Hi everyone!

I've been thinking of working on a system scale version of the classic X wing for a around a year now. I've been working with the parts I have at hand and with the impending release of the new trilogy x wing approaching (and it glorious new canopy!) I figured I might share what I have been working on.

This project is going to be very slow, but I'll have fun doing it and sharing it with you all here!

My goal will be working with and incorporating the designs of all the system scale X wings alongside whatever MODS or MOCS I can create to make a "more" accurate X wing. I'm not shooting for perfection here as lego's are toys and I want to have fun with it!

Also, I have about 8 5 gallon tubs of lego bricks from Starwars sets (dating back to 1999) that I broke down as kid that I'll be using to test build ideas out. So, if your OCD like me and hate seeing rainbow colors, prepare yourself.

Alright to get started, I began working with the nose around a year ago. The noses of the X-wing sets have always bugged me in that they never achieved a certain curvature and look rather stubby. Compare the nose to that of the actual X wing as seen below and you can see the curve and indentation at the rear of the nose the Lego model lacks.

I fiddled around a bit and came up with this. I don't know if someone has done this before me or not but this was my result with some spare parts. If someone has came up with this design then all credit to them!

Looks nice. The cheese slope idea has been used before, but I haven't seen that slope used for the nose. I've been messing around myself, and I came up with a more snotty solution, using the inverted version of the bottom piece and it's half counterpart. Personally, I've given up on that back curve. I like to think that the whole top goes as far as te back, hence why it's makes it flat. I'd love to see other parts of your design!

Nice. The problem is though that you have the nose tip a whole stud width wider on either side where the equivalent part on the actual Xwing is probably under a plate thickness wider. I think the nose tip needs to be no more than 1/2 a stud wider than the rest of the nose on each side. Otherwise it will look really odd from on top, more like a mushroom.

Edited August 19, 20159 yr by Naijel

Thanks guys!

I agree about the size of the nose as well. I'm no lego guru by any means but there have been some outstanding parts that have been created by the company since I built sets as a kid. However, I find it nearly impossible once you get down to produce a small object such as the nose of the X Wing. I don't believe the limitation is in the parts to create something more likely the size limits what you can create if that makes sense.

Guydudeman27: If the design you came up with is what you used in the headhunter MOC then I really like it! It's truly innovate with the snot usage and how you oriented the pieces. This project is going to be slow as I actually don't own the last system scale X wing. I'm planning on getting the new one as I'm curious on how the wing mechanism works. I can then get the instructions online and parts (first ever bricklink order) to 9493 and use my own mods to build the X-wing I'd like to see.

Naijel: Thanks for your comment! I agree on the width of the nose. I believe all the "system" scale X-wings are legitimately out of scale with the figures. To be honest I have no idea what scale lego figures are supposed to be 1/35th? There's an excellent rendition of the X wing I have seen that was created by Mike Pisiaki that has a nose similar to what you describe. His rendition of the classic snub fighter is fantastic! Mine may look like a mushroom in the end, but I like my mushroom.

I want to able into retractible landing gear and even attempt the dreaded hexagonal body. Oh boy... I doubt I'll get a perfect hexagon but I'll see what I can do! The things that bug me about the last rendition lego released were that the sidewalls of the ship made it look like it and "chubby cheeks". So I'm planning to work around that as well as get the astromich unit facing forward like the 7140, maybe some storage compartments, and hiding the rubber band mechanism (wishful thinking).

I'm going to be halfway across the country starting my sophomore year in college in a couple of weeks so I don't know what I'll have done, if anything, before then. Education comes first!

I used the same design from my headhunter for my X-Wing, and I glad you like it! It's not 100% mine, but I've redesigned the connections on the inside. 9493 is a rough model. I'm using it as a base, but something u did in day one was re design the wings. I lowered them by a plate, so that the wings actually touch each other. From there, I plated it like Mike Pisiaki's (which I also brick linked) and then strengthened the turning no mechanism. That's probably the number one issue with 9493. I want to redesign that, to make use of a better connection. If I were you (and I'm kinda in the same boat here) I'd suggest messing around in bricks and in LDD, to try to build small sections at a time. I'm currently re designing the engines, which is a slow and difficult task. But sling it from the ground up isn't a bad idea, it just takes a lot of work. I wish you well on your mission!

Oh goddy, i love X-Wings, and the technic one some time ago was never finished, so im subscribing to this one!

Wow, your idea for the nose is looking really good! Can't wait to see the rest of it.

Naijel: Thanks for your comment! I agree on the width of the nose. I believe all the "system" scale X-wings are legitimately out of scale with the figures. To be honest I have no idea what scale lego figures are supposed to be 1/35th?

IMO, most System-scale Lego Star Wars sets of vehicles under 100 ft in length are pretty in-scale. Going by my scale (1 stud : 1 ft), Lego scale is 1:38, and I know that makes the average minifig only 5 ft tall in their own scale, but that doesn't matter to me much, as everything else works out and it makes it easier to accurately size minifig-scale creations. That puts the most recent System-scale X-wing at 41 ft long, which is spot-on for the "real" T-65 X-wing.

However, I also have similar minor problems with the shaping, turning mechanism (as GuyDudeMan27 said), and other areas that you've mentioned, but I do believe that is the best Lego could do in 2012 while staying within (2012-era) legal building techniques and making it durable enough for kids to play with, so it doesn't bother me TOO much... but I still feel a little unsastified looking at it and holding it in the hand, moreso than that same year's TIE Fighter and Y-wing.

I also can't wait for the TFA TIE Fighter and X-wing, and I agree that the canopy piece on the X-wing is GLORIOUS.

Edited August 20, 20159 yr by 1st Lieutenant Jed

Lego Fett: Thanks for your interest and subscription! If the technic build is the one I'm thinking of, it's probably going to be the definitive x wing build. Drakmin isn't to be underestimated. He's a literal technic god as far as I'm concerned. He just needs time and parts. Lots of parts... I also downloaded LDD! I didn't even know about that haha! I'm working on the engines and the wings right now. Some of the parts don't want to go together because they're "not a legal connection". Well, I've got physical parts on hand and *emperor voice* I will make it legal.

1st Lt. Jedi: Thanks for the complement on my nose err my x wing's nose! Also, I appreciate the clarification on the scale. I've been trying to figure that out for years! I'll see what I can do with my MOD/MOC but I agree that 9493 was the best they could do at the time.

Okay, I've been working on the wings--or rather wing--for three days now and think I've come up with something you guys might enjoy. It's not done yet, but as far as design goes it's done. There just needs to be some obvious parts added, but I like how it came out. Only issue is that I have no idea how to get pics on here. I take that back, I do, but I can't attach any more images because I have exceeded my allowed disk space for attachments. I'll probably just link to pics from photobucket if that's alright. Images and description incoming...

Sorry for the collage of colors! Random parts, what are you going to do? There are gaps in the bricks and such but it's still a WIP.

I thought the engines used on every system scaled X wing looked a little undersized. Ironically the recent UCS set's engines were undersized, but looked more in proportion to minifig scale. After a lot of tweaking I came up with this. I still need to work on the wing connecting mechanism as it's one stud lower than 9493. Therefore I'll have to compensate in the fuselage. It's even got the space on the underside for the tiles to go as well. I'm going to try using the newer inverted tile piece in place of the domed ones. The engine exhausts are placeholders for the moment. The front of the engines are taken directly from the UCS. It may not look stable but I can assure you it really is! I've been swinging it around by where the lazer should sit at the wingtip and it wouldn't break. I'm happy with it. Comments and criticism are welcomed and appreciated! More pics coming your way

Looks good.

Looks great!

I laughed soo much when i saw that astromech torso there :laugh:

Not bad. I'm really digging the engine design. I want to figure out how to incorporate something like that on my own design. I commend you on those little details toward the back, another thing I need to review on mine. Using that astromech torso was a pretty cool solution. I can't wait to see what you come up with next!

This looks great! It's an excellent start. I like what you did with the nose: it's a good shape. You are absolutely right about the system x-wing engines being too small, and the design you are working on is a much better diameter.

I totally appreciate that this is WIP, and you may be aware of these points already, but just in case...

You may need to make the engines slightly longer, by a couple of plates.

The rear part of the engines (the yellow round brick & everything aft of it) should be half a stud higher: there is a distinct offset between the forward part of the engines and the rear part.

This photo hopefully shows what I mean:

It's taken from the ModelerMagic gallery of the actual Red 3 x-wing model, which is as good as it gets for reference!

The wedge plate you used for the rear of the wing (which has a slope of 1 by 3) is an OK choice, but the most accurate choice is a 1 in 4 slope - again, there is a photo or two on the modelermagic gallery which was shot straight down onto the wing which shows this pretty clearly.

Why yes, I often hold bits of lego against my computer monitor when planning a model, doesn't everybody?

Good luck with your build, and with your sophomore year.

I don't know too much (actually very little) about X-Wings, but your designs are brilliantly representing certain aspects quite nicely.

ModularMagic, as ScottishDave recommended, is a fantastic resource tool for referencing details. I indeed, use it when building my AT-AT walker, or also when I built my snowspeeder.

Even as well, I place various Lego parts (particularly slopes and wedges) against those images on the screen to judge if they have best angle for the aspect. Then more so, I use rulers against the screen to attain accurate proportions as possible.

Thanks for the plans and comments Scottishdave. Same goes for LiLmeFromDaFuture! I really appreciate all the support here especially from some amazing MOCers like yourselves.

I got LDD so when I've had free time at the University I build hehe. After seeing ArmstrongYong's outstanding rendition of the T70, I decided to download his LDD file and start from there. I'm reusing some of his designs which I think he'll be okay with since I am crediting him and I'm pretty happy with what I got done so far.

I've got a couple different versions I'm working with at the moment and let me know what you think of the design. More pics to come later. I'm hungry and the caf closes in an hour. If anyone asks about this I've been studying...

Here's more pictures as promised!

You might notice the difference between the left and right cheeks of the fuselage in the the last set of photos. I was working with two different ideas. I also tried ArmstrongYong's idea and I like it more IMHO. It looks more sleek and better proportioned than with the lower curves.

The black tile in the next pic is just a black grill piece I am using in place of the grey starwars 1 x 2 tile with the buttons on it.

The model is built to take the canopy from poe's x wing set and all I need to do is some minor adjustments and then finish working with the wings. LDD is fighting me though as it is saying that my connections aren't technically legal. Well, they worked for me when I built them with actual bricks at the beginning of this thread so I'll see if I can get around it. Comments and criticisms welcome!

Looks great. I glad that my idea can help you finishing your MOC. Can't wait to see the final result.

Looks great. I glad that my idea can help you finishing your MOC. Can't wait to see the final result.

No problem sir! Your design was a big help to me and I couldn't have got this far with out your work! I really appreciate your compliments and encouraging words. It means a lot to me that you posted a reply.

Looks well designed, with of course credit to the original designer, but your alterations are coming around nicely. About time you came around to using LDD . I propose you will find building in the LDD much easier if you enable the "Outlines on bricks" preference, in the preference menu, as it will help when making alterations or revising some parts, because each part will be individually outlined. It will also help us make out certain pieces used to develop the starfighter.

Looks well designed, with of course credit to the original designer, but your alterations are coming around nicely. About time you came around to using LDD . I propose you will find building in the LDD much easier if you enable the "Outlines on bricks" preference, in the preference menu, as it will help when making alterations or revising some parts, because each part will be individually outlined. It will also help us make out certain pieces used to develop the starfighter.

Done and done! Thanks for the suggestion. I was wondering how you guys got the renders to look like individual pieces.

Here are some corrected pictures: Don't mind the dismembered pilot. The droid has some explaining to do...

Here are some shots of the cockpit and correctly facing droid socket.

Edited September 16, 20159 yr by joebiwankenobi

Ahh, a tremendous visual improvement, as it exceedingly brings out the definition of the bricks—an overall impressive look!

I assume the droid did a number on the pilot's face too

Oh and one least thing. Are those greeble parts for engine available in those metallic colors? (I haven't checked Bricklink recently)

I'm just using whatever colors are on the palette. I wish all the parts were available in the colors they offer, but I have no idea. However, I think I may have made a breakthrough with the fuselage...

I'm going to have to revamp some stuff but what do you guys think of this?

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Looks nice! I would highly suggest downloading LDD manager. You can run LFX's through to see which parts are available, and then generate a wanted list for brick link when the time comes to buy the parts.

Looks cool. Can't wait to see the final results and see how your's T-65 look like.