In this 'ible I will show you how I made the iconic Slave I from the Star Wars Movies, owned by Jango Fett and later by his cloned son, Boba Fett. I decided to make Boba Fett's version, because the Green/Brown colour of this ship is easier to recreate than the Dark Blue/Grey of Jango's version.

The Slave I is in my top 3 list of Star Wars Spaceships. It's weird shape, the fact that it flies and lands in different positions (Similar to Thunderbird 1) and every sound it makes: Soaring, firing and bombing... All are great.

The model is about 45 cm high and 40 cm wide, from wing to wing. It's made out of 1023 pieces, and was built over 3 weeks time, for 10 hours in total. It features all things that you can imagine on this versatile fighter: Rotating laser cannons, moving Side-Wings, hidden weapons compartments and a working Seismic Charge Launcher!

The Slave I is my most complex model so far, as it has an unusual shape that is difficult to recreate with K'NEX. Many weird connections were used, and it was tough to get all details fit in the model. Here is a list of the steps in this 'ible:

Parts Needed
Seismic Charge Launcher
Green Side Arches
Brown Top Arch
Thrusters
Brown Bottom Arch
Side Wings
Bottom Hull
Display Stand

Step 1: Parts Needed

Knex pieces: Buy at K'NEX User Group / K'NEX spares

Rods:

127x Black rod (16 mm)
130x Silver rod (32 mm)
2x Flexible purple rod (32 mm)
31x Blue rod (52 mm)
14x Dark grey rod (86 mm)
4x Flexible pink rod (86 mm)
5x Green rod (128 mm)
1x Grey rod (190 mm)
4x Flexible Lilac rod (190 mm)
2x Rigid Black Rod (190 mm)

Connectors:

7x 8-way black connector
27x 7-way blue 3D connector
25x 4-way silver 3D connector
37x 5-way grey connector
6x 5-way dark grey connector (Beasts Alive Bronto # 34483)
108x 4-way green connector
2x 4-way translucent green connector
30x 3-way dark grey connector
27x 2-way (V-shape) grey connector
80x 2-way (long-shape) brown connector

Clips/Other:

65x Clip with hole end dark gray (1-way connector)
51x Metallic spacer (1½ width)
21x Blue spacer (½ width)
85x Black clip with rod end
20x Silver clip with rod end
24x Clip with Ball end
2x Clip with Socket end
9x Clip blue
8x Interlocking clip Tan/bronze
8x Ball and socket Large
4x K'NEXMAN Headtop Translucent Yellow
6x Black Snap-on Cap

Panels:

3x Tri panel mini silver
1x Tri panel mini Translucent Yellow
2x Tri panel small silver

Micro K'NEX: Buy at K'NEX User Group

32x Connector 4-way Light Grey
4x Rod Dark Grey (40 mm)
12x Rod Black (14 mm)

Other:

1x miniature elastic bands (1 cm / 1/4" diameter)
1x A4 Size paper and a colour printer

Step 2: Seismic Charge Launcher

This part is the middle and thus the start of the Slave I. It's a design by my brother, after I showed him some of my idea's when it came to these bombs.

The launcher works as follows: A bomb (A silver rod with 2 blue spacers and 2 translucent-yellow K'NEXman heads) is placed in the front of the launcher (the cockpit) Then, a lever has to be pulled, so that the bomb is pushed into the ejecting channel, after which it's pressed out with a little force. When the trigger is released, the mechanism shoots back into it's original position and a new bomb can be placed.

It was a tight fit to get this pre-made mechanism fit in next to the 3 thrusters and between the green arches.

Step 3: Green Side Arches

These Green Arches were the very first part I made for the Slave I. They mostly determined the scale of the model: big.

By themselves, they are not the most difficult part to make. The angle of the beams connecting to the wings was more difficult to get right.

Furthermore in this step you will add parts that are important for future elements of the Slave I.

Step 4: Brown Top Arch

The brown top arch was relatively soon finished, but the finishing touches were lacking. It still had a lot of holes in it, that look better when covered up. Also the connection to the top of the Cockpit was not made until a last stage. The bottom covering plate was added later. This part is relatively easy to connect to the model: It connects on 3 points, but is strongly connected to the rest of the spaceship.

Step 5: Thrusters

The thrusters were another part that I finished separately. After I designed them I then added them to the model in the best way possible. First I was looking for some easier thrusters consisting of wheel hubs and fluorescent ball-halves, but they wouldn't fit, and I didn't have the pieces. Therefore I decided to make my own: 2 black 8-way connectors with 16 y-clips attached to it give the two thrusters their round shape.

For the top-bar thruster, I used fluorescent green connectors and a mini panel. Some LED-lighting would be cool! (further improvements)

Step 6: Brown Bottom Arch

This was the part that I feared the most before starting the model. The bottom arch is a parabolic-like shape with a pointed end, while at a tilted angle. In K'NEX terms: Almost impossible to make.

But I pulled it off. I made this part using two flexi rods and lots of brown connectors and silver spacers. On the bottom is a cover that serves as a structure at the same time. The Bottom Arch is added below the two round Thrusters.

Step 7: Side Wings

The side wings use Micro K'NEX for details, but therefore they are pretty accurate. The frontal edge is curved and the rear parts are made at an angle using 4 way connectors and bronze interlocking pins. They are added to the ship by connecting to two points: the big Ball Joints and another brown connector.

In the next step you continue with the bottom hull, which houses many weapons and hidden compartments.

Step 8: Bottom Hull

The bottom hull was the second part I finished, as the shape was difficult to get right. It has many slopes and round edges. That made me decide to go for Boba Fett's version of the Slave I, and not Jango Fett's. Boba Fett's version is namely green, whereas Jango's version is still light grey. In K'NEX terms, this would me the top would be totally flat, which would look inaccurate and dull.

The very last parts of the ship were the hidden weapon compartiments. They can open and 2 little blasters peep out, ready to overwhelm a target in a space-dogfight.

The Bottom Hull is strongly attached to the rest of the Slave I, the model can be lifted from there.

Step 9: The Display Stand

The display stand is custom made for this model and had to be big and mostly strong. Although not very large, the Slave I weighs over 1.2 kg! That's because it's nearly very piece-dense. That made me use two rigid black rods, put at an angle, while 2 green rods support this. The whole ship is only connected by one (!) connector, yet very stable.

Thanks for reading through the ible!

K'NEX Han Solo (in carbonite) greets you.

May the Force be with you!

~GWorks