I am very much enjoying this digital build by artist Jason Eaton! Once again, in Part 3 of his concept Y-Wing build, his creation is inspired by the works of artist’s Cantwell, Johnston and McQuarrie!

So as always, the goal is to reflect the sketchbook art, as best as I can, making concessions for either physical reasons
 or because it just “feels” right, injecting a little McQuarrie or even Cantwell into the mix.
As seen before the head definitely fits the bill (almost looking like a duck’s bill, hah), and the elongated engine domes add to the sleeker vibe.

It’s a delicate balancing act, keeping it “sleek” but also still evoking that Star Wars vibe.

There are touchstones to ILM vintage donor kits, like the Harrier part:

And these pseudo-Shinano bits. I wanted to preserve the language of the models we all know so well.

I didn’t have the ribbing on these engines until recently, as I tried other approaches,
but in the end I realized it is a signature look. Breaking them up helps set this apart though.

The wing’s leading edges are also something a little out of the ordinary. You take chances and hope they gel.
Like the two tubes that go from wing to engine, which is very clearly in one of the sketches, but if modeled as drawn, look odd.
So this look and feel is what I settled on.
It will be fun to flesh out the middle of the body, when I return!

Also, the engine nozzles are taking shape. The sketch clearly shows a truncated inner “nozzle” with a ribbed cylinder behind that, so these are starting to take shape. The starboard engine has an “open hatch” which not only adds important asymmetry, but also allows me to address how the engine “T rods” terminate inside the engines. On the ILM Y-Wing, these t shaped plastic rods sit outside of the main engine cylinders, but I wanted to reflect the one sketch where they sit inside. This allows the far end engine caps to be sleek as the rods attach inside them as well, and prevents the back end from looking stubby or dinky.
I slightly elongated the rods as well, again pushing sleekness.

And finally, a look at the engines from the other direction show that the oval and “clip” on the oval front echoes the parts on the ILM Y-Wing, without being too derivative. The strip behind them will hide the seam from the engine parts, which I will print in quarters.
Inside, they have locating tabs so everything “locks” together.

To view earlier progression’s of this build, click the VIEW MORE Button Link below…

Jason Eaton

Jason Eaton is a model builder who has spent the past fourteen years working with Star Wars license holders including Master Replicas, EFX, and Sideshow, creating paint masters and prototypes for many of the studio scale and scaled props, ships, and characters seen in the Star Wars films, and is honored to continue the work in this new era of Star Wars subjects. He has also performed this service for many other licenses and license holders such as Palisades Toys, Quantum Mechanix, Hollywood Collectibles Group, and Chronicle Collectibles, as well as the occasional private commission work for various private clients. His passion and dedication has sent him to the Skywalker Ranch archives, Tokyo Japan, and many other places, always striving to better the hobby and the work. He’s more of a builder and less of a collector, so sometimes his personal work will “leave the nest” to make way for the next hare-brained project! He also thinks speaking in the third person is weird.

To contact this artist direct, please click the CONTACT ARTIST link below.

USA

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