(The following is a fictional history of the X-Wing starfighter, but it's taken from Wookieepedia, so it must be at least canon...)
After the success of the venerable Z-95 Headhunter, the design team at Incom, led by Vors Voorhorian, began work on a successor, the T-65. The T-65 was bigger and heavier than the Z-95 and not quite as maneuverable in atmosphere, but was also more heavily armed, with four laser cannon and two tubes for either proton torpedoes or concussion missiles. To increase the spread and hit pattern of the quad lasers, the wings could be deployed into an X-pattern, and the lasers set to four different modes. Not only did this make the T-65 more effective as a fighter, it also gave it its nickname--X-Wing. To make the transition easy for pilots, the cockpit layout was similar to that of the civilian T-16 Skyhopper.
The design showed great promise, but it was not the Empire who would enjoy it. Voorhorian and the entire design team would defect to the Rebel Alliance with the four prototypes. For the Rebels, which had been fighting Imperial IRDs and TIEs with antiquated Z-95s, the X-Wing was a huge improvement. Though not as nimble as the TIEs, it hit harder, and could take more punishment, as it had shields. Moreover, it had a hyperdrive, making it ideally suited to the hit-and-run raids the Rebels preferred, and an astromech droid, which could compute hyperspace jumps and carry out minor repairs in-flight.
The X-Wing became the Alliance's preferred fighter during the Galactic Civil War, most famous for its participation in the Battle of Yavin and the Battle of Endor. (X-Wings took horrific casualties at Yavin, but this was more due to the nature of the attack, poor tactics by the then-inexperienced Rebel pilots, and the presence of Darth Vader.) After the Alliance victory, the X-Wing was gradually replaced by more advance models, though many were converted to reconnaissance starfighters.
(Back in the real world...)
Dad and I were Star Wars fanatics after the movie came out in 1977, and, model builder that he was, Dad quickly bought MPC's (sort-of) 1/48 X-Wing kit. The kit was poor and rushed into production, but it was the only thing available.
Dad had some friends in the USAF that were also big into Star Wars, and one asked him to build a X-Wing for him. Dad went the extra mile, turning it into a diorama. The figures and ground equipment were modified NATO ground personnel and start carts. Dad rebuilt the cockpit to make it more accurate, and painted it up as Biggs Darklighter's Red Three for his friend.
This is likely the only picture of this model--only a few months after Dad gave it to his friend, someone sat on the diorama and completely destroyed it. Not quite grounds for justifiable homicide, but close...
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