| Buckaroo | 14 Sep 2013 5:20 p.m. PST |
Hi all. Just posted my review of the new B-Wing for FFG's X Wing game. While there are a few issues overall it's a winner. The one this that bugged me is that the B-Wing can't rotate. This can be dealt with though, check my second link below. -Enjoy! B-wing review here link B-Wing modification for Rotating
link
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| Toaster | 14 Sep 2013 5:48 p.m. PST |
Oh Yes! it looks so much better when it rotates. Robert |
| richarDISNEY | 14 Sep 2013 5:59 p.m. PST |
Nice job!
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| Metal Slayer | 14 Sep 2013 6:21 p.m. PST |
One of my favorite ships of all time specifically because of the rotating cockpit, awesome conversion job! |
| Ewan Hoosami | 14 Sep 2013 6:31 p.m. PST |
Excellent!
Most excellent!
(Rubs hands together) |
| ancientsgamer | 14 Sep 2013 6:50 p.m. PST |
I guess I like it better in motion… I prefer the Y and X wings myself… Love Vader's ship from episode IV too. Thanks for the tip. I will have to get one of these and try your mod! |
| redmist1122 | 14 Sep 2013 7:47 p.m. PST |
Ok, very nice, I like it, now where can I get a couple of those magnets? …in the U.S.? Thanks for the great mod! P. |
| The Gonk | 14 Sep 2013 8:13 p.m. PST |
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| Buckaroo | 14 Sep 2013 8:22 p.m. PST |
@ Redmist, I buy them off the peg at the LGS here in Arizona. |
 miniMo  | 14 Sep 2013 9:55 p.m. PST |
Nicely done! Mine haven't arrived yet, but I'll definitely give them some animation. |
| Ron W DuBray | 15 Sep 2013 6:42 a.m. PST |
I never did understand the whole rotating cockpit on the B wing. its in space there is no up or down…..besides how having the craft your flying spin around you would just twist your mind so much you would be puking you guts up…. nice job by the way.
RE magnets can be picked up at Home depot (you have to ask because you will never find them )
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| nazrat | 15 Sep 2013 7:31 a.m. PST |
It certainly looks better that way but I'm not sure I would go to the trouble. I like X-Wing so much partly because I need do nothing besides buy and fly. I have plenty of other stuff to build and paint! |
| redmist1122 | 15 Sep 2013 9:39 a.m. PST |
Well since Im out & about, will give Home Depot a shot. If not then will order them – thanks. P. |
 Herkybird | 15 Sep 2013 12:24 p.m. PST |
Very nice work, just waiting for mine to arrive from the Amazon shipyards! |
| AlanYork | 15 Sep 2013 3:09 p.m. PST |
Me too, I must admit I'm getting a little bored with waiting for my ships. They're about two weeks overdue now. Nothing kills interest in a game more than being messed around or being unable to obtain the stuff you want to play with. |
 Parzival | 16 Sep 2013 5:56 a.m. PST |
Re: Where to get rare earth magnets: Michael's, JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby, Hobbytown USA, Home Depot, Lowe's— they're all over the place now. But yeah, it's best to ask. I never did understand the whole rotating cockpit on the B wing. its in space there is no up or down…..besides how having the craft your flying spin around you would just twist your mind so much you would be puking you guts up…. nice job by the way. Exactly my thought— why bother? And though I've always loved the look of the B-wing, the whole design never made sense to me as an actual fighting vessel. An off-center cockpit is not a great idea, nor is an extended, one-sided "wing" surface. It throws off the center of mass, and is too likely to collide with something during dogfight maneuvers— not unlike driving down the road with a giant beam sticking straight out of the side of your car… But I'm impressed with your conversion efforts. I'll probably just drill out the connection hole or shave the post so that it's round rather than a "pie slice" shape, so the B-wing can be mounted at an angle. Not sure why FFG didn't do that in the first place. |
| Buckaroo | 16 Sep 2013 7:13 a.m. PST |
Thanks all And though I've always loved the look of the B-wing, the whole design never made sense to me as an actual fighting vessel. An off-center cockpit is not a great idea, nor is an extended, one-sided "wing" surface. It throws off the center of mass, and is too likely to collide with something during dogfight maneuvers— agreed, the rotating cockpit is a little silly, but in a universe that bases it's space combat on WW2 it's not too bad.
I'll probably just drill out the connection hole or shave the post so that it's round rather than a "pie slice" shape, so the B-wing can be mounted at an angle. Not sure why FFG didn't do that in the first place. Not sure if that will work easily. The clear U connector bar is glued to the B-Wing engine housing and is diamond shaped. you could drill it out and pin it, the ship would be no problem but the flight stand might be a little dicier. |
| religon | 16 Sep 2013 12:56 p.m. PST |
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| Parzival | 16 Sep 2013 2:20 p.m. PST |
Not sure if that will work easily. The clear U connector bar is glued to the B-Wing engine housing and is diamond shaped. you could drill it out and pin it, the ship would be no problem but the flight stand might be a little dicier. So the elbow part comes out of the ship, and isn't a separate post that the ship snaps onto? Yeah, that's a bit trickier… not impossible, though.
Would it work to slice the elbow next to the ship and pin there? Or, snip a post, drill and pin both halves, bend the pin, mount ship as normal… Does it use the big ship posts or the fighter posts? [Edit: Never mind; can tell from the pic] Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm… "Hey, CorSec! Need a joint system here!"  |
| Norman D Landings | 16 Sep 2013 2:40 p.m. PST |
Suddenly, I want one, merely because it can be made to spin. How shallow am I? |
| Buckaroo | 16 Sep 2013 2:47 p.m. PST |
Suddenly, I want one, merely because it can be made to spin.How shallow am I? Not at all. I was thinking, hmm, this would make an awesome clock. |
| miniMo | 16 Sep 2013 5:37 p.m. PST |
agreed, the rotating cockpit is a little silly, but in a universe that bases it's space combat on WW2 it's not too bad. I've always just thought that everybody in that galaxy simply had some heavy-duty OCD or other neurosis about maintaining a universal direction of 'up' while flying in space. |
| Dasher | 20 Sep 2013 8:48 a.m. PST |
The rotating cockpit is explained (well, rationalized) in the WEG RPG adventure "Strike Force: Shantipole".
The insectoid aliens who helped Ackbar design and build the B-Wing prototypes use the rotating cockpit in their ships because they inhabit an extremely dense and dynamic (I know) asteroid field requiring constant and rather violent maneuvering of spacecrat to avoid collisions (yes, I know). The cockpit is stabilized to keep the pilot's frame of reference constant during the maneuvering which includes thrust and vector maneuvering while whipping the control surfaces (I know) of the vessel around to maximize maneuverability and avoid collisions while maintaining course.
The fact that the B-Wing, for all its weight and payload, is even as maneuverable as it is, is a result of using this technology.
I know, I know, I KNOW… it's Star Wars, okay? :-) |
| nazrat | 20 Sep 2013 10:59 a.m. PST |
Let's face it, it's all because the Mita-chloroxians want it that way. Those thangs explainifies EVERYTHANG! 8)= |
| Lampyridae | 23 Oct 2013 4:01 a.m. PST |
Well, the S-Foils are quite rationally explained as being radiators. In fact, any spacecraft with a decent amount of power output HAS to have "wings" to dump waste heat. But the rest of it is: I know, I know, I know… The new Elite: Frontier game earns the Meritorious Thermodynamics award however. The ships have a complex heat management system with radiators, heat sinks and chemical exhausts. |
| Hondo911 | 31 Oct 2013 2:38 p.m. PST |
Where *exactly* are you making the cut on the cockpit? There's two white rings with a wider grey ring between them. The grey ring is smaller diameter. Are you cutting on this grey ring? Or on the forward white ring? Or in front of the forward white ring (between it and the back of the canopy)? Thanks. |
BlackWidowPilot  | 31 Oct 2013 3:28 p.m. PST |
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| miniMo | 31 Oct 2013 7:01 p.m. PST |
Hondo11, the cockpit itself is actually a separate piece. You can get an XActo between the joint and cut the peg that holds it into the main body. In front of the forward white wing and just behind the canopy. |
| Nid Vicious | 01 Nov 2013 9:35 a.m. PST |
Has anyone been able to remove the cockpit with the peg in tact (or at least somewhat in tact)? If that is at all possible seems like it would be easiest to just trim the peg down some and add some magnets. Then you wouldn't have to worry about making sure the alignment for the cockpit was in order. I've pulled the elbow jointed piece out of one of mine on accident using some needle nose pliers, so I know that's possible, but care is needed. You really need to pull straight out with a minimum of wiggling if you can manage it. All that being said, I don't know that I'd worry about rotating the ship every time I moved it. Sounds like more of a pain than really adding anything to the game itself. |
| Hondo911 | 01 Nov 2013 10:32 p.m. PST |
Interesting. So, naturally, I got impatient. I think I waited 5 minutes… I used the bone saw to cut *behind* the forward white ring. It looks fine and rotates fine. Then I got on here and read your response a few minutes ago and had to laugh. But I tried it your way. Since you said the cockpit is actually separate, I figured I'd try breaking the glue rather than cutting it. Some gently applied pressure to break the bond, a little wiggling, then the X-acto to leverage it off the peg and voila! The peg is actually pretty deep. Unfortunately, it's not a full circle, and neither is the hole, or you could just rotate the cockpit and be done with it. Thanks FFG! So I Dremeled out the hole and cut the peg down a touch (so the magnets will fit). Right now, the cockpit spins free and looks perfect. Much easier this way. I'm not going to rotate it every time I move the ship. It's more for posing purposes and looking cool. Fun to play with. |
| miniMo | 03 Nov 2013 5:42 p.m. PST |
I don't think it's even actually glued. It is a very snug fit, and the black wash seeps into the cracks. |
| Nid Vicious | 04 Nov 2013 1:48 p.m. PST |
Cool! I might have to do a little surgery and see if I can work the cockpit on mine out the same way. Thanks, Hondo! |
