Episode VII X-WIng "Lock S-Foils in Attack Position"

Episode VII X-Wing

Well, I wasn't going to tackle this, and then I did. 

This new X-Wing is a bit odd, and it's taking some getting used to. On the whole though, it's a good ship. The right size and proportions to recall its predecessor, and enough Ralph McQuarrie details thrown in to make it feel right. But there's been much debate about how the s-foils actually open up.

So, as usual, I did some photogrammetry and ended up with this basic model.

A rough fit, but close enough for my purposes. I filled in the blanks from the numerous photos that have been circulating of the full sized prop, and from the promo video featuring the blue version.

And here's the ship in its closed position.

a user on the OriginalTrilogy.com made this handy diagram, showing how the wings appear to open,

 So here's what that would look like...

a little weird, but not bad, right? And of course, reminds us of this great painting

but just for the sake of argument, here's an alternate version that's been proposed, where the engine doesn't slpit.

hmm, I think the split engines are the way to go, much more dramatic, and goes back to McQuarrie's first paintings of the x-wing.

time will tell...



and just for fun, her she is in action!

What did you do to my ship!?

Images were "leaked" recently of the Millennium Falcon's new dish for the upcoming EP 7.

read about it here

and the Falcon is sporting a new radar dish. Gotta love the nod to the end of Jedi, where Lando knocks the dish off while careening through the death star's guts. But how's this thing look?


so I perspective matched the leaked photos and imported my Falcon model. The model I've built is based primarily on the blueprints used in Empire to create the full-size prop seen in Echo base and on the Bespin landing pad. Looks like the production team on EP7 is doing the same thing. A fairly nice match, a few weird spots, but definitely close enough to work out the dimensions and look of the new dish.

and here are some renders....


Hmm, could I live with this?

hmmm...