Modding the 9493 X-Wing to get rid of rubber bands

[bjorn77]

Hi, has anyone managed to mod the 9493 X-Wing with an alternate solution to the rubber bands used in the toggling mechanism for cruise/attack mode? I'll buy this set anyway to accompany the awesome looking 9492 Tie Fighter, but I'm really very sceptical against the rubber band solution as I know by experience that rubber will dry out after a while and getting new rubber bands in a few years will be very difficult. I'd appreciate any help with a decent solution.

Cheers

Björn

[krispy]

I have. I've used Mike Psiaki's X-Wing design as a base to redo the rear section. The wings now open en close using a scissor like action, which works much better imho. I'll see if I can make some pictures or draw up an LDD file this weekend

[Spitfire2865]

Just saying, as long as you keep the rubber bands in a dark cool place, they should be fine. My old xwings rubber bands are still in amazing condition. I had set 6212 since it came out in 06.

[bjorn77]

I have. I've used Mike Psiaki's X-Wing design as a base to redo the rear section. The wings now open en close using a scissor like action, which works much better imho. I'll see if I can make some pictures or draw up an LDD file this weekend

Oh thanks, that would be really helpful!

Just saying, as long as you keep the rubber bands in a dark cool place, they should be fine. My old xwings rubber bands are still in amazing condition. I had set 6212 since it came out in 06.

Got ya, but I intend to put the piece on display in my living room, so it will defintely get it's share of sunlight :/

Edited March 15, 2013 by bjorn77

[TheLegoDr]

I didn't even think about the rubber bands having issues over time. This was my first LEGO rubber band set. Mine is stored in the basement away from sunlight, but I may have to look into this as an alternative. Please share the MOD.

Either way, it is a great set. I think TLG really hit it on the head with this one.

[Brickdoctor]

I didn't even think about the rubber bands having issues over time. This was my first LEGO rubber band set. Mine is stored in the basement away from sunlight, but I may have to look into this as an alternative.

I had 4502 (the Dagobah X-wing) sitting in a dark room and then indirect sunlight locked in attack position for six years or so, and the rubber bands are all still in good enough condition that they're indistinguishable from the rest of the white rubber bands I own. (I parted out the set a few years ago when I finally decided the model didn't look accurate enough to be displayed, at which time the rubber bands looked as good as new. They were then placed in a bin with all the rest of my rubber bands, and I can't tell which ones they are, even compared to my newest ones.)

[Commander_Rob]

I've also had my 4502 built and with rubber bands in place since getting it in '04, in and out of sunlight in normal room temperature and all, the bands still seem to be in perfect nick.

Those glossy little round ones appear to be pretty darn resilient, and besides, could be easily replaced with others.

[green dewback]

Is it possible to replace the rubberbands with some black or white twist-ties ???

We frequently get them as part of the packaging when buying electronics, used for tying up the power cable.

[bjorn77]

Is it possible to replace the rubberbands with some black or white twist-ties ???

We frequently get them as part of the packaging when buying electronics, used for tying up the power cable.

Twist-ties aren't elastic, that won't work.

Edited March 16, 2013 by bjorn77

[krispy]

Okies.. so a quick write up of what I've done to get rid of the rubber bands.

In all honesty: it never occurred to me they might dry out; I just didn't like the way they looked on the model. The modification is basically adapting the scissor mechanism from the excellent Mike Psiaki X-Wing for the standard 9493 X-Wing set without having to order too many parts.

The LDD model file can be found HERE.

This is what it looks like in real bricks:

When you are going to build it, I recommend building the major components as illustrated below (the model file is already done like this).

Assemble them in this order:

1. Top wing part (the big part top right)
2. Both lower wings
3. Attach lower wings to top wing part
4. Attach the cockpit part to the wing assembly
5. Add bottom and top parts.
6. ???
7. Profit!

If you have an existing 9492 set that you intend to modify, note that the rear of the cockpit section is slightly modified to accommodate the 1x2 Technics brick needed for the wing assembly (shown below).

Another thing to watch for is that I've replaced the stickered round tiles with a more complex assembly as you can see from this close up of the side.

Note that the little 1x1 tiles do not show up in the LDD model file as LDD does not allow this kind of connection.

The result is less sturdy than the original set, but at least now the wings close properly. Also, it is still quite swooshable.

Good luck to anyone doing this mod; if you have questions, feel free to ask!

Edited January 25, 2018 by krispy
Updated the links to the files as dropbox reverted the original links :(

[bjorn77]

That looks really good, krispy. The wings seems a bit weak, but that's ok when it's only for display I guess. Thanks for posting this.