Estes Maxi Brute X-Wing Fighter

[James Duffy]

The attention to detail here is beyond outstanding.

Thank you, it's been a great deal of fun to do this project.

You're really planning on flying this thing?

Probably not (checks notes). Certainly not, actually. That raises the question of "what the hell do I do with this thing?" As I understand it, the original plan for the NAR exhibit at the Museum of Flight in Seattle was to refresh the models on display periodically. As far as I know that has not happened yet, but when it does I'll make the model available to Pat Fitzpatrick for inclusion.

James

 

[cls]

... If you don't fly it... Put some fake CATO marks and BP residue around the MMT.

(semi serious)

 

[James Duffy]

... If you don't fly it... Put some fake CATO marks and BP residue around the MMT.

(semi serious)

More, even? <G>

 

[neil_w]

I feel like there should be a little man shoveling coal into that hole.

 

[cls]

Nothing better than the smell of BP in the morning!

 

[James Duffy]

The final push is afoot! Each of the completed components has been sprayed with Tamiya TS-79 Semi Gloss Clear lacquer. This will help protect the decals and fragile acrylic paints, and to paraphrase The Dude in The Big Lebowski, "tie the room together." Others might use a hard matte finish, but I don't generally prefer those finishes as they are simply too stark, and attract too much filth. (I acknowledge the irony of that statement, seeing the degree of weathering that has been inflicted on this project.)

After the clear coat dries, we can finally pull the masking off of the cockpit canopy panes.





The next step will be to bring the finished components together.

More later,
James

 

[James Duffy]

One more detail I almost forgot about! While I will likely never fly this model, I want it to be capable of flight. To that end we need to add some rail buttons. These are the micro buttons from railbuttons.com designed for 15mm x 15mm extrusions; I think the one I have on hand came from Amazon.

A couple of little tiny holes were drilled in the interwing area to make them look as unobtrusive and prototypical as possible, then each button was screwed into place with a drop of epoxy.



Voilà, the rail buttons are ready!



We can also take this as an opportunity to prep the mounting surfaces for the wind panels. We'll be using 5-minute epoxy to attach the wings, so a series of tiny holes are drilled into the fuselage where the ribs on the wing saddles will contact the mounting surface. This will allow the epoxy to penetrate the surface of the fuselage, creating a series of tiny little "adhesive rivets," and increasing the mechanical effect of the glue spoob.



More later,
James

 

[James Duffy]

The Maxi Brute X-Wing project is complete! The kit was purchased almost two decades ago, construction began over three years ago, and ~450 hours have been committed on an intermittent basis over that period. The model is absolutely capable of flight, although I am unlikely to ever stuff a motor into the back and take that drastic step. The next challenge is to come up with a permanent mounting stand and figure out where to house the beastie.

Thanks for following along!





No more later,
James

 

[neil_w]

Magnificent work, bravo!

 

[PhlAsh]

Do you have the original stand? I can send you scans if you want. If so, PM me

 

[NTP2]

I could only say the word “cool” for 3 hours.

 

[James Duffy]

Do you have the original stand?

Yes, and as a matter of fact I was messing with it earlier today! I decided to keep it intact, as my preferred display approach will be to figure out a way to display it on a production C-stand, which is what the ILM modelers did both during final construction and filming. Thanks for your kind offer, though!

James

 

[les]

Fantastic build!

 

[lakeroadster]

Fantastic build!

Stunning results... truly a beautiful build.

 

[Rocket Al]

Absolutely stunning work!! A feat I would like to attempt.

I recently acquired one of these kits, but am missing the instructions. Does anybody have a set that they have scanned or photographed that might be emailed, I would truly appreciate it. Merry Christmas, by the way.

 

[Saluki]

Here you are. Merry Christmas.
https://www.oldrocketplans.com/estes/est1302/Estes_Maxi_X-Wing_Fighter_1302.pdf

 

[Rocket Al]

Oh poop!! Thank you so much, but I just realized that this thread is about the Maxi-Brute X-Wing. I have an NCR X-Wing that I am lacking instructions for. Thanks for your efforts. I do appreciate it. I’m going to post in the mid-power forum, and see how close the parts of the two models compare, if at all.

 

[James Duffy]

...and see how close the parts of the two models compare, if at all.

The parts commonality between the NCR and Maxi Brute kits is about 30-40%, mostly in parts that attach to the wings. This includes the wing saddles, turbines, turbine extensions, and laser components. The NCR kit has a far superior droid strip, while the Maxi Brute has a much more accurately shaped fuselage.

The decals included in each are terrible, so plan ahead on that. I cannot recommend the sets offered by this Etsy shop highly enough: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1159867077/124-red-5-decals-for-star-wars-studio

Bottom line is that there is nothing in this build thread that cannot be leveraged to build the NCR version, with one exception. The vacuform plastic of the fuselage halves is probably too thin to go to town scribing panel lines. If you decide to give it a shot be sure to test on scrap material first.

Good luck, and be sure to post progress on your build!

James

 

[AfterBurners]

Absolutely amazing!!!

 

[Cape Byron]

As always simply stunning work.

 

[ReynoldsSlumber]

Impressive. Most impressive.

I'm hearing the movie sound effects in my head just looking at the photos.

 

[MarsFire]

That's just incredible. Wow does that look sweet.

Just wondering, did Galactic say if they would be interested in making your parts available now that they are back up and running?


Andrew