[MOD] 75102 Poe's X-Wing Fighter - with a re-designed rubber band

[Tyrell]

Hello all SW fans!

It was the first time that I started to disassemble a set right after I put it together, I was so deeply dissatisfied with this model. The things annoying me the most were:

- the way the thrusters (or engines? sorry for my English) are connected... oh my god. I can still not understand how TLC could release it that way.

- the rubber band system. Not only the blue bands but the design of the system itself, with the bands on the back side, visibly deforming the wings when you see them from the side, leaving a gap on their front side

- landing gears on the back, not only their lack but the solution for them... it is just ugly, very ugly and impractical.

I am not keen on model accuracy so originally I did want to fix the wing problem (placing them behind each other) not to mention I also was convinced it was not possible to build them the way that they would remain stable (because you can attach them only on the top side without any strenghtening from the bottom). So originally I just wanted to place the wings back like LEGO did it. But during the experiencing process I saw a chance to at least to try it and gave it a go. When I finally got it right for the first time and took a look to the result I immediately fell in love with their look and there was no way back to the LEGO version. Fortunately they are sturdy enough this way as well, they do not fell off at all.

(To be fair, I do not want to blame the designer of the set. This model is made for kids, not for adults. TLC has to produce sets which are easy to build, limited in brick count but still strong and sturdy enough. During my experiencing with the model I realized that every choice the designer took has a point, I can understand why the set is built that way. Only for the thrusters' attachment there is no excuse... )

My aim was also very clear: to create a rubber band system with rubber bands which are not visible from the outside and are placed in the middle of the wing mechanism preventing to deform the wings and also making a decent thrusters attachment possible. I also wanted to add landing gears on the back, if possible.

During the re-designing process I saw in this forum that others are also working on mods for this model in order to fix the problems I listed above. I studied their solutions (Dameronian, khatmorg, Gouniaf, Vodnik - thank you for motivating me) as well but in the end I just went on my way.

First I experienced with the blue LEGO rubber bands but after a while realized they length did not fit. So I looked around in the household and found some normal household rubber rings. (I have only white ones but blacks would have been perfect.) With them I was able to came up with a new rubber band mechanism:

X_20151022_221341 by yatyrell, on Flickr

X_20151022_221402 by yatyrell, on Flickr

Built that way the rubber rings can held the wings (even the bottom ones) strong enough. Actually, it needs now much more force to open the mechanism than with the original LEGO mechanism.

The challenge after that was to build the wings onto this base in a way that it has a one stud gap inside but still remains sturdy. I started to experience in several ways but in the end I chose to keep the L elements (http://brickset.com/parts/4539429) because they give strenght to the build. But in order to keep them I had to redesign the engine intakes too.

And here are the wings, both 2 have the height of two plates and are totally in line behind each other. Of course I removed the missiles:

X_20151023_162610 by yatyrell, on Flickr

X_20151023_162615 by yatyrell, on Flickr

X_20151023_162555 by yatyrell, on Flickr

X_20151028_165853_HDR by yatyrell, on Flickr

X_20151028_170108_HDR by yatyrell, on Flickr

X_20151023_162746 by yatyrell, on Flickr

X_20151023_162829 by yatyrell, on Flickr

X_20151028_165751_HDR by yatyrell, on Flickr

I thought for a very long time that it wass not possible to attach landing gears to the bottom parts, there was not enough place for them. But finally a found a solution (inspired by Dameronian, thank you again!). First they looked forward, then I changed their directions backwards because that way they are rectractable so that they are hardly visible:

X_20151023_153627 by yatyrell, on Flickr

X_20151023_153710 by yatyrell, on Flickr

X_20151028_165819_HDR by yatyrell, on Flickr

X_20151023_162722 by yatyrell, on Flickr

I tried to reduce the color scheme to orange/black as much as I could. I also swapped some bricks (mostly greys) which were randomly put in the middle of orange or black areas. (There is only one place where it is not possible without jeopardizing the sturdiness of the model.) The set is also a goldmine for orange bricks (hidden in from outside not visible areas), so I disassembled the model and swapped these parts with parts of a different colour to get more orange parts to the outside. Fortunately I had a lot of black plates at home in different sizes, the MOD is based on them in a great deal. However, I tried to keep as many original bricks from the set as possible.

Regarding the other known issues with the set the canopy has the mold number 3-01 so it was fine (has only a very-very tiny gap) but poor BB-8 has no clutch power. But that was easy to fix:

X_20151023_153346 by yatyrell, on Flickr

Now, 75102 is finally perfect for me. :)

X_20151023_153904 by yatyrell, on Flickr

X_20151023_154035 by yatyrell, on Flickr

Thank you for your attention and sorry being so long. Of course any comment is welcome. But please spare me comments like "in the movie it does not look like this" because as I stated above model accuracy is not a priority for me. :)

X_20151023_163427 by yatyrell, on Flickr

[Dameronian]

Wow Tyrell and all others in the "Pimp my T70" group (lol), who would have ever thought that the 75102 would undergo more mods than the Kylo shuttle!

One day in the near future, i foresee that there will be no 75102s out there that are still in Lego factory condition Hahahaha! Keep the mod ideas coming!

Oh, I just had to recreate that family picture of yours:

[Tyrell]

I like the picture Dameronian.

[BrickJagger]

Nice work! Looks a lot closer to the movie version.

[LegoPercyJ]

Excellent MOD!

[Tyrell]

Thank you BrickJagger and LegoPercyJ!

[Tyrell]

Now the first landing gear is hidden in the front:

X_20151105_140355 by yatyrell, on Flickr

X_20151105_140548_HDR by yatyrell, on Flickr

X_20151105_140444 by yatyrell, on Flickr

[Martini26]

I must try this inside rubber bands solution ;)

[JPN366]

If you need anymore ideas, here's my MOD...

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=117243

[Tyrell]

I must try this inside rubber bands solution ;)

Let me know if you need help.

Finally I found a way to make the orange streak on the side of the ship homogeneous (with a little cheat).

Before:

X_DSC_0003_cr by yatyrell, on Flickr

After:

X_IMG_20151129_153709_HDR by yatyrell, on Flickr

X_IMG_20151129_153649_HDR by yatyrell, on Flickr

Now the orange streak seems to be drawn from the rear of the ship, through the wings and on the sides:

X_IMG_20151129_154041_HDR by yatyrell, on Flickr

A shot of the front with the hidden landing gear:

X_IMG_20151129_154248_HDR by yatyrell, on Flickr

[Cyanide-Tipped]

Was this done with existing set pieces only or did you have to add in orange blocks?

I ask because I want to do that too. :)

[Tyrell]

Was this done with existing set pieces only or did you have to add in orange blocks?

I ask because I want to do that too. :)

All of the orange ones are from the set but I had to add many black ones. Fortunately I bought a great amount of basic black plates some months ago so I had more than enough.

[LewisMod]

Hey Tyrell, would you ever consider posting a guide for someone who wants to replicate some of what you've done here, espically the wings? the photos are helpful but its hard to tell how to recreate it from the photos alone, and a written or video guide would be supremely helpful :)

[Tyrell]

On 1/28/2018 at 3:41 AM, LewisMod said:

Hey Tyrell, would you ever consider posting a guide for someone who wants to replicate some of what you've done here, espically the wings? the photos are helpful but its hard to tell how to recreate it from the photos alone, and a written or video guide would be supremely helpful :)

Hello LewisMod,
I did this mod a while ago and I do not remember of the details. But I found .lxf files I created for the left top and bottom wings, I think they could help you. How could I upload them for you? The forum accepts only image files.