0
In my never ending quest to create a UCS scale version of evry TIE alternate, I've had a few disappointing models. One of the worst, at least in my opinion, was my TIE Bomber. It was one of my first models, and I think it showed. So when I decided to do the TIE Shuttle, I knew I had to use a different approach than the old TIE Bomber used.
The TIE Shuttle was one of the few TIE Alternates to get screen time. It is seen in The Empire Strikes Back shuttling Captain Needa to his fateful end at the hands of Darth Vader. At least you see it's back end. Here is the link to the Wookiepedia pagefor more information.
3/4 View
And here she is. As you can see, aside from the top and bottom of the main cylinders, nearly everything else is SNOTed. In order to achieve this, I used a combination of rings of locking 1 x 2 dual hinge bricksand locking 1 x 4 dual hinge bricks and rings of Technic angle connector #4s with 4L and 2L axles. The result is a very strong tube, which can withstand the torque from the wing pylons and the center section.
Front View
While good, these tubes are not perfect. There is some droop around the center section. I could probably eliminate it by extending the technic beams that form the core of the center section and pylons through the tubes, but then I lose all of the interior. I think I can live with a little droop.
I was originally going to take the printing off of that 10 x 10 dish on the passenger side. I bought it with that intention. But I thought the printing would work well in this situation. I don't think it detracts, but I'm willing to hear any criticisms.
Side View
I spent a lot of time trying to add detail to the wings, which I typically ignore. They came out pretty well.
Back View
On my original TIE Bomber, I had the Ion Engines in the wrong place. This model fixes that oversight.
Cockpit
As always, I like to have detailed cockpits. The pilot's seat is one of the better ones I've come up with, mostly because I wasn't trying to shehorn it into a standard TIE cockpit ball. A little space makes all the difference in the world.
The front console has a few printed slopes, but not too many. This TIE is mainly used to go between capital ships, so there isn't too much it needs to do. I re-used the control stick from my TIE Hunter model, as it is the best I've come up with to date. I might never change it again. Bah, who am I kidding?
If you look behind the pilot's seat, you'll see some greebles. I intended these to be the engines. I was going to have three sets of these around the edges of this cylinder, but the 2 x 2 plate with pinto hold the greeb in place interfered with the sides of the cylinder. So only the ones on the floor remain.
Console Front
I always prefer to add a little front to the pilot's console controls. It helps fill that space with a little detail.
Passenger Compartment
What would a shuttle be without a passenger compartment? Nothing, that's what. These two seats are exactly the same as the pilot's seat (well, the printed tiles are slightly different) and are pretty snug in there. There wasn't quite as much space as I had thought there was. Once completed, no one will ever know that they exist. So why add them in? Because I know they are there, and I felt it important that they exist.
Center Front
The center section is pretty interesting, at least to me. The Technic bricks attach to the rest of the model with studs forward, so you are looking at the front right now. I originally greebled the entire hull of the ship, but scaled it back to just the center section. I'm glad I did. The fully greebled version looked far too busy.
Center Top
The top uses some simple SNOT to get the studs the right way.
Center Bottom
Same with the bottom. You can see the empty hole I created for the display stand. The center section was actually the first part of the model I finished designing, right after perfecting my ring design.
Center Back
Getting the studs facing the right way for the back took a bit of doing. I used several 1 x 2 bricks with studs on sidesto do the job. They are the black parts you can see on the side. The sides of the center section were left open, since they don't show on the finished model. Well, maybe they do, but you have to really work to see them.
Obviously, this design can be adapted to create any other TIE alternate that uses a TIE Bomber-like shape. I haven't designed the necessary accoutrements to turn this into a TIE Bomber yet, but it should be pretty easy. The TIE Hammer, TIE Interdictor or TIE Boarding Craft also share quite a bit in common with this design. Perhaps you'll see one of those TIEs from me very soon
As always, Comments and Constructive Criticism is very much appreciated.
Gallery, when moderated.
