Review: 75095 TIE Fighter
Posted by DrDaveWatford,
Having filled one glaring gap in the Star Wars Ultimate Collector’s Series line up with the recent release of Set 75060 Slave 1 LEGO has quickly moved to plug another hole with the imminent arrival of the latest offering in the Star Wars UCS line up, Set 75095 TIE Fighter.
It's always seemed strange to me that LEGO has already released two TIE variants in UCS form – Set 7181 TIE Interceptor and Set 10175 Vader's TIE Advanced – but the basic TIE Fighter, one of the most iconic of all Star Wars craft, has been repeatedly overlooked for the UCS treatment. Star Wars fans can now rejoice, however, as LEGO has finally rectified that omission. Has LEGO nailed it, though? Read on to find out…
Box & Contents
The box is approximately 58cm (23”) wide, 48cm (19”) high and 9 cm (3.5”) deep, which makes it taller than the recent UCS Slave 1 box but not as deep. A large image of the LEGO TIE Fighter model in flight is squeezed onto the front of the box, occupying almost all of the available space (picture below); it’s superimposed onto a graphic of what appears to be the Death Star trench. The box also features a smaller front-on image of the TIE Fighter model resting on its display stand. A gold logo reminds us that we’re in the presence of that most revered of LEGO Star Wars offerings – a UCS set – and the 14+ age recommendation further reinforces the fact that this is no ordinary set…
The top of the box reveals the dimensions of the finished model (30cm wide by 40 cm high) and provides a picture of the set’s sole minifigure, while the back of the box features a large image of the TIE Fighter on its display stand and a number of smaller panels highlighting some specific features of the model such as the opening cockpit access hatch and printed canopy, not to mention a shot of the (almost) obligatory UCS information plaque.
The box is sealed by way of a trio of tape seals at either end. Cutting the seals releases a total of 18 sealed bags of elements, a single instruction booklet and a single sticker sheet. You can see the bags of elements arrayed in the two photographs below; all but 3 of the bags are numbered. The 3 unnumbered bags predominantly contain large (8 x 16) black plates and tiles, plus a sprinkling of light bley 2 x 16 plates.
Similar to Set 75060 Slave 1 the instruction booklet comes heat-sealed inside a thin, clear bag. There’s unfortunately no sheet of cardboard to keep the booklet flat, although on this occasion the booklet thankfully arrived in pristine condition anyway. The sticker sheet (below) is packed inside the bag alongside the instruction booklet. It contains a total of 15 stickers, with the sticker for the UCS information plaque taking up more space on the sheet than the rest of the stickers put together.
Instructions
The instruction booklet is 156 pages long, so about 25% shorter than the UCS Slave 1 booklet. The front cover carries the same image of the TIE Fighter model in flight as the front of the box. The building instructions themselves occupy just under 140 pages, with the remainder of the booklet taken up by other content including a brief introduction to the LEGO Star Wars Design Team penned by LEGO Star Wars Design Director Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, a few pages of information about the TIE Fighter accompanied by some photographs and drawings, and a 2-page “Meet the Model Designer” segment featuring a Q&A with set designer Olav Krøigaard (picture below). There’s also a 2-page inventory of parts, a reprise of the feature panels on the back of the box, advertising for the UCS Slave 1 set and the obligatory request for product feedback.
The Build
The build begins with the construction of the lower part of the TIE Fighter’s cockpit (picture below) including the pilot’s seat and flight yoke, both of which are adjustable. There’s definitely a feeling of being eased into the build, with completion of this stage being extremely quick and straightforward. A round 4 x 4 trans-red plate with 2 x 2 Hole is hidden beneath the floor of the cockpit, along with four red 2 x 2 corner tiles which have only previously appeared in Set 10246 Detective’s Office; collectively these elements help to form a recess in the underside of the cockpit into which the display stand will eventually fit.
The sides of the cockpit and the struts attaching the cockpit to the wings are next to be built (picture below). The wing struts are solid and robust, which is unsurprising given that they’ll need to support the weight of the TIE Fighter’s huge wings. A variety of different brackets are used to facilitate some SNOT work, and there’s a nice selection of light bley slopes of various types plus a fair few light bley 1 x 2 jumper plates which will no doubt be appreciated by builders looking to subsequently cannibalize the set for their own Star Wars MOCs. None of the elements used are new or particularly unusual, however. This stage of the build is marked by the first appearance of stickers; these need to be applied to the inner surface of a couple of black 1 x 4 x 3 panels where they provide some decoration for the cockpit interior. Applying these stickers neatly can be distinctly tricky, however, so beware….
The three structures which have been constructed to this point (picture below) are then joined together, at which point the distinctive shape of the TIE Fighter starts to emerge.
Next the outside of the cockpit is fleshed out and the connection between the cockpit and wing struts is reinforced. The cockpit also gets a roof at this point in the form of a sizeable cockpit access hatch; this is made up of a rather nice printed 8 x 8 inverted dish which is unique to the set. Talking of uncommon elements, we also encounter the first of twelve light bley slope 45 2 x 1 with 2/3 cutout at this stage of the build; these are new for 2015 and have only previously appeared in Set 75074 Snowspeeder.
You can see from the rear view below how the cockpit access hatch lifts up and tilts backwards in order to allow access to the cockpit. Once the hatch is fully open there’s more than enough room to get a TIE Pilot into the cockpit and into his flight seat.
The cockpit is now almost complete. The penultimate step is to enclose the front of the cockpit with a fixed canopy which is made up of a printed trans-clear inverted 8 x 8 dish; like the cockpit access hatch, this element is unique to the set. The canopy sits on top of a light bley modified 10 x 10 octagonal plate with open center; this element is new in light bley although it exists in a number of other colours including dark bley, yellow and light grey. Finally, the rear of the cockpit is enclosed by a panel which features a diamond-shaped aperture; this is presumably the TIE Fighter’s engine exhaust.
With the cockpit and wing struts completed it’s time to turn our attention to the TIE Fighter’s huge wings. The framework of the wings consists of identical upper and lower halves (picture below) meaning that you have to build four identical sections in total; although the build is repetitive, at least each section doesn’t take that long to put together. Notable elements used during this stage of the build include a number of black 8 x 16 plates which to my surprise appear to be unique to this set at present, although there’s at least one big black build coming later in the year (Set 70173 Ultra Agents Ocean HQ) which could change that. A number of black modified 3 x 4 tiles with 4 studs in the centre, a.k.a. Collectable Minifigure stands, also make an appearance; I think it's the only time I've seen them used in an official set as anything other than minifig stands apart from their recent appearance in Set 76042 SHIELD Helicarrier.
Next the two halves of each wing are joined together and the framework is covered by an outer skin (picture below). The outer skin of the wings is part-studded and part-tiled, which I suspect is likely to attract praise and criticism in equal measure; praise from the purists because it helps to retain a more “LEGO-like” feel to the build, criticism because having gone part-tiled it begs the question of why LEGO didn’t just finish the job and tile the whole outer surface of the wing. I think the part-tiled compromise works OK, actually; more disconcerting is the dull, matte-effect finish of the four 8 x 16 black tiles used on each wing which contrasts unattractively with the shiny finish of the other tiled areas.
Once the part-tiled outer skin has been applied to both of the wings, the next step is to reinforce the central hub on the inner surface of each wing and then construct the characteristic ‘spokes’ which radiate out from the central hub to the edges of the wings. At this point, only the hub end of the diagonal spokes is held in place, with the other end free to move about.
The wings are then flipped over and the process is repeated on the outer wing surface (picture below). The greebled central hub on each wing features a printed light bley round 2 x 2 tile at its centre; this element is new this year and so far has only appeared in this set and one other - Set 75082 TIE Advanced Prototype. The diagonal spokes on the outer wing surface are made up of a light bley straight rail at the hub end, although having been impressed with this unexpected parts usage I was then less impressed by the use of a 1 x 6 plate rather than a 1 x 6 tile at the other end of the spoke as the presence of studs here looks slightly incongruous. Similar to the spokes on the inner surface of the wing, the spokes on the outer surface are initially only held in place at the hub end; once the spokes on the inner and outer surface of the wings have been constructed, however, a battle droid arm clicks together the outer end of each spoke on the outer wing surface with its counterpart on the inner wing surface, thus firmly holding the spokes in the correct position – ingenious.
Once both wings are completed it’s time to attach them to the body. The end of the wing strut inserts into the central hub of the inner surface of the corresponding wing as you can in the picture below. Once inserted the struts are firmly locked into place, forming a reassuringly robust join which feels like it’ll hold all day long and even withstand some swooshing despite the considerable size and weight of the wings.
And so, after what felt like a surprisingly short build time given the overall parts count the TIE Fighter itself is done and it’s time to build the display stand (picture below). This is a tall, predominantly Technic-built structure topped off with a 2 x 2 round brick with dome top which slots into the previously-mentioned recess in the underside of the TIE Fighter body which you can see here.
In the early days of Star Wars UCS sets minifigures were never included but that changed back in 2007 with the release of Set 10179 Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon. Most Star Wars UCS sets since then have included at least one minifigure, and Set 75095 is no exception. This set includes a single minifigure – the TIE Fighter Pilot below. This minifigure is unique to the set; while it looks similar to the TIE Pilot which appeared in last year’s Star Wars advent calendar, right down to the print on the front of the legs, it’s been embellished by the addition of detailed printing on the shoulder, arm and wrist. The display stand includes a space for the TIE pilot alongside the UCS information plaque.
UCS display stands don’t usually permit any movement of the model, but that’s not the case here; the use of what is effectively a ball and socket joint between the stand and the TIE Fighter means that the model can be rotated fully 360 degrees on the stand. The stand does an excellent job of securely showcasing what is a surprisingly heavy model, and you can see a couple of pictures of the completed TIE Fighter perched on its display stand below.
The Verdict
It’s probably time for me to confess that I was a bit unsure about this set when I saw the first publicity shots, more specifically the somewhat jagged appearance of the outside of the cockpit resulting from the use of offset slopes to approximate the contours of the TIE Fighter’s curved body. My reservations turned out to be largely unfounded, though – while the effect can look a little jarring at close quarters, take a few steps back and the model can be admired as a pleasing and quite impressive representation of the subject material. I guess one analogy might be the large display models you find at LEGOLAND – blocky close-up, but impressive at a distance.
On account of the simplicity of the TIE Fighter’s design plus some unavoidable repetition, the build wasn’t exactly the most interesting I’ve ever undertaken. Even so, there are some interesting building techniques employed during the build, not to mention some interesting element usage, and the final results more than make up for the effort. This is undoubtedly the definitive version of this iconic ship - it’s hard to see how it could be appreciably improved – and it looks great on display alongside my other Star Wars UCS sets.
Set 75095 TIE Fighter contains 1,685 elements and will go on sale tomorrow (Saturday May 2nd) at a RRP of £169.99/$199.99/€199.99. Many thanks to LEGO’s Community Engagement & Events Team for providing us with an advance copy of the set, and thanks also to Huw for the beautiful, crisp photographs which illustrate my review; additional pictures can be found here.
9 likes
29 comments on this article
I'm glad my birthday is coming up at the end of this month :D
It looks cool, but, it's hard to make a compelling model of something so bland. A ball and 2 wings, yeah. I'll buy it for he Star Wars factor alone. But, don't think it will have the same building experience as Vader's TIE and 7181. I do look forward to, "there are some interesting building techniques employed during the build, not to mention some interesting element usage".
With the said, I really do hope Lego tackles the Bomber soon.
I saw one of these made up today, Bricks have it on display at the Yorkshire Brick Show, (go to YBS if you want to check out Bricks magazine in the flesh).
Its pretty big and I will be getting one but the price is harsh, only one fairly lame figure, compared to the Slave I which had 3 figures and a carbon Han at the same price.
Definitely a "look but don't touch" set, isn't it? To get any real playability from it would take a little bit of modding to add some other functionality. Or rather *any* functionality! For example, I can see the spring-loaded laser cannons from 75055 Imperial Star Destroyer being incorporated without too much trouble. Overall I'd say it's the size that impresses rather than the model itself - there's just not enough substance to a TIE Fighter to provide visual interest. As jamie75 says, it's just a ball and two wings!
It's an amazing model and captures the absolutely epic design of the SW fighter very well. The size of it is just stunning. We shouldn't forget how amazing the design from 1977 is, even if it's considered a little boring by todays standards. But once you think about it, that the design is a bit boring and would lead to a similar boring building experience - don't forget that we probably kind of gotten used to the design over the past almost 40 years. We grew up with this. It's as new as the Eiffel tower to us. But once you seriously think about it, the design and the representation of it in this model - you might want to concur, it is stunning.
My mom found me a (so far) complete Vader's TIE Advanced, with a sticker that hasn't been used, for less than $10 last week at a tag/yard sale. It's been a rather boring and repetitive build, this sets feel the same.
@ Yamaki
I don't think anyone is complaining that the design of the TIE Fighter itself is boring, they're pointing out that it makes for a boring Lego build. No matter how iconic the ship, it's still just a ball and two wings no matter how big you make it. At least the UCS X-wing/falcon etc added loads of details that couldn't be included on a minifigure-scale set, but what does the UCS TIE Fighter add that wasn't already included in the minifig-scale TIE Fighter 9492 (aside from 3 less minifigures)? Take into account a not especially high piece count and you can consider me very much on the fence about this one. That said, there's probably a 90% chance I end up with one tomorrow cos I have the willpower of a 3 year old child.
I like my ships made for swooshing not staring at. :o) It's a nice model over all, but, well it's too big. Those black panels will become perfect dust collectors. So it's really a collectors item, eh?
I think this will have a very short shelf life, like the b-wing. Yes it's iconic, but it's no better than the 9492 version. The 10% discounts are a bit of a joke as well. All the smaller sets can be found cheaper elsewhere. It's only the UCS ones that are worth it, but I'm sure I got 15-20% off last year on the x-wing. However, it's still better than nothing, like the U.S. Gets!
Much better than I thought it would be... again, I wish I could afford it...
@Brainslugged: What does it add that the 9492 didn't accomplish? "Look at the size of that thing!" It's huge. It will be catching attention 2 or 3 times more on your shelves, and will make you appreciate the amazing design. And I guess you will not have the usual building experience here, as you are right - it looks a bit dull on that side. But I believe throughout the build you will start to admire how well the TIE and the Lego model are designed. I guess here it's not about having a varied build, but about admiring the structure, stability - and size. Isn't it twice as high as 9492? There you have a good reason to buy it.
And it's funny, since I am defending it and you consider actually buying it, but I am not. I have the 9492 sitting on the top of my shelves and I have to admit, it's one of my favorite models and I cannot justify spending 200€ on one model, if that money will buy me the Shuttle and the Falcon later this year. Have fun building it - I'd bet you are not going to regret getting it!
According to the size of the cockpit stuffs, it isn't a true minifigure scale model (like the new Slave I), is it?
I so wish Lego would tackle the Tie Bomber in a system scale set.
^ They already did - Set 4479 TIE Bomber.
A UCS version would be nice, though!
i don't like it, it looks to big
a Tie Fighter should be small
^^ I meant a remake, couldn't get last one.
Looks pretty awesome as a display piece, but there's not really much substance to it...I guess that's just one of the issues with trying to make a LEGO TIE Fighter - no matter how big you make it, the way it is designed it will always feel small compared to similarly sized sets.
Review was great. I want that set so bad. It looks so amazing. One question; does anyone agree with me?
Looks awesome. Price is insane.
"Finally, the rear of the cockpit is enclosed by a panel which features a diamond-shaped aperture; this is presumably the TIE Fighter’s engine exhaust."
It's not. That's a window in the centre, the two red parts on the sides are the exhaust ports. A common mistake, even creeps into official media sometimes.
I've purchased it, but have yet to take it out of the box. In the swoop of a weekend, I got the Red 5 (last one the particular store would ever sell), Slave 1 and the Tie Fighter. So, you could say that I have a lot of building ahead of me.
As much as all the space ships are cool for the UCS I'd like to see a UCS MTT (75058) or AAT (7155).
Is any one esle missing the stand? By looking at the pics above it seems I have an extra step 6 bag but I have no step 12 bags.
"It's not. That's a window in the centre, the two red parts on the sides are the exhaust ports. A common mistake, even creeps into official media sometimes."
I don't think it's a window. Even aside from the question of why a TIE Fighter would have a small diamond-shaped window at the back, various sources suggest that it's a I-a2b solar ionization reactor. I guess only George Lucas really knows!
Definitely a window. I know the Essential Guide diagram claims the reactor sits there, but a couple of TIE cockpit shots in Episode IV where you can glimpse it behind the pilot and see outside.
I want a £170 Lego set for a minifigures arm... well played Lego, well played
It will look great next to the UCS -wings.
I built this last night. Nice build that that was easy to combine with being social with the wife and the telly. Perfect for a relaxed Saturday night.
IMHO this thing looks much better IRL than in the photos. However, it is huge, on the same scale as the Lambda shuttle and Slave One (UCS). This is a very beautiful model but I have no idea where to put it.
Correction: A single black 8x16 plate also appeared in the Maersk Line Triple-E set from 2014 so it is not exclusive to this set.