Recent content by TexStones

This isn't a model at all, but after building the Maxi Brute X-Wing a couple of years ago I decided that I wanted a Red 5 Stratocaster. So, using the templates and techniques from the model shared above I bashed this out over the past couple of months. I cannot adequately share just how...

This is wonderful! I've got an Estes Maxi Brute kit on the shelf waiting for a Cavern Angels scheme. As an FYI, last night's "Andor" arc had some tasty shots of the port side of a full size partisan X-Wing.

These flew poorly. I've never heard a report of an Estes Maxi X-Wing that flew successfully without damage. I built and flew the very closely related NCR X-Wing kit a quarter century ago, and ripped a wing off during recovery. (The NCR kit used the same injection molded parts with a...

I've spent over three years on this project, and it has not escaped my attention that this span of time is longer than the production of any of the "Star Wars" films. Still, the project came to a close late last night, and I'd like to share some photos of the completed project. To recap, this...

Here's a fun little addition that you won't find on other X-Wing models. While there is little chance that I will ever fly this model, I do want to honor the kit origins by making it capable of flight. The Estes kit comes with a part called a launch lug to guide the model during the initial...

The rear bulkhead/plate/whatever of the Estes MB X-Wing kit is fantastic, easily the best component in the kit. The presence of the big motor mount hole in the middle of the plate bugged me, though, so I seized the opportunity to channel the kitbashing vibe of the ILM model makers back in...

Thanks, it's been a lot of fun, spread over the past three years. Those of you interested in a gory blow-by-blow recap may want to take a look at the Rocketry Forum build thread linked in the first post. Since this forum inspired so much of this project I though it might be fun to document the...

Here's a fun shot of the nose of the Maxi Brute, which was just hit with chipping. Note the break point for the separation plane between the nose cone and the rest of the airframe, which is the point where the parachute is ejected during flight. The canopy has also been abused with some...

Hello, like-minded geeks! This is my first post here, but I've been lurking for years as I have intermittently powered through a build of the venerable old Estes Maxi Brute X-Wing Fighter kit. As an introduction I will share that I am a flying rocket guy who tends to focus on scale replicas...