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Hi all, For various reasons I set this project aside back in the summer. Then our photo sharing went belly up. I have gotten back into the model and I have Flickr for my photo sharing. I will be re-posting the earlier pictures over the next few days and updating the text a bit in light of the long break in time. Thanks, Jim The Original Start: I have wanted a model of a Y-wing for some time. In my mind, the Y-wings are rather like the F-4 Phantom family- reasonably fast, rugged, multi-mission, and they were around for a long time. As I thought about a Y-wing model, some baseline goals became apparent. 1. I wanted one in 1/48 scale 2. I wanted a model of a “real” Y-wing, not a model of a filming model 3. I wanted the ship to be in flight 4. I wanted to install lighting (a first for me) 5. The cockpit needed to be deep enough to take a full pilot figure, and while I was at it, I wanted to make a two seater- the Guy In Back should be a WSO however, not a gunner. We’re going to be carrying guided proton bombs as well as the proton torpedoes on a regular basis with this baby! I started by assembling as much information as I could find and drew up some plans. I found a few pictures of a Y-wing filming model from ROTJ from the studio with a tape measure in the image; I resized them to appear in half-studio size on my computer screen and that gave me a length of a little under 14” for a 1/48 scale model. I used the images to make basic measurements and drew up a set of plans from which to build the model. I began collecting bits and pieces, lighting parts, and interesting bits from many sources about three years ago. I found some nylon plumbing pipe which would become the engines, and a wooden egg which I could use to vacuform the front engine domes and the vectral housings at the rear of the ship. Without those elements, there is no Y-wing! Now how can I build this beast? I soon decided that creating open bulkheads, ribs, and stringers (following traditional aircraft construction) would not be as robust as I wanted. Based on goal #2 above, I chose to build a ship with the “guts” on the inside; remember that the filming models were solid shapes with the “guts,” or greeblies, on the outside. But even if you want to show interior spaces you still need a robust model. In reviewing the various Y-wing pictures on-line there appears that there could be a central tub in the fuselage; see the pic below. They show the top edge of the tub shape I am talking about. My buddy Boz mentioned the idea of making something like the tub found in F1 racing cars, and that sparked the idea of having a central tub running from one end of the fuselage to the other. I added a series of solid bulkheads plus quarter-round pieces to give greater gluing surface, and in the end I got a fairly robust tub which I could add details to, both inside and outside the tub itself. More to come!

Evening all, Don't know if this has ever been covered/advised by anyone before but I thought I'd add it as I couldn't find anything in the forums about it. Basically, as I'm new back to model-making and still very low on my learning curve, I've decided to keep a diary of everything I do. With the kits I've attempted so far, as expected, I've had some successes and some failures. I intend to record these each time into a Word doc, with photos where relevant and what I have learned. I'm also going to add any links to Youtube vids or posts on here that explain techniques because I KNOW there will be times when I want to replicate something and can't remember where I learned about it! I thought I'd share my idea (even if I've re-invented someone else's wheel!) because this seems a good way to go for a beginner or someone returning to the hobby. It'll also give me some entertainment looking back at the screw-ups I've made later on :-D Cheers, Tony