Unbelievablty, 50 years ago ILM completed their work on the first filming model for Star Wars, an X-Wing fighter. Against the odds, utilising a young, inexperienced crew kitbashing anything they could get their hands on to create this scuffed up galaxy, they brought imagination to life, and writing at ILM.com Jason Eaton takes a look at this momentous build, picking up the designs of the late Colin Cantwell and moving it on to the next iteration that we know and love today.
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.
