I was thrilled to death when I found out this had been accepted into the new canon. It's just such a cool ship, way more advanced than any other TIE, and completely awesome looking on top of it all. That realization just made me want this set all the more, but the original model is marred by a number of substantial flaws.

So how about a before-and-after? Re-familiarize yourself with the original TIE Defender, a set I hardly ever see anyone talk about anymore.

Before

(click to enlarge)

The original model definitely has the look (please excuse the ugly hairy appendage). The proportions and everything are good and the structural integrity is decent for the most part. You might say it's a little chunky looking, but it's hard to fault it much for that.

Here's a close-up of one of the wings. It's simplistic almost to a fault. The 1x2 grills just don't work as wing frame braces, almost conveying a "pixelated" appearance from an old Atari game.

The model also sported a swivelling cockpit, ala B-Wing. You could pivot the wings around in any angle, which looks cool but AFAIK is a complete fabrication on Lego's part on the actual capabilities of the craft.

Here you see the pilot, awkwardly sitting inside of a completely featureless cockpit with no controls. Maybe he was trained by a Sith and controls the ship using the Force?

After

The new-and-improved TIE Defender.

A close-up of the wings with a complete frame all the way around, and added center detail.

Slightly modified cockpit. It now sits in a fixed position and no longer swivels independent of the wings.

The pilot sitting with his new kitted-out flight controls! The "yoke" is the same used on the latest TIE sets.

The original model cockpit opened from the top -- the roof and front dome all one piece. It was LAUGHABLY fragile, using a ratcheted hinge that was much too strong for its limited support. A much smoother, wider hinge is now used at the bottom -- WAY more durable and a much more silky movement.

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The TIE Defender is an amazing Imperial craft. It looks wicked, and has that too-good-to-be-true, almost fanfiction quality that you often see of Extended Universe creations in how seemingly invincible it is. The fact that the powers-that-be smiled upon it, and grandfathered it into the current canon via Star Wars: Commander is such an awesome move, and allows collectors of strictly "official" storyline Star Wars sets an excuse to add this one in with open arms. Hopefully it will start getting more attention now, and who knows? It might even make a cinematic appearance in one of the side-story movies!

Edited March 17, 20168 yr by Reputator

it's been my favorite TIE since it debuted way back in the video game in the 90's. Nice mods to it. I also got rid of the swiveling cockpit on mine and did some cockpit work; didn't do what you did with the wings, but they look nice so I might borrow that idea. It sure would be cool to see the Defender on the big screen :)

Awesome! But why no 75082 windscreen? Kidding. This is awesome! It was one of those sets that really had no business being made by Lego, but was awesome anyway. But seriously, a 75082 cockpit would make this puppy look totally dope.

Awesome! But why no 75082 windscreen? Kidding. This is awesome! It was one of those sets that really had no business being made by Lego, but was awesome anyway. But seriously, a 75082 cockpit would make this puppy look totally dope.

Yeah I know! It's really tempting to just Bricklink the two dish pieces and build up my own cockpit for it. Only downside is it would effectively make the cockpit a good deal larger, and perhaps throw off the scale.

I think I'll just take the wings off of my TIE Interceptor and slap that cockpit onto the Defender's wing assembly, just to see what it looks like. If it works out I'll post pics!

Yeah I know! It's really tempting to just Bricklink the two dish pieces and build up my own cockpit for it. Only downside is it would effectively make the cockpit a good deal larger, and perhaps throw off the scale.

I think I'll just take the wings off of my TIE Interceptor and slap that cockpit onto the Defender's wing assembly, just to see what it looks like. If it works out I'll post pics!

Mmmmm! Yes please!

Here it is with the newer cockpit slapped on there real quick. Looks alright, but definitely much larger.

It does change the scale..... but it also makes it look way better! Are you gonna change the wings to match?

Nah I'm not leaving it on. I have other plans with the 75082 set (gonna need a couple of them), but this isn't one of them. This is the one case where I'll keep the "vintage" TIE cockpit.

I'm really excited about my next TIE project though, and it's gonna be something totally original!

Nah I'm not leaving it on. I have other plans with the 75082 set (gonna need a couple of them), but this isn't one of them. This is the one case where I'll keep the "vintage" TIE cockpit.

I'm really excited about my next TIE project though, and it's gonna be something totally original!

Can't wait! I have a 75082 project in the works as well.

Actually I like it much better with the bigger cockpit... looks more "compact" and menacing, as with the long pylons and the tiny bubble in the middle... I think I'll have to mod mine as well, when I got my extra Tie-Advanced in the mail.

The Defender is not getting as much love as it deserves, imho.

Looks great!