I've been growing up playing the 2003 Jedi Academy game on PC and I've been looking to make something from it for a while. After knocking few possible props from it around in my head, I landed on the main characters Z-95 Headhunter starfighter, in form of a scale assembly model.

As you can see, it's yet another version of this ship, which takes a lot more form the original T-65B X-wing that would eventually replace it, than the classic version of Z-95 (pictured below).

The initial assumptions for this project where as follows:

-model will be 3D printed on a FDM printer, so it has to be divided into parts possible and easy to print

-model will be in 1/48 scale, since it's a standard hobby plane scale and fits the closest to both SW wargames (Legion & Shatterpoint)

-model has to be as accurate to the source material as possible

-as a personal challenge- parts of the model must be designed to work as injection molded parts (set wall thickness, appropriate draft angles, no undercuts, etc.)

I started the designing proces by gathering as many reference materials as I could, using pictures from the net, articles from Wookiepedia and screenshots from the game.

But the main reference were both mesh model and textures from the game itself.

I exported the model from games native format to .OBJ and opened it in a CAD program I will be designing the ship in- Fusion 360.I scaled it to match the ships length, which Wookiepedia lists as 11,8 meters, and divided it by 48.

It's important to mention, that I'm going to make the model completely from the grounds up and use the content from the game only as reference material, to ensure the best accuracy possible.

I started modelling by creating general shapes of the fuselage. The mesh model was helpful as far as relative dimensions go, but I had to do a lot of guesswork in terms of the shapes themselves. The model itself, being from a 20 year old game, is pretty low-poly and it's sometimes unclear which parts truly are meant to be angular and which were actually meant to be smooth. Looking at screenshots from the game helped a lot, since the textures were applied and gave some idea how each part was meant to look.

With general shape established, I begun deciding how the model will divide into parts and started hollowing them out, one by one.

Next, I proceeded to model all of the surface details of the aircraft.Screenshots and renders from the game could be used here, but nothing will assure better accuracy than the textures from the game. The only problem being- they come in these "texture sheets", with no indication which texture goes where on the model and even worse, where one texture ends and another begins.

I decided that a best method was to cutout each one of the textures, lay it on the specific area on the model and trace all the relevant details, while constantly referencing the screenshots to deduce, which sticker goes where. With an area traced onto the model, I could start creating the details.

Working with the mesh model and the texture was very challenging, since sometimes they posed more questions than they answered.

Constant struggle, was deciding, usually going by shadows on the textures alone, which regions should be concave, which should be convex and how much. Many smaller details weren't even included on the mesh model at all, to reduce the polygon count and could only be recognized by carefully studding the textures.

Good example of this is the back side of the fuselage, which not only is modeled completely flat in game, but also consists of some very sharp angles.By referencing and analyzing the appropriate texture image, I was able to recreate (or maybe even create in some cases) all the details that were originally intended by the artist responsible for this ship.

At this point the model consisted of about two dozen different parts, each interlocking in an unique way with neighboring parts, with appropriate fits everywhere.

The next big, important and last for now section of the ship to tackle where the wings. With approximate wingspan of 220 mm, the construction really needed to be strong.One of the ways to make an assembly as strong and sturdy as possible, is to make it out of as few parts as possible. With that in mind, I divided the wings only into left and right sections, to be able to fit each inside my printers volume. I also cut out a big panel from each, to make it hollow, getting just 4 big construction parts in total.

Both wings were to be mounted deep into the main body, so I added nice, big slots on the corresponding fuselage part to accommodate them.

In addition to the wings being clamped between two fuselage parts, I also added an over-under connection between the top panels on each side, making that they both hang on to each other, hopefully reducing drooping of the wings.

The distinct ribs on the wings will also add some rigidity, but probably not a lot, due to their low profile.

With wings securely mounted and most of the surface details done, the ship started taking shape. Consisting of ~30 parts at the moment, it was looking like a more and more complex project. But with around 2 months of very intensive work behind me, I was very motivated to complete it.