Jason Eaton, writing at ILM.com, takes an extensive deep dive into ILM’s creation of the original X-wing fighter miniatures for Star Wars: A New Hope, some fifty years ago.
50 years ago, in an industrial park far, far away, an unassuming team of young artists and craftspeople created something that would capture the hearts and imaginations of an entire generation, becoming an icon for decades to come: the X-wing fighter.
Seemingly against all odds, these men and women would work in what was initially a bare-bones environment. It was a warehouse with no air conditioning in a lackluster part of town. It would bake in the summer with little shade. There were hardly any trees, just taco stands and aviation supply shops. Cinderblock buildings with no labs, institutes, or studios nearby. And yet, with no fanfare, and against all odds, magic was made.
A roughly two-foot miniature made of acrylic, styrene, metal, and resin, the X-wing was the on-screen vessel that carried heroes to triumph. It moved impossibly before our eyes against surreal pinwheeling star fields, giving a sense of desperate energy. For myself, a child at the time, it would become a totem for my imagination, never really leaving my brain, to one day push my curiosity as an adult: What exactly were the models made from, and how did they come to be?
I collected various die-cast and plastic toys and built the model kit of the X-wing. I was captured by a design that was both rugged and sleek. Building that first model of the X-wing was not only an enjoyable pastime, but it also began the building of skill sets, and it was a way to imagine myself as an ILM modelmaker. I found incredible joy in building impossibly realistic-looking ships that inadvertently created our modern Star Wars mythology and redefined a multigenerational, visual science fiction “style guide.”
The onset of the internet facilitated a fan community with a shared curiosity about ILM and its creations. I found my tribe through gatherings, parties, and, eventually, ILM artisans’ living rooms. My curiosity transformed into a personal mission to preserve and record the nuanced details behind these Star Warsminiatures – specifically the processes, dimensions, and stories that inspired me as an artist. The X-wing was not just a focus, but an artistic and intellectual obsession.
Image: ILM modelmakers with a number of their creations. L to R: Joe Johnston, Paul Huston, Jon Erland, David Jones, Steve Gawley, Dave Beasley, Lorne Peterson (Credit: ILM & Lucasfilm ©).
Origins: Colin Cantwell
Memory alone is understandably an unreliable narrator, and over the last 50 years, the storied history of the X-wing has been both apocryphal and often contradictory. Focusing on period photographs, paired with the recollections from people who were there for production, we can establish a more comprehensive understanding of the X-wing’s history. I always value the time and generosity of those helping me on my journey. Sadly, many of the artists and incredible people who were part of the production’s journey are no longer with us, and my sense of urgency about this “mission” has only grown stronger. The photographic record is a window into this incredible time, when no one realized how they were changing the world of entertainment. Each photo contains little glimpses of magic being made in an extraordinarily unassuming environment.
Colin Cantwell was the first to put glue to model kit, creating a series of prototype designs very early in 1975 from George Lucas’s thumbnails and descriptions. It was fascinating to talk with Colin about the X-wing, as his mind saw objects and concepts in uniquely creative ways. His model was built from the body of a Jeb Allen’s “Praying Mantis” top fuel dragster model kit, with wings hinged at the center rear of the fuselage that would spring open in an “X” shape. He said he imagined it as a fast craft and as a Wild West gunslinger. The “X” was analogous to the quick draw of a pistol at high noon.
The Cantwell concept models were unsuitable for filming, however, as internal armatures were not included for support or mounting to production equipment, and the details were too fine for the blue screen compositing system being developed by ILM at the time.
Image: Colin Cantwell’s prototype X-wing fighter model, built in 1975 (Credit: ILM & Lucasfilm ©).
Refining the X-wing Design
What was the launch point for the iconic ILM X-wing fighter design that we know today? Enter art director Joe Johnston, who worked with the modelmakers and technicians to bring what was internally dubbed “Project 504” to life, with the first unfinished “hero” example being completed in December 1975. “Hero” meaning a filming miniature that would have the best fit, finish, and all of the adornments needed for specific shots, as opposed to a “pyro,” which was a simpler construction built for pyrotechnic detonation. But before we talk about blowing up models, let’s back up a little to the early fall in that industrial park in Van Nuys.
From a series of photographs and an internal document tracking the progress of each project with names assigned to tasks, David Beasley carved the X-wing fuselage as a “buck” from wood. This first prototype fuselage appears to be made from a top and bottom shell, both in vacuum-formed styrene. There was an internal armature made from machined aluminum by Grant McCune, with David Grell assisting, with the wings being made from a combination of machined acrylic and sheet styrene. Motors and some, if not all, of the electrical wiring are in place.
Notable landmarks of this prototype include the half-circle engine intakes we see in Ralph McQuarrie’s paintings from the time, as well as a much sleeker underside rear fuselage. The nose was a different shape, as this build followed the idea that the midline of the body would contour slightly upwards to meet the nose, as depicted in the McQuarrie painting. Most importantly for the design process, this initial series of parts shows that the back half of the lower fuselage is cut away, as the internal armature and motors would need more room to inhabit the shells. David Jones recalled this being a running design change. A careful examination of any hero X-wing will show that quite a bit of material needed to be cut from the sides of the fuselage as well, with long slots to allow the wing brackets to travel. This is very apparent when the wings are closed, but nearly invisible when these models have their wings open. It is a quirk of the hero design that is rarely noted or seen.
The next series of photographs shows a “proper” hero build in progress, now with a resin top shell, fully enlarged vacuum-formed lower shell, full-circle-shaped engine intakes, and the various details and engines being glued in place.
The Original Model: Blue 1
In December 1975, Lorne Peterson, Jon Erland, and Steve Gawley were working on wings and detailing three days before Christmas. Joe Johnston painted the model with Gawley. The model is Blue 1, the first X-wing ILM would build. It features a blue paint scheme instead of red, no cockpit or pilot figure, no droid, and no working electronics. But it is photographed in this state and shipped to production designer John Barry at Elstree Studios in England on December 26, to be used as reference for blueprinting and constructing the full-sized X-wing fighter set piece on a sound stage.
Image: The first Hero X-wing built, Blue 1 (Credit: ILM & Lucasfilm ©).
The images above appear to show Blue 1 and the Red Y-wing (also sent, in an incomplete state to England), along with a clay mock-up of a pilot and canopy/cockpit. This sequence of shots seems to show possible angles and focal lengths to inform the eventual build of the 1:1 cockpit sets that actors would be filmed in.
This model will be returned to ILM in the new year, and Grant McCune will finish the electrical plumbing. The model will be completed by breaking the canopy framing to allow a cockpit and a pilot to be inserted. The frame is somewhat restored with a styrene strip, and the model is redressed as the Red 2 Hero. This will go on to be the miniature that is photographed by Richard Edlund and composited with a TIE fighter behind it, featured on thousands of lunchboxes and promotional materials.
Read the article in full here.
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