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Ravendeviant — M-Wing Schematic 01
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Published: 2017-03-14 20:07:44 +0000 UTC; Views: 43696; Favourites: 542; Downloads: 430
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Well, I finally did it. I designed my own Star Wars fighter. With all of the cool designs that have already come before, it was quite a challenge. I hope you like it. I tried to incorporate all of the things that I would like on a fighter, to include enough Star Wars design cues that it would fit into the existing pantheon of fighters, but then also to include a few things that you haven't seen before on Star Wars fighters. Check it out.Originally conceived as “Mandalore’s answer to the X-Wing,” the MX-220/Z Knighthawk, or “M-Wing” represents the pinnacle of modern starfighter design. Called the "M-Wing" due to the shape of it's S-Foils when viewed from the front, rear, or above; the M-Wing should not be confused with the much older "M-class" fighter.
Designed and manufactured by Mandal Motors for use by the Mandalorian Knights, the M-Wing offers a number of compelling and innovative design features, including: 1. The aft-mounted blaster turret which can be operated by the gunner, the astromech droid, or by on board auto-targeting systems. 2. A nested astromech socket located just behind the cockpit to offer added protection for the onboard astromech droid. 3. The retractable front turret allows the M-Wing to easily target hostiles through an enormous firing arc. Working in concert with the rear turret, there is almost no safe angle from which to attack the M-Wing. The forward turret can also fold away if desired for improved aerodynamic performance during atmospheric flight. 4. In addition to its twin forward-mounted torpedo launchers, the M-Wing also carries two wingtip-mounted concussion missiles, with 4 additional hard points available under the wings to give the M-Wing that much more added punch. 5. The M-Wing also sports Beskar and lightweight Z-type Zillo-armor, which gives the craft its /Z designation. 6. Folding wingtips minimize its space requirements in a carrier setting. 7. Thanks to a rotational joint located just behind the astromech droid, the forward part of the fuselage can rotate up or down, to expand the firing arc of the nose turret, to improve visibility at various angles of attack, and to improve aerodynamics during certain maneuvers. 8. Its unique engine configuration offers remarkable maneuverability. 9. Two wing-mounted multi-function heavy cannons can either act as heavy blaster cannons or as ion cannons.
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If you can't get an X-wing or even a Y-wing to fly this is not a bad alternative to hop into to get off the planet you're currently on.
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So, is the classic T-65 X-Wing your favorite star-fighter?
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I actually like the Y-wing better as it was originally a starfighter/bomber combo. Allegedly in the reference books the Y-wing could move faster to get in, release its payload of bombs and then get out of the area quickly. The Y-wing is less maneuverable and less agile than an X-wing though. It comes down to what type of mission is being exercised, I guess. For me, I'd prefer to pilot a Y-wing as it has a co-pilot behind the pilot that can fire lasers from a turret, to add more of a chance to destroying any enemy ships attempting fire on the fighter/bomber from behind. The X-wings were for a single pilot and had NO AFT weapons, only forward lasers and proton torpedoes, but no aft-firing weapons. If I am flying something with a TIE fighter on my six, I would be happy to have a co-pilot to fire on it from the aft. I do realize NOT all Y-wings had room for co-pilots as there were some Y-wings made for only one pilot.
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Just got off Eckhart's video about the in-universe flaws of letter-wing ship design, and point by point:
1. Fov. This is good, windows give good views and the gunner can spot enemies behind the fighter (see point 3.)
2. Maneuverability. I'll give the fighter the benefit of the doubt as the lore says it is maneuverable but there is no evidence of additional thrusters.
3. Rear defense. Turrets have that covered, but wing mounted weapons are fixed forward.
4. Target profile. Point of greatest failure. I understand that the wings are stylistic and places for weapons mounts., but they could be smaller. Also, are there shields or hyperdrive?
Room for improvement: Make the wings shorter and angle them so instead of this:
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it would be more like this:
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Not the best diagram, but you get the idea.
Also, the wing mounted missiles could be on a pivot like on the A wing (the heavy cannons, though, are unworkable with this solution.) Would it be too extreme to have the entire wing/thruster/weapon assembly on a 2-way swivel like the Kom'rk? It would add maneuverability and increase the firing arc.
Not ribbing on your design, looks great already! I'd use this fighter and would love to hear what you think of my suggestions (not my own opinions, again, everything is based on that video.)
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Thanks for the interesting comments. I'm not familiar with the specific video that you are referring to, but it sounds interesting.
Yes, the M-Wing does have both advanced shields and a state-of-the-art hyperdrive.
Your ideas about other possible features and variants for the M-Wing are certainly food for thought. Maybe some of these concept could be incorporated into future variants.
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLU43H…
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Thanks for sending the link to Eckhart's video! I just checked it out. He makes some interesting points, but I think he also missed a few important things.
Modern F-35 pilots make use of a technology which essentially projects a HUD (head's up display) onto the inside of their visors. This HMDS (Helmet-Mounted Display) technology allows them to see flight and targeting data wherever they look. That includes looking at enemy craft right through the floorboards of their own cockpit. This sort of technology makes issues of "field of vision" virtually obsolete. This tech is in-use today by military pilots, so there's every reason to think that it would also be used by Star Wars pilots. The fact that Star Wars video games include HUD targeting graphics which are clearly not projected onto the stationary front canopy lends further credence to this theory. Some episodes of Clone Wars prominently feature Clone Trooper helmets using this kind of HMDS technology. Additionally, it is well established that Mandalorians and First Order Stormtroopers also have HMDS systems. With this tech already so well established in the Star Wars universe, there is every reason to believe that Rebel, Imperial, Resistance, and First Order pilots all make use of this type of technology. After all, all of these pilots wear pretty elaborate helmet's with visors, and some of them look quite similar to F-35 HMDS helmets. Additionally, even canopy-mounted HUD's or simple dashboard-mounted tracking systems can give pilots an excellent 360 overview of the space around them, without ever having to turn around and look behind them. So, with all of that in mind, I think the whole FOV question is really a non-issue.
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There were also a few comments on that video about the Defiant, a British plane which experimented with a tail turret. It turned out to be a disadvantage as the gunner needed a stable platform, so the pilot had to fly straighter when the gunner was firing, making the plane an easier target. Of course, although not as prevalent as some say they should be (www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pro23… ) a droid or computer gunner would eliminate this problem. AI in the SW universe is somewhat primitive when compared to, say, Halo, possibly due to anti-droid bias or paranoia about weapons gaining sentience (see: Terminator, The Iron Giant.)
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Looked through the comments to see if you are aware of the actual M-wing that looks like a Y-wing with a middle engine, and it seems like you do. Still, this variation of the M-wing (probably called the "Mando-wing" for those who know of the other model) could be to the original M-wing as the V-wing Starfighter of the clone wars and the V-wing Airspeeder of the rebellion are to each other,..., only both are space worthy.
Now, as someone working on some ships for my own, you don't mind if I borrow some of these schematics for my own, do you? Credit will be given where credit is due (the favoriting is to help me come back to it later, as I usually have a picture of the craft I'm trying to recreate with the Lego Digital Designer up for help, and for credit giving purposes for the original model).
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Sure, you have my permission to use this artwork as reference to build a Lego digital version of this fighter, so long as credit for the original design is clearly given. Best of luck!
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I'll do my best to give you credit. And thanks for the wishes. It might be a while before I get to certain craft, but I'll get there eventually. (I'll probably upload everything as a solid block, so it'd probably be some thousand or so uploads)
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Rhino 3D CAD and Photoshop.
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Definitely an improvement when compared to the actual m-wing.
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I sketched my own fan-made Star Wars ship quite some time ago; she's cobbled together from an X-Wing hull, two TIE fighter capsules, and two wings. I call her the Phoenix; here she is. Rebel Alliance Phoenix Gunship
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That's a cool design! Isn't it fun coming up with your own designs for Star Wars ships?
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I also came up with this: YT-1800 Bomber-Gunship She's based on a stock YT-Series, except I turned the "prongs" outwards, turning them into wings. I put two bombs under each wing and put two pulse laser turrets on top.
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This one goes in my Favorites!
Might even try to repilicate the design in D.R.O.N.E the game.
(design credit to you of course)
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Glad you like it! Enjoy!
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good job, you definitly need a nice scene of it in action
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I have only found you work today, and I must say, I LOVE you designs.
I have seen the work of unusualsuspex and Shoguneagle for a some time, but your work ticks all of the boxes for me.
New ideas and unusual blends with time honoured traditions, logical, rational designs and styling's that fit the ideas as well as drop the jaw.
My personal favourites are your Special Forces Interceptor and the 'Mandalorian Wing' Starfighter.
I would have preferred if Disney had used the Tie Interceptor as the base of the TIE/FO rather than the original TIE Fighter, as the Interceptor was meant to replace the Fighter and the T70 with two engines that 'split' in half seems unlikely to me. I know they were reusing the concept are, but this is just me rambling now.
I wish you the best of luck this new year and I hope to see more of our work in the future.
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Thanks so much for taking the time to leave such thoughtful, positive, and insightful comments! You absolutely made my day, . . . and you make some great points! Happy New Year!
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Thanks for taking the time to read and reply. It means a lot to me that you care about your viewers and their thoughts.
My personal favourites in the Star Wars lore were the E-Wing and the B-Wing and I wished Disney took these designs into the 'Sequel Trilogy'.
The B-Wing was my favourite Rebel Fighter of the Original trilogy, acting as an anti-capital ship assault starfighter (A/SF). Its narrow cross-like profile made it hard to hit in the approach and packed a punch with torpedoes, ion cannons, laser cannons and even a turbo laser, but its was a complex craft to fly, clumsy and slower than the Y-Wing, so it had to use cut and run attacks and avoid TIEs unless coming head on, like with the Flying Tigers of WW2. We can liken it to the US Avenger and SB2C Helldiver, later war fighter bombers.
I would have moved the cockpit to the centre with a modular weapon point and engine on each side of it to complement a modular weapons pod on both wing tips to simplify maintenance, while increase firepower and agility, but then it may be likened to a fighter made for 1999's Lost in Space or the fighter used by Ventress in the Clone Wars.
I would have also said that the StarFortress Bomber from The Last Jedi, which I first heard was named as the B/SF-17, was made from the B-Wings design, but built for planetary bombing and supply drops over the original's operation profile, its thinking mudded by the First Order Agents secretly operating in the New Republic bureaucracy.
The E-Wing was a New Republic Escort Starfighter from the Legends content, combining the X-Wing and A-Wing into a single package. It had the X-Wing's Body with a pair of low wings, each with an engine mounted on the underside, a laser cannon on the tips and one more above the cockpit. It was meant to replace the two origin Starfighters, being fast, powerful and tough, but early teething problems like synthetic Tibanna gas and only accepting the 'new' R7 Astromech made it undergunned and expensive. They were corrected, but the damage was done and the New Republic favoured new X-Wings over the E-Wing.
I would love to make a Sequel Trilogy design using T-70 cues, such as the engines built around the wing to add strength and benefit from the three decades of development and minimisation, but I have no drawing talent, something you have be blessed with and have cultivated to this day.
As before, this is me rambling, but I would love to hear you thoughts.
May the Force be with you.
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Yeah, you've gotta love the E-Wing and the B-Wing! I'm familiar with both. That's a cool idea to update the E-Wing! Something about the location of it's engines always bugged me (just a little bit.) Maybe your idea of updating it would finally resolve that issue for me! I might take on this design challenge some day, (But I'm not making any promises.)
Yes, I also noticed the similarity between the B-Wing and the Resistance Bomber. In fact, I was wondering if the body of the Bomber might swing around to a horizontal configuration (like the B-Wing) while the cockpit remains upright during the landing cycle. I haven't seen that officially posited anywhere, but it would make pretty good sense, and it would cement the bond between the B-Wing and the Bomber. I guess the official story is that the large lower bomb magazine/wing ejects out of the bomber (like the clip of a gun) or that it can land upright in an elaborate gantry, with the lower wing still attached. But it seems to me that a pivoting cockpit (ala the B-Wing) would save them a lot of trouble, with detaching and re-attaching. Plus, it would allow the bombers to land anywhere they wanted without having to search for a specially designed landing facility or ejecting their bomb magazine.
Yes, I've seen the Resistance Bomber referred to as BOTH the "MG-100" and as the "B/SF-17." I've even seen it listed as the "MG-100 Starfortress B/SF-17." Wow! That's quite a mouthful! I'm not sure what's up with the "alphabet soup" of letters and numbers. It sounds like someone changed their mind, mid-media-release. Oh well. The official books that I have listed it as the MG-100, so that's how I titled my images. It sounds like the B/SF-17 was meant to be a tip of the hat the venerable old B-17 bomber, which is nice.
Hey, thanks so much for taking the time to write!
May the Force be with you!
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Elegant and stylish, a melding of the X-wing and Kom'rk fighter lineages. A beautiful piece of design.
There's a pilot and a gunner? The aft section of the cockpit looks pretty enclosed - does the gunner have some kind of holographic targeting display?
Does it have a hyperdrive mutiplier? Or is the astromech just there for maintenance and gunnery duties?
How does the speed compare to an A-Wing or X-Wing? Those engines look impressive, but they're moving a pretty heavy spaceframe, with all that armor and ordnance
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Hey, thanks so much for the nice comments! "Elegant? stylish? beautiful?" You made my day! I'm glad to see how well my M-Wing design has been received by folks in general. It's funny that you mention the Kom'rk Class fighter in your comments. I'm building that ship in CAD at this very moment. I still have a ways to go adding details, materials, and textures, but it's well on its way. Hopefully I'll be able to post some images in a few more days.
Let's see if I can answer some of your questions: Yes, the ship has a crew of 2. I always like to have the flexibility of carrying a second person, whether it be as co-pilot, gunner, RIO, mission specialist, or passenger. The pilot could certainly handle the ship on his/her own (especially with the assistance of an astromech droid), but with 2 turrets and lots of hard points for additional ordnance, some missions would benefit from having a dedicated gunner/bombardier.
Yeah, that's a good comment regarding the closed-in space around the rear cockpit. But with the aid of helmet-mounted computer displays even some modern-day jet fighters (like F-35s) allow the pilot to track enemy targets right through the floorboard of their ships, so visibility wouldn't be a problem for the crew of an M-Wing.
Yes, the M-Wing is equipped with a powerful hyperdrive.
As for speed and maneuverability, the M-Wing is meant to be competitive with the X-Wing. Carrying heavier payloads for certain missions would add to its bulk, of course, but that's true for any ship. And its Z-Type Zillo-armor is comparatively lightweight, so it increases survivability without adding a lot of weight.
Hey, thanks again for the super comments!
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The Kom'rk or perhaps its smaller cousin, the Fang. This ship looks like an attempt to "cross-breed" a Mandalorian design with an X-Wing. The broader, flatter profile and the rotational joint located just behind the astromech clearly show the Mandalorian influence, but the wing and fuselage configuration are strongly reminiscent of an X-Wing, as is the inclusion of the astromech. One wonders if MandalMotors has been poaching top design talent from Incom and FreiTek, or whether they've just been doing from serious reverse-engineering.
To be a credible Mandalorian ship, it needs to look like a serious piece of military hardware, and it passes that test with flying colours. The reason I say "elegant"is that you've managed to do that while recognizably combining elements of two different starfighter lineages AND making it look beautiful and damn' cool. The Ortho doesn't really do it justice, actually; your best depiction of it, the one that gives you the full effect, is this one:
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Yeah, trying to blend all of the necessary elements was tricky. Plus, it's actually a pretty intimidating design challenge trying to create a ship that will fit in convincingly with the impressive lineage of Star Wars fighters. So I'm thrilled to hear that you feel that the design has succeeded in that goal.
Hey, I wonder which ship would win in a battle between a squadron of M-wings and squadron of similarly equipped TIE/sfis? That would be an intense battle! The M-wings are heavier, but they also have double the engine power, and I think their lightweight zillo armor would give them the edge in survivability.
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It's an interesting question. I think a lot would depend on the circumstances of the battle, the skill of the pilots, and the strategies of the commanders.
I'm used to judging Star Wars ships using the stats in WEG's roleplaying game, which give hard-and-fast figures for hull and shield strength, firepower, and maneuverability. Here I'm just making guesses based on the appearance and descriptions of the ships, but...
The TIE/sfi seems to have a lighter spaceframe, making it more fragile but also more maneuverable. If the battle involved dogfighting in an asteroid field, or the rings of a gas giant like Saturn, they would find it easier to duck and weave among the rocks, and shoot from cover. (Of course, they'd also be marginally more vulnerable to collisions, but that probably wouldn't be a significant consideration; walloping into fifty tons of rock would total either type of fighter). In that sort of "sniper" combat, they'd have an edge over the M-Wings.
I suspect that the TIE/sfi is faster - powerful engines plus a lighter spaceframe. That would be consistent with Empire era, in which an X-Wing's top speed was c. 80% that of a standard TIE - and you said that the M-Wing was intended to be competitive with the X-Wing, not the TIE, implying a roughly comparable sublight speed to the X-Wing. In open space, the TIE/sfi might be effective in hit-and-fade attacks, repeatedly striking and retreating, in order to maximize that speed advantage. It could wear down a rival squadron of M-Wings that way. In a defensive role, however - as Thrawn says of the A-Wings in Dark Force Rising - they wouldn't be able to run away from whatever they were defending, making such a tactic unfeasible. In planetary defense and escort duties, the heavier armor and greater power reserves of the M-Wing would tell.
If the battle were taking place within a planetary gravity well, (or a region of gravitational turbulence like Kessel), the M-Wing's greater engine power would probably tell against the TIE/sfi, whose usual maneuverability advantage would be lessened or eliminated by needing to struggle against the gravitational well/turbulence.
My final point is somewhat speculative. The TIE/sfi is a highly capable starfighter with impressive armament, speed and maneuvering capability. It is, clearly, a quality product. Yet it was designed by a military-industrial complex whose mindset revolves around mass production, superior numbers rather than superior skill, and a concomitant lack of respect for the value of the individual. The Mandalorians are the opposite. They tend more towards small, highly capable, highly individual warriors winning their battles through superior ability.
I think that that would translate to a degree of ruggedness in Mandalorian equipment which would be lacking in their Imperial rivals. An Imperial engineer's instinct would be to leave out a multiply redundant failsafe to cut costs, even on a top-of-the-range fighter like the TIE/sfi; an Mandalorian engineer's instinct would be to include it, in order to increase the effectiveness and survivability of the vessel. In a dogfight, I think that the M-Wing pilots would be able to push their ships that little bit beyond their intended design limits and expect to live to tell the tale; their Imperial rivals would be more likely to see something burning out or blowing up if they tried to do the same. Especially in an extended bout of combat, that would make a real difference to the outcome.
While the TIE/sfi would be a better choice in some circumstances, overall I'd judge the M-Wing to be the better fighter. But of course, that's partially guesswork on my part. I would be interested to hear your thoughts.
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Well said! I really love your analysis. It is said that if you ask a fighter pilot, "What is the best fighter?" he will answer, "It depends. What's the mission?" Aviation history is filled with examples that prove the wisdom of that old saying. Every vessel has its own strengths and weaknesses. And you analysis seems to explore those strengths and weaknesses pretty accurately. It's been years since I played the West End Games Star Wars roleplaying game. (The group I played with eventually morphed our Star Wars role-playing adventures into a sort of collaborative storytelling game which was very quick, lean, and virtually "rules-free.") While it might be tempting to work up specific stats on these two ships, it might be a better idea to leave it undefined as it is, and open to endless speculation. . .
Thanks so much for your detailed and skilled analysis! It was a pleasure to read. It's clear that you're really well-informed about such matters, and that experience (with the context of the larger Star Wars universe) comes through loud and clear! Thanks again!
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Just excellent! Well-designed and deeply thought-out vehicle!
One proposal. What if you slightly change the timeline of this fighter? Now we know that Mandalore was (mostly) loyal Imperial planet until 2 BBY. So, this MandalMotors project might be started concurrently with the Incom X-Wing development under Imperial plans to obtain a new heavy fighter. And then, after the Corellian treaty, the M-Wing production began. Now for Mandalorians and any private forces who could afford such a high-grade and expensive starship.
What do you think?
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