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This is a review of 8017 Darth Vader's TIE Fighter.
I remember when I saw Star Wars for the first time. I was so thrilled with Darth Vader's ship. It looked bad. Later, reading about it, I found out it's supposed to be as good as the X-Wings. It as shields and a hyper drive like a X-Wing. And bigger engines than the Tie fighters. I think George Lucas picked the best sounds for the ships. Roarrrr!
Normally, minifig ships I leave for my son. BUT I thought there was a Chrome Vader in this box. Needless to say, I was wrong. Anyways, on to the ship building!
Set Name: 8017 Darth Vader's TIE Fighter
Theme: Star Wars
Released: 2009
Pieces: 251
Price: $39.99/28.67EUR/25.06GBP
Here are some quicklinks Bricklink, Brickset
Wanna see some pictures? Let's start with the normal box arts and manuals!
Front of box
Oh shiny! 10th anniversary edition box! Means nothing, but it's nice.
Back of box
Here on the back of the box, it shows you all the different things this ship can do. From holding Vader's lightsaber, to firing flickfire missiles. I hate those. Allot of times, the missiles just don't stay in the ship.
Bag of parts
Wow, so much parts...
Front of instruction book
Parts list
Not too much special parts. Rare would be the minifig, the cockpit canopy, and maybe that half moon part #4532853.
Back of instruction book
Same as the back of the box.
Sticker sheet
Darth Vader
Front view. No, not the Chrome version. Red saber for evil.
Back view. Yes, he is ignoring you.
Vader is now force choking you to get you to tell him where his helmet is.
Left over parts
Ok, here is where Lego got me. I know that the Chrome Vader is XX weight. The 4 2x1 grey parts aren't supposed to be extras. Sly...
Start of build
Not much to the build. Everything is built around the cockpit to the side, to the rear piece to the wings (see final for wings attached).
Final photos
Here is the final shot. The wings attach using those technic pegs. Both sides are the same during the build.
Back of the fighter.
Top view.
Underside. Ah. Here you can see Darth Vader's light saber being held. Not realistic, but does keep the saber from being lost.
Front view with the cockpit open. Very plain. Just enough for him to sit. I couldn't put him in with his cape on. Maybe if they made "softer, bendable" capes. :)
Features
Missiles that flick, cockpit that opens. Yep. That's about it. Oh, and owning one of the meanest minifigs of all time. It's a starfighter so not much in the way of moving parts. Considering it's only a single person fighter.
My rating:
Playability: 4/5. It's not office friendly. A bit too big, but perfect for my son to play with. If I let him.
So it is very "swooshable" for playing with.Design: 4/5. Although not a UCS, for a minifig play set, it's fine. Just enough details and not too much where it would be falling off while playing.
Build experience: 2/5. It's rated low because it's very easy to build. No trouble at all. Perfect for new people to put together.
Overall: 3/5. My son would rate this higher as he loves to play with his sets. My rating is based as an AFOL. It's sitting on a shelf. Nice to have. Worth buying if you can get it for $29.99.
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: Darth Vader's TIE Fighter
Edited by KimT, 07 June 2009 - 08:05 AM.
poll added
I really like the color scheme for this set.
But because of how the wings are attached with the pegs it's a bit shakey.One thing I like about this set is that the wings are adjustable.
The consensus is that the lack of a "stopper" for the click hinge bricks is a bad thing since the bottom pairs of click hinge bricks could become permanently damaged over time if you just displayed the set flat on a shelf instead of mounting it on a stand. Of course, the set is pretty bad in my opinion (the large inverted slope piece annoys the heck out of me because it does 
