Featured set of the day: Anakin's Y-wing Starfighter
Posted by Huw,
Today's set has been picked by bricksaber, who worked on the design of the craft for the Clone Wars animated series:
This is my favourite set in terms of both subject matter and build. Anakin's Y-Wing was extremely faithful to the source material, it had many great parts like the 4x4 domes in white and clear, it was a solid and interesting build, and it was fun to play with and swoosh around.
Its only drawbacks being the wrongly shaped cockpit (something Lego has yet to do correctly on any system version of the Y-Wing) and the terrible Clone Wars minifigs with their warped faces.
In case there was any doubt, most of the Clone Wars crew where big fans of Star Wars especially our fearless leader Dave Filoni. So when a legacy item from the original trilogy was added to any episode it created quite the buzz among the crew. For myself, I was so excited I decided to make a personal documentary about the Y-Wing's creation and that's where most of these stills come from.
At the time, I was manager of the design department and it was my job to assign work to the artists and for the Y-Wing Dave wanted Russell Chong to do it.
Russell is an awesome, old school draftsman (above is his desk). He jumped at the chance to give a new spin to a classic vehicle.
Because of it being an animated show, everything on the Clone Wars had to be designed. There was no 'found object' or 'kit bashing' available to us. So everything from a bottle in the background to the redesign of a spaceship goes through a long process of review.
Above, Russell chats with episodic director Brian Kalin-O'Connell on the progress of the Y-Wing. In the end though, one person had the ultimate word.
As the supervising director, Dave Filoni had final say on pretty much everything and was fantastic to work with. He did a great job managing all of us nerds even as we pestered him constantly about what this Y-Wing would look like.
There are multiple phases in the review process, here Dave reviews the colour design of the Y-Wing, and it takes a LONG time for something to go from drawing to approved asset.
Above is the big moment when we first saw the final model of the Clone Wars Y-Wing and I have to admit (I'm the guy in the hat) the first thought in my head was, "I can't wait to buy the Lego set!"
There has been a lot said about what goes into making the awesome sets that we here all love. I wanted to give just a brief glimpse of what goes into making the things those sets are based on.
It takes a whole lot of people who care and love what they do to make something that winds up being a toy in a kid's hands. Like those kids, I never stopped loving those little interlocking bricks and can only hope that the show I had a small part in making continues to inspire kids to build.
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18 comments on this article
I was too young to get this set at the time, and I really want it now, especially the Ashoka. Thanks for playing a part in the Clone Wars series. I really like the series and it is pretty amazing what you did with the design graphics, and I come to appreciate them to this day.
Haha! I've actually got that set that I've got up on a swedish auction site. Sitting at 2 sek ($0.20 ish) after a week. It's huge and awesome and like no one knows that!
I must say you did a great job working on the "old" y-wing it feels just like the progression from the original trilogy one. While I agree with its flaws it is a set I keep in my Clone Wars display as it is a timeless classic.
That's awesome, but how can we be sure that that truly is Dave? Where is his cowboy hat?
Ah, I remember getting this back in Christmas 2008... back when Lego was better and much more simple. Sigh.
The clone wars Y-wings are better IMO
Phenomenally interesting article; amazing to get insight like this. Thank you for sharing this story!
I decided not to buy this ship due to lack of funds and because it could have come with random Clone Pilots to field our army but I hope that LEGO rectifies that with phase 2 pilots.
I cannot believe that you designed this iconic Clone Wars spacecraft! That is so awesome! I have built this set once and it is my favorite Y-Wing, topping the OT Y-Wings!
Wow! The Gunship yesterday, and now this. All of my old Star Wars sets are being reviewed. Whoever picks the random sets has good taste.
@Huw - is it possible to better demarcate where your introduction stops and the reader's contributions starts for features like these? I assume you only wrote the first paragraph, but that dashed line after paragraph 3 also suggests it's the start of the actual feature. Usually, it's fairly obvious where your bit ends, but it's sometimes nebulous where the reader's point of view takes over.
I bought most of the Clone Wars minifigs when they first came out, but I've been replacing them, the last couple of years, with more traditional minifigs, because yeah, those faces are not so good.
"It takes a whole lot of people who care and love what they do to make something that winds up being a toy in a kid's hands."
Kudos and many thanks to you all.
Wow. It's something of an experience and almost an honor to read this CW team and design story. The CW serie is so good IMO. It brought so many beautiful ships and new characters to the saga!
An interesting read, no doubt, but I have a strong feeling that I have read this (or, a very similar article on The Clone Wars Y-wing Starfighter) on Brickset before: well before Featured Set status.
Star Wars bts pics are always a win.
When I’d 1st watched a Clone Wars (on Netflix), I absolutely LOVED the fleshing out of the Republic Y-wing Fighter. It was so good to see it as a “completed”/skinned/finished fighter, versus the remnant skeletons that the Rebel Y-wings always made me think of. I think that’s why as a kid I never found the Rebel Y-wings memorable. I’d love to see an updated, refreshed version of this, maybe correcting the cabin glass, oh & how about an UCS sized one. That’d look glorious!
Awesome story. Thanks for sharing!