REVIEW: Set 8017 Darth Vader's Tie-fighter

[Millacol88]

Set Name: Darth Vader's TIE fighter

Set Number: 8017

Year: 2009

Price: USD 29.99, CDN 39.99, EUR 39.99

Pieces: 251

Minifigures: 1

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Lego Shop description:Blast the Rebels with Darth Vader’s TIE fighter™!

Straight from the original Star Wars movie, the TIE Advanced x1 is Darth Vader’s™ personal starfighter! Even faster than a standard TIE fighter, Vader’s TIE is customized with bent wings, a deflector shield and a hyperdrive. Celebrate 10 years of LEGO Star Wars with this all-new set, featuring incredible movie-accurate details, flick-firing missiles, and the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, Darth Vader!

Lift the nose of the ship to seat Darth Vader at the controls!

Includes Darth Vader minifigure!

Measures 6" (15cm) long by 7" (17cm) wide!

The Box

Front

The front of the box features a classic star wars logo in the top right, and a 10th anniversery one in the bottom left. It shows the detail of the set quite well and the death star looms over the ship.

Back

This shows the features of the set as well as some of the other sets of the 2009 line.

Instructions

Front

This is the same as the front of the box.

Back

The back of the instruction booklet advertises a contest.

Minifigure

The only minifigure in the set is, of course, Darth Vader. I believe it is the same as the one released with the death star. The detail on the helmet and torso is superb. Its worth it to point out that capes now come in thin cardboard envelopes rather than boxes. The head underneath is a little creepy but also very well done when it comes to detail.

Weapons/Extra Pieces

The only weapon included is Vader`s lightsaber. The hilt is pearl silver. I would have preferred chrome, but it is still better than the drab light gray they have used in the past. For estra pieces we get a technic pin, one black and one trans-red 1x1 circular plate, as well as a 1x2 light gray plate.

Stickers

In the way of decals we get four, all on clear backgrounds. i did not apply them, and it would seem they could have been easily printed.

Vader`s TIE

Obviously the main attraction of the set, Vader`s TIE advanced x1 is well-designed and faithful to the movie it appeared in. There are some sturdiness problems, mainly in the way the wings are attached, and the design of the floor of the cockpit (it easily falls out). The windscreen looks great and is very accurate.

We seem to be getting more and more of these huge curved pieces. They add a sleek look to the set but there really are not very many uses for them in MOCing.

There is a tad of greebling on the top of the ship, but its nowhere close to the detail of the y-wing of last year.

This printed piece looks awesome, and it really makes you wonder: if they were able to print on a sloped and curved piece like this, as well as the oddly-shaped cockpit, why werent the other, flatter pieces with stickers on them printed?

The middle wing panels are connected to the body of the ship by two technic pins, and the smaller panels are connected on either side, by `clicky` hinges. One of the problems of the set is that the entire ship`s weight is supported only by the bottom panels which, over time, could damage the hinges. It would have made sense to have included a stand for the ship.

This is probably the ugliest part of the ship. I`m not sure if there was a better way to do it, or to somehow eliminate some of the pieces used. It just looks quite blocky, and doesn`t really fit in with th design of the ship.

This small, unobtrusive technic piece, when pushed, fires the missile shown below. The mechanism works okay (and by that I mean better than most other flick fire missiles.)

Vader gets ready to go to town on some rebels

Overall

Design: 8/10 There are a few quibbles, and a couple fragile points, but overall it is made well.

Build: 10/10 The build is straightforward, with nothing out of the ordinary.

Minifigures: 8/10 The one included is pure awesome, but for the price, they should have includd another one (maybe a stormie or a technician)

Price: 7/10 For the amount of pieces you get, this one should have been cheaper.

Playability: 9/10 Once you figure out where to hold it, the ship is very swooshable.

Total: 42/50

Conclusion

This set is quite good. It is the only set of the current `09 lineup that will satisfy the thirst of all those OT fans out there. that, combined with it being an anniversery set, will ensure good sales. other than a few design flaws and a slightly high price point, This is a solid set and I recommend you pick it up.

Comments and constuctive criticism are welcome. Thank you for reading my review!

Edited December 27, 2008 by millacol88
indexed

[ditto]

great review! particularly liked that you critiqued the set rather than merely showing/pointing out the various features. =)

[KimT]

Thanks for reviewing this one for us.

I've added this to the index as review# 3 on this set.

[CloneMe]

Nice review. Im gonna have to get this set. Im not a huge fan of tie fighters but I need this to complete my collection and to be honest this dosent look to bad.

[pedro]

Great review millacol88, thanks a lot!

I missed both opportunities for Vader's TIE Fighter and won't miss it this time. Such a good choice by LEGO to render it in shades of bley and they really nailed down the design of the fighter. The greebling is subtle but nice enough in my opinion. The new Vader rocks... I got him in my DS but have yet to build it!

So many fantastic new sets! I'm going to have to see if any are availbale at my local TRU... hope so, but it's going to be a hard choice knowing which to purchase first!

[JimBee]

Thanks for the review. This set really is awesome, and a major improvement over the last version. The new Darth Vader and his metallic lightsaber make this set quite a steal, if you haven't bought the DS. By the way, you might want to change the poll to not being multiple choice.

[Millacol88]

Thanks for the review. This set really is awesome, and a major improvement over the last version. The new Darth Vader and his metallic lightsaber make this set quite a steal, if you haven't bought the DS. By the way, you might want to change the poll to not being multiple choice.

Whoops. Thanks for pointing that out. I've never made a poll before.

[Motti]

Excellent review. How is it that when one posts a reveiw that you alwyas want to get it? It's as if it's some LEgo Group conspiracy to make us buy sets. as for your question on printing on curved surfaces and stickers on flat ones, I think it is because those printed ones are used quite often (i.e. more than once, in other Ties), but the stickers are used only for that set, so it would be impractical .Stickers may also be cheaper, so they try to use those as much as possible, but a sticker cannot go on a fully circular curved piece without causing unwanted ripples.