Aleksei Stetskii

S N O W S P E E D E R (Original Y-Wing Prototype) Y-Wing Snowspeeder 2/12, on Flickr Y-Wing Snowspeeder 6/12, on Flickr One of the earliest snowspeeder designs for the Battle of Hoth was perhaps the original “ugly.” Joe Johnston’s early sketches of the snowspeeder reveal it to have been based on the cockpit pod of a one-person Koensayr Manufacturing BTL-A4 Y-Wing Starfighter. Johnston repositioned the craft’s armament along the outer edge of the pod (presumably laser cannons) and added air intakes on the upper rear contour of the body on either side of the cockpit. He also removed the ion cannon turret, leaving only its circular mounting. Published sketches contract one-another on the craft’s rear section—this MOC follows the sketch detailing a small array of heat dispersion fins and idiosyncratically angled thrusters. Why this ad hoc “ugly”—based on a design familiar to audiences from the Battle of Yavin—was abandoned in favor of a new craft based on a modified version of the Incom T-47 Airspeeder is not entirely clear. Ultimately, introduction of the eye-catching T-47 endowed the rebel garrison with an iconic atmospheric speeder and set up some of the drama of the battle; it also had the effect of making the garrison look less provisional and its airfleet less jury-rigged than if it were merely attempting to make due with refitted starfighters. See Joe Johnston and Nilo Rodis-Jamero, The Empire Strikes Back Sketchbook (New York: Ballantine, 1980), 15-17. Flickr set link: http://www.flickr.co...57626948742999/

I N C O M T47 Snowspeeder Incom T47 Snowspeeder 9/17, on Flickr Incom T47 Snowspeeder 10/17, on Flickr Incom T47 Snowspeeder 11/17, on Flickr Incom T47 Snowspeeder 12/17, on Flickr Incom T47 Snowspeeder 13/17, on Flickr Backstory: the Incom T47 Snowspeeder was a up-armored version of the conglomerate’s T47 Airspeeder and a descendant of its popular T24 model. It was converted from commercial to military service by the Rebel Alliance and served as an effective atmospheric ground attack craft. Its finest hour was during the chaos of the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY. Development: 3 months, 4 prototypes. Photos: http://www.flickr.co...57626647411044/