- "I hate Uglies."
- ―Han Solo
An Ugly, also known as a juicecan or buzzzer,[2] was any type of starfighter that had been cobbled together out of parts that had been salvaged from varying origins, including crashed starfighters and ex-military surplus. The term itself seemed to be of Corellian origin.
History[]
Uglies were predominantly used by pirates, smugglers, and other groups that lacked the resources to purchase or build conventional starfighters. Ugly fighters were best known as products of independent shipyards in the Corellian system, but they and the yards that created them could be found throughout the galaxy. Some Ugly types had relatively standardized designs, but most were unique and had wildly varied performance traits. An Ugly generally tended to be a poor match for a modern conventional military-built fighter, as they typically ended up with more of the weaknesses than the strengths of their component parts.
Many uglies during the New Republic era were amalgamations of parts from Rebel and Imperial craft. They were used by gangs such as Kavil's Corsairs, who flew them against Rogue Squadron. Other versions of uglies could be found in pirate and mercenary fleets such as that of the Invid pirate fleet led by Leonia Tavira. The Sacorrian Triad was known to make heavy use of uglies during the First Corellian Insurrection, and it is possible that the Peace Brigade used them during the Yuuzhan Vong War.
These craft could sometimes have surprising abilities, although they were sometimes prone to failure and may have needed repeated repairs. One such craft was encountered by Han Solo, and was armed with a planetary defense cannon.[source?]
Examples[]
Examples of this type of starfighter included the TYE-wing (which bore the ignominious nickname "DIE-wing" due to its lackluster performance capabilities), the Y-TIE, the X-TIE Fighter, the X-ceptor, the Z-'ceptor, the Corellian/B-wing Ugly, the Twi'lek Chir'daki "Death Seed," and the Invids' Clutch.
Appearances[]
Sources[]
- Pirates & Privateers
- Cracken's Threat Dossier
- Star Wars Handbook 1: X-Wing Rogue Squadron
- "Race for the Tessent" — Star Wars Gamer 9
- The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
- "Rough and Tundra" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- "Beheboth: Blood and Water" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Starships of the Galaxy, Saga Edition
- Star Wars: The Official Starships & Vehicles Collection 2 (Starship & Vehicle Directory: Z-95 Headhunter: Ancestor of the X-Wing)
- Scum and Villainy
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- "Worldwide" — Star Wars Insider 223
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Ambush at Corellia
- ↑ The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. III, p. 276 ("uglies")