X-Wing Conversion

Hi; I'm in the process of converting a Hasbro X-Wing toy into a model. I started the project 6 months ago but only now decided to make this blog to document the build. So I'll bring you up to speed on the project. I bought the X-wing just before Christmas with the thought of converting it to a scale model. I spent some time deciding exactly what I was going to do for the conversion. Since it has no cockpit I wanted to add one, which meant cutting out the windows and then building a cockpit. I'll add photos of that part of the build. The cannons and engines were another area that needed rebuilding. The underside of these areas are hollow which will mean making new engines and cannons. I also wanted to add lights to the cockpit, the engines and the landing lights. So I'll be documenting that as well in upcoming posts.

Here's a photo of the completed cockpit minus the fiber optics. All that's missing is the seat and the stick. This was a fun part of the project. I painted the cockpit a dark grey and the side panels flat black. the copper wires are electrical wires twisted together. The silver hose is a black wire with jewelry wire wrapped around it. Next up will be running fiber optics and connecting them to LED's of various colors. I scratchbuilt the throttle quadrant from styrene, scored to resemble individual controls. The seat riser is built from styrene I beams. Wire strands are glued to the side panels to simulate switches.

I started on making the cockpit by taking measurements and making templates out of paper. After a lot of trial and error I came up with a configuration that looked good and fit within the upper half of the fuselage. I transferred the templates to .20 styrene. I used several photos of the cockpit as reference. I had originally wanted angles side panels but later went with flat panels and then added buttons and drilled holes for the fiber optics. With the basic cockpit layout complete it was on with painting and running the fiber.

I'm taking the toy apart to begin the conversion. There are several screws that need to be removed and a couple under the engine intakes that are hard to get to. Everything else came apart pretty easy. Once apart I cut out and sanded the windows so I can put in a cockpit. Lots of drilling and sanding involved. Next up I'll be removing the engines from the fuselage.