Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/02/12/x_wing_squadron_kickstarter/
Rogue Squadron: Unit of X-wings Kickstarts in response to Death Star
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Posted in Bootnotes, 12th February 2013 08:02 GMT
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A duo of Empire-hating rebels have realised the Kickstarter Death Star is a threat to the Rebel Alliance and they're looking for all like-minded galactic citizens to chip in for a fleet of $11m X-Wings.
Mechanical engineer Simon and his startup-founding buddy Ed reckon gnut.co.uk, the unnamed folks behind the crowdsourcing project to raise $850qn to build the planet-sized ship, is a "subversive tactics unit of the evil Galactic Empire" engaged in an ingenious plot [1] to use the power of the people for nefarious reasons.
"We can't let this new Death Star go unchallenged, so we're raising funds to form a new Rebel Alliance and construct a fleet of proton torpedo armed X-Wing fighters to take down this new Death Star," the pair said on their Kickstarter page [2].
To start things off, they're looking for $11m, the production cost of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, to finance a prototype X-Wing and train a pilot. The next step is for $4.5bn (the box office total for all films so far) to build a full squadron of the interstellar fighters.
Once the squadron is sorted, a class YT-1300 freighter and a prototype Y-Wing bomber will be well within the Alliance's sights.
At time of writing, the Rebel Alliance was sitting on a potential $117,148 despite its launch just three days ago, while the Death Star has accumulated pledges of nearly twice that, $222,753, with four extra days of fundraising.
Unfortunately, like the Death Star, the X-Wing project is also claiming to be a "joke", leaving both Empire and Rebel forces at a loss as to what to put their money towards and what their galactic future holds. ®
Bootnote
Readers may care to note that the X-wing budgets seem a little unambitious. Even a measly space shuttle would cost $2.8bn in today's money, and a shuttle, though comparatively large, is puny indeed compared to the X-wing. It is barely able to reach orbit - probably its owner would struggle to do so much as bullseye a womp-rat - whereas Luke Skywalker's preferred ride is capable of interstellar voyages travelling faster than light.