Bandai is also bringing out some interesting spacecraft – this time the fast and agile ( and very popular) A-Wing fighter in 72nd scale – we have the key points and images so take a look at this new kit in our preview…
New “A-Wing” spacecraft from Bandai in June…
"A-Wing Starfighter"
Bandai Models
1/72ns scale
price ¥ 2,592 yen
To be released May 28, 2016
Bandai has already shown us their new (RZ-1) A-wing interceptor A-Wing fighter in 72nd scale at the Shizuoka model show. It will be in good company with the other fighters from the Star Wars series in the same scale – It is sure to be popular with those Battle of Endor enthusiasts…but hold on a minute – wasn’t that movie from the eighties? And what is an A-Wing fighter some of the younger viewers might ask???
The kit at Shizuoka this year...
The RZ-1 “A-wing” interceptor was a starfighter designed by the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War. One of the fastest mass-produced interceptors in the known galaxy, the A-wing was even faster than the Imperials' TIE Interceptor, despite also having shielding
and a hyperdrive, unlike the cheaper TIE model
A plan view of the A-Wing
A later drawing from the rear showing the large engine of the fighter
The A-wing's Novaldex J-77 Event Horizon engines remained some of the most powerful sublight thrusters two decades past the A-wing's creation and were linked to highly sensitive controls.
The slight A-wing's wing-mounted laser cannons could rotate up and down sixty degrees for greater fire control. Some of those designs even had their guns modified to swivel in a complete 360-degree arc, thus providing a nasty surprise to any chasing fighter. While a tactical boon, the A-wing had no Astromech droid to manage its weapons systems, requiring further attention from the pilot.
Another early drawing of the concept art
A-wings earned the nickname "slims" for their small frame made of carbo-plas, but also for the "slim" chance of a pilot surviving a direct hit on the ship after the shields were down, and the cramped cockpit that prevented larger pilots from flying the A-wing.
The weapons carried on-board, including advanced concussion missiles, gave the craft the power to engage larger Imperial targets up to and including Imperial Star Destroyers. Although it is ineffective against capital ships,
and acted as a double-edged sword due to the jamming system giving a precise lock on the fighter if detected by the enemy. As such, experienced pilots of A-wings were capable of dropping out of hyperspace close to an Imperial fleet or space-installation, make a blistering run through it, and then use its on-board imagers and sensors to gather information and hyperspace out before being detected and scrambling TIEs.
The A-wing's wedge-shaped prow was fitted with a reinforced heat shield. Although the shield was intended for atmospheric entry, the shield also acted as a makeshift battering ram at close ranges within atmospheric flight or space battles. This ramming process against enemy vessels was largely used by pilots during space battles as a last resort if left with no hope of escape or survival, with the pilots relying on the nose wedge to breach the ship's hull and thus either cripple the ship or otherwise destroy it. This tactic was famously demonstrated by Arvel Crynyd during the Battle of Endor, where he rammed into the bridge of the Star Dreadnought Executor.
A little more about the feature set on this kit from Bandai
Special display base included - this base includes a twin laser cannon from the 2nd death star surface...
turbo lasers + laser beam effects for optional firing scenario in a diorama
1/72nd scale pilot (seated)
Canopy can be posed open or closed (frame and clear parts × 1 · Clear parts × 1 )
water transfer type decals or stickers supplied.
