X-Wing from "Star Wars" (1977)

Scale: 1:42
Initial Release: 1978
Medium: Styrene
Kit Rarity: 3

About the Design

The design of the Incom T-65 X-Wing carries faint but unmistakable echoes of the WWII fighter planes whose maneuvers George Lucas mimicked to create the immortal space combat sequence that climaxed his first "Star Wars" feature. Its wings -- useless in the vacuum of space -- nonetheless gave the craft the sense of grace and power Lucas was seeking, while their ability to move into their namesake "X" position allowed the filmmaker to again exploit the then-nascent powers of motion-controlled special effects. 

Design Anomaly:  X-Wings are shown taking off vertically from their hangar on Yavin IV just prior to their attack on the dreaded Death Star, although no feature on these vehicles even suggests vertical thrusters .

About the Kit

"Luke Skywalker's X-Wing Fighter" was one of the first generation of "Star Wars" model kits to be released by MPC in 1978, virtually a full year after the movie's May 1977 release.  Like all companies with merchandising rights to the film, MPC was months behind the curve when it came to cashing in on "Star Wars' " unexpectedly huge popularity.  (This mistake would never be made again.) 

The X-Wing was re-issued numerous times throughout the 1980s and 1990s, both in conjunction with the release of "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi," as well as in Flight Display and Pro Shop versions.  Its final release was in 2005.

This kit is an original 1978 issue painted as if "factory fresh."