Brief:
"T' Koensayr BTL-S3 Y-Win' Attack Starfighter is an older craft, past it's prime by t' Battle o' Yavin but still an important part o' t' Rebel Alliance. Well, blow me down! Though large and slow, shiver me timbers, matey, it's extremely rugged and packs a heavy punch. This craft is seen in all three Star Wars movies, shiver me timbers, startin' with t' first unsuccessful attack on t' first Death Star." - Starship Modeler

There are three reasons that I decided t' do this build: First, because t' Y-win' is just so darn cool and there hasn't been a kit released o' this model. Second, arrr, shiver me timbers, I decided t' make it out o' recycled parts for t' EMRR 2007 Challenge. And lastly, arrr, I built it t' test t' stability o' t' design for a larger version. Begad! Since this year be t' 30th anniversary o' t' original Star Wars, me bucko, TRASD has decided t' build a large X-Win' and me build group thought that it should have a Y-Win' t' fly with! For me boilerplate version I decided on 18mm motors and parachute recovery.

Construction:
This list o' materials is probably unlike most o' t' reviews and articles found here on EMRR. Avast! Blimey! T' followin' parts are needed t' build yourself a similar project:

• 1 Paper towel tube
• 1 Fax paper tube
• 8 10" Bamboo shishkabob skewers
• 2 Plastic domes from grocery store novelty dispensers (the ones next t' t' gumball machines)
• 1 Pencil
• 1 Plastic grocery bag
• 1 18" piece o' elastic from a never completed sewin' project
• 1 36" piece o' butcher's twine
• 1 Copperhead igniter tube
• 1 Sheet o' newspaper
• 1 Sheet o' corrugated cardboard
• 1 1/2"x4"x24" Piece o' rough balsa packagin' reinforcin' material from an Edmonds Ecee Thunder kit (used t' protect t' thin laser cut sheets)
• 1 1/2" strip o' 60 grit sandpaper

I started off me Y-Win' build with t' side pods. Begad! Arrr! By comparin' t' length t' width o' t' paper towel tubes, I decided that they would look just about right by cuttin' t' tube in half. Avast, me proud beauty! I then trimmed off a 1/2" rin' from each for t' tail end o' each pod. After that, I glued one o' t' paper towel tubes into t' plastic domes. Begad! I then marked each tube usin' me Estes tube markin' guide for four attachments. Well, blow me down! I glued t' skewers on flush with t' tail of the plastic dome with CA. T' 1/2" cut off rings were then similarly marked and glued t' t' bamboo skewers. Ahoy! I eyeballed t' approximate position o' t' rings and trimmed t' excess pointed end o' t' skewer off. Begad! T' finish off each side pod, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I added 1/2" strips o' corrugated carboard inside o' t' tail rings. Begad! Nay only did this help the accuracy o' t' model, arrr, but I'm sure it added t' it's stability as well.

After t' side pods were complete, me bucko, arrr, I moved on t' t' pod arms. I cut about a 2-1/2" piece off from t' balsa plank and cut it in half t' get two 2" x 2-1/2" pieces with t' grain runnin' perpendicular t' t' main body. I sanded concave curves in t' attachin' ends o' these t' match those o' t' paper towel and fax paper tubes. Blimey! I used my normal gluin' technique o' puttin' a good amount o' yellow carpenter's glue into t' center o' each pylon and tacked them t' t' end o' t' fax paper tube with CA and CA accelerator spray. This allows t' part t' be held in place quickly as t' yellow glue dries t' form a stronger bond. Begad! After bondin' on both pod arms, I attached on t' pods to each side.

T' next task that I decided t' do was t' make t' cockpit for t' Y-Wing. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! I decided that one thickness o' the balsa wasn't enough, ya bilge rat, matey, so I laminated two together. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! This looked too thick, arrr, so I sloped it a bit on t' bottom running from front t' back. Blimey! I then marked and cut t' familiar wedge shaped cockpit with a hand saw. Aye aye! T' complete t' structure of t' cockpit, me bucko, I added another wedge shape for t' canopy. This entire structure was lightly sanded.

Havin' t' cockpit and side pods constructed, I used them t' decide on t' length t' trim t' main body fax tube to. Begad! I had several inches o' tube left over, matey, so I trimmed an inch off t' use later for me shock cord mount. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I took the remainin' tube and cut a sliver out o' it lengthwise. This allowed me t' compress t' cardboard in and tape it back together t' use as a base for t' nose cone. I glued this t' t' cockpit with CA and filled it in a bit with a mix of balsa sawdust and carpenter's glue as reinforcement.

Now that t' major components o' makin' t' model look correct were in place, I needed t' make it ready to actually fly. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Since findin' a scrap tube that was exactly t' right size for a motor mount is difficult at best, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I decided t' roll me own tube for this. I started out by wrappin' a standard 18mm motor with plastic wrap t' prevent it from stickin' t' t' glue o' t' rolled tube. Avast! Blimey! I then cut a long strip o' newspaper t' same width as t' motor. Aye aye! I wrapped this around t' motor and kept rolling, ya bilge rat, me hearties, matey, addin' a bit o' glue every couple o' inches. Arrr! When I got t' t' end of the strip, I coated t' outside o' t' tube with CA t' give it a nice stiff and sandable surface. Begad! I trimmed and folded in half a strip o' 60 grit sandpaper into a 1/4" x 2" piece which I glued into t' front o' t' motor tube as a thrust ring. I cut centerin' rings t' fit t' motor tube and t' fax tube from corrugated cardboard. Well, blow me down! Begad! Blimey! T' corrugated cardboard be soft and mushy as a thin rin' and nay very suitable for mountin' just on it's own. Avast! Blimey! T' counter this, I loaded t' rings up with Gorilla Glue and lightly sprayed them with water. Aye aye! I slipped t' mount in place and sealed the end o' t' tube with gap fillin' CA. If you haven't used Gorilla Glue before here are two things t' note: DO NOT get it anywhere you don't want it. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It's like thick as molasses and very difficult t' get off. Avast! Avast! Blimey! Also, matey, if it comes into contact with moisture as it cures, it foams and expands. Aye aye! Blimey! When cured, arrr, t' foam is hard, sandable, arrr, and tough! Blimey! It's great for centerin' rings for odd sized tubes!

I was pretty pleased with t' look o' t' model at this point, shiver me timbers, but it lacked t' laser guns on t' front o' the cockpit. Begad! Ahoy! Lookin' around me workbench for somethin' suitable, matey, shiver me timbers, I finally settled on a sharpened end o' a pencil. I trimmed it off and resharpened t' remainin' pencil and cut it again t' match t' other piece. Begad! I drilled a couple of holes in t' front o' t' cockpit and dry fit t' pencils in place.

At this point, I decided a swin' test was in order. With a C6 motor installed, t' CG was approximately 9-1/2" from t' nose. Begad! T' swin' test seemed t' go okay, shiver me timbers, but it wobbled a bit at low speed. Ya scallywag! I added a couple of balls o' small lead shot t' t' holes for t' pencils for insurance.

T' model sat on me workbench for t' next week gettin' fillets here and thar as time permitted. T' mornin' of the launch, I realized that I had t' still install t' shock cord and launch lug. Well, blow me down! At least I thought o' this ahead of time instead o' at t' launch field as is normal... Aye aye! Arrr! I split t' remainin' length o' t' fax paper tube in half lengthwise and cut slits in it t' feed t' shock cord through. Avast! This I glued into t' main body tube and t' nose cone base. Begad! I whipped out a quick parachute from t' twine and plastic bag and attached it on t' t' shock cord.

Flight:
With t' weight o' t' finished model comin' in at about 4.5 ounces, arrr, I decided on an Estes C6-3 for t' first flight. I checked t' shock cord t' make sure that t' glue had set solidly and it had. Blimey! Ya scallywag! I dropped a diameter o' dog barf waddin' into t' body and packed t' chute. Avast! It was a tight fit, but t' nose cone coupler be long so thar was plenty of space in it for t' chute. Begad! I friction fit t' engine with maskin' tape and headed for t' pads.

T' LCO called out a "heads up" flight so everyone on t' field was watching. Boy, I hoped that this wasn't goin' t' go badly....

T' motor lit and t' Y-Win' boosted, nicely rollin' on t' way up. T' model cleared about 250-300 feet. It ejected just after apogee, comin' down slowly under chute with no damage.

Next, I wanted t' try a higher thrust motor as t' larger version would need t' boost on a much larger motor. Arrr! Blimey! I loaded up a D13 reload, but t' only delays I had were 7 second delays. Aye aye! Ahoy! Blimey! I thought that this would be much too long, so I drilled t' delay down a bit. Arrr! I prepped t' rocket for flight again and loaded it onto t' pads. T' motor sputtered a couple o' times and came up t' pressure, boostin' perfectly straight but rollin' again. As it was coastin' past 350-400 feet, me bucko, t' ejection charge went off while it was still climbin' fast. Well, blow me down! Looks like I drilled it a bit too much! T' charge be very violent this time. Ahoy! Begad! Blimey! T' shock cord tore free o' t' mounts on both t' cone and t' airframe! Blimey! Both halves o' t' rocket came spinnin' slowly down out o' t' sky hittin' t' sand 50 yards out from t' flight line.

Recovery:
T' impact on landin' tore one o' t' win' pod arms free o' t' main body and crumpled t' end o' t' tube badly. Avast! It would be repairable, me hearties, but I probably won't do anythin' with this as t' model was mainly just a boilerplate testbed.

Summary:
I was really pleased that I was able t' make a flyin' version o' one o' me all time favorite movie spaceships. Aye aye! Using recycled materials let me nay worry about accidentally goofin' on "real" body tubes. I enjoyed just eyeballin' t' proportionin' o' t' model instead o' bein' too uptight about gettin' it perfect. Begad! I was okay with stand off (way off) scale as I mainly wanted t' test stability.

T' major con o' t' recycled tubes is that they have a problem holdin' together. Begad! They are a bit soft and get fuzzy when sanded. Avast, me proud beauty! T' win' pod ripped free due t' t' tube delaminatin' a couple o' layers under a very solid glue joint. Blimey! T' shock cord mount was peeled apart in a way that I've nay seen in a sturdier tube.

I will probably nay rebuild this model but will make another with higher quality tubes and detail it more completely. I had a good time flyin' t' model at this scale, but I am excited about t' larger version as well!