UCS X-Wing 2023 - Mods

[ChemicalWorld]

Since I couldn't find a thread with mods for the newest UCS X-Wing I thought I'd start this one for people to share their own tweaks on the set.

I picked up one of the R2-D2 polybags and some bricks to add height to the stand (and add a spot for the R2-D2 minifig).

Really happy with the way it has come together. Sure the scale isn't accurate but at a distance it looks good to me and that's what will keep me happy!

Edited May 15, 2023 by ChemicalWorld

[Guyinaplaguemask]

Nice, haven't picked up the set yet but I will probably do something similar. Have you considered doing anything to make the wing mechanism less wobbly? I know the wings sag and have yet to try to fix it.

[ChemicalWorld]

9 minutes ago, Guyinaplaguemask said:

Nice, haven't picked up the set yet but I will probably do something similar. Have you considered doing anything to make the wing mechanism less wobbly? I know the wings sag and have yet to try to fix it.

Sadly beyond my creative skills, my mods tend to be simple and easy to implement! Hopefully someone comes along with some suggestions. :)

[McMurder_them_softly]

Looks great! Not sure I will do these, but it really does look nice. Well done! 

[Crazy bricks]

That R2-D2 is probably too big, but I certainly agree that it is a cast improvement. I don't have the set and don't plan on getting it, but I would certainly make these changes if I did.

 

[joebiwankenobi]

3 x 3 dome would be the correct size but the 4 x 4 looks far better than the 2 x 2. 

[mcphatty]

@ChemicalWorld Good to see that the polybag R2 head looks good on the new X-Wing! You're right the size does work, ideally it would be a little smaller but it gives a much better overall look than the regular minifigure.

I had a similar idea, I haven't built the set yet but I've got the R2 head on a new body that I plan to display with the ship and I'm working on a stand with built in landing gear that the X-Wing can rest on top of. I'm also going to angle the top surface of the nose, I'll have to test that on the set as, and I want to make a the nose tip light grey and one brick narrower. Here's a WIP render and some instructions for R2-D2 in case anyone's interested. Huge thanks to john.carter (designer of the Lego Ideas Tales of The Space Age set) for letting me use his R2 body as a starting point, his genius placement of the Bar with Plate 1x1 piece at 45 degrees is what made it all possible, steps 9 to 11 of the instructions show how his clever solution connects the legs.

Edited May 23, 2023 by mcphatty

[ChemicalWorld]

On 5/18/2023 at 3:40 PM, mcphatty said:

@ChemicalWorld Good to see that the polybag R2 head looks good on the new X-Wing! You're right the size does work, ideally it would be a little smaller but it gives a much better overall look than the regular minifigure.

I had a similar idea, I haven't built the set yet but I've got the R2 head on a new body that I plan to display with the ship and I'm working on a stand with built in landing gear that the X-Wing can rest on top of. I'm also going to angle the top surface of the nose, I'll have to test that on the set as, and I want to make a the nose tip light grey and one brick narrower. Here's a WIP render and some instructions for R2-D2 in case anyone's interested. Huge thanks to john.carter (designer of the Lego Ideas Tales of The Space Age set) for letting me use his R2 body as a starting point, his genius placement of the Bar with Plate 1x1 piece at 45 degrees is what made it all possible, steps 9 to 11 of the instructions show how his clever solution connects the legs.

 

Wow! Love the look of that stand with the built in landing gear. Really adds a touch of class to the display. And that updated R2-D2 is def something I'd be interested in trying out myself.

 

Bit annoyed at LEGO store. I requested a replacement canopy piece due to scratches incurred from the box. My replacement part arrived and I've just checked it and it also has scratches on it...

Really poor show from LEGO...

[ClassicLook]

Nice additions above!

Has anyone solved the problem with exposed studs under the canopy? It is my biggest issue with this set.

I haven't built it yet, but I'm interested in to replace those plates for tile. Do you think it's possible by keeping the stability?

[ChemicalWorld]

On 5/20/2023 at 6:11 PM, ClassicLook said:

Nice additions above!

Has anyone solved the problem with exposed studs under the canopy? It is my biggest issue with this set.

I haven't built it yet, but I'm interested in to replace those plates for tile. Do you think it's possible by keeping the stability?

I don't think it's possible without a redesign of that section of paneling. That studded part keeps a couple of sections on the panel towards the cockpit together. Honesty those studs exposed aren't an issue when you build the set, they look more pronounced in pics than they do when you see and build the set for yourself.

Embrace the studs! :)

[mcphatty]

@ChemicalWorld I think you might be right about the 2x8 plate everyones moaning about. I've got a few big tiles to try to replace it with but I'm not sure they'll have the strength that the 2x8 plate provides and I don't think theres room to reinforce from behind. We'll see though!

Out of curiosity has anyone looked at reducing the height of the top of the back of the fuselage? It should be lower than the top of the cockpit, I'm gonna see what I can remove to shave some height off.

 

[ChemicalWorld]

Another rebuild of the set (PRO TIP: build the stand first, then the wings, finally the fuselage and attachment of all the above for maximum build pleasure) and I've added another set of mods to the build.

Firstly I added an extra piece to step 18 to prevent the parts from the stand from falling off.

Secondly I've added extra rubber bands to the S Foil mechanism to provide extra stability (just grabbed one of the sets from Poe Dameron's X-WIng because I had it to hand).

Third mod curtesy of Reddit user https://www.reddit.com/user/DeductedMiller/, involves moving the engines one stud closer to the hull of the ship. This reduces the noticeable gap when the ship is in flight mode. The only issue with this mod is that it means the pins that attach the wings can't be fully inserted without pushing up the engines. Small price to pay for less gap though imo.

Mod steps 328/329, 391/392, 454/455 & 516/517.

And mod steps 345, 408, 471 & 533 by replacing the grey 2x3 plate. This allows the wings to open  otherwise the part restricts movement.

This is what the X-Wing looks like with the ship in flight mode.

And finally made changes to my stand to have ship pointed downwards as standard. Bit wonky but does the job!

[Guybrush]

Wait they had a bigger R2 this whole time and they stuck that minifig one on there?

[theDeanoRama]

On 6/10/2023 at 9:45 AM, Guybrush said:

Wait they had a bigger R2 this whole time and they stuck that minifig one on there?

This R2 suffers the same issue, wrong scale. It's a bit too big. I think overscale looks better than underscale though. Need a happy medium as mentioned by @joebiwankenobi, a 3x3 would fit the bill perfectly I think.

[Neophyte_brickie]

On 6/16/2023 at 3:56 AM, theDeanoRama said:

This R2 suffers the same issue, wrong scale. It's a bit too big. I think overscale looks better than underscale though. Need a happy medium as mentioned by @joebiwankenobi, a 3x3 would fit the bill perfectly I think.

I seem to recall that someone calculated the correct scale for R2's dome based on the size of the set, and from memory the canonically accurate size is something like 2.5 stud diameter. Obviously impossible in Lego, but the point is 2x2 is no less accurate than 3x3.  I agree though, slightly too large is probably going to look better than slightly too small.

[JabbaTheHatt]

Hello guys, I stumbled onto this topic, and I just registered in order to share with you my mods of this set.

First I expanded the length of the wings by two studs.

I also covered the x-foils mechanism between the wings and between the engines and the fuselage.

I made the red and tan paint on the nose continuous (to match the x-wing in the movie, before launching and when Luke lands back to the rebel base).

I added a R2 (approximately correct scale, using the led keychain model) and some gribling on top of the fuselage.

I modified the stand to accomodate other x-wing pilots and r2 units, and I replaced Luke's helmet with the dual molded version.

I also added a trans-red dome below trans-pink one for the exhaust hue to get a more accurate color.

Finally I added a small part on the laser cannon to fill in the gaps and avoid moving parts.

[Brick-Wombat]

3 hours ago, JabbaTheHatt said:

Hello guys, I stumbled onto this topic, and I just registered in order to share with you my mods of this set.

First I expanded the length of the wings by two studs.

I also covered the x-foils mechanism between the wings and between the engines and the fuselage.

I made the red and tan paint on the nose continuous (to match the x-wing in the movie, before launching and when Luke lands back to the rebel base).

I added a R2 (approximately correct scale, using the led keychain model) and some gribling on top of the fuselage.

I modified the stand to accomodate other x-wing pilots and r2 units, and I replaced Luke's helmet with the dual molded version.

I also added a trans-red dome below trans-pink one for the exhaust hue to get a more accurate color.

Finally I added a small part on the laser cannon to fill in the gaps and avoid moving parts.

Would love to see your mods, but unfortunately your images don't load. Not sure if I'm the only one. Would suggest linking from Imgur or Flickr if you're having trouble uploading. 

As for the proportions, it is unfortunate that on a model so big they weren't able to get them more accurate. I haven't done a comparison against the source material, but the ship just looks blocky (no pun intended). I suppose we all just got spoiled by @Jerac's designs! 

[JabbaTheHatt]

40 minutes ago, Brick-Wombat said:

Would love to see your mods, but unfortunately your images don't load. Not sure if I'm the only one. Would suggest linking from Imgur or Flickr if you're having trouble uploading. 

As for the proportions, it is unfortunate that on a model so big they weren't able to get them more accurate. I haven't done a comparison against the source material, but the ship just looks blocky (no pun intended). I suppose we all just got spoiled by @Jerac's designs! 

I will try another way, the images load fine on my side.

Can you see them now?

 

 

 

Edited June 28, 2023 by JabbaTheHatt

[Brick-Wombat]

On 6/28/2023 at 9:23 AM, JabbaTheHatt said:

I will try another way, the images load fine on my side.

Can you see them now?

Yes! Thanks. =)

For starters, this immediatley looks really good at first glance.  The wider wings seem to improve the proportions and the red stripe helps to mask the studded sides. That red stripe also gives it a sleeker and more cohesive aesthetic IMO.

Despite not being a functional lego piece, that R2D2 looks perfectly scaled. 

Nicely done!

Edited June 29, 2023 by Brick-Wombat

[TeddytheSpoon]

Using the keychain R2-D2 is a brilliant idea - still technically purist and a great scale match to boot!

[mcphatty]

@JabbaTheHatt Graet mods! That keychain R2 is perfect, thats such a good idea, very well done! The wider wings look noticably better and all your other little additions are very worthwhile, I especially like how you've swapped the wedge brick arrangement on the sides of the nose tip, that looks a lot better. I wanted to add the dual moulded helmet to Luke too, I've been looking for a spare on eBay and Bricklink but the price has shot up astronomically, might have to do a swap with my old 75218 set. Nice mods sir, well done

[JabbaTheHatt]

Thank you guys for the feedback!

[Aeroeza]

Gotta say I love this X-Wing… Having built the first two versions, I was happy to see TLG address many of the inaccuracies of the past & at the same time engineer something very different. Kudos to Henrik! But, ideally, there's a few changes I'd like to make to this UCS beyond a small MOD here & there, the S-Foil system being one of them - those wings ideally shouldn't droop when closed & that gap between them is problematic. It would be great to display this set without those features being so apparent & McPhatty's new stand, incorporating the landing gear, goes a long way to solving this problem. An inspired solution! And, once you've seen those renders with that top plate tilted slightly downward toward the nose tip, well, you can't un-see it. This set needs a new nose section!

ChemicalWorld & JabbaTheHatt have collected together some great tweaks to the set but the nose section is a bit of a rebuild. So, in the spirit of giving it a crack myself & putting a few ideas out there, here's my tinkering in Studio thus far...

Version 1

1. Uses two vertical 1 x 4, thin Technic Liftarm to mount the tilted top nose panel at an angle of 3.4 degrees. This still incorporates the Technic Pins with Tow Balls to continue providing some lateral support to the side panels.

2. Given the loss of the original upper technic beam structure, a series of horizontal liftarms, connected both forward & rear of the two vertical liftarm mounts are integrated with the lower technic beams. Two layers of plates complete the reinforcement & still provide plenty of room for however you may want to build support for the tilted nose plate. It’s probably overengineering but this solution fits snugly & still allows for the light grey ingot bars to add their worth to the job of the red tow balls.

3. The lower side panel has had the transparent 12L bar shifted half a stud back via the use of a 1 x 2 jumper plate, allowing for the nose cone/tip to fit just that little bit closer on its two red 4L axles.

4. The upper side panel has been divided into two sections. The lower section here still uses the tan wedge to slot into the nose cone. It also provides a channel for the topmost side panel to slide into. Hinge plates & a 1 x 3 double jumper plate have been used to lift & align this topmost side panel with the tilted top nose panel, closing the gap between them almost perfectly into an overall hexagonal form.

5. The only way I could get the top nose panel to fit so snugly to the side panels & still provide all the room required for the internal structure to fit was to use both 1 x 2 - 1 x 2 inverted & 1 x 2 - 1 x 4 brackets. These provide a bed of studs for the tiles rather than using studs provided by a layer of plates. Even a single layer of plates is simply too thick to use here. It’s worth noting that I’ve also been very careful to make sure Studio hasn’t tricked me with any hidden collisions or strange connections.

What I don’t like about the result is that the top nose panel is raised almost one plate above the base of the canopy piece. It’s a small complaint but ideally this component should be in line with the canopy for a nice, clean profile. Also, the use of brackets, although critical to the success of the MOD, are awkward to connect with a good amount of clutch power to all the supporting plates, hinge & technic bricks which form the rest of the component. I’ve yet to test it, but I suspect you would need to handle the top nose panel with care. At least it does tilt nicely with closely fitted parallel side panels to match. In addition, the whole nose section, with all that liftarm support, shouldn’t sag over time or separate from the rear of the model when moved about.

Version 2

1. Retains a similar technic support structure but uses two 1 x 3, thin Technic Liftarms to mount the top nose panel instead. This lowers it to be in line with the base of the canopy for that clean side profile I prefer.

2. As an alternative approach, the tan wedges can instead be incorporated into the upper side panel. This should better hold this panel in place than the design used in Version 1. So long as the clutch power of the hinge plates is enough, then the channel which the upper side panel slots into should also lock the other side panels in place as the tan wedges slide into the nose tip to form the X Wing’s hexagonal front profile.

3. Unfortunately the upper side panel must also be lowered as the thickness of the top nose panel is now too great, even with the use of brackets. The jumper plate is removed & a straightforward connection to the hinge is made. Only tiles one stud in width are required here rather than the two studs in width used for Version 1. The upper side panel is lowered by half a stud, remaining nicely parallel to the top nose panel but more of a gap is revealed by the side tiles at the corner of the hexagon where the two panels meet. It is still most certainly an improvement over the original build but doesn’t look quite as elegant as Version 1.

4. More gap means fewer brackets required. The top nose panel can now provide more clutch power & greater stability all-round via the use of larger plates. Only a single hinge brick has been used, an approach worth exploring for Version 1 too.

I'd also like to give a shout out to Hypodorious on r/Lego Reddit whose MODs for this set are really next level. Go check their work out folks!

[DragunovSVDS]

I modified this X-Wing into the Rogue One Blue Leader.  I also added 2 studs to the wings in the process to give it a more accurate wing length.  I used the Hasbro model for a reference on the color scheme.

http://1 by Thomas Dugan, on Flickr

http://3 by Thomas Dugan, on Flickr

http://4 by Thomas Dugan, on Flickr

http://5 by Thomas Dugan, on Flickr

 

[LSTigerPa]

Hey @DragunovSVDS  I've lurked here a long time and just decided to make an account because I saw your post.  Excellent work on your Blue Leader.  This is exactly what I'm trying to do with mine.  I bought two sets.  My son is building Luke's per instructions and I'm trying to mod mine to do the same thing.  I'm having trouble coming up with the parts list and finding all the pieces in the right blue.  Would you have a parts list that you would be willing to share so I can get my stuff ordered?  Our builds are on hold while I try to sort it all out.