TIE Fighter - TSC - Vehicles (Exclusive)

Added: March 20th 2019
Category: Saga Collection, The
Reviewer: Paul Harrison
Score:

Name: TIE Fighter
Collection: The Saga Collection
Number: N/A (Toys R Us Exclusive)
Source: A New Hope
Availability: September 2006
License: Hasbro

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TIE fighters swarm into space to attack the heroic Rebel Alliance forces! TIE fighters are the standard starfighters of the Imperial forces. The pilots are highly skilled, but they are no match for the daring and resourceful Rebel pilots! TIE fighters waged a fierce battle to defend the first Death Star from the Rebel attack. Re-create the action and adventure of Star Wars!

In the middle of the Revenge Of The Sith line, Hasbro graciously gave the nod to Original Trilogy Star Wars collectors and released a vehicle that changed the way all of us looked at Imperial TIE fighters in the toy line. Collectors “complained” for years for a more-to-scale version of the classic Imperial TIE fighter vehicle, and Hasbro listened. They took the cockpit of 2003's SW [S - P2] Imperial Dogfight TIE Fighter Kay Bee Toys exclusive vehicle and then added all-new larger scale wings to make the most screen-accurate version of this vehicle the toy line ever saw. Released as a 2005 TARGET exclusive in ROTS packaging, the vehicle quickly sold through, and fans’ eagerness grew for what might be the next vehicle to receive a scaled update. As mentioned, the TIE Fighter (Standard Starfighter Of The Imperial Forces) exclusive sold through quickly, and to help meet demand, Hasbro quickly “reissued” it with some significant changes in 2006’s The Saga Collection line. And to also change things up a bit, they offered it to Toys R Us as their retailer exclusive. That’s not all that changed. To assist in keeping things as fresh as possible at retail, Hasbro also repainted the vehicle in a completely different color scheme. Instead of the blue-colored focus of the 2005 release, Hasbro opted a for a light-gray palette for The Saga Collection and covered with a final wash to bring out a realistically lived-in appearance. The Saga Collection TIE Fighter is a wonderful release, but sadly it got lost in the shuffle of so many other products released that year, and many collectors don’t know of its existence today. It too came and went in the blink of an eye at the retail level.

It’s a shame that more collectors don’t know about The Saga Collection TIE Fighter vehicle because it’s nicer than the Revenge Of The Sith release by a lot as far as we’re concerned. Aside from wishing they tooled an all-new cockpit because it has aged terribly at this point, the new color and larger scale wings are brilliant changes to this highly-praised vehicle, and every collector should own it. With very few play features and no projectiles of any sort added to the vehicle’s frame, Hasbro made it evident that they wanted to focus on collectors with this vehicle. Because of this, the TIE Fighter makes the perfect addition to The Saga Collection toy line which already strongly focuses on the adult collector more than kids. Aside from the pop-off wings, Hasbro abandoned any form of battle-damage on this vehicle. Collectors will focus on the greater aspects of this exclusive release, like the bigger wings, the stunning paint job, and the appealing packaging design. Color-coded in blue, the color that represents A New Hope in The Saga Collection, this vehicle is representative of the ones we see battle the Millennium Falcon after it flees the Death Star, and also the Rebel Alliance as they attempt to protect the Death Star from attack. From the details etched into the wings to the texture that’s captured from the beautiful paint job, the TIE Fighter looks like a real vessel of the Imperial Navy fleet. We’ve already received excellently made larger-sized X-wing fighters, so collectors now can welcome the vehicle from the other side of the war to complement their collections. And it’s remarkable that even though the cockpit and wings are from two different collecting eras, they work seamlessly together here in this exclusive.

There is an interesting variation with the TIE Fighter. Likely a factory oversight, the earliest packaged retail samples came with the old 1996 The Power Of The Force “2” ]Red] TIE Fighter Pilot figure. However, Hasbro quickly updated the oversight and included a slightly repainted version of 2004’s SW [S - P3] TIE Fighter Pilot (Battle Of Yavin) (’04 #14) figure in subsequent releases. But there was a time where both versions could be found next to each other on Toys R Us shelves. Neither figure is ideal at this point in the game, but all collectors prefer the 2004 release over the nearly decade older POTF2 sculpt. Despite the pack-in figure here, the TIE Fighter will undoubtedly be a highly sought-after release. It’s a shame this vehicle wasn’t a widespread release, but Hasbro made it recently clear that the only way they can get out large vehicles like this now is through a retailer exclusive program. It’s just the way the market is now. Still, something this awesome needs availability is a widespread manner, so everyone possible knows about it and so that the product has the greatest accessibility. The size difference of the new wings when compared to the original is quite measurable. It makes you realize just how inaccurate all previous Imperial TIE fighters toys were in the Kenner/Hasbro line. All that preceded this version are completely inaccurate now. Hey, if Hasbro isn’t growing the toy line to become greater and better with each successive year, then what’s the point? This release proves they continue to grow and produce incredible collector-oriented toys. Aside from a much-requested retooled cockpit, The Saga Collection TIE Fighter will stand the test of time. Visually, it’s the most appealing TIE Fighter we have now.

Collector Notes

TIE Fighter

Assortment Number: 87244

UPC: 653569192497

Retail: $44.99 USD

Market Value: Click here to check the latest prices based on Click here to check the market value on eBay! listings.

TIE Fighter

Status: TIE Fighter is a repaint of 2005's ROTS Imperial TIE Fighter (Standard Starfighter Of The Imperial Forces) TARGET exclusive vehicle. This time the vehicle is painted a worn light gray color instead of blue.

Features Count: 4

Feature Details: opening canopy, ejecting wing panels, pilot figure, larger scale wings

Accessory Count: None

Accessory Details: None

Date Stamp: 2003

TIE Fighter Pilot

Status: TIE Fighter Pilot is a slight repaint of 2004's SW [S - P3] TIE Fighter Pilot (Battle Of Yavin) ('04 #14) figure. Coincidentally, Hasbro erroneously packed the 1996 POTF2 [R/G] TIE Fighter Pilot sculpt in early issues of this Toys R Us exclusive.

Articulation Count: 12 points (10 areas of articulation)

Articulation Details: swivel head (1), swivel left shoulder (1), swivel right shoulder (1), swivel right elbow (1), swivel left glove (1), swivel right glove (1), swivel left hip (1), swivel right hip (1), ball-jointed left knee (2), ball-jointed right knee (2)

Accessory Count: 1

Accessory Details: E-11 blaster

Date Stamp: 2004

TIE Fighter

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