Lakeroadster's X-Wing Alpha Build Thread

Looking better and better.

Like I said before:

GlenP said:

PEW! PEW! PEW! PEW!

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Yes, armaments!

Thanks for the comments guys.

They are saying we may get some snow here this weekend. Lot's of fall projects around the house getting ready for winter means less rocket man time.

Spent a little time today painting the engine internals and the torpedo launcher internals. Still need to work on my launch pad and electrical hardware too.

Yep.... Life gets in the way...

Nice build! I really like the exceptional drawings & drafting.

Per the other thread, Sharpies will bleed if you clearcoat them. It's probably better to paint by hand, mask & paint, or use decals.

Do you plan on adding other details, like black, silver, or light-blue/silver windows to the cockpit, or the rectangular details to the inside of the S-foils?

grapetang said:

Nice build! I really like the exceptional drawings & drafting.

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Thanks.

grapetang said:

Do you plan on adding other details, like black, silver, or light-blue/silver windows to the cockpit, or the rectangular details to the inside of the S-foils?

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Probably going to paint some yellow accents inside the s-foils since most of the movie models reflect that design.

I doubt I'll add any detail to the cockpit. Since I made it quite "aero" compared to the movie models, I don't think it would look very good.

The model was built to be kind a of a WWII paint scheme, with the red nose and vertical stabilizers. So I've got some leeway in regard to artistic expression.

I must inform you that the Empire has taken notice of your activities...…..you rebel scum.

Crawf56 said:

I must inform you that the Empire has taken notice of your activities...…..you rebel scum.

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I've been called worse.

By the way, sorry about the size of the Star Destroyer pics.

This looks to be a cool project. I did an Estes TIE Fighter back in 1980. I have toyed with the idea of an A-wing or Star Destroyer rocket glider.

Crawf56 said:

By the way, sorry about the size of the Star Destroyer pics.

This looks to be a cool project. I did an Estes TIE Fighter back in 1980. I have toyed with the idea of an A-wing or Star Destroyer rocket glider.

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No worries, thanks for taking the time to post here.

I'm at the decal stage. Having the same design on both sides of 4 fins seemed redundant so I've decided to change it up a bit.

I watched "Fly Boys" (The WWII version) the other day and all the pilots put their own insignia's on their planes. I grew up near Dayton Ohio. My grandfather, my aunt and my cousin have all worked at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. My Grandfather ran a bulldozer at the dump there from right after the war (he was a vet) until the mid sixties. He saw some crazy stuff there, and of course there are all the rumors about how supposedly the aliens from Roswell were shipped there too.

So I did some research and found the insignia they used at Wright Field, circa WWII. It kind of fits the WWII paint scheme vibe and the long time ago in a galaxy (not so far away).

Applied semi-gloss to the X-Wing... and printed water slide decals. The rocket looks so much better... all in one "sheen".

I like the sheen, much better than the flat

Applied the water slide decals and the second coat of semi-gloss clear. It's pretty much done except for fine tuning the ballast. Once I build a launch pad and launch controller it'll be time to kick the tires and light the fire.

The darker green is more representative of the actual color. The camera flash washes out the Army green.

Spiffy! Also an extremely well planned and documented build!

Looks great. Definitely turn off the flash though.

Great build. Decals came out really nice.

or try to bounce flash, just tape a business card at a 45-deg angle in front of the flash so it lights up the ceiling, just remember to close your eyes to avoid temporary blindness.

FLIR image taken by U.S. reconnaissance aircraft over Central Colorado.

The unknown "movable wing" type of craft caused turbulence and vibrations for the crew.

lakeroadster said:

FLIR image taken by U.S. reconnaissance aircraft over Central Colorado.

The unknown "movable wing" type of craft caused turbulence and vibrations for the crew.

View attachment 366417

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Wow, cold fusion! Exhaust that doesn’t show up on infra red!

lakeroadster said:

FLIR image taken by U.S. reconnaissance aircraft over Central Colorado.

The unknown "movable wing" type of craft caused turbulence and vibrations for the crew.

View attachment 366417

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Wow, cold fusion! Exhaust that doesn’t show up on infra red!

BABAR said:

Wow, cold fusion! Exhaust that doesn’t show up on infra red!

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Copious amounts of liquid nitrogen... We call it "Foreigner Fusion" at Incom Corp.

Checked the CG of the completed rocket (less ballast) against the Open Rocket Simulation I did early on (also with the ballast removed). It seems to be really close. Just wanted to verify it before adding the ballast.

I had to build a jig because the fake engine pods and wings got in the way of the simple pencil balancing method.

How close was CG actual to CG Predicted?

BABAR said:

How close was CG actual to CG Predicted?

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It was off by about 1/8". I speculate the altered profile of the nose cone was the issue.

Fantastic work!! I like your display stand as well
And in terms of the 1/8" - between variables with the amount of paint and glue, that is pretty darn close.

There are a hundred things that affect CG that aren’t accurately represented in the sim model. If you came within 1/8” you did great.

[doh! Ninja’ed by les]

Okay, one flight to put the appropriate Sulphur stink on it and then this should be a hanger queen!
Pick a windless day and a grass field!

BABAR said:

Okay, one flight to put the appropriate Sulphur stink on it and then this should be a hanger queen!
Pick a windless day and a grass field!

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Grass is a rare commodity here in our area. Rocks and sage brush are the norm.