1:1 T-70 X-Wing Cockpit/Simpit

[Sithslayer78]

Hello There!

I've been planning on starting this build for 2 years now, but with the impending release of Squadrons and all this free time I have at home now, I thought it would be a perfect time to start. This is going to be a full 1:1 scale T-70 cockpit functioning as a simpit for space simulators and conventions. The overarching plan is to have 1 pit with canopy (T-70) and hull with multiple configurations:

• Fully accurate t-70 Cockpit with generic control mapping for any simulator, functioning as an extra display and generic game controller
• Swappable front console panels for gameplay with Star Wars Squadrons (Shields, power, throttle, etc.) Think OT T-65 front console in an ST T-70 body
• Removable front console for desk mount for more casual simulator gameplay
• Swappable HOTAS and mounts (less expensive (or stand-in) hardware for conventions, mounts for HOTAS and pedals for maximum performance
• Finally, all components must fit into my 2000 Toyota 4Runner for transport.

All of the primary reference material is based on assets ripped from Star Wars: Battlefront 2, with additional reference images from the movies. Here are some of the gamerips I'm working with, with the understanding that there are slight differences between the TFA T-70 and the TLJ T-70:

Project Parent Album:

https://imgur.com/a/fxyuYNT

So far, I've been doing a lot of material purchasing, and have begun building. The main plan is to have the big huge parts build out of plywood, and have everything else be various combinations of 3d prints, laser cut materials, foam, or fiberglass/Sintra. The first bit of progress is me making the consoles out of pepakura then reinforcing with fiberglass:

Also started are the custom mounts for tactile switches and LEDs:

Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to do the majority of the woodworking so I can start mounting components.

 

[13doctorwho]

Awesome project! I've been wanting to do something similar since the X-wing and Tie Fighter game in the 90's. Looking forward to your progress!

 

[Solos blaster]

I can't wait to see this built!

 

[MattWinchell]

I just got my first hotas so this is extremely exciting to see being built! Gl!

 

[OddballFett]

Don't know if this helps but here it is anyway:

 

[Halliwax]

This is going to be crazy

 

[Mandalorian444]

Wow, very nice. I've wanted to build out this cockpit for some time, so I'm very curious to see how you pull it off. What you have so far is looking great.

 

[Sithslayer78]

Had a busy weekend pushing for the main pit to be done. The back panel was a doozy, but it's there and holding together!

The rest of the main pit involved filling the **** out of wood panels and screwing/gluing them together. I'll have to add some braces to mitigate warping before I start priming the wood.

I bought this chair and some casters. As far as I can tell, this chair is almost perfectly accurate to the Bandai model, but probably not accurate to the movies. I honestly can't identify the chairs used in the movies because it's barely visible when someone is sitting in it, or in the dark-as-**** 360 panorama. The casters will be mounted on the back to I can roll it around and stuff it in my car. Also not pictured is the front consoles that got the **** Bondo'd out of them.

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Mocked up the front housings with Sintra and 3D printed angle blocks. I later went back and filled in those seams with Bondo glass. I'm hesitant to fit them to the frame before doing a dry fit to see how it all comes together.

I also finished printing the button housings and got the left mid-panel printed and fitted with some heat-set inserts:

Unexpected reference help, the Bandai model is pretty spot on!

Awesome project! I've been wanting to do something similar since the X-wing and Tie Fighter game in the 90's. Looking forward to your progress!

This was originally meant for XWA because I never believed that another SW flight sim would ever happen. Now that it has, I decided to get my ass into gear.

Don't know if this helps but here it is anyway:

View attachment 1320414

Believe me, the 360 degree panorama is basically my homepage at this point. Thanks!

 

[Blue Leader]

This sounds like one heck of a project! And fun!

 

[Sithslayer78]

First dry fit pictured below. Things are shaping up, but there's a huge design barrier between linking the work done so far to the outer skin and canopy. Got a cheap bucket seat off amazon, I might add the headrest hole things later. I chose this seat without them because it was cheap, but also because it matches the Bandai seat almost exactly, and that's the only view of the seat I have. I'm also playing with the height, trying to give myself as much visibility as possible while not putting my head through the canopy.

Center console. Hit it with textured spray paint and truck bed liner to give it that formed plastic look. This is probably where I'll be mounting the main controller, and there will also be a joystick mounted inside.

These are the fiberglassed consoles about halfway done the fill and sand spiral. Hopefully, I'll have them functional later this week.

Not gonna lie, I sat here for like an hour after I got to this point, where you could imagine where this is going to go, and almost fill in the gaps and pretend you're really there. This is gonna be great!

Also, the main pit fits neatly in my truck, so with some creative paneling, the whole thing should fit inside (collapsed) if I stay lucky!

Got my Mars working on some greebles, It's so nice to be able to pull piles of things off the plate and have them ready for paint instantly.

Here's the front console thing so far, slowly adding in the details and will finish painting and mount hopefully soon. Unfortunately, painting has become kind of an issue.

As you can see here, the SAME PARTS from the SAME SCENE in the SAME MOVIE are changing color on me. Makes me upset, but I'm going to go ahead and choose what seems the best looking to me. It is what it is I guess.

Speaking of non-canon, I've been working on my Squadrons-specific T-65 style panels. Once I started laying down the striping, they definitely started to pop and feel more Star-Warsy. Excited to work on these while I'm waiting for my actual T-70 panels.

 

[13doctorwho]

That is going to be so awesome!! It's looking great!!

 

[Mandalorian444]

Coming along nicely. Those small printed greebles look really nice, especially for coming straight off the bed like that.

 

[joez2391]

excited to see what you do with this, awesome progress so far!

 

[Don B]

Looking forward to following the rest of this build. Great idea and progress so far.

 

[Sithslayer78]

Update time! Hoping to push a bit harder this labor day weekend, but here's what I managed to accomplish on a weekend where i was stuck working under a tarp during a torrential downpour:

Squadrons T65 panels mid-prototype:

Front console more or less complete (Bending aluminum is a hassle!)

First dry fit of completed panels onto prototype cockpit!

3D printed coupler for center stick couples old PS2 ACE-EDGE Stick to PVC extension:

Comparison with recently arrived Canon T-70 panel:

Templating of rear canopy: Material is a sandwich of hardboard and underlayment, cheap, good surface, rigid, if heavy:

This weekend is going to be a push, and will likely decide if the project will be done in time for the launch of Squadrons. At this point it's likely that the pit will be done, but not the canopy or outer skin. We'll see I guess.

 

[kurtyboy]

That's going to look great. If it was mine I'd be playing the 1983 Star Wars arcade in it

 

[13doctorwho]

That is looking great. It is going to be so awesome when it's done.

 

[DarthDisembowel]

OMG this is fantastic! Hi Sithslayer78, my name is James Clement, lead gameplay designer on Star Wars: Squadrons. I actually pitched the game along with the lead gameplay programmer. The team absolutely adores this sort of thing, and I can't wait to see the final product!

 

[DarthDisembowel]

OMG this is fantastic! Hi Sithslayer78, my name is James Clement, lead gameplay designer on Star Wars: Squadrons. I actually pitched the game along with the lead gameplay programmer. The team absolutely adores this sort of thing, and I can't wait to see the final product!

 

[j_holtslander]

Wow. Watching this thread!
Thanks for the heads up DarthDisembowel