Star Wars T-70 X-Wing

[RandomDesign]

Hi everyone its RandomDesign.

So now that we have a forum to post our logs, here we go.

 

 

First lets start with the used hardware:
During the process I switched the GPU so its not accurate in the picture unfortunately.

 

Motherboard: MSI Z370i Gaming Pro Carbon AC
CPU: Intel i9-9000K
GPU: Nvidia Titan Xp Collectors Edition Jedi Order
Memory: Hyper X Fury 2x8GB
SSD: Hyper X Savage 240GB
PSU: Cooler Master V700
Fan: Cooler Master 60mm

Water cooling: Alphacool

 

 

 

 

The concept:

I am a huge fan of the Star Wars films (Yes, including the prequels and the new ones)
and for a long time now I got the idea stuck in my head to build a case mod related to that universe.

There are many iconic machines out there in the Star Wars universe like the Millennium Falcon,
the Death Star or the AT-ATs and AT-STs, but I think the X-Wing is just above them all.

Looking at some pictures, I thought it is totally doable to build one as a case mod.
I think many people also noticed, that the X-Wing from the new movies (Force Awakens and Last Jedi)
are a bit different in design then the old ones, not only in color.
The new turbines are only on at each side split into two parts and not two on each side like in the old movies.

I went for the new design, cause I think it looks more bad :).

Mentioning all this, the question was were to start.
Cause I make a detailed 3D model for all my case mods,
I got the idea to use my 3D printers to help me with some of the work here.

So here is my 3D model.

 

 

 

To make everything fit my print bed, I split up the model into 152 individual parts.

 

 

[RandomDesign]

Let the printing begin.

For this model I am just starting at the front and make my way all the way to the back.
So the first two parts were printed. Each took roughly 10-12 hours to print but I am sure some other parts will need longer,
cause I still got some room on my print bed.

 

 

After sanding, I glued both parts together. As you can see in the picture, I used small metal rods to strengthen up the connection.
I just don trust crazy glue alone for such a big model.

 

 

 

To hide the gaps and smoothen out some rough spots, I used some Miliput, a two part expoy putty. After sanding it down,
I continued with some more bondo to really smooth out the surface.

 

 

While bondo on the first parts dried, I printed out the next pieces.

 

 

 

And sanding again. I really want to get the sufrace as smooth as possible, before priming.
That way I have to use much less filler to fill in the deep spots.

 

[RandomDesign]

I continiued with my favourit exercise sanding the printed parts.



Although, the 3D model is very detailed, some changes have to be made right on the fly.
Here I decided to include an opening to get a better hold of the pump later.



If you are wonder, how the hardware will sit in this mod later on, I made a small rendering showing the position.
From the righ: water tank, pump, motherboard, PSU, fans and radiator.
Currently I am working on some kind of system to hold a GPU in place under the motherboard.



The next parts came out of the printer and, after sanding, I connected them as far as possible.
All the gaps were filled again with Milliput.



You can already see the place for the water tankt.



Above, I am including a flap, that matches the design of the X-Wing, so I have access to this area at all times.


 

[RandomDesign]

Cause all the water cooling components arrived, I could test fit the water tank.
In addition I finished the lid.





Also the next parts were printed, processed and glued together.





But the next parts already waiting to be sanded.
I am nearly done with the main body parts. Hope to finish printing and processing next week.



To get a better impression on how large the mod will be at the end, I put all parts next to each other.
Going to be really big



While my first printer is taking care of the main body, the second has started with the weapon system.



After the first set was done, I checked if the proportions are right and continued with the rest.

[RandomDesign]

Finally all the parts for the weapon system were printed.
Next step is to sand them and glue them together. For the gluing part I have a nice little
trick I will show you in the next update.



While the weapon parts waiting to be sanded, I glued more parts of the main body together.



Coming close to finishing the body part, but for the last few parts I need to revisit the 3D model
and make some minor changes. I have to design a mechanism that will hold the wings later on.

In the mean time, I printed the pieces for the cockpit.





 

[RandomDesign]

I started to assamble the weapon system.



To make everything fit right, I included a small hole in the middel of the parts.
That way, I could insert a metal rod and push all the parts together.
Now the different sections are perfectly centered while the glue was drying.



I assembled everything, until I got 3 bigger parts for each weapon. They will be glued together
after the paint job, cause that way I still can make some changes and include more detailes.



Now, I will close the gaps wit some filler and start sanding again.

 

 

[RandomDesign]

What I have worked on over the weekend, was the exhaust system of the X-Wing.
Had to play around with the scale a bit, but after I was happy with the outcome, I made my final
printed version.

For a better handling, I seperated the exhaust into 4 different parts.



I also made a first test fitting. Later I will include some light effects to the back, to really
get the impresion of an actuall X-Wing turbine exhaust.

 

Some areas had to be processed not only with sand paper, but also by using some needle files.



I also filled gaps with milliput and sanded the spots down.



Before the next processing step, I needed to include the light system into the exhaust.
Therefore, I cut LED stripes to the right lenght and glued them into place. Because it is hard to
reach them after assembly, I secured the strips also with hot glue. In addition, two pieces of paper clips
were cut and glued to the piece. This will help to glue the exhaust parts together.





For a diffuse light comming out of the exhaust, I cut an acrylic disk and sanded the surface of
both sides.



Then it was glued in place. For the next processing steps, I covered the side facing outwards with some tape.



After all parts were glued together, I made a quick test of the light.





While Working on the exhaust, two turbines got printed.





Next up will be the final step of processing the exhaust and then start with the turbines.

[RandomDesign]

Next up, I was working on the wings.

Started by sanding down all the flat surfaces.





To recreate the sharp edges on the lines, I used a needle file.
This step was necessary to make all gaps the same size.



Then all parts of the wings were glued together. Again, I used short steel rods to
make the connection really strong. This will be needed later for the moving
mechanism, cause I am not trusting glue alone. In addition, I included a ribbon cable
for the LEDs. Better to do it now, cause later would be a bit tricky to get the cable all
the way through.







After I filled some smaller gaps, all 4 wings got one quick wet sanding.
And then dry before the next step.





A layer of spray filler was applied to see were some more spots needs additional attention.


 

[RandomDesign]

I went back to the main body which is in 3 pieces at the moment.



In the middle section, the motherboard will be included. So, I cut a piece of MDF and
used it as a mobo base.





I already put on part of the cockpit above, just to see if it is fitting the way I want.



Next up, I made a quick test of the opening mechanism of the wings.
The Wings now can be closed, or opend up in a 15 dergees angle.
Should be more than enough. Close up pictures of the inside will follow soon.





Then all the 3 pieces were assembled.
Just to see the dimensions of the mod. I am 1,81 m btw.



Next, I will close all the gaps and rework some of the detail lines.

 

 

[RandomDesign]

I started now to glue all the pieces for the wings together.
Used some metal pins to ensure more stability. I used 2k epoxy glue to get
a very good bond. To make sure every thing will stay in place while drying,
I used some clamps.





After I let the epoxy dry for one day, I ended up with the entire wing.
As you can See, I already included some wires to controll the light later.





And ofc a short test if the upper and lower wing fit together. Looking good so far.