1:72 Y-Wing remodelling: prototype (yes, we dare!)

Marko@Rockvoice

Well-Known Member
Edit: Here is a picture of the finished 1:72 Red Jammer as a teaser
y-wing-red-19.jpg

A philosophical question: What was first - the L'eggs or the Y-wing?

72-jammer-1.jpg


This was vacuformed over a down-scaled L'eggs-dummie to be in scale to the rest of the Y.Wing. Thanks a lot to Stefan!!!

Introduction:
Now that our 1:72 and 1:48 X-wing-conversions are almost done and are about to become available, I started researching on the Y-Wing.
Me and the rest of Model-Forces discussed what could be done about the Fine Molds Y-Wing-kit.
As you might have noticed, this is not even close to the ILM Studio models...

So - here is my prototype for making a more screen-accurate Y-Wing in 1:72 scale.

I decided to go for the "red jammer", simply because I love this bird, like the Blue Leader X-Wing, for beeing the first of their kind...

With the help of Darth Daniel I was able to do some calculation on scale and sizes.
It turns out that the main fuselage is about 1:67 scale while the cockpit is close to 1:73, the engine-length - again 1:67, and the width of the engines about 1:80.

What were the guys a FineMolds thinking?
 
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So, after some time of calculating and engineering, I finally started by cutting the fuselage. A few areas needed to be more slender, others just a little re-fit...

72-jammer-4.jpg


We decided to go for an 1:67 Y-Wing rather than having to scratch a new fuselage in order to make an exact 1:72. Modifying engines and cockpit sounded more reasonable...

Nevertheless, some modifications had do be done to the fuselage.
First issue - the height!

I added a sheet styrene in certain areas to give it more height:

72-jammer-2.jpg


72-jammer-3.jpg
 
As you can see here, upper and lower fuselage are attached with some areas re-shaped or just without the pre-cast kit parts.

72-jammer-6.jpg


and the Saturn-V-tubes... outch!
They are missing 3.5mm in diameter. To solve this problem without scratching new ones - just add sheet styrene.
But before that - the 4 kits needed to be heated and flattened a little. Otherwise the result would have been anything but a circle...

72-jammer-5.jpg


The fuselage with the bigger engine-tubes attached. Ignore the re-shaped domes... They are just for testing purposes.

72-jammer-7.jpg


I have no idea where Fine Molds got the idea for the exhausts from... but they are totally fiction.
(yeah, I notice the subtle irony about fiction in terms of fictional starfighters...)

So, to make things a little better without scratching new exhausts, I drilled out these:

72-jammer-8.jpg
 
Here the test-fit... again, it bothers me that this part is non-authentic. We'll have this 3D-printed for further models.

72-jammer-9.jpg


I took 2 of the 3d-printed heatsinks and fit them into the exhaust. At least this looks a little bit more like the Red Jammer:
Buttplate installed + some of the other stuff.

72-jammer-15.jpg


I think we'll go for one replacement part there with the interior (innter tube + heatsink) already installed. So this will be plug-and-play.
 
and now - the "head".

Where do I begin ?

Needless to say this thing is not even close to authentic...

I began with re-shaping the upper and lower parts.

(1) the upper part was too curved

(2) the lower was too plane

In sideview, Red Jammer has a pointed, attenuate shape - unlike the other Y-Wings.
Anyway, the sides of the kit part were off either way, so I added some styrene.

72-jammer-10.jpg

I know the shape of the "backplate" of this head is way different. I think we'll work on a replacement part here.

In dorsal/ventral view the kit's head is way too curved and slender to the front. So I gave this one a re-fit.
This is after some sanding and re-scribing the main panel-lines:

72-jammer-11.jpg
 
The nasty work still needs to be done... the canopy frame.

Be honest - wasn't this one of the first issues you realized with the Fine Molds kit?

Instead of scratching a new one I tried my best to re-do the kit part.
This turned out to be quite work-intense...

The beginnings:
72-jammer-12.jpg


Test-fit:
72-jammer-13.jpg


in perspective with modified turret:

72-jammer-14.jpg
 
Here a few test-photos. I already started to install some of the tubes. That work is a real pain in the ass in this scale...
The T-profiles are 2,5mm plastruct styrene.

72-jammer-16.jpg


72-jammer-17.jpg


Next - finish the tubes, chips and the details.

...more to come...!
 
I'm surprised nobody's commented yet. I'll be watching your progress with interest. I'm doing my own build based upon the same miniature currently too, though I'm not brave enough to split apart my engines.

Cheers.
 
Wow, what a rebuild. Have one of these in my stash; I had no idea there were so many issues with it. Slightly sad isn't it, where the high hopes we all had for the FM license have led. Issue after issue, uniformly undersized kits, obvious subjects neglected. :(

Great work though.
 
Thanks!

But I am considering to building a new head...
Isolated, the head looks quite correct to me, but compared to the fuselage and the engines, it is 4 mm too short and 1mm too slender.

Can't decide if I just try to ignore that fact - since it is just a prototype model - or go for it and scratch a new head...
 
Hey there! I just found this thread and it is very interesting! I thought the 1/72 FM Y-Wing was pretty close because I haven't ran into any upgrade sets (are there any?). I have to look mine a little closer now. Any progress on the head?

Cheers,
V
 
... it has been a while... more than 2 years...
But NOW - UPDATE!

I was unhappy with the head. To be correct it was a few percent too small...
So I decided to build a new one.

Here the new, bigger one next to the old head:
y-wing-red-6.jpg

As you can see, I added styrene to front and sides + an intensive amount of bending to the desired shape:
y-wing-red-7.jpg

Further in progress - new head has upper and lower halves attached; next to it the old head, already extracted from the Y-Wing fuselage
y-wing-red-8.jpg

The canopy gave me nightmares; due to its angles, bows and edges it is a challenge to scratch in 1:72 scale:
y-wing-red-9.jpg

next to the kit part for comparison:
y-wing-red-10.jpg

more to come...
 
Dealing with detailing right now...
These parts are different with each Y-wing:
y-wing-red-11.jpg

Meanwhile the fuselage is complete; head attached to the hull, canopy frame glued to the head:
y-wing-red-12.jpg

before priming...
y-wing-red-13.jpg
... and with primer applied
y-wing-red-14.jpg

Here some shots of the primed Red Jammer. Keep in mind it is just 1:72
y-wing-red-15.jpg
y-wing-red-16.jpg
 
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