The following is based on info from various contributors (see table) collated by Tamina.
There are four high-end items of equipment for the Skunk that are uniquely, only available through crafting. Two being available via random loot drops and two via exploration within the non-DLC systems. All related items can be found & crafted at any time, but in order to fit the equipment a related mission must be accepted. The mission offer may be from a random NPC type. Once crafted, each item must be taken back to the respective NPC. Ultimately an NPC mechanic will be used for fitting since only those NPCs can modify Skunk equipment (sale of the item to the mission-giver is also an option, negating the need for a mechanic).
Once all components of an item are collected, they are crafted via "Your Inventory" (Return-2-1-3 through sidebar, or <shift>-I). Keep in mind that lockboxes are fragile and that exterior explosions may nuke their contents too - be gentle with those locks! This short guide gives hints about how to acquire but if you would like full spoiler help, it's available here in Tamina's thread.
Note: the unique Relic shield lockboxes are indestructible but their locks & contents are not!
The following table describes what's on offer and gives hints on how to find the components. In general, whether Long Range Scanning is required for the Exploration items or not, it can help since related lockoxes or loot crates have different ping sounds and colours (with a top-end scanner) than those of asteroids and ships.
| Equipment | Type | Description | Components | Tips | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rare Engine | Loot drops | Mk5 engine that a Mechanic can build into Supercharged, Equalized or Sidewinder configurations. | 10 components that may drop as loot from destroyed ships. May be crafted repeatedly and sold for credits. | Simple really.... Kill lots of things and use the Container Magnet ("O") as you fly near wrecks. | Unknown |
| Rare Weapon | Mk3 Particle Repeater | 5 "Spacefly Eggs (authentic)" crafted into "Spacefly Egg Collection". May be crafted repeatedly and sold for credits. | Although Nvidium became commonplace, it didn't become worthless  There are Spacefly items without the word "Authentic" that are not related to this. | GCU Grey Area | |
| SETA | Singularity Engine Time Accelerator | 4 components that may drop as loot from destroyed ships. | |||
| Unique Shields | Exploration | Two Mk5 shields that a Mechanic can install as Behemoth, Steady or Dashing configurations. Two craftables for two shield slots (although once one item is crafted the Mechanic offers 2 sales, so it appears that the second craftable is present to allow a change of configuration). | 5 Ancient Relics are located in unique lockboxes that do not re-spawn. | 2 are near hostile or unique stations. 3 require Long Range Scanning. | spankahontis, milytar and Jaxartes |
| 5 Kha'ak Relics are located in unique lockboxes that do not re-spawn. | 4 are near hostile or unique stations. 1 requires Long Range Scanning. If you're in a plot game, try to find the one in Maelstrom before the plot has you attacking Xenon stations | spankahontis and ShoC |