User:Saberwyn/X-wing

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Star Wars craft
X-wing
Specification T-65 X-wing Starfighter
Type Space superiority fighter
Length 12.5 metres
Weapons 4 laser cannons, 2 proton torpedo launchers
Crew 1 pilot, 1 astromech droid
Affiliation Rebel Alliance and successors

The T-65 X-wing starfighter is a fictional single-person space fightercraft appearing in the Star Wars films and Expanded Universe, beginning with the 1977 film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

The X-wing is recognisable as the spacecraft used by Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and R2-D2 throughout the Original Trilogy.

Contents

[edit] Design and filming

External images
"X-wing concept model"
One of Colin Cantwell's early X-wing concept models
  • How & when the X-wing was designed for Ep IV

The design was created by Joe Johnston in sketch form and Colin Cantwell in concept model form.[1]

The X-wing was designed to be familiar to viewers, with a visual resemblace to dragster race cars[citation needed] and to aircraft such as the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.[2] The X-wing was traditional and familiar, when compared to the ball-and-hexagon TIE fighters used by the enemy.[3]

Multiple miniatures in various scales were created by ILM for Star Wars: A New Hope, with wing markings indicating which prop represented which pilot.[1] Each model was built around a hollow core made from surgical tubing, allowing lighting, cooling, and electrical connectors for the wing motors could be installed and maintained.[4] The cockpit windows were made from faceted glass, so that accurate reflections could be filmed.[4] The two most detailed miniatures were Red 2 and Red 5, the starfighters of Wedge Antilles (Denis Lawson) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) respectively.[citation needed]

The original movie script and novel identified the squadron of X-wings attacking the First Death Star as "Blue Squadron", and the concept models bore blue markings; the limitations in bluescreen technology at the time required the markings be changed to red, and the squadron renamed to "Red Squardon".[1]

Only one full-scale prop was constructed.[5] Ground scenes involving multiple X-wings and actors in the same shot were filmed with a mixture of cardboard cutouts and judicious editing.[5] A single X-wing cockpit was constructed by the production crew, which was used by all the pilots.[6] The astromech 'heads' were interchangeable.[6] Background noise for the cockpit scenes was recorded at different pitches and tones for each pilot, to further differentiate between the different characters.[7]

  • Patenting

The X-wing design was filed for patenting[I] on 12 September 1977 by 20th Century Fox, with the patent granted on 29 January 1980.[8] Cantwell and Johnston were credited as the design's co-inventors.[8]

In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke's X-wing crashes into a swamp lake on Dagobah. The lake was only 3.5 feet (1 m) deep, requiring a rig resembling the starfighter sitting in the lake at an angle.[9] The rig was built in hinged sections, so it could be manipulated by frogmen to sink or rise; a key feature for the scene where Luke fails to levitate his ship out.[9]

External images
"Red 3"
Multiple photographs of the Red 3 model

During the leadup to Return of the Jedi, a scene was planned with a close-up of Luke Skywalker's X-wing flying past the camera, requring a large model with an incredible level of detail.[10] ILM modelmakers Mike Fulmer and Ira Keeler had at the time been working on a 4 foot (1.22 m) long X-wing as a private project, and offered it up for use in the film.[10] The model was large enough to have a visible and articluated pilot figurine, whose body could be manipulated by small motors.[10] Although the scene was cut from the movie, the model, nicknamed Red 3 by fans because of the wing markings, is a major component of the Star Wars museum exhibitions, including The Magic of Myth and Where Science Meets Imagination.[10][11]

  • Special edition modifications

In 1993, ILM visual effects specialist John Knoll created a proof of concept test of X-wings and TIE fighters dogfighting, to demonstrate the fesability of using commercially-available desktop computer software for simple animation work.[12] This resulted in a large number of space battle scenes 're-shot' as digital animations for the Star Wars Special Edition releases.[12]

  • ARC 170

The ARC-170 starfighter appearing during the Battle of Coruscant scenes at the beginning of Revenge of the Sith was designed by concept artist Ryan Church as a primogenitor to the X-wing.[13]

  • As yet unsorted

Revenge of the Sith concept artist Ryan Church considers the design of the X-wing reminiscent of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.[14] By comparison, his ARC-170 design was inspired by World War II-era aircraft.[15]

[edit] Technical errors

In The Empire Strikes Back, a ladder attached to the side of Luke's X-wing caused a continuity error.[16] A technician removes it from Luke's starfighter on Hoth, but it appears on the starfighter when Luke boards the fighter on Dagobah, before disappearing again.[16] This error was highlited in a 2001 poll on StarWars.com, asking which 'unsolved Star Wars mystery' fans wanted answered, where it received 5% of the responses.[16] The out-of-universe explanation is that it was a continuity error; the ladder 'reappeared' so Luke could climb into the fighter. In the 2002 response, intended to explain the error in-universe, it is indicated that the X-wing does not have a retractable ladder, but there was a possibility that a emergency ladder was stored in the starfighter's cargo hold.[16] As for not removing it, the ladder was either intended to be one-use-only and fall away during takeoff, or Luke forgot about it.[16]

When the Special Edition version of A New Hope was created, the digital models were all based on Red 2, the hero miniature for Wedge Antilles' X-wing.[citation needed] This led to many of the X-wings in the Battle of Yavin scenes to be identically marked.[citation needed]

[edit] Fictional design

Within the Star Wars universe, the X-wing was designed by Incom Corporation as a cutting-edge starfighter, boasting high speed, heavy durability through the use of rare alloys suring construction supplemented by deflector shields, and the ability to travel at faster-than-light speeds without the assistance of a mothership.[17] One of the main features of the X-wing is the craft's 'S-foils'; splitting wings that give the craft its 'X' shape in combat.[17] The variable configuration provides an increse in the coverage of the wingtip-mounted laser cannons and the manoeuverability of the fighter in the open position, while the closed position allows increases in overall speed, and manoeuverability during atmospheric travel.[17] There is some confusion regarding the name of the S-foil; while some sources refer to strike-foils, others use stabiliser-foils.[18]

Another of the major features of the X-wing design is the inclusion on an onboard astromech droid (such as R2-D2), which links directly to the starfighter's onboard computer systems and serves as a navigator and intermediary between the pilot and the fighter's systems.[17] The astromech is also able to effect midflight repairs by rerouting electrical systems, extinguishing fires, or locking down loose or damaged components, as shown during the trench run scenes in A New Hope.[17]

The in-universe success of the X-wing is partially attributed to the skill of the pilots, many of which learned to fly in another Incom craft, the T-16 Skyhopper.[17]

[edit] Depiction and appearance

The backstory of the X-wing is not explained in the movies, as George Lucas chose to improve the pacing of the films by not dwelling on the background or backstory of the Star Wars universe.[19] Much of the backstory was first published in the Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game materials by West End Games from 1987 onwards. The validity and canonocity of this material was revealed when Timothy Zahn was instructed to use the various RPG sourcebooks as reference material while writing the Thrawn Trilogy novels, establishing them as the original source of much Expanded Universe material.[20]

Background material states that the X-wing was designed by the Incom Corporation shortly before the company was nationalised by the Galactic Empire.[17] The X-wing's design and engineering teams led other Incom staff in a defection to the Rebel Alliance, bringing with them the starfighter's blueprints and prototypes.[17] The backstory was published in the first edition of the Star Wars Sourcebook, and has been reproduced in other Star Wars materials. The defection is portrayed as the fourth Rebellion mission in the 2006 real-time strategy game Star Wars: Empire at War. The Z-95 Headhunter, originally created by author Brian Daley in the 1979 novel Han Solo at Star's End as a starfighter resembling the P-38 Lightning, was later revisualised as a predecessor to the X-wing, beginning in the 1988 roleplaying adventure Tatooine Manhunt with an illustration originally created as X-wing concept art used to represent the Z-95.[21][22] The ARC-170 clone starfighter appearing in Revenge of the Sith was indicated in spin-off material to be another in-universe inspiration for the X-wing design.[citation needed]

The X-wing plays a major role in the three Original Trilogy movies. X-wings and Y-wings make up the Rebel attack force in the attack on the First Death Star, depiced in A New Hope. X-wings piloted by Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Wedge Antilles (Denis Lawson) are amongst the only survivors of the attack, with Skywalker destroying the Imperial superweapon. An X-wing is the vehicle used by Skywalker to travel between the worlds of Hoth, Dagobah, and Bespin during the course of The Empire Strikes Back, and again between Tatooine, Dagobah, and the Rebel fleet at Sullust in the early scenes of Return of the Jedi. Antilles is also flying an X-wing during the attack on the Second Death Star, and is instrumental in assisting the Millennium Falcon to destroy the superweapon. Inside the Star Wars fictional universe, these actions serve to make the X-wing the most recognisable and popular starfighter of the Galactic Civil War era.[citation needed]

Later variations of the X-wing apppear regularly in the Expanded Universe material. The starfighter appearing in the various flight simulator games is designated T-65C, and is slightly faster and better shielded than the movie version.[citation needed] Following the movies, the X-wing was surpassed by newer starfighers; first by the A-wing (which first appeared in Return of the Jedi), then by the E-wing and A-9 Vigilance (both first appearing in the comic series Dark Empire.[23] An upgraded X-wing, the T-65AC4 is detailed in Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Roleplaying Game, and is described as a match for newer starfighter designs, with improved speed, firepower, and shielding.[24] The T-65D-A1 design was the focus of a sidestory in Kristine Kathryn Rusch's 1996 novel The New Rebellion, set seventeen years after A New Hope. In the novel, navigation computers intended to replace astromech droids in the starfighters were sabotaged by a Dark Jedi; the computers included explosives that would detonate on the Jedi's signal.

Just prior to New Jedi Order series, the X-wing design would be upgraded significantly to the XJ series, although older X-wings would appear in several books set during or after this point.

[edit] Appearances

The X-wing appears in all three Original Trilogy movies (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi), as it is the vehicle associated with main character Luke Skywalker and supporting character Wedge Antilles. However, the starfighter is only named once, during dialogue between Darth Vader and an Imperial officer in The Empire Strikes Back.[citation needed][25]

An X-wing makes an easter egg appearance in Attack of the Clones, during the airspeeder chase scene.[26]

Due to the prominence of the starfighter in the Original Trilogy, the X-wing appears heavily in the Expanded Universe. It is used as the title starfighter for the Star Wars: X-Wing computer spaceflight simulator series, appearing as a playable craft in all games and expansions excluding the Empire-focused Star Wars: TIE Fighter. The concept of the X-wing as 'symbolic' of the starfighter forces of the Rebel Alliance and New Republic has resulted in its appearance in the majority of fictional works set during or after the Original Trilogy. The fictional group of elite pilots known as Rogue Squadron use the X-wing almost exclusively, making the starfighter's appearance common in the derivative works focusing on the squadron; primarily the X-wing novels, the X-wing Rogue Squadron comics, and the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron console video game series. The X-wing has also been used as a plot device in The New Rebellion, when upgraded X-wings were installed with bombs as part of a Dark Jedi plan to destabilise the New Republic.

  • Collapsible list of all appearances (break down by media type)

[edit] Variants

The standard X-wing design is the only one to appear in the movies. However, several variant designs have featured prominently in Expanded Universe materials, created by authors and artists to filfil specific roles and accomplish certain plot developments in their works. Because of the interlinked nature of Star Wars derivative works, these designs later appeared in publications by other authors.

[edit] Snoop

The T-65BR[II] X-wing Reconnaissance Starfighter (also referred to as the Recon-X or the Snoopscoot) was created by author Michael P. Kube-McDowell in 1996 for the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy of novels as a reconnaissance aircraft-variant of the X-wing. The variant later appeared in several works by author Michael A. Stackpole: novels X-wing: Isard's Revenge, New Jedi Order: Dark Tide I: Onslaught, and New Jedi Order: Dark Tide II: Ruin, as well as the X-wing Rogue Squadron comic series story-arc X-wing Rogue Squadron: In the Empire's Service.

Two sensor pods are used to collect data; they are trailed behind the starfighter like a towed array sonar. The data storage is contained within the starfighter's nose, replacing the proton torpedo launchers.[27] The T-65BR has no weapons: laser cannons are said to be unusable as the charging equipment releases energy sufficient to overpower the sensor pods,[27] although illustrations of the T-65BR in In the Empire's Service and the X-wing Rogue Squadron background book show the starfighter armed with laser cannons.[28]

[edit] 2 seater

Two 2-seat X-wing variants appear in the Expanded Universe.

The first design is the TX-65 X-wing Starfighter (also referred to as the Trainer-X) a trainer aircraft-variant created by author Michael P. Kube-McDowell and appearing only in the 1996 novel Before the Storm. Visually similar to the movie design, the TX-65 has an expanded cockpit to accommodate a trainee and mentor, as well as low-powered laser cannons.

The second, unnamed design is an expanded version of the X-wing with seven engines, a co-pilot, and no visible astromech droid. Its only appearance was in the 1998 Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood comic series.

[edit] XJ series

The XJ series of X-wing starfighters was introduced for The New Jedi Order (NJO) series of novels, first appearing in Vector Prime in 1999. XJs have since appeared in almost all Expanded Universe works set during or after the NJO as the standard X-wing starfighter.

The background material provided in Wizards of the Coast's The New Jedi Order Sourcebook states that the XJ series is an upgrade of the venrable T-65B developed following consultation with Luke Skywalker and other ace fighter pilots.[29] Major improvements include more powerful laser cannons, a third proton torpedo launcher, and increased speed.[29] Initially the distribution of XJs was limited to elite squadrons and a few Jedi,[29] although this increased when the Yuuzhan Vong invasion (central to the plot of the NJO series) came into force.[citation needed]

The first variant of the XJ design to appear in the published fiction is the XJ3, first appearing in the 2001 novel Star by Star, and then appearing in every following NJO novel excluding Traitor, as well as explicitly appearing in The Joiner King and Tempest. The NJO Sourcebook states the XJ3s were heavily upgraded to combat the Yuuzhan Vong.[30] The design is slightly longer than the XJ, but incorporates proton torpedoes with an improved yield, and backup shield generators.[30]

[edit] Cultural impact

  • Merchandise, etc.

Due to its prominent role in the Original Trilogy, the X-wing is one of the most reproduced merchandising items associated with Star Wars.

The X-wing appeared in four Micro Machines three-packs, including the first Star Wars pack released, a bronzed version, and a pack of three 'battle damaged' X-wings with different coloured markings.[31][32][33][34] The Micro Machines X-wing has also been released in two single-packs, as a promotional souvineir with German video releases, in a nine-pack of Original Trilogy vehicles, and once in clear plastic.[35][36][37][38] The StarWars.com Cargo Bay, a collectors database, records 17 additional releases of the X-wing miniature in various sets.

The X-wing appears eight times in the Micro Machines Action Fleet toy line: Luke's starfighter on its own,[39] with 'targeter' stand,[40] with Dagobah swamp damage,[41] and in a double pack with a TIE Fighter,[42] Wedge's starfighter on its own,[43] and as a component of the Yavin Rebel Base playset,[44] a toy based on the prototype packaged with Biggs Darklighter's starfighter,[45] and Jek Porkins' starfighter.[46]

[edit] Notes

^I  USD254,081 (PDF version) (1980-01-29) Johnston, Joe; Cantwell, Colin Toy Spacecraft 

^II  Kube-McDowell gives the starfighter's designation as T-65BR. Stackpole omits the B.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Behind The Scenes - X-wing starfighter, para 1
  2. ^ Technologies & Environments: Ryan Church, para 5, "An X-wing is a big huge F-4 Phantom Jet, very angular, very brutal"
  3. ^ Peterson, 2006, p 22
  4. ^ a b Peterson, 2006, p 26
  5. ^ a b Behind The Scenes - X-wing starfighter, para 2
  6. ^ a b Behind The Scenes - Red Leader, para 3
  7. ^ Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope - Audio Commentary (2004). 1:49.05 - 1:05.00
  8. ^ a b Lopez, 1996
  9. ^ a b Kershner, Irvin. Star Wars Episode IV: The Empire Strikes Back - Audio Commentary (2004). 1:06.39-1:07.40
  10. ^ a b c d Peterson, 2006, p 27
  11. ^ Saxton, 2002
  12. ^ a b The Evolution of Space Battles, paras 2-4
  13. ^ Behind The Scenes - ARC-170 starfighter, para 1
  14. ^ Technologies & Environments: Ryan Church, para 5, "An X-wing is a big huge F-4 Phantom Jet, very angular, very brutal"
  15. ^ Technologies & Environments: Ryan Church, para 5, "For the designs of Episode III, since this was the galaxy-wide war, I wanted to cue off of World War II"
  16. ^ a b c d e Questions & Answers - Episode V Lore - Where does the ladder on Luke's X-wing go? (2002)
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h West End Games (1997). The Star Wars Trilogy Sourcebook, Special Edition, pp 120-122. (fiction source)
  18. ^ Allston, Aaron. Aaron Allston FAQ (Star Wars Novels). AaronAllston.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-14.
  19. ^ Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope - Audio Commentary (2004). 0:19.50 - 0:20.40
  20. ^ Zahn (1996). p 5
  21. ^ Newborn interviewing Daley (1995). para 89, "[T]he portrayal of the Headhunter snub fighters was off. I saw them as a Lucasfilm version of the P-38 Lightning, America's renowned "Fork-Tailed Devil" of WWII, but the strip didn't come close."
  22. ^ Behind The Scenes - Z-95 Headhunter, para 2
  23. ^ Expanded Universe - X-wing starfighter. StarWars.com Databank. Lucas Online. Retrieved on 2007-09-14. (fiction source)
  24. ^ Stephens, Owen K.C., 2001, Starships of the Galaxy, p 75. (fiction source)
  25. ^ "IMPERIAL SOLDIER: Lord Vader, ship approaching. X-wing class. VADER: Good. Monitor Skywalker and allow him to land."
  26. ^ Episode II Easter Eggs, "Star Wars continuity purists will have a hard time explaining just how an X-wing fighter and TIE fighter got into the speeder chase over Coruscant"
  27. ^ a b Stackpole (1999). p 180 (fiction source)
  28. ^ X-wing Rogue Squadron: In the Empire's Service (1997); Handbook 1: X-wing Rogue Squadron (1998).
  29. ^ a b c Wiker & Miller (2002). The New Jedi Order Sourcebook, p 36 (fiction source)
  30. ^ a b Wiker & Miller (2002). The New Jedi Order Sourcebook, p 140 (fiction source)
  31. ^ #1: X-wing, Millennium Falcon, Star Destroyer (1993). Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  32. ^ #III: Darth Vader's TIE Fighter, Y-wing, X-wing (1995). Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  33. ^ #XIII: Battle-damaged X-wings (red, blue, and green) (1997). Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  34. ^ Bronze 3-pack: AT-AT, Snowspeeder, X-wing. Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  35. ^ Single carded vehicle: X-wing Starfighter (1995). Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  36. ^ Single carded vehicle: X-wing Starfighter (bronze). Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  37. ^ Trilogy Gift Set. Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  38. ^ X-Ray Fleet #II: X-wing, AT-AT. Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  39. ^ Luke's X-wing Starfighter. Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  40. ^ Flight Controllers - X-wing Fighter. Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  41. ^ Luke's X-wing from Dagobah Swamp. Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  42. ^ Classic Duels: X-wing Fighter vs. TIE Fighter. Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  43. ^ X-wing (2 stripes). Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  44. ^ Yavin Rebel Base playset (Action Fleet Set). Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  45. ^ Series Alpha - X-wing Starfighter. Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.
  46. ^ X-wing (6 stripes). Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-09-01.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Non-fiction

[edit] Fiction

[edit] External links

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See also