When I was a kid I had a lot of toys, but one toy I never had was a TIE Fighter. It was a little awkward having an X-Wing, Millennium Falcon, and a Y-Wing all gunning down nothing (or a G.I. Joe or Captain Power ship), so when Kenner began re-releasing Star Wars figures I was happier than a pig in slop when I got my hands on the TIE. Of course, being older I didn’t really appreciate the tiny arse wings that it came with, so I had to wait several more years before they made large wings. I missed out on the debut of the improved wings in the form of a Toys R Us exclusive (too expensive), so when the Target version came out with an improved cockpit I knew I had to have it. At about 45 bucks it was out of my range, so thank the Maker for clearance.
I didn’t think that the TIE would look as good as it does. This thing looks like a scale model now and I realize now how big of a gap I had in my Imperial hanger. In case you’re wondering, the wings still pop off with a touch of the button on each side to simulate “exploding” action. It’s a nice touch for kids and nostalgia junkies, but it loses points for me because the wings never seem to fit exactly right, due to the fact the is a lot of play when you pick it up. I suppose I won’t be swooshing the TIE around the apartment a whole lot though, so I guess that I’m just being nitpicky.
Speaking of swooshing, a design change from the original that I really dig is the removal of the “handle” on the back. Sure it makes it harder to fly around, but it helps make it look a lot more screen accurate.
The cockpit looks great, which you probably can’t tell from my horrible pictures. The seat it is removable, which is a decent feature, though it’s mostly there so you can fit the pilot in there without a lot of struggling.
The included TIE pilot is a nice bonus and he’s from the newer sculpt that is leagues better than the one released in the 1990s. He’s got a removable helmet and a pistol that fits in his holster. As nice as he is, Star Wars figures have never seemed to get that super articulation thing as spot on as G.I. Joe. I don’t like the fact that his hip joints only go up and down. Why can’t Star Wars figures have a better range of movement like their Joe counterparts?
Overall, this is a great Star Wars vehicle. At over forty dollars it probably wouldn’t have been as great of a purchase. At around twenty six, it’s fantastic.
LBAM
At this point I just thank the Maker, as it were, that Star Wars figures do not have the same articulation as G.I. Joe or Marvel Universe. If they did, it'd be too easy to justify picking them up, and Hasbro has enough of my money.
Motorthing
I thank the maker for other reasons – All the recent Joes I bought and all the MU – with the honourable exception of Moon knight which is an exceptionally good figure – are so flimsy that none of them hold a pose worth a damn. Hasbro have been so lazy over the years relying on the crappy O ring (and deriratives thereof)design that they haven't kept up with what other Companies have done to bring more robustness to state of the art 3.75 figures.
When Hasbro have made Star Wars figures with ball-jointed hips they have all been hit/miss on how flimsy/floppy they are – I'm looking at you here AOTC Obi-Wan – so given their inability to make this work I would rather they stuck to what works – even if the poseability does suffer, at least the damn things can stand up.
Oh, and nice Tie/review/non-review.
I might actually have to breath-in to create the 4 or 5 square inches of space that would allow me to find just enough room to fit yet another large vehicle into my house now. And I promised I wouldn't until the BAT-AT came out…..thanks a lot Paul.
Engineernerd
Paul, you're pictures are great.
I'll pass on this one, only because I've already got a grey POTF and a white vintage one on my shelf and the big wings would look silly.
That and my Bomber, Int., and Vader Tie's are all that dark grey color.
Frogster
Target has it for clearance now for ten bucks. I got two this weekend.
Paul
Ten bucks? Holy crap.
jimm
Got my 10 dollar one from rite aid, a previews exclusive from who knows when, the big impressive one like yours though, dig it
Toy Wholesale
I agree it's a great item!
XeQUae
I found one with a beat up box with the tape broken for $10, but I checked it and everything seemed to be in there. This is an awesome vehicle, but I don't know that I would spend $40 on it, but at $10 it is an amazing deal. Just wish I could have found a second one at that price.
PresidentJuggernaut
I've had my eye on this for a while, but I was waiting for it to go on clearance at my local Target. I bought it today, for just under $20. It's awesome.