[MOC] The apex of my 40 year journey to perfect the Lego T-65B X-Wing

[markhchan]

I have had an enjoyable 40 year life journey trying to build the perfect Lego X-Wing. My first childhood model in 1978 used primitive 3149ac01 hinge plates.  Since then I have continually evolved my X-wing (including a notable 2001 MOC on Brickshelf, now badly outdated), drawing inspiration from many on the internet - which rapidly drove the advancement of Lego X-Wing modeling accuracy. Today I am pleased to present the current version of my X-Wing:

There are many great X-Wing models posted on the internet, and each advance makes it harder to add something original that hasn't been done before. 

I have blended ideas drawn from many others (acknowledgement and attribution at the end of this post), as well as added a few of my own to create a unique build that, as a whole, I feel is materially different than others posted before.

I humbly offer the following individual aspects of my model as being unique enough to represent an advancement in building techniques.

1 - tapered, accurate canopy with lines flowing smoothly into the other fuselage lines and direction

2 - smooth, fuselage side paneling from nose to rear.  Straight lines and angles, minimal protrusions

3 - smooth nose cone with constructed sensor window.

4 - redesigned S-Foil. Structurally sturdy, but also containing smooth interior, exposed engine cutout (two studs deep), 3/4 plate deep exposed 4x4 paneling with smooth surface, triple "fin" at back, and two plate thick pin holes for the saucepan laser base. Also note the SNOT technique inspired by Jerac's build, with added smooth transition to the fuselage panel

5 - Nose cone has the smoothest side diagonal along the red stripe that I have seen built so far, with no gap transition

6 - Proton Torpedo launcher has fuselage pathway exit angle exactly parallel to the forward line axis of the ship.

7 - Landing Gear is retractable, and sturdy enough to push the model across a flat surface without any hint of collapse.  (Note the tradeoff of a slightly off center gear position on the rear gear)

8 - Working cargo compartment - this is where Luke's base camp equipment seen on Dagobah was stored.

9 - Canopy opens at proper hinge point at 90% of the total length, unlike Lego one piece canopy which opens at the far end.

10 - Transition between canopy and back fuselage is clean, smoothly angled with rest of rear fuselage, and avoids the near ubiquitous 2x2 corner slope and its jarring angles

11 - New laser base.  Minifig saucepan used as a round, smooth base (although a bit small in diameter), attached to wing through 1x3 inverted tiles, and 1x2 rounded plate with open studs. Gap covered by minifig utility belts and a rubber band.

 

12 - High relief greebling on top inspired by actual X-Wing models, hiding the technic S-Foil opening/closing mechanism - the 1x2 liftarm piece near the middle. Swing this piece counterclockwise 1/8th a turn to close the S-Foils, clockwise to open.

13 - Six sided rear with angled greebles and key features of prominence replicated

 

I've drawn inspiration and technique from many posters here and elsewhere on the internet. My thanks and credit to you for advancing the state of the art X-Wing in my mind (I apologize if I failed to acknowledge builders who have shown concepts prior to the ones I listed - these were the ones I personally saw first that inspired me):

• @dmaclego and @atlas inspired the front upper fuselage. My upper front fuselage is virtually a straight up copy of those excellent builds.
• The laser tip and flashback suppressor is a 100% copy of what I first saw on a @dmaclego model
• @Jerachad a unique gearbox for the S-Wing opening.  I redesigned it on similar principles using half the parts, reducing some of the wobble, and increasing attach points/sturdiness to wrap the rear fuselage around it.
• @Jeracmodel also showed me the rigidity of the SNOT scissor action on the S-Foils.  I modified this even further to create enough rigidity to hold a 2 stud deep engine cutout that starts just one plate deep from the front wing edge, and ends just 4 plates from the back edge. (Note: The inner wing engine parts and front cowling were constructed to add to the structural integrity of the one plate front edge).
• @Inthert built the first model I saw with a good custom X-Wing canopy
• @L-DI-EGO had the first posted pictures I could find using the minifig saucepan as laser base, however the inverted 1x3 tile was not available then, so that model could not put the laser at the end of the S-Foil.
• @L-DI-EGO also inspired the "3 fins" on the S-Foil near the engine, I used a different mounting technique to achieve greater smoothness with my deflector panels.

Thank you for your time reading my first post.  I am happy to answer any questions, and welcome your comments and feedback.

I hope you enjoy my contribution!

 

Edited April 24, 2019 by markhchan
Proper tags in attribution/acknowledgement section

[Makin Bacon]

This is a masterpiece, absolutely beautiful

[Schneeds]

That's a hell of an introduction.

An incredible version; worthy of a top three contender.  The nose and fuselage are especially well done.  Very slick. 

[markhchan]

A few more notes and pictures:

• 100% Lego, no modifying of any sort on any parts. No cutting of hose pieces
• No stickers. No painting of parts
• No illegal joins except for the half end of a 3/4 pin into 2/3 round pin connectors x2 on each laser, and two 6587 3L axle with stud sides into a 6536 pin hole inside the model.

This starboard angle picture shows a few more details.  The proton torpedo launcher/gap has a modified tile 1x1 with clip (15712) inside it to create the illusion of a recessed round torpedo tube. You can barely see a portion of it in this picture below

 

 

A straight on rear view showing the engine placement in a perfect (and movie accurate) square when in attack position, as well as a better angle of the rear greebles.  The smoothness of the inside of the S-Foil wings, and the recessed 3/4 plate open panel (inverted 4213) is prominently noticeable even with the wedge plates. You can also see the full length of the exposed engine inside the wing.

 

[JoeChu1980]

Exciting to view your post! Both MOC and photographic are beautiful, delight to stare at them for quite a while. And the application of many MF attachment piece part, does help the MOC to capture the design features very well, good to learn them.

[markhchan]

7 minutes ago, JoeChu1980 said:

Exciting to view your post! Both MOC and photographic are beautiful, delight to stare at them for quite a while. And the application of many MF attachment piece part, does help the MOC to capture the design features very well, good to learn them.

Thank you for the kind words!  I have some more photos on my Flickr page (click on link below), in 4K Wallpaper Resolution 3840x2160 for free download.

If anyone wants any higher resolution images, just ask. The originals are 6000x3164.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/7876498@N07/albums/72157704643424412

 

Edited April 20, 2019 by markhchan
Added correct Flickr link

[jimmynick]

Thanks for sharing @markhchan! This model looks really slick - I particularly like the canopy and the greebles behind R2. What part did you use for the laser cannons? They look vaguely like the minifigure epees, but not exactly.

Do you happen to have any photos of previous X-wings you have built?

[markhchan]

On 4/19/2019 at 10:00 PM, jimmynick said:

Thanks for sharing @markhchan! This model looks really slick - I particularly like the canopy and the greebles behind R2. What part did you use for the laser cannons? They look vaguely like the minifigure epees, but not exactly.

Do you happen to have any photos of previous X-wings you have built?

Thank you for the compliment and the inquiry into my older X-Wings! Answers to your questions are below:

**

Laser cannon parts from front to back. There are a lot of parts : 27 per laser, +10 more required to mount aesthetically and sturdily to each wing. Some of them are hard to find or relatively expensive to acquire:

(The laser tip was 100% copied from an idea first posted by @dmaclego)

• Laser Tip - Train Axle Bricklink part x1687 (idea from dmaclego)
• Tip fits into a 5102c08 4mm D 8L Pnuematic Hose (idea from dmaclego).  Most people cut a longer hose to whatever length they need (which is fine - some of the older Lego set instructions ask the builder to cut hose). I'm a purist and just ordered an 8L from Bricklink.
• The curved flashback suppressor is a minifig Hockey Mask 93561 (idea again from dmaclego, this guy is a creative genius)

(The build for this next part is pretty common/standard for X-Wings)

• Another train axle on the other side of the 8L hose to give it stiffness
• Some round 1x1 studs with open holes
• Then 5 round 2/3rd L pin connectors (18654) that need internal connection to hold them together
  • many models just use a super long hose slid through everything.  I wanted something absolutely stiff and non-wobbly - so I went with the below:
  • These connectors are held in place internally by a couple 3/4 pin part 32002 (NOT the half pin with stud 4274 - those will crack the 18654 connectors, every. single. time.)
  • Inside the 3/4 pins is a 3L bar and then a 4L bar exending past the 3/4 pin - leading to the round stud that eventually fits in the saucepan
• this leads to the spoked wheel with pinhole 30155, an expensive and difficult to find part on Bricklink.  There is unfortunately no substitute as both sides of this wheel have the next part that fits in perfectly
• 2x 4143 Technic Gear 14 tooth bevel

(Starting at this point, these are my specific new techniques)

• This leads to 4x 4529 saucepans, only in white or black, which pretty much dictated my model would be primarily white
• The 4349 Loudhailer is near the end of the laser, and fits into the open saucepan nicely, filling in any gaps - as you can see from my rear shot of the X-wing
• The very tail end of the laser is a 42610 11mD wheel with Center Groove
• The attachment points to the wing use the handle end of the saucepan - these slot from top to bottom into
  • a white minifig utility belt 27145, then into half of
  • a 35480 rounded plate with open studs, then finally
  • a 35459 1x3 inverted tile (or a 11203 2x2 inverted tile, I had to alternate them to give the wing tip structural stability)
  • am x151 white rubberband is then wrapped around the 4 saucepan handles, between the utility belt and the saucepans, to hide the remaining handle part
  • You actually have to slide in all 4 saucepans at once into the slots - a somewhat advanced task as these tend to slide around while you try and hold all 4 in place.  But it can be done.

That's a lot of words, I'll try and post a picture sometime.

***

This old Brickshelf link from 2001 shows an X-Wing build that was considered among the best at that time - even getting copied to one popular webpage list of "top ten" cool Star Wars items.  It was creative enough given 2001 parts and building techniques, but it is a very primitive build by today's standards (and the lasers are too long).   You can see my use of the 4213 roof hinge plate on the inside wings even back then - a technique I copied in today's model in a different portion of the wing.

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=2562

 

 

Edited April 24, 2019 by markhchan

[icm]

Brilliant work!  Your old X-wing was always one of my favorites when I was a kid browsing Brickshelf.  I recently reverse engineered it in Studio.  In planning a modern X-wing build myself, one of the biggest puzzles is the cargo bay.  I can't figure out how to fit a nicely sized cargo bay in the aft fuselage when the gearbox and wing jacks take up so much space, much less make it accessible from the cockpit.  Would you mind posting more pictures of the cargo bay and ventral fuselage?  Thanks.

[essel]

I just would like to compliment you on this brilliant design!

[Jerac]

I quite like it, especially the wings. Great idea with old 4x4 roof piece, it works there so well. These new inverted 1x3 tiles are a godsend. I just wonder when will LEGO finally admit defeat and produce this much-required doublesided plate piece. 

There are few areas I'd do different but, hey, that is the point. Most amazing though, is that this may be using plenty of ideas but has its own character, coherent style and all in all it is an entirely new x-wing subtype. Great job with this!
 

Edited April 20, 2019 by Jerac

[atlas]

Very nicely done. I like that you are not afraid to present your opinion of your own work and its relation  to others. For sure this build is one to add to the mini pantheon of great models built recently, I’d say since around when Maciej introduced panels for the fuselage, there have been several great works. With each one shared, I think it’s fascinating that while various guys have been able to present amazing takes on different sections of the same ship, no one has really been able to nail the entire thing. Of course that’s not taking anything away from anybody, they are all beautifully crafted. But the X-wing is deceivingly complex after the first glance as I’m sure you are all aware, and I’m not sure that with the current part palette that it’s possibly to completely nail it everywhere. And I think that’s a good thing – I can pick out from each one highlights, and also shortcomings, often one necessitated by the other. So for your effort, I’d say that the front fuselage, crucially from the side and above, is the best yet. It’s true that the choice taken to stick to structure and form versus surface details gives you more freedom to achieve this, but that’s how it’s done, and it looks fantastic. Again with (your) nose is where I find the dilemmas the X-wing presents you as you try to re-construct the model come to the surface. You have a beautiful silhouette, possibly the best there is, but it comes at the cost of a blunt leading edge. Do you see where I’m coming from? It’s an absolute puzzle. I also like the window for the cockpit. I am not sure if you have seen mine but we have a similar method but different result. For sure both fit the rest of each ship very well. I’m not sure how much the decision to avoid cutting hoses affecting the way you built yours. Honestly I feel that building yours in white has hidden a bit of its beauty, I found personally looking first at Maciej’s  ship that grey really makes the edges pop, I think yours would benefit from it too, but that’s just my view. I’m not a huge fan of your cannons but the wings overall are very slick. The only serious drawback for me with your effort is the rear fuselage section. I’d say about from the cockpit rear all the way to the ‘butt’ is just a little less elegant than all the rest of it. I am not sure how much of that is a result of structural requirements, space, style – I don’t know. That’s my main criticism of an otherwise gorgeous model. It goes both ways too. I obsessed over including every face of the rear nonagon (and heptagon) along the fuselage and as a result, it is a little bit fat, and I’d bet more fragile as well. So there you go. Extremely well done. 

[Swan Dutchman]

A great take on the X-wing! Well done!

[markhchan]

5 hours ago, Jerac said:

I quite like it, especially the wings. Great idea with old 4x4 roof piece, it works there so well. These new inverted 1x3 tiles are a godsend. I just wonder when will LEGO finally admit defeat and produce this much-required doublesided plate piece. 

There are few areas I'd do different but, hey, that is the point. Most amazing though, is that this may be using plenty of ideas but has its own character, coherent style and all in all it is an entirely new x-wing subtype. Great job with this!
 

Thank you Jerac, these are great compliments from a builder with as much renown as you have earned.  And it is great to finally meet you (virtually) on the forums. 

It was the published instructions of your excellent build, and your forum post here on Eurobricks describing the creative process, that finally convinced me to reserve some time to finish an updated, contemporary X-Wing of my own.

Every build has its tradeoffs, and I totally agree that is the point of building it.  For example, from your X-Wing story post, I know your build was restricted in canopy choice by Brickvault.  And keeping your model parts accessible/affordable was another intentional tradeoff factor.  Absent these constraints, I'm certain your model would have looked materially different, and perhaps you will make another future X-Wing without these constraints - I'd look forward to seeing that.

I absolutely love making the tradeoff decisions on each part of the model. I similarly look forward to the tradeoffs others make - and most interestingly to me, reading about the reasons why and how they made them.

At the risk of putting too many posts in this thread, I would like to share my decision making thoughts/process on the tradeoffs I made in future posts.

This is a great Lego build community here on Eurobricks forums, I probably should have de-lurked sooner :)

 

[markhchan]

Atlas, your post is 100% spot on. The tradeoff decisions are what makes the complex X-Wing such a fun, long term - and likely never completed - build journey.  You also nailed some of the pros/cons of the intentional tradeoffs I had to make such as the nose cone. I love the analysis and you eloquently expressed some of the same thoughts I had while building.

Regarding grey vs. white, I wrestled with this decision for weeks.  Your front fuselage post on Flickr was incredible in grey, it looked like one of those molded plastic model kits- I referenced and admired that picture as much as any other. It was the strongest factor in me wanting to go to grey.

In the end, my decision to use white rested on these factors, which were (barely) enough for me to overcome the beauty of grey expressed in your picture:

• I did an informal "survey" of non-Lego people who knew about Star Wars, but weren't rabid fanatics like us - showing off the grey and white versions of Jerac's build, as his pictures controlled all the variables (shape, etc.) except color.  White got more expressions of "oooo nice" - and this preference was stronger in female viewers.  (Side note: women also generally prefer white cars in real life to a higher degree than men, so this result isn't much of a surprise)
• One of my top personal criteria was making a rounded laser base at the wing, avoiding the blocky 1x6 tiles prevalent in many X-Wing builds today (e.g. as shown in Jerac build, although this could have been a cost-containment compromise).  The 1x6 tile technique does pass the "eye test" for me, but I really, "really" wanted "round" there.
  • After prototyping - with actual bricks - many of my own variants of Macej/dmaclego's innovative wheel concept, I chose a different path to achieve "roundness". Two reasons: (1) the wheel version was not "smooth" from front to back" (another, secondary desire of mine), and (2) it used cut hose pieces - which I wanted to avoid for both purity factors, and sturdiness/adhesion to wing factors
  • This led me to the saucepan - which had its own flaws (diameter too small), but met enough of my criteria to be my choice.  Since this part only comes in black or white, this tilted me to white
• I wanted to use the flashback suppressor hockey mask concept, again pioneered by Macej/dmaclego. And it frustratingly only comes in white (to the point where Macej has publicly mused about painting the thing).  This plus the laser base made for a nice front and end two-tone for the laser,
• All of the above finalized my decision to build with white.

If I could get the full laser to look good enough for my criteria in grey (or part silver, or some color that isn't as stark as white), I would absolutely rebuild another version of my model in grey.

More discussion to come, for those that are interested.

Atlas, thank you for taking time to reply, and for your prior posted works that inspired me.  I haven't had time to fully digest your latest published X-Wing yet, but I will - I had been looking forward to your completed build off that beautiful fuselage for quite some time.

 

 

[LiLmeFromDaFuture]

I am fond of white X-Wings.  I believe this decision contrasts well with other aspects of the ship like the nose, cannons, and engines 

I would like it even better if you made the engines entirely gray but to each their own opinion 

Edited April 20, 2019 by LiLmeFromDaFuture

[markhchan]

Just now, LiLmeFromDaFuture said:

I am fond of white X-Wings.  I believe this decision contrast well with other aspects of the ship like the nose, cannons, and engines 

I would like it even better if you made the engines entirely gray but to each their own opinion 

Yes, that is great insight into my thinking! The contrast does match the limitations imposed by lack of color choice on other key (to me) features.

I thought long about making the 4 wide engine cylinder top grey and I may do that eventually.  It's not an easy part to just pop in/out - it is quite vital to the structural strength of the wing and model. I'd literally have to take apart the entire rear fuselage and detach it from the front fuselage, to get at the SNOT S-Foil scissors to also take them completely apart (which would then separate all 4 wings), to get at that single piece! And I did enough of that while making build iterations that I'll probably leave it alone for a while :)

Anyways, engine white or grey was another interesting and agonizing (but still fun!) choice to make.

My final decision making process there was that  front to back grey/white/grey on the engine matched the pattern of grey/white/grey of the laser cannon at the wing.  But as you said, to each their own - that is the joy of our Lego hobby!

[markhchan]

3 hours ago, atlas said:

.... The only serious drawback for me with your effort is the rear fuselage section. I’d say about from the cockpit rear all the way to the ‘butt’ is just a little less elegant than all the rest of it. I am not sure how much of that is a result of structural requirements, space, style – I don’t know. That’s my main criticism of an otherwise gorgeous model.

I had the "exact" same thoughts when I completed my rear fuselage from the canopy to the back.  It looked "plain", from the cockpit to the rear and needed "something".  I tried various things to "improve it", but I kept pulling my mind back to this famous picture from the Special Edition version of A New Hope below. In contrast to my personal memory of it - that section is also straight, plain and boring - not distinctive! 

I then realized a couple things:

First, one of the famous quotes (I don't know who said it, I'm paraphrasing) about the beauty and cultural endurance of the X-Wing is that "it was a perfect balance between the sleek smoothness found in modern fighter jets, contrasted with exposed details, panels and parts as seen inside the wing, or the elements behind R2D2"   This great description explains how it could be easy in my mind, over time - to conflate which sections had which. 

Secondly, if I stare at a Lego representation long enough (and I enjoy looking at many builds from others for long periods of time) that build starts to be "the X-Wing" in my mind, causing my memory to be distorted. 

I've seen so many other Lego X-Wing where the rear upper fuselage was something "other than smooth" - studs sticking out, or clips, or slopes meeting at different angles.  This was often necessitated by part constraints.  Another example, over time - the Lego canopy starts to becomes "the right shape" in my memory, until I look at a movie version.

The above might explain why I personally felt my version of the upper rear fuselage was "plain" and missing something.  But that section is, actually and accurately, not very special.  Thus I have convinced myself my version modeled it quite well (even if the plain nature of it still bothers me a bit).

I did try and reproduce that bulging panel near the engine opening (an early build used a 33 degree dual slope to perfection there), but it proved too thick and distracting with the other lines of the model, or prevented me from getting the sleekness elsewhere on the rear fuselage.

 

 

Same goes with the nose cone.  Mine is the right length and height, but as an optical illusion, looks too sleek and narrow precisely because I could not bring the tip to a fine point (leaving it at 2.5 plates). I keep thinking, "wow my nose looks good", and it has a smoothness I admire - but comparing back to the movie picture it is easy to see the inaccuracies. 

The 'butt' or rear was its own set of compromises, I may post more on that later.

Again, as you mention, all of this is forced by limitations on parts/techniques - but I 100% agree with you that is part of the fun of creating and seeing different Lego build interpretations!

 

[jimmynick]

16 hours ago, markhchan said:

(The laser tip was 100% copied from an idea first posted by dmaclego)

• Laser Tip - Train Axle Bricklink part x1687 (idea from dmaclego)

I didn't know that trick existed! I was aware from others' builds that the hockey mask was a flashback suppressor, but very interesting to know about the train axle. Now I look at this model again, I also appreciate the torpedo tubes, which I know you pointed out in the OP but didn't catch my eye before.

12 hours ago, Jerac said:

Great idea with old 4x4 roof piece, it works there so well.

This is something else that works really well in this model.

@markhchan, thanks for sharing the Brickshelf folder! I'm not sure I had ever seen that before but your 2001 MOC has a lovely old-timey charm about it, which I really enjoy.

[Cylo]

This is an amazing model! I really like the smoothness of it!

[Brick-Wombat]

Gorgeous work! Any photos of the underside?

[atlas]

15 hours ago, markhchan said:

I had the "exact" same thoughts when I completed my rear fuselage from the canopy to the back.  It looked "plain", from the cockpit to the rear and needed "something".  I tried various things to "improve it", but I kept pulling my mind back to this famous picture from the Special Edition version of A New Hope below. In contrast to my personal memory of it - that section is also straight, plain and boring - not distinctive! 

I then realized a couple things:

First, one of the famous quotes (I don't know who said it, I'm paraphrasing) about the beauty and cultural endurance of the X-Wing is that "it was a perfect balance between the sleek smoothness found in modern fighter jets, contrasted with exposed details, panels and parts as seen inside the wing, or the elements behind R2D2"   This great description explains how it could be easy in my mind, over time - to conflate which sections had which. 

Secondly, if I stare at a Lego representation long enough (and I enjoy looking at many builds from others for long periods of time) that build starts to be "the X-Wing" in my mind, causing my memory to be distorted. 

I've seen so many other Lego X-Wing where the rear upper fuselage was something "other than smooth" - studs sticking out, or clips, or slopes meeting at different angles.  This was often necessitated by part constraints.  Another example, over time - the Lego canopy starts to becomes "the right shape" in my memory, until I look at a movie version.

The above might explain why I personally felt my version of the upper rear fuselage was "plain" and missing something.  But that section is, actually and accurately, not very special.  Thus I have convinced myself my version modeled it quite well (even if the plain nature of it still bothers me a bit).

I did try and reproduce that bulging panel near the engine opening (an early build used a 33 degree dual slope to perfection there), but it proved too thick and distracting with the other lines of the model, or prevented me from getting the sleekness elsewhere on the rear fuselage.

 

 

 

Interesting that you brought up the special edition. I hadn't noticed this specifically until you posted this photo but it's worth pointing out. When I was doing my research  I tried to ignore later models made year after the original miniatures, because they're basically secondary sources, so by their nature there are higher chances of mistakes, missing details, etc. My main reference was images of the miniatures from the theatrical release. Looking at that photo, it seems that the guys who translated the models into digital ones for the special edition 'simplified' some of the geometry for some reason. I'm guessing so that it would be easier to render. But you can see that they've basically changed the rear fuselage from being 9 sided to 7 sided. So you're right, you have modelled it very well, the only 'problem' is that it's the wrong reference to use for your purpose. I believe for rogue one and other digital representations made since the disney purchase that they corrected this and built new digital models.Hopefully this ms paint collage can show my point better.

 

  

 

 

Edited April 21, 2019 by atlas

[markhchan]

10 hours ago, atlas said:

Interesting that you brought up the special edition. I hadn't noticed this specifically until you posted this photo but it's worth pointing out. When I was doing my research  I tried to ignore later models made year after the original miniatures, because they're basically secondary sources, so by their nature there are higher chances of mistakes, missing details, etc. My main reference was images of the miniatures from the theatrical release. Looking at that photo, it seems that the guys who translated the models into digital ones for the special edition 'simplified' some of the geometry for some reason. I'm guessing so that it would be easier to render. But you can see that they've basically changed the rear fuselage from being 9 sided to 7 sided. So you're right, you have modelled it very well, the only 'problem' is that it's the wrong reference to use for your purpose. I believe for rogue one and other digital representations made since the disney purchase that they corrected this and built new digital models.Hopefully this ms paint collage can show my point better

Atlas,

I need to thank you three times for your reply to me:

First for showing me the correct model - with great diagrams and absolute proof that the '77 and '15 is the intended version. This isn't the first time different Star Wars movies have different representation of key ship parts (e.g. the no. of struts on the Millennium Falcon landing gear)

Second, for showing me that what bugged me from my memory about the rear fuselage was my memory actually being correct.  That makes me overjoyed. It also kinda embarrasses me because I have a physical plastic X-Wing model near me that also shows this angle.  Not sure how I overlooked it.

And last but not least - thank you for giving me a new challenge to improve upon in the future.  I wasn't fully smitten in love with my rear fuselage - I loved the smoothness, but something was missing. Now I have a reason to tinker with it.  It does present its own set of challenges, so it may have to wait for my next rework of the entire model. Hopefully not another 18 years for me, or perhaps another in our community can improve on it.

I did intend all along to model after the 1977 version.  But I relied very heavily on the Special Edition image posted above, assuming that it was accurate to the original - but with greater detail.

How wrong I was - and I'm glad to know a little more Star Wars movie trivia.  It is interesting how changes in a movie can trick your memory.  (I still know one memory that is 100% fact no matter the subsequent film versions. Han shot Greedo first.)

I love the great feedback, the absolute attention to detail, and the friendly striving for accuracy of this Lego and Star Wars community.

Edited April 21, 2019 by markhchan

[markhchan]

20 hours ago, jimmynick said:

I also appreciate the torpedo tubes, which I know you pointed out in the OP but didn't catch my eye before.

Thank you for the compliment! Here is a closeup with a better angle of the Krupx MG7 Proton Torpedo Launcher.  The implied "round exit tube" recessed behind the slope is a modified 1x1 tile with clip. (modern part 15712, can also use older part 2555)

I spent countless hours experimenting with different approaches to represent the Torpedo Launcher.  It was my highest priority feature in the front fuselage, as I felt it was under emphasized in other models, especially given its place in lore as The Weapon that Destroyed the Death Star.

I had to design my entire front fuselage around this launcher, and it "severely" constrained my front landing gear options, as well as constraining my smooth underside options.

 

[markhchan]

16 hours ago, K_W said:

Gorgeous work! Any photos of the underside?

Thank you!

Here is the underside: the least accurate, and most poorly represented aspect of my build.  I prioritized many other features, notably the proton torpedo launcher - thus the underside suffered as a tradeoff. 

The model is straight, it was just a poor camera capture angle.

I could probably make it better with a lot more thought and a huge redesign, but that would likely come at the expense of some structural integrity.  Right now the model is extremely sturdy.