First Order TIE Fighters

[Jerac]

When I have had the basic TIE Fighter done I knew I also had the First Order design done, after all, it is only a matter of simple redesign and adding an antenna, right?
Not right, as I have realised. 

First tricky question is: How many new TIE craft were introduced in the Force Awakens movie, hmm? The obvious hotrodesque red striped two-seater ship which Poe and yet-to-be-named-Finn use to escape?

Like this?

..obvious... but wait:

...whaaaaaat?

 

So yeah, there are, in fact, TWO new TIE fighters. And believe me, there are plenty of differences between old and new ships.

What was meant to be a simple recoloring job and generating new instructions with few clicks, ended up being month-and-half job to do. I still believe it was worth it, though, what do you think?

 

 

Much like original ships these two are commisioned builds as well and as such, have instructions available at BrickVault's website: https://www.brickvault.toys/
...and also like before, a little movie showcasing the ships' quirks and features was produced: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JxQnjlg_tc&t=252s

Cheers!

[Nootella]

Beautiful job my dude :)

[r4canine]

Love the studless wings and that canopy design is stellar. At first I thought they weren't Lego: the shaping is fantastic. :)

[Jerac]

Thanks!

[sfeery]

Wow - these turned out great!  I didn't realize that it would be much more than a recoloring job either, but the differences are noticeable from you original trilogy TIEs.  I think the time and effort you've put into these was well worth the effort - fantastic job!

[stormtroopercaptain]

Very nice. Again you have done a wonderful job. 

Is only the special forces version a two seater? Or are the regular first order tie fighter also two seaters? 

I knew the red marked ones were special forces just not clear on all the differences between the standard and SF models in the first order. 

[Jerac]

Only the Special Forces one is a two-seater. The standard one has a spacier, one-man cockpit. It is also a little bit more durable construction-wise, because it can have a stronger connection in the back.

Other upgrades Special Forces get are these powerbank rings mear the panels, bigger antenna, bigger guns, a turret under the cockpit, bigger engines and red decal on the side.

[mrcngrck]

i dont know why but cockpit looks more like ball in black than grey

Edited February 16, 2018 by mrcngrck

[m4st3rt3ch]

Simple, it's an optical illusion.

@Jerac Awesome builds! What is the estimated price for the parts?

Edited February 17, 2018 by m4st3rt3ch

[Sucram]

holy moly these are amazing, and the red stripe design using that hinge piece is genius. well done.

[uwjedi]

Very clean, sleek design, Nice!

[Jerac]

8 hours ago, m4st3rt3ch said:

Simple, it's an optical illusion.

@Jerac Awesome builds! What is the estimated price for the parts?

Hi, Brickvault guys made a quick bricklink check and it came out to be in range of 80$ + shipping. I'd expect it to be in 70-90 range, the Special Forces one closer to 90 and standard - 70. SF has much more pieces.

[m4st3rt3ch]

19 minutes ago, Jerac said:

Hi, Brickvault guys made a quick bricklink check and it came out to be in range of 80$ + shipping. I'd expect it to be in 70-90 range, the Special Forces one closer to 90 and standard - 70. SF has much more pieces.

Thank you ?

[belkor]

Super awesome designs! Can't imagine anyone improving on these at this scale with currently available parts. Well done mate, will probably pick up the instructions for the OT version.

[Bender222]

I purchased the sf one. Just wondering, is there a reason for the horizontal cutouts on the wings?

[Jerac]

On 28.02.2018 at 1:30 AM, Bender222 said:

I purchased the sf one. Just wondering, is there a reason for the horizontal cutouts on the wings?

Not sure which one you mean... that gap on the horizontal spokes? It is a compromise of simplicity, looks and durabilty. You can try adding tiles in the gaps (it was indended to have tiles there), but I found out the connection the panel make is a bit insecure and because the gap is nice, straight and smooth, I left it there. All in all though, since some people mention this, I might update it in the future. For now though I focus on next models in the line. Without gaps this time, other than required ones! 

[Bender222]

sounds good. I noticed that the whole cockpit design was a bit more solid compared to the interceptor too.

[BrickShady]

Those are the sleekest TIE MOCs I've ever seen! The shape of the cockpit and the wings is so well-executed and the attention paid to detail is incredible. I'm looking forward to your future TIE renditions! 

[DomMk]

Praise May the 4th! I just bought both sets of instructions with a nice discount. Looking forward to putting these lovely builds together later in the year.

I'm considering changing wing panel colours to white. Having played some Battlefront 2 white seems a tad more accurate than LBG but it's clear you've spent a good amount of time analysing every detail of these craft. Why did you settle on LBG in the end? Did you try both?

[Jerac]

Honestly I did not consider white at all, it might bee too much of a contrast. I guess this is much like x-wings; half of people make them white and the other half makes them grey.

[DomMk]

Just finished the TIE/sf! Great build as always and it's very impressive that you managed to sneak two minifigs into such a small SNOTty space. So many great details to point out, but I'll go with the shape of engine exhausts.

I made a small mod on my model to improve swooshability. The back panel/window easily moves side-to-side since it's attached to the following stack: 1x2 plate, 1x2 modified plate w/ 1 stud, modified 1x1 tile w/ clip. I replaced it with the following stack: 2x3 plate, 2x3 plate, 2x modified 1x2 plate w/ vertical clip & modified tile w/ grille. I also added one inverted 2x2 bracket above the 1x2 bracket to hold the new 2x3 stack firmly in place. The back now feels somewhat more robust. :)

[Jerac]

1 hour ago, DomMk said:

Just finished the TIE/sf! Great build as always and it's very impressive that you managed to sneak two minifigs into such a small SNOTty space. So many great details to point out, but I'll go with the shape of engine exhausts.

I made a small mod on my model to improve swooshability. The back panel/window easily moves side-to-side since it's attached to the following stack: 1x2 plate, 1x2 modified plate w/ 1 stud, modified 1x1 tile w/ clip. I replaced it with the following stack: 2x3 plate, 2x3 plate, 2x modified 1x2 plate w/ vertical clip & modified tile w/ grille. I also added one inverted 2x2 bracket above the 1x2 bracket to hold the new 2x3 stack firmly in place. The back now feels somewhat more robust. :)

I would like to see it. Sounds interesting, but I somewhat can't imagine it ;)

[DomMk]

Sure thing, I hope this does the trick!

[Jerac]

I see now. Good upgrade! 

It proves every model can be always made better. Thanks!

[TheGeneralMoe]

The more i look at the winds, the precise angles of the cockpit and the stud-less design. How is it possible with these crude bricks and devices? Are we witnessing a Lego-God among men?

In all seriousness, i can't image designing something like this, my brain would leak out of my ears. Great stuff!