/instruction making, alt builds/MODs, and even finding my way back to this site after 10 years away. 

Thankfully my go-to username wasn't taken yet when I made a new account here. I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds it fun, even if most of my friends don't get it.