The Y-wing.
View attachment 1615504
Long before "Thrift store Boba" was zooming around in his stripped down and hot rodded Naboo Starfighter. The Y-wing was that ship. Or at least that's what Joe Johnston imagined for the ship. But it wouldn't be until 1998 and the release of the first Incredible Cross-sections book, that we would get an idea of what the ship could have looked like when brand new.
View attachment 1615514
When I first saw this a kid, it blew my mind! I loved it. The idea that the Y-wing had a sleek covering at one time, was so cool. As an adult I love it's simplicity. Nothing to crazy. Just plating over the exposed bits. And those sweeping yellow markings. It's got a real 70's vibe.
But in 2008, in the first season of The Clone Wars. We would get another take on what the Y-wing might have looked liked.
View attachment 1615523
Dubbed the BTL-B Y-wing. (The Rebellion using primarily the BTL-A4 and BTL-S3 and others) This version adds a lot more plating and bulks up the ship considerably. And gives a nod to Colin Cantwell Y-wing with the bubble turret. (It also convoluted the history of the Rebel variant. And then Star Wars Rebels made even more convoluted, but I'll save that for another post.)
Maybe it's because of nostalgia. But the 2008 version has never resonated with me. Though it makes for some cool cut away images.
View attachment 1615535
But I feel it's too bulked up. The previous version has a sleekness almost an elegance that you wouldn't think to associate with the old battered ships we see attack the Death Star.
What do you guys think? Which is your favorite?
(One last thing. I was going to use some image of the of the BTL-B from Battlefront 2. But discovered that the cockpit is sizably smaller then it should be.)
View attachment 1615536
As a follow up to first Y-wing post. A little look at in-universe lore as it changed.
In the EU, it wasn't a horribly complicated history. It was an already older ship that had been stripped down and heavily modified by Rebel mechanics. As I mentioned before, the Y-wing was going for that hot rod car look.
There was two primary versions. A single seater, like those at the battle of Yavin. That would get dubbed the BTL-A4. And the two seater, the BTL-S3. With forward facing and rearward facing seats.
A few other variants existed, that had further modifications. Like adding bigger engines('Longprobe') or more engines,(Heavy Y-wing) or more cargo space(Courier). All based upon the A4 or S3 models.
Then in 2008 a new style of Y-wing was introduced in The Clone Wars (though it's concept art was shown off first on StarWars.com) At first the implication seemed to be that this was meant be the "canonical" look of the Y-wing before the Rebellion got ahold of them. But it these would be dubbed BTL-B. And reference books would continue to refer to the "B" model used by the Republic and the slightly later "A4" and "S3" models as distinctly different versions. With previous image of armored Y-wing, still being printed in the Incredible Cross-sections book as late as 2013.
Then in 2014, with the full continuity reboot, the Y-wing lore would change, and receive some contradictions. Particularly with regards the version of the Y-wing used by the Rebellion.
To start, most of the Y-wing variants in the EU would be brought over to the new continuity.
As you can see there's all the versions from the EU and TCW. The only difference is the windscreen on that rear facing gunner version of the "S3". Which as we will see gives us our first contradiction in the continuity.
The Y-wings I ANH are all single seat versions. What the EU dubbed the "A4." However when Star Wars Rebels decided to show the Yavin group got their Y-wings, we got this.
That's right. Those are the two seater S3 variant. When the Yavin group is supposed to have single seaters. Furthermore the Y-wings armor plating is almost all stripped away already. Whereas previously, Y-wings had their armor stripped away to improve speed and to allow easier access to the internals. Gone is that hot rod vibe. Their appearance isn't due to modifications, but because they were in the midst of being scrapped.
But the conflicts don't stop there. In the Rebel Starfighter Owner's Workshop Manuel. There's some contradictions about the "B" model.
This is supposed to be for the "A4" model, even though it incorrectly shows the bubble turret. Then it states that the bubble turret was removed by Rebel mechanics, even though earlier stating that all the "Bs" were scrapped. Making the "A4" and "S3" the most plentiful models left over.
Anyways there's a little look at the lore of the Y-wing and some of the interesting little contradictions.
www.therpf.com
