The Mandalorian: 10 Facts You Didn't Know About The Razor Crest
7. It Used To Be A Military Patrol Craft, Not A Starfighter
In The Mandalorian storyline, Mando purchased the Razor Crest as military surplus. To be specific, a surplus local systems patrol craft that was intended to watch over individual planets and settlements, not to be flitting around the universe like the Millennium Falcon or engaging in massive spacefleet battles.
When he first came up with the idea for the show, Jon Favreau knew he wanted his character to have a distinctive looking ship. As a sci-fi and military nerd, Favreau was fascinated by the powerful, heavy tank-killing A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft of the US Air Force (nicknamed the Warthog), which is covered in titanium armour and sports a massive Avenger rotary cannon. Put the two together and a iconic ship was born.
Favreau told the designers to translate the A-10 into a spaceship and to stay away from sleeker designs like that of an X-wing or TIE fighter. The designers also drew inspiration from World War 2 heavy bombers and by touring various aircraft graveyards, taking tons of video and thousands of photos.
When the design came together, our hero had a large, powerful ship with heavy armour, heavy cannons, and massive engines, looking very much like a flying tank.