What does the logo on Luke's Skyhopper mean?

Question

In the garage scene of Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), we see Luke Skywalker playing with a model of his grounded T-16 Skyhopper. There is a tiny logo on the model that is difficult to notice.

The logo is more visible on the original Skyhopper concept blueprints (1977, 20th Century Fox).

The logo can also be seen ln the real T-16 in the background of the scene, but it is faded.

The toy prop used in A New Hope reappears in the TV mini-series Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022), with a clearer logo.

Given that the T-16 was built by Incom Corporation, I looked for Incom logos, which are not the same as the ones on Luke's model.

Interestingly, the logo of FreiTek Incorporated appears to be identical (flipped horizontally) to Luke's model, but FreiTek was founded four years after the Battle of Endor - in other words, 4 years after of the scene.

The DK's original edition Star Wars: Complete Locations (2005) depicts the logo and describes it as "Flaming Ragerunner" insignia.

The DK's updated edition Star Wars: Complete Locations (2016) also describes the logo as Flaming Ragerunner.

Canon article for Flaming Ragerunner provides the following description:

An insignia that depicted a seated winged beast viewed from the side. It says that Luke Skywalker's T-16 skyhopper was emblazoned with one such insignia.

For all the above information, I'm curious what the logo or "Flaming Ragerunner" insignia on Luke's Skyhopper means.

The Legends article for the entry Flaming Ragerunner was just updated, as follows:

Behind the scenes The emblem is visible on Luke's toy skyhopper in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, but not on his actual skyhopper in the background of the same scene. Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary explains this by describing it as an "emblem Luke would like to add," but other sources, such as Star Wars: Complete Locations (2005), show it on the full-sized skyhopper.

There is also another representation of the logo in Joe Johnston's The Star Wars Sketchbook (1977), but it differs from the one in Luke's model.

The sketch from Johnston make me wonder if he saw it in the matte paintings or in Colin Cantwell's drawings.

Answer 1

It's an optional or custom emblem known as a "Flaming Ragerunner"

According to Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary, the symbol is an "emblem Luke would like to add":

_{(Source: https://twitter.com/jere7my/status/1442274352058097667)}

This explains why the symbol is faded or incomplete on Luke's actual Skyhopper as shown in the question. However, somewhat contradictorily, Complete Locations (2005, and again in the 2016 edition) shows the emblem in place on Luke's full-size Skyhopper, labeled "'Flaming Ragerunner' insignia", as mentioned in the edit to the question.

There doesn't seem to be further information about what this means, or why it was adopted by FreiTek. I don't have the original Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy to check if it originated there or in the 2005 edition, but there don't seem to be any other references to ragerunners in my sources, including The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, flaming or otherwise.

Out of universe

Out-of-universe, it's a "hollenhund"/hellhound symbol used by the Luftwaffe in World War II:

_{(Source: http://don-caldwell.we.bs/jg26/26emblms.htm, via https://twitter.com/jere7my/status/1442283787174309893)}

The decal was apparently sourced from a model airplane kit that was kitbashed to create the model used in the film.

Answer 2

According to https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/FreiTek_Incorporated/Legends

FreiTek Inc. was formed by former employees of Incom. While this is pure speculation, it would make sense that the founders of FreiTek were part of the team that designed the T-16 and thus took their emblem with them.