SPA Modeler

The kit.




The AM.



This beauty is a custom designed mech to open and close the wings. Not only that; it is possible to motorize the wings, and the design corrects the camber of the X, which has always been a problem with MPC kits and shared by the studio models. Most of the studio armatures have failed to maintain shape to a great degree, in some cases, the sag is so pronounced the X-Wing looks melted.

Here is what Red 3 looks like—a before and after shot showing what has happened to the armature after 30 years:



Since the design I am using is a custom made one, and the finished product will be an X-Wing used onscreen for a Star Wars fan film, I will be aiming for stability as well as durability. The blue and white wiring harness is in place for lighting the engines.

I wil have much more to add about the development of this kit, and information about its designer, Jeff Parrish, as the section of the wing construction begins. Right now I am filling in the openings for the stand and sealing up the landing gear doors.

Blue One? Wasn't that the General?

Stikpusher wrote:Blue One? Wasn't that the General?

You know, you're good, Carlos! Yes. Absolutely right. General Antoc Merrick, KIA Battle of Scarif.

The original trilogy and Rogue One... the other four... George did not have the same touch as before and I am no JJ Abrams fan...

Stikpusher wrote:The original trilogy and Rogue One... the other four... George did not have the same touch as before and I am no JJ Abrams fan...

Oh, I agree with you, Carlos about the original trilogy, and to my mind Rogue One is one of the greatest, most expensive fan films ever made, which makes it rank higher than the prequels. Mr. Abrams's strengths are in producing television shows, and he certainly knows how to cast a movie. His pilot episode for LOST would have been an amazing movie; and SUPER 8 remains a favorite of mine for its hefty dosage of nostalgia as well as Elle Fanning's performance as a little girl lost in an adult's world. However, what happened to STAR TREK, your namesake in particular, remains completely baffling to me. I understand more clearly why THE FORCE AWAKENS is a remake of the original STAR WARS, but I am at a loss to describe what happened to STAR TREK—so...

Wow... this is really cool! Feel very privileged to see that custom motor incorporated into this build. You will have to embed some video now! Can you tell us a little about the kit itself? I remember building an X-wing model by MPC, along with Darth's TIE, when I was younger. It was this boxing...



Same kit?

Of course, John! Thanks so much for your questions. I will start with the sprue shots, which I made earlier today:

Tooling stamp

Sprues / Gray Plastic

Butt plate detail

Sprues / Clear Plastic

speedgraflex wrote:

Stikpusher wrote:Blue One? Wasn't that the General?

You know, you're good, Carlos! Yes. Absolutely right. General Antoc Merrick, KIA Battle of Scarif.

This is going to be awesome!

Thank for those sprue shots. ERTL 1989.....hmmm. My guess is that the MPC kit that I built was a different mold. I bought it within a couple years of Star Wars' theatrical release of 1977.