Killer Of The Executor

Fictional / Real-World Background

The RZ-1 A-Wing Interceptor was manufactured by Kuat Systems Engineering, based on the R-22 interceptor, which in turn was inspired by the Delta-7 Aethersprite light interceptor. Although the R-22 passed maneuverability and speed tests, the Galactic Empire, which suceeded the Galactic Republic did not approve of its mass production. However, the monarch of Tammuz-an purchased a number of the R-22 prototypes for planetary defence. Because of its resemblance to a Tammuz-an ceremonial weapon, it was dubbed 'Spearhead'. Around  10 years after the end of the Clone Wars, several cells of what would become the Alliance to Restore The Republic managed to acquire  a number of Spearheads. A network of mechanics called Underground Engineers work on these highly customizable fighters. The frame of the R-22 was retained but the weapons were updated, new technology was installed and a pair of Novaldex J-77 engines replaced the original powerplants. The resulting craft was dubbed the RZ-1 'A-Wing' interceptor.

Because of the nature the Rebel Alliance operates, they have to use any readily available materials from the Alliance's Ordnance and Supply Command in order to build the new fighter. The earliest batch of RZ-1s was hand-built and sometimes using second-hand equipment. Not only this slowed down the rate of production; together with its complicated systems and general lack of quality control, it also aggrieved maintenance. The A-Wing was basically a cockpit attached to two engines.Its Novaldex J-77 Event Horizon engines were one of the most powerful engines available. The twin stabilizer wings require careful controls, else it could make a small turn ending as a massive spinout. Armament comprised of two Borstel RG-9 laser cannons and two Dymek HM-6 concussion missile launchers (6 missiles per launcher). The laser cannons can be rotated 60 up and down and can even be made to make a full 360-degree rotation. However the craft lack an astromech droid to manage the systems so the feature was rarely used, if ever.

A fast and powerful strike fighter, the wedge-shaped, 9.6 meter-long fighter came equipped with a hyperdrive. It was ideal for missions that require speed such as hit-and-run raids, surgical strikes on capital ships and intelligence gathering. Essentially a flying cockpit, the A-Wing require precision manipulation of the control surfaces without assistance from an astromech droid. Therefore only the best pilots could pilot an A-Wing without losing control. A capable pilot could emerge from hyperspace, engage the fighter's powerful sensor suite, streak around the objective and vanish back into hyperspace before the enemy can get its fighters aloft.The jammer however not powerful enough to fool larger vessels' systems and instead it became a homing beacon for the larger vessels' targeting systems. The wedge-shaped nose, apart from housing primary sensors, also acted as heat shield for atmospheric entry. It can be also used as a ram in a desperate, last-ditch effort to destroy enemy targets.

The A-Wing's finest hour came during the Battle of Endor. Grouped under Green Squadron, the A-Wings took part in the attack on the second Death Star. Two of the fighters followed General carlrissian into the incomplete battle station but broke off to draw away TIEs from the Millenium Falcon. One of the A-Wings, piloted by Arvel Crynyd (Green Leader) crashed into the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer Executor, which leads to the latter's destruction. The A-Wing proved to be aresilient design, and in its RZ-2 variant, is used by the Resistance in its struggle against the First Order, 30 years after the Battle of Endor.

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Created as 'A-Fighter' by Ralph MacQuarrie for Star Wars Episode VI : Return Of The Jedi, the new fighter originally has blue trimmings but was changed to red after considering the limits of contemporary blue-screen technology. The original Legends backstrory has them designed by General jan Dodonna and Walex Blissex in the aftermath of the Battle of yavin. The backstory was ret-conned following the release of the Star Wars Rebels TV series which explained the existence (prior to Endor) of the A-Wing as being one of the fighter types (the other being the B-Wing) used solely by the Phoenix Squadron of the Rebel Alliance while the Rebel cell under general Dodonna operates X-Wings and Y-Wings. Only during the Battle of Endor that these cells operate together, showing all types of fighters on-screen.

The Kit

Bandai hit the ground running when they were granted the licence to produce Star Wars model kits. The A-Wing was released in 2016 and featured all the hallmarks of the brand. The parts are spread among five sprues with Sprue A featuring multicoloured plastics well-known to Gundam (and now Star Wars) builders. Sprue B contains the main fuselage parts, The Black Sprue C has the cockpit parts (and also a mysterious flat pilot figure). Sprue D contains parts for the display stand, and intersetingly, a Death Star turbolaser turret tower while Sprue D has the 'laser beams'. The breakdown of the parts and by colour means that the model can be build without painting. This however only applies if you want to build Green leader's A-Wing and other references are needed if you want to build generic or other A-Wings  Rounding up the package are the usual choice of stickers or waterslide decals for markings.

Construction

As usual with things that fly (be it real-world or fiction), work started at the cockpit. And as per my usual style too, the parts were painted while still on the sprue and Vallejo Air Anthracite Grey was used. Details representing dials on the side panels were painted Flat White. The main 'instrument panel' was finished using the waterslide decal. The pilot figure was left off at this moment. Moving on to the fuselage, I found that you have to place B16, B17, C13 and C14 to the corresponding site opposite of the ones shown in the instructions, otherwise the upper half won't fit into the lower half of the fuselage. The cokpit module was then inserted (yes, no need gluing, the pegs fit snugly into place). Thge rest of the fuselage parts were then fitted,a gain without cement and without any problems. The sole exception was the wedge-shaped nose, as there is quite a bit of a gap between it and the fuselage. The canopy was also left off at this time.

The engine nacelles were next and take note that the tails are canted inwards and so it the arts are not interchangeable. But before doing anything else, the clear 'thruster port' inside the nacelle was painted Clear Yellow (the instructions say nothing about painting this particular part, mind). As for the rear fuselage panel, I cemented the four small nozzles in place as I feel that push-fit is not sturdy enough to handle the stresses of full flight maneuvers in combat (ahem). The nacelle-rear panel combination was then fitted to the fuselage just to see how it looks and was then removed to facilitate painting. The parts for closed landing gear doors were used as I do not intend to display the A-Wing on the ground, although the opened doors and the gears themselves get a place in my spares box. The cannons were assembled but set aside at this time. The model was then set aside for painting.

Painting And Decalling

As mentioned before, the very breakdown of the parts allow the model to be finished unpainted and (basically) still looks the part. Anyway, the white areas were painted Vallejo Gloss White which tone was 'warmed' up by adding a bit of Desert Tan. The red parts were painted Vallejo German Red Brown Primer which I think is spot on.The grey patches on the fuselage can be replicated using the provided decals (or alternatively, the stickers) but I chose to paint them.The darker patches were painted Tamiya XF-83 Medium Sea Grey while the lighter ones were painted XF-19 Sky Grey. Although originally leaving it in the main fuselage colour, the missile troughs were then painted XF-1 Flat Black. The main body of the cannons were also painted Flat Black with the barrels painted white. The muzzles have the same colour as the main trim of the fuselage. Again, decals and stickers were provided but I chose to paint the parts. The few decals were then placed on the models as per the usual routine.

Finishing

The model was first given a wash using stuff from AK Interactive. Excess fluid was removed by wiping it off in the direction of the 'airflow'. I originally wanted to add a bit more weathering effects (like panel fading and discolorisation) but decided that what I have is enough. The engine-nacelle assembly was then pushed into place and as tested before, did not need cement to make it stay in place. The now-painted pilot figure is placed into the cockpit and the canopy installed. There are two types of canopy that be used. Again, to ease painting, i used the one with the separate front frame. Both styles have separate rear frame and this latter item is quite a tight fit to get it into place. The model was then placed upon the provided display stand. I however did not use the Death Star turbolaser tower. That item is placed into storage and hopefully used in a future Y-Wing or X-Wing build. The whole assembly was then given a final spray of Flat Clear. 

Conclusion

The A-Wing is a neat little model. It actually builds up very quickly, in fact in effect, the basic assembly took only around an hour (although in practice, it was spread over a few days, in order to paint certain parts early on, waiting for the paint to dry, you know the drill). For a 1/72 scale kit, the detail is very nice and I obviously look forward to more Star Wars kits from Bandai (so many models, so little time! Excuses...excuses!)