T70 X-Wing: A classic revisited

[Jerac]

 

Building a T70 feels like finding a secret boss of SW LEGO builds. You have to try it to understand. 
You take all the difficult traits of plain old T-65 rebel X-Wing: wing folding mechanism, cockpit with no suitable canopy, septagonal fuselage crossection - and take each of them up to eleven.

You have to do the same wing folding mechanism but in a tighter hull, plus both upper and bottom wings have to meet and form a flush surface.
You thought that there's no suitable cockpit canopy for the old T65? Haha, joke is on you, have fun finding 12x3 canopy for T70. 
Septagonal fuselage? Yup, still there, just... tighter, narrower, sleeker. 

I am not even trying to argue that this what I built is "accurate". It is a very obvious compromise between accuracy and just looking good in bricks. To make it match the rest of the starfighter fleet I had to use glass cockpit, and after several attempts I ended up using the standard one, with visual "extension" to at least partially extend it to match intended look. 

The wing mechanism core is a completely new construction compared to the one I used before... and a bigger one: it is now a 4x4x4 cube instead of 2x2x2 one. Unfortunately, the modl for window panels I used has changed and no longer can be used. Plus, while the old core worked, I can't say I was a fan of it. New core at least works much more smoothly and is notably less crazy when assembling.

Wings were fun, but ultimately not that huge challenge. Fitting landing gear however was :D

All in all I consider this to be far from perfect but still a worthy attempt. There is a notable shortage of t70 builds. Maybe some of those ideas can be used and expanded upon by next t70 challengers who wish to try their chance?

As usual, instructions are available at https://www.brickvault.toys/products/x-wing-t-70-starfighter-minifig-scale

Cheers!

Edited December 18, 2021 by Jerac

[jimmynick]

This is insane — a beautifully slick build in not one but two colour schemes. You've really pulled off the circular engine intakes, and I like the greebling on the rear end. Fabulous build as always Jerac.

[Lfm55]

Great!

Having yet built your T-65, i was waiting for this one.

Few questions :

- Is there many common parts between this moc and the official sets?

- How is it sturdy compaired to the T-65 moc?

- Any rare/expensive part?
 

I’ll buy the instructions but i’ll wait a little to gather the parts, this is not the best period of the year for that kind of expense :)

 

[Guyinaplaguemask]

Lovely, I think you have done a fantastic job recreating the T-70. It is very accurate (as far as I can tell) and looks like if one wanted a more accurate T-70, they would simply need to modify yours. Can we get a side-by-side picture with your T-65?

[Jerac]

1 hour ago, Lfm55 said:

Great!

Having yet built your T-65, i was waiting for this one.

Few questions :

- Is there many common parts between this moc and the official sets?

- How is it sturdy compaired to the T-65 moc?

- Any rare/expensive part?
 

I’ll buy the instructions but i’ll wait a little to gather the parts, this is not the best period of the year for that kind of expense :)

 

Thanks for appreciation!

- I have no idea about how many parts are common with any of the sets, but this was not considered at all. Any overlap must be a complete coincidence. I guess if there is 15% overlap then that's all.

- Sturdiness is... hmm. It is better built but then source material is harder too. So the fuselage, nose and guns are definitely more sturdy. It also doesn't have touch-to-break engines anymore. But at the same time, the source material dictates wings to be long and very slim, so there is little you can do to make them solid. That said, when going to an expo, I just bubblefoiled entire model "as is" and it required about a minute of easy fixes regarding the guns. And mine is using 4+8 plates on the bottom wings instead of single 12-long one, so the final thing is a bit stronger. If I would give them stats and say the old t65 had 3/10 durability, this one would have 4/10.

- Designed specifically not to have any! Engine intake arches are few dollars, cockpit canopy can be expensive if you go for silver one (but only grey ship should have silver one, and even then it looks good with LBG - like on the photos above). Next position on the list is actually 63 bog-standard 1x4 plates. 
I suspect over time Sai's will become expensive, but then you can just use any other gun solution: jumper + flex hose, shoulderpad or the ski visor.

 

13 minutes ago, Guyinaplaguemask said:

Lovely, I think you have done a fantastic job recreating the T-70. It is very accurate (as far as I can tell) and looks like if one wanted a more accurate T-70, they would simply need to modify yours. Can we get a side-by-side picture with your T-65?

Thanks!
Regarding last thing: yes, but no. And I can't tell why, sorry. I promise it makes sense! :)
 

3 hours ago, jimmynick said:

This is insane — a beautifully slick build in not one but two colour schemes. You've really pulled off the circular engine intakes, and I like the greebling on the rear end. Fabulous build as always Jerac.

Thanks! ^^
 

Edited December 18, 2021 by Jerac

[20feet]

Congratulations on beating the final boss!  I'll always prefer the T-65, but it's definitely an achievement.

I think the canopy extension technique you settled on is probably the best possible, if you have to use that stupid piece.  It just makes me want to see a version with a build canopy - maybe someone will oblige.  Did you have to alter the shape of the fuselage to accommodate the canopy piece?

I like the round shape of the back end of the canons - looks like just some plates with pin holes to attach them to the wings.  Should work on the T-65 too, right?  I guess they're too narrow, but might be worth it for the shape.

I'd be interested to read more about the design process and the compromises you had to make if you care to share.

49 minutes ago, Jerac said:

Regarding last thing: yes, but no. And I can't tell why, sorry. I promise it makes sense! :)

This is the most exciting part TBH :)

[Jerac]

Unfortunately that stupid piece was decided back in 2017 when I made my first SW ship... now that all of them have glass canopy, this one had to have it too, and this piece was one of two solutions which worked - at all. 

Fuselage is completely redone when compared to T65. It looks a bit similar and some ideas are reused, but exact piece placement is completely different. So I'd write it as altering, yes ;)
This is mostly because T70 simply has different body when compared to older T65: Much slimmer, and the cockpit is moved forward significantly. T70 looks more like a mid-engined car than rear-engined T65 did.

 

Quote

I'd be interested to read more about the design process and the compromises you had to make if you care to share.

Yeah, sure. Maybe not right now, but surely.

[Kage Goomba]

Very nicely done. I prefer the older X-Wing - but this is a masterpiece.

[JekPorkchops]

Looks like a scale model, not even like a Lego build.

[20feet]

1 hour ago, Jerac said:

Unfortunately that stupid piece was decided back in 2017 when I made my first SW ship... now that all of them have glass canopy, this one had to have it too, and this piece was one of two solutions which worked - at all. 

Ya, I won't hassle you any further about using the glass canopy.  It makes sense to stick with a consistent style when you're designing a whole fleet of ships, and that means making bigger compromises in some cases.  I was curious whether you had to compromise the shape of the T-70 fuselage to fit the canopy - specifically the width and angles at the top.

[Jerac]

34 minutes ago, 20feet said:

Ya, I won't hassle you any further about using the glass canopy.  It makes sense to stick with a consistent style when you're designing a whole fleet of ships, and that means making bigger compromises in some cases.  I was curious whether you had to compromise the shape of the T-70 fuselage to fit the canopy - specifically the width and angles at the top.

Yes, it was a major hassle to get it right. At this length (I don't remember anymore but IIRC it was 43 studs long) canopy should be close to 11.5 x 3, and narrower in the front than in the back. There's absolutely no shape like this available in any of the glass pieces so I tried one or two alternate solutions...




It took me a while to settle on the back-extension only solution. 

[blbills]

Great work as usual, Jerac!

[20feet]

It's really interesting to see the different versions.  I do think the final version looks best from those options.  The ones with built clear sections have a nicer shape but they're clunky and distracting.  This persuades me that the only alternative would be a built frame without "glass" (which would look out of place in your lineup).

It looks like the fuselage is basically the same shape in each version.  The too-wide canopy doesn't look too out of place on the narrow hull.

[Lfm55]

I am actually happy you choose tu use system scale cockpit for your moc.

Even if it’s not optimal, it’s often more pleaseant visually than the brick built version and it maintain a scale between your models.
 

I love to see your ships i built displayed near the ucs mf and i am not enough picky to be concern by the difference with the exact shape of a fictionnal ship.

[shiny_car]

Awesome! I've been waiting for a quality T70 like this. Thank you Jerac. Now to buy the pieces! 

[sovietxrobot]

It looks great. I enjoyed building your T-65 so much, I built 2 (red 5 and rogue 1) so this is on my list. I was thinking about attempting the poe damaron color scheme, but those diagonals seem impossible without resorting to stickers.

[Kim-Kwang-Seok]

The revisited X-Wing was one of the few inclusions and updates of original vehicles I liked about the new trilogy. Most other reused concepts were pretty unoriginal, worse (remember gorilla AT-AT?), inferior or something.

I prefer the old X-Wing but the new ones were nice additions and a fun twist since they were based on older concepts.

It made it even more weird Lego just reused the base design of the standard X-Wing used for like 10 years now. I still don't get why they never tried to make it at least a bit more sleek - while you will never reach such great proportions like the master Jerac, you could get a bit closer to the original!

[StephenBoe]

I built mine yesterday and I could not be more satisfied! What an incredible design, I've got a little bandai T-70 and comparing the bandai model with this lego model, it's just admirable how faithfully so many of the angles are recreated. I'm also so pleased at how tight the new gear mechanism is; this model can really be swooshed!

I chose to build my x-wing in mainly white and also made some additional color blocking to bring it closer to what this particular T-70 looks like in the films. I can see why you and BV chose a mainly grey body for the normal resistance version, though. In the CG battle scenes they certainly take on a more grey look. The physical lifesize models they built for sets look more on the white side than grey to me, though, and I just prefer it. Ideally we'd have some color that was someway between white and light bluish-grey. Using white as the main color of the body also allows the engine intakes and cockpit to be built in light-bluish grey and remain distinct from the rest of the body, and if I ever build Poe's x-wing, I'd really want those elements to be consistent.  







There are a couple of areas I tweaked a little bit. I found that the little sword piece on the bottom of the fuselage didn't allow the 2x3 tiles to fit 100% comfortably, so they were very prone to popping off, as well as the sword itself being kind of finicky. I replaced the modified plate with clip that holds the sword in place with a toothed plate, and also put a 1x2 tile below the 2x3 tiles, and I'm pretty satisfied with the look.



More unfortunately, the singular part of the build I found truly frustrating was attaching the rear 2x2 tiles. I managed to get one side looking good, but getting the other side to match was really tough, and even if I did get it to match I dreaded having to reattach any of them if one happened to pop out. Ultimately I decided to replace the bottom two tiles with some white brackets and 1x1 tiles helping to fill in the inner gaps. It's certainly less accurate and visually appealing, but it's also supremely less maddening so for me it's an acceptable compromise. I don't know if it's just me that had this much trouble with this area, but if you or anyone has any advice on this part of the build I'd love to hear it. 



Congrats again Jerac on this incredible model! I'm sure this will be the gold standard for a minifig-scale T-70 for a long time.   

Edited January 4, 2022 by StephenBoe

[Jerac]

Thanks for feedback!

Regarding rear hexagon, something is VERY wrong here:

This doesn't work:

 

This does:

 

Are my eyes deceiving me or the black 1x1 rounds with handle have longer handle than grey ones? What the actual F here, lego? 

EDIT:


!@#)$(@%_!@#_!!!

Edited January 4, 2022 by Jerac

[ScottishDave]

17 hours ago, StephenBoe said:

I chose to build my x-wing in mainly white and also made some additional color blocking to bring it closer to what this particular T-70 looks like in the films.

I really, really like this colour scheme. It looks just right, and I vastly prefer it to the grey. Also, I might have quite a few of the needed parts...  https://flic.kr/s/aHsknxbfgz

I have the parts for the Black One on order. Looks like I need to order whatever white parts I don't have, and some more black studs with bars!

[Jerac]

7 minutes ago, ScottishDave said:

I really, really like this colour scheme. It looks just right, and I vastly prefer it to the grey. Also, I might have quite a few of the needed parts...  https://flic.kr/s/aHsknxbfgz

I have the parts for the Black One on order. Looks like I need to order whatever white parts I don't have, and some more black studs with bars!

Investigation is underway, but it really seems those "studs with bars" come in two variants which are not discernible by color or even part number. Grey ones for example come in just one set released in 2021, and you can still get longer or shorter ones.
I need to redesign that area, but unfortunately I am moving very soon and my workshop is already packed. There is not much help I can give right now, sorry.
 

Edited January 5, 2022 by Jerac

[20feet]

On 1/4/2022 at 1:57 PM, StephenBoe said:

Ideally we'd have some color that was someway between white and light bluish-grey.

White or LBG is the eternal question of X-wing building.  I generally prefer LBG, but this white version looks really sharp. Nice work!

11 hours ago, Jerac said:

Investigation is underway, but it really seems those "studs with bars" come in two variants which are not discernible by color or even part number. Grey ones for example come in just one set released in 2021, and you can still get longer or shorter ones.

I just checked and I have trans clear studs with bars in 2 distinct heights.  This is very troubling!  Are you saying that Lego includes 2 different molds of this piece in the same colour in the same set?  WTF?

[Paul11283652]

5 minutes ago, 20feet said:

White or LBG is the eternal question of X-wing building.  I generally prefer LBG, but this white version looks really sharp. Nice work!

Ideally they would bring back light stone grey. It would be useful for so many SW sets.

[Jerac]

6 hours ago, 20feet said:

White or LBG is the eternal question of X-wing building.  I generally prefer LBG, but this white version looks really sharp. Nice work!

I just checked and I have trans clear studs with bars in 2 distinct heights.  This is very troubling!  Are you saying that Lego includes 2 different molds of this piece in the same colour in the same set?  WTF?

Yes. Exactly.

[StephenBoe]

On 1/5/2022 at 7:21 AM, ScottishDave said:

I really, really like this colour scheme. It looks just right, and I vastly prefer it to the grey. Also, I might have quite a few of the needed parts...  https://flic.kr/s/aHsknxbfgz

I have the parts for the Black One on order. Looks like I need to order whatever white parts I don't have, and some more black studs with bars!

Would love to see a white version next to Black One, looking forward to it!

On 1/5/2022 at 7:22 PM, 20feet said:

White or LBG is the eternal question of X-wing building.  I generally prefer LBG, but this white version looks really sharp. Nice work!

Thanks! For me, the other colors accenting white are really important in making it look good. Fortunately on the T-70, there's lots of grey accents that helps the white not feel too clean. A good amount of dark bley, especially, to offset the white is important imo.

Also, on T-65s I personally don't prefer white and normal red together. Red is just such an intense color, but normal blue isn't as commanding, so I think white works better with it.