[MOC] Captain Rex's 501st Y-Wing Starfighter - Alternate Build Of 75399 Rebel U-Wing

[Wurger49]

The Y-Wing is an iconic starship dating from the Original Trilogy. We got to see the BTL-B Y-Wing starfighter during the Clone Wars series, as a mainstay of the Republic Navy. When it was confirmed that LEGO will only release a microfighter for Captain Rex in 2024, I was greatly disappointed like everyone else. At the time, there were no appropriate sets to do a decent  alternate build for the Clone Wars Y-Wing, as a lot of round bricks are required to build its two long ion jet engines.

Fast forward to 2025, the Rebel U-Wing from the Andor show, the best Star Wars TV show to date, not only gave me my first Stinger Mantis model, but it would also give me my first Y-Wing in the 501[sup]st[/sup] color way.  

The wedge-shaped cockpit module was placed on the front of the craft, which the central spar extending behind it. The two large ion jet engines in nacelles were carried by a cross wing. I hoped that the four brick-built round engine nacelles from the U-Wing was enough for the long ion jet engines, but they were not… I tried a few different methods to lengthen the engines by a few plates, the two engines were still slightly too short for my liking. 2x6 wedge plates created the engine wings leading to the main body of the craft.

Due to the short engines, I needed to shorten the cockpit to balance the ship out, the tail gunner position was left out, leaving just the pilot seat and astromech socket like what’s on the X-Wing. The two forward firing laser cannons shared the same design from the U-Wing. The hull plating was done by slopes and tiles, a back hump was built to house multiple systems, such as hyperdrive and shield generator. I maximized the use of blue pieces to get the white and blue pattern. Greebling was used to decorate the tail end of the Y-wing.

The main body module was mainly plate built, with brackets on the sides. This makes a very solid model and great for swooshing around when holding the body; the back end of the long engine nacelles is connected by 4 studs which make them easier to knock off. This model is the perfection alternate build starship for the 2024 Captain Rex minifigure.

 

Instructions are on Rebrickable: https://reb.li/m/220254

 

 

 

 

Edited May 24 by Wurger49