REVIEW: 8087 Tie Defender

[starstreak]

This review will be on the 8087 Tie Defender

From LEGO.com:

The secret weapon of the Empire is here!

Built in response to the Rebellion’s highly-skilled starfighter forces, the top-secret TIE defender is the ultimate expression of Imperial power and technology! Never before made as a LEGO set, this unique 3-winged TIE fighter blasts into battle with 6 flick-launching missiles and an opening cockpit that rotates when the model turns.

Set Name: 8087 Tie Defender

Theme: Star Wars

Released: 2010

Pieces: 304

Price: $54.99/$34.68EURO/31.19GBP

Here are some quicklinks Lego.com, Brickset, Bricklink

Wanna see some pictures? Let's start with the normal box arts and manuals!

Box Front

Box art is very nice. I can't figure out why they included a Stormtrooper. Maybe a hanger crew to load all those missiles. But not a Stormtrooper.

Box Rear

It's funny that the pilot is loading his own ship. I'm curious on how he's gonna get up to the launcher. Interesting thing is thy show the cockpit rotates. I never knew the real (Ha!) one rotated. And I used to fly this on the old PC computer game. Some other things they show is the new ARC-170/Droid Tri-Fighter/ and Freeco Speeder. On a side note, I hope they release new sets from season 2 of Clone Wars. Many new ships are now being shown.

Instruction manual cover

Like other sets, LEGO is using the same cover as the front of the box. Not bad.

Random page

Here are some things the fighter can do. The cockpit really does stay stationary. I was going to do a video, but I couldn't get a nice clip. There are 6 flick-fire missiles. That's the most I've seen on a fighter. The cockpit opens up to fit the pilot. Besides placing the pilot down, there is nothing else in the cockpit. No controls. There is room to add something like control sticks but they didn't.

Parts list

Nothing fancy. Except that propeller part that looks like it's from a technic set. #4568027

Parts Bags

Sometimes I have to wonder about LEGO and what sets it decides to use numbers. Bag #1 is used to build the cockpit and minifigs. Bag #2 holds all the wing parts. With just 300pcs. I'm sure they could've done away with the bag numbering. Especially when you consider the wings are repeats 6x.

Extra Parts

Yup. That's it. Nothing more and nothing less.

The build process

Ok, why the red part? Can't you get that same part in grey or black? And as you see, I don't think that red piece is used for anything.

Here is the rear shot. Now you can see what that tri-technic piece is used for. Center hub to rotate the cockpit on. Or rotate the wings on, depending how you look at it. The thruster is very simple by design. Nothing to fancy, but it does look like the drawings I've seen of the rear of the Tie Defender.

It's funny when you think abut it. The top hatch is supposed to open to let in the pilot. Yet, almost every single LEGO Imperial ship with this type of hatch never uses the hatch. The front dome always folds open in some way.

Ah yes. This was a easy photo. Going from left to right. Step 1, 2, and 3. Now you have the mounting arms for each of the wing sections. Very smart. And by building it this way, they made the wings easy to come off for some blow-up play action. Hey.. Darth Vader's Advance Fighter used wings that was mounted this way too.

Here you have the finished cockpit module. I like it. Looks like a ship all by itself. Even without the wings. It even could be made as a fighter class variant of Palpatine's Shuttle due to be released later this year.

And the Above two photos show the top and underside of the wings and top and undersides of the completed wing sections. Very bare-bones. But I guess there isn't much you can do to enhance the details without making the wings heavy. You can also see each of the flick-fire missiles on each wing tip. No way to shoot all of them at once. Or even two at a time. Oh well.

Finished photos

Here is a finished photo with a closeup of the cockpit open with the pilot and Imperial Stormtrooper. I have no idea why LEGO didn't at least include controls in the cockpit. Maybe if I can some spare parts, I'll add something as I'm pretty sure the clear canopy can house a console and two antenna sticks for controls.

Isometric front view. Go ahead, I know you want to click on it for a larger close-up view.

Isometric rear view. Yeah....Looks sweet.

Front view

Rear view

Comments: When I first heard LEGO was going to release a Tie Defender I almost jumped out of my seat. I was so hoping it was going to be a UCS. Then I saw the fuzzy pre-shots of the box. Knowing it wasn't going to be a UCS from that photo, I was a bit sad. But was going to buy it anyways. Then I saw the final box photo and piece count. Meh.... Sounds like the same league as Darth Vader's Tie Advance and other Tie fighter's LEGO has released over the years. It didn't look great. Finally I saw it at the store. I couldn't resist and bought it. Did I mention TRU here in Hawaii was trying to sell it at $70? After building it, I'm happy I got it. And bought it at a not-so-reasonable $54.99. I think it could've sold for $39.99-$45.99. Only thing that bothered me was the cockpit interior design. It's so LEGO Star Wars of 10 years ago. No controls and just a place to put the minifig. And again, I still don't see why they added a Stormtrooper.

My rating

Playability: 4/5. This is very "swooshable" for kids. I can't take it flying at work, but doing a dogfight between a X-Wing and this will work. I guess that's why they built it at this scale. To match the other sets that are out.

Design: 3/5. You already know my concerns for the cockpit. And semi-plain look of the fighter. Still, it does look like the Tie Defender.

Build experience: 2/5. You don't need to be a pro at making this. Bags are numbered. And in this set, you really build this part six times. And that's 80% of the set. By the 3rd wing, I could do it with my eyes closed. Hmm... I hope I didn't leave any parts out when I did that..

Overall: 3.5/5. I hate to give a .5 but it's not great enough to give a 4, and it's really as good as other sets so it warrants more than a 3. Would I buy it again? Yes! Would I pay the amount I had to pay again? No. I'll wait for clearance. Or at least a 25% off LEGO's MSRP price. Not my local store prices.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!

All photos are click able for larger, bigger-than-life picture sizes! You can see all photos used here, including the larger build pictures: 8087 Tie Defender.

[Svelte]

Thanks for the amazing review, starstreak! As usual your pictures are top-notch. You have increased my desire for this set, but at it's Australian RRP of $AUD89.99 ($US80~ plus) I will be waiting for a good sale if I ever pick this up.

The design looks intriguing, and very appealing, but a set based on a vehicle which originally appeared in a game I played briefly as a teenager is very much on the lower threshold of 'must-have' for me And I have no doubt that the macrocephalic TIE pilot will be in another set soon enough in any case

[Future74]

Great review

I'm awaiting eagerly for this set to arrive, together with the other new released sets.

The stormtrooper indeed seems to be a bit out of place in this set. And to my knowledge the cockpit doesnt rotate in the games TIE Fighter and X-wing vs TIE Fighter and add-ons. The interior (flight controls) is something TLC should have included in this set and it's ashame they didn't.

Other than that: TLC did a great job on this set and I am for one a fan of all star wars based sets, whether it is OT, NT, CW or Expanded Universe.

The only exception is the Rogue Shadow. I hope TLC will look at the game it came from once more and also build the Assault Gunboat, but I guess that belongs in another topic.

This set is a must buy, but due to its price it will be just one set.

[Darth Legolas]

Nice review. Bricklink made the horrible mistake of listing the wrong minifigs! They better fix that soon.

I really wanted this set, but the price is simply outrageous. That think is worth only 30 and at most $40 in my opinion. It's simply not worth the price at all. The build also seems repetitive. I think the only new piece there is the new TIE Pilot helmet.

[AND3RSEN]

i thought that might have been a new helmet! it looks great...good review

[Commander_Rob]

Thanks for the review, I think I`ll get this set, it looks good and the new TIE pilot is pretty cool.

TIE Defender: The ultimate evolution of the TIE series.

[ILikePi]

Another spectacular review, starstreak!

This set didn't look at all appealing before reading your review, but it looks pretty interesting now with your high-quality photos!

However, it is not worth $50 IMO. It looks way too bare and simple (just 6 thin wings and a cockpit). I think it should've been $30-$40, since there aren't any special parts other than the TIE pilot's helmet.

By the way, at the last link to your Flickr gallery, you said "8087 TIE Fighter" instead of "Defender".

Bricklink made the horrible mistake of listing the wrong minifigs! They better fix that soon.

belltower really messed up on inventorying this set. He also listed that there were 9 black Technic pins without friction ridges when they do have friction ridges (black Technic pins without friction ridges don't exist)! Edited January 9, 2010 by ILikePi

[def]

A great review, thanks! I'm interested in this set, but I'm in the same boat as everyone else: Not at that price. I have three tie fighters already, so this isn't essential. I'm glad they used the same silver motif that they used for the Darth Vader tie last year. This set looks good.

[RileyC]

Im not a fan of this set at all. It has one attraction for me which is the new TIE pilot but thats it. I dont really like the three wings and it looks quite flimsy. I am not planning to buy this set at all even if the price gets heavily slashed. I think there will be another set with the TIE pilot next year because the same thing happened with the TIE crawler and the Shadow troopers.

Great review!

[starstreak]

No idea what you are talking about.

By the way, at the last link to your Flickr gallery, you said "8087 TIE Fighter" instead of "Defender".

[prateek]

Awesome review, as always. This set is cool, but it is just a blatant rip-off. IMO, Darth Vader's TIE from last year is better, and cheaper than this.

[Captain Block]

Judging by your review, this set is a no for me, the price is too high, (Especially when you live in Australia) , It's about $70 here.

[KimT]

Judging by your review, this set is a no for me, the price is too high, (Especially when you live in Australia) , It's about $70 here.

Please keep price rants in the pinned topic "Star Wars Sets Anyone?"

This is a review and meant as a review of the set.

National prices are not important.

[lightningtiger]

Thanks 'StarStreak' for the review of this... well different Tie Figther.

I'm actually impressed by the design and prefer this one other the Interceptor anyday !

I have a good friend who is this craft's number one fan, I'll show him the review !

[Rufus]

Thanks for the great review, nice pics! Do the wings wobble like on the Tie Interceptor?

I might get this, if only because I'd like to MOC a regular Tie, which I don't own.

[starstreak]

You mean the UCS T.Interceptor? Oh that one wobbles bad. I have it. This one shakes a bit too, but nothing that would make it feel unstable. About the same looseness as Dath Vader's Tie.

Thanks for the great review, nice pics! Do the wings wobble like on the Tie Interceptor?

I might get this, if only because I'd like to MOC a regular Tie, which I don't own.

[BlueDragonZ]

Thanks for the great review. This set is so similar to the tie fighter (including features) except its a bit bigger.

[thespurs200708]

I built mine today - I love it.

Can anyone that has this set do me a favour? Can you check the underside of the largest black piece that form the wings and see if they are matt black or 'shiny' black? Three out of the six of these pieces are MATT black on the underside and this is surely not correct?

[Calanon]

Thanks for the review! This looks very good, very accurate to the actual Tie Defender. :)

Questions: How much does the cockpit rotate?

[Legoist]

Thanks for the excellent review!

I have to say that even with the lack of details, the overall look of this 8087 is fantastic I am not a fan of Lego SW (I have no set), but if I ever buy a set it will be either this or Vader's TIE. Pity that they are so expensive... I think this one is actually 60e in shops around here, and the Vader's TIE is 45e

[charlieboy]

Questions: How much does the cockpit rotate?

It rotates 360 degrees,just like the cockpit on the last B wing does.

Great review fella,i bought it on january 1st along with most of the other new sets!Does anybody else think the new tie pilots helmet is a bit too big?

[Ar Sparfel]

Excellent review, very pleasant to read.

[Big Cam]

Great review, not my personal favorite of the new sets but I like the review, bright clean pics, and a cool looking ship, but for me not worth $50+.

[Brickus]

I built mine today - I love it.

Can anyone that has this set do me a favour? Can you check the underside of the largest black piece that form the wings and see if they are matt black or 'shiny' black? Three out of the six of these pieces are MATT black on the underside and this is surely not correct?

Yes, Mine has 3 of those matt black panels, I would assume they are produced in a different factory Possibly the UK. This is because it says it is made in Denmark, Hungary, United Kingdom, and the Czech Republic, and so far I have not seen any other sets that have pieces made in the UK, also this set doesn't have many special pieces.

[starstreak]

Thanks for the comments. Yeah, the helmet looks big but I guess all of them do to in one way or another.