Gold Leader was the most visible Y-wing Hero miniature used for the Battle of Yavin sequence of Star Wars. Jon “Dutch” Vander was the pilot attached to this fighter and used this callsign. In the original theatrical cut, it was seen before, during and after the battle. Starting with the Special Edition of Star Wars and the versions of the film that were built upon it, it was only seen in the background during roll call, and during Gold Squadron’s trench run. In the theatrical cut, the Gold Leader miniature was seen fleeing the impending explosion of the Death Star. Since Dutch Vander had been killed in the battle, this was considered to be a different pilot in a different craft. In Canon, this was Gold Three (Evaan Verlaine), while Legends considered this to be Keyan “Lucky” Farlander (Gold Seven). At different times in production, the astromech was black (on the theatrical Death Star approach), absent altogether (during the trench run), white, or silver. For Rogue One, Vander’s astromech was based on the silver version. There are earlier photos that show more subdued weathering on the surface of the head, but by the time it appeared in the film, dramatic blast marks had been added. The nickname “TIE Killer” comes from the small TIE kill mark on the nose.
Before or during February 1977, a theft occurred at ILM. Gold Leader was stolen, along with Red Leader and some other items. Official mention of this incident is rare, but fans continue to discuss it in rumor, speculation, and fact. The website Agraphafx.com investigated this story, and included some scans of historic documentation of the ordeal. One such item was a memo issued by special effects supervisor John Dykstra in late February, which set up a grace period for the items to be anonymously returned. If they were not returned, authorities and insurance would get involved. Agraphafx also had an August 1977 article from the local paper Valley News and Green Sheet. It mentioned involvement by the police and FBI, indicating that Dykstra’s memo went ignored. While the newspaper was optimistic that the models would soon be returned, this never transpired. Lucasfilm has no photos newer than 1977 of either model. In 2006’s Sculpting a Galaxy, Lorne Peterson tactfully avoids mention of the theft. While discussing Bill George’s Y-wing and its role in Return of the Jedi, he says “Of the two Y-wings built for Star Wars, one had been given to Fox executive Alan Ladd Jr. [Gold Two]; the other, briefly seen in Empire, was an unexploded pyro model [Gold Three]”. While both Gold Leader and Gold Two had both been out of ILM’s inventory for several years before Jedi, the surreptitious circumstances surrounding Gold Leader meant that Peterson only felt comfortable mentioning Gold Two’s absence. Though this headcount was incomplete, it is nonetheless understandable for an ILM luminary to avoid a tangent as awkward and ill-fated as this one.
Via fan channels, new photos of the model have surfaced in recent years. Dark film has since been added to the canopy as a physical windshield, and it is currently carrying the black astromech droid. Despite its long absence, the traits of Gold Leader still remain common among later depictions of the craft, though Gold Three is more often referenced.