OK, props to this fellow, because this is a nice looking render of a Z-95, bubble canopy and all..

http://lorelei-shipyards.tumblr.com/post/67507634785/z-95-headhunter-variation-renders-and-a-couple-of

That's no Z-95, but looks cool none the less

Thank you, i appreciate that.

But stegocent while i know that the accepted Z-95 is a prototype X-Wing with a hunch back i have to respectfully disagree as to its accuracy.

According to Han Solo at Stars End, where the Z-95 showed up for the first time, it is a swing wing, bubble canopied, fork tailed fighter with twin engines and triple wing blasters.

I suspect the triple blasters might have been intended to be in the wing roots rather than the wing tips but Star Wars fighters with bare wingtips are reasonably rare and i didnt want the thing to look like an F-14 so i took a chance and put them on the ends.

After the prequels came out i redesigned it a little to make it more compatible aesthetically with the ARC 170 and the X Wing since Lucasfilm retconned it to be from the same design team as the ARC and one of the fighters that would eventually lead down a long road to the X Wing

Looks good.

The Z-95 is supposed to have gone through a LOT of different looks over its lifetime and I imagine looking at the first ones and the latest ones you may not even think them related.

I somewhat like this representation except for those hideous gunpods on the wingtips. I can almost see are aerospace fighter in there but it needs to lose the pods.

I know when I read "triple blasters" as an armament I'm assuming three barrels in the ship's fuselage or perhaps a barrel on each wing with one in/on the fuselage. If you're going to put three barrels in each wing (fire-linked, triple blaster) I'd really expect them to follow WWII style weapon placement instead of massive gun pods on the wingtips.

Am I the only one reminded of a BSG Viper from this?

After the prequels came out i redesigned it a little to make it more compatible aesthetically with the ARC 170 and the X Wing since Lucasfilm retconned it to be from the same design team as the ARC and one of the fighters that would eventually lead down a long road to the X Wing

I'd say you did a good job of that. It looks pretty cool and I can see it as an early step between the ARC 170 and the X-Wing.

But I have to agree, it doesn't look like a Z-95 Headhunter to me.

I would assume that if FFG makes a Z-95 they'd use the version from the X-Wing games, because that's the most familiar as well as the last model produced so the most comparable to Tie Fighters.

I think when it comes to the Z-95 I think I prefer something along these lines.

You can definitely see it's related to the T-65 but it has the curved cockpit, and I feel having a single intake pushes the fact that it is not just a T-65 with a broken S-Foil.

Ditto The Ratt, but I like Gossies version too.

I bought Gossrics version and am trying to figure a good paint job for it.. vision issues have kept me from really getting more than a base coat on it though...

The 3X Reading glasses at WalMart work for me...Ha! I only need them when I am messing with details on our little toys.

I'm not arguing against the Z-95 that is usually used, I just wanted a version that was truer to the source. Hence the MK1-A designation.*L* There is only one intake per thruster but the wing leading edge protudes in front of it, As for the bulky triple blasters honestly i agree and went through quite a few incarnations before i settled on this one as a conpromise. But with a swing wing that has guns mounted on the wings the only other alternative would be the underwing mount of the ARC and that would look dubious or internal mounts which would be hideously complicated and, i feel, take away some of the SW look

I think when it comes to the Z-95 I think I prefer something along these lines.

You can definitely see it's related to the T-65 but it has the curved cockpit, and I feel having a single intake pushes the fact that it is not just a T-65 with a broken S-Foil.

I love this, but that's a prototype X-wing, not a Z-95 (yes, I'm familiar with the artist, the Z-95 origins, etc.)

I like Gosric's take, but I would change them to swing-wing and put the tri-blasters at the mid-root.

I'm partial to this one.

Well the fact it's labelled as a Z-95 by the artist would suggest that it's his take on the subject matter. And it feels right to me. It's close enough to a lot of the comic art while looking a bit less like a direct copy of the T-65.

It also really does feel like a successor to the ARC-170, due to the Engines, Cockpit shape and a few other things.

I'm with BOSS.. I like Rat's and Gos's versions both. They're both pretty birds. I just want to see one or the other in the game. Need a reason to go buy more minis. :3

There are three versions of the Z-95, the fork-tailed one being the aerospace version known as the Mk 1. The Mk 3 is the one everyone thinks of as the Z-95, which is the pure space fighter that Subpro made for the Republic (not the Clone Wars one, but a general-use civilian fighter).

In my own opinion, that version in the OP doesn't even come close. For one thing, it's not a swing-wing design. I see no variable geometry whatsoever, actually. It also has two fins on top which aren't in any description of the Z-95 (the fork is made by the ion drive engines), and the weapons on the wingtips look much too big to be light blasters and are more like the laser cannons on the X-wing. And overall, the design just looks too "busy". The Y-wing is supposed to be an exception; all other fighters in Star Wars have a smooth body shell with a few lumps and bumps, and maybe an open area like on the back of the X-wing or the intakes on the B-wing.

I think is is MUCH closer to the Mk 1 Z-95 Headhunter:

The only area which I think it misses the mark is that the blasters are on the wing roots rather than the wingtips, but this arrangement makes much more sense to me anyway because it would require less mechanics to make it work, presuming they rotate with the wings to keep pointing forward.

I like those a lot.But i think they look more like the Pinnace fighters from Crusher Joe, which is not bad Crusher Joe had some of the best ship designs around.

I do have to clarify though since we are talking about my design *L* It is indeed a swing wing

http://lorelei-shipyards.tumblr.com/post/69239943279/z-95-swept-wing

though the limitations of 3d printing make it perhaps not as obvious and making it a functional swing wing, while certainly possible, would i think result in too much fragility at this scale.

As for the forked tail i quote from the original description of the ship.

"They were early production snubships: Z-95 Headhunters. Compact twin engined swing wing craft, Their fuselages, wings and forked tails were daubed with the drab spots, smears and spray-splotches of general camouflage coats. Their external hard points where rockets and bomb pylons had once been mounted were now bare"

One thing to keep in mind is that the actual model will not look as bumpy as the render. Details have to be emphasized in order to make them print correctly.

The printed versions do look somewhat smoother.(though this is my Mk 2 and 3, the same principle applies)

I kind of agree about the wing guns but then the same printability issue comes into play. They dont look as bulky on the actual model and the first versions i made with smaller cannon would not print.

As it is though, the way i see it is that in sure most will stick with the Z-95 they know. I just wanted a version that i 'personally' felt was more accurate. (apologies for the giant image, photobucket is not letting me do thumbs tonight for some reason)

The 3X Reading glasses at WalMart work for me...Ha! I only need them when I am messing with details on our little toys.

if it was only that easy my friend.. lol.. I had a hemorrhage in my right eye this last weekend, and have some blood floating around and making my life rough.. fortunately it should clear up soon.. I did do a repaint on one of my Falcons today, as I can paint large ships. I just have issues with finelines and details.. also when the blood moves I get some clear moments.. lol.. it's a trick working around this right now..

Forgive me, I didn't realize they were being made for printing at this scale. I completely understand about emphasis for printing at tiny sizes, and it does look a LOT better as a physical model.

As for the forked tail, I tended to imagine it as looking like the Bird of Prey's tail:

With the engines as modules on the wings rather than between the fork.

Thats not a problem,it is logical you would be coming at it from that standpoint being a model builder. I remember what that was like. I still have a ton of things left to build gathering dust. I need to find the right glasses or invest in one of those magnifier headsets

The forked tail being like a BoP would look good. Not sure why i did it the way i did. probably had the F-14 on my mind *L*

The 3X Reading glasses at WalMart work for me...Ha! I only need them when I am messing with details on our little toys.

if it was only that easy my friend.. lol.. I had a hemorrhage in my right eye this last weekend, and have some blood floating around and making my life rough.. fortunately it should clear up soon.. I did do a repaint on one of my Falcons today, as I can paint large ships. I just have issues with finelines and details.. also when the blood moves I get some clear moments.. lol.. it's a trick working around this right now..

I hope you feel better soon Brother!

Thanks, its an ongoing issue with diabetes and high blood pressure.. us old guys know these problems.. lol.. mostly just sucks. I had to pass on a tourney today because I don't feel safe driving.. no worries though, should pass soon..

As soon as I can get back to detail painting, I'll post up shots of my Z95. I think I need to give it a lighter basecoat and then go with the blue or green accents I wanted to give it.. i.e. either blue squad or green..

Looking forward to seeing your new work Brother.

Be well.

I think when it comes to the Z-95 I think I prefer something along these lines.

You can definitely see it's related to the T-65 but it has the curved cockpit, and I feel having a single intake pushes the fact that it is not just a T-65 with a broken S-Foil.

I love this, but that's a prototype X-wing, not a Z-95 (yes, I'm familiar with the artist, the Z-95 origins, etc.)

I like Gosric's take, but I would change them to swing-wing and put the tri-blasters at the mid-root.

Uh, that's a Z95...not a prototype X-wing...I'm not sure where you're getting your info but you might double check it.

Z95 is a predecessor to the X-wing, and that is clearly a Z95