[MOC] TIE/LN Starfighter

[CardinalBricks]

Hello there,

Today I present my MOC of the standard TIE/LN Starfighter used by the Empire in the OT. This is the final of 3 Star Wars ship MOCs that I have posted to the forum today.

Apologies for the photography and cluttered background; I tried my best but I don't have a great set-up at the location I am now. 

Where to start...

Well, there are a few different sizes for this TIE fighter. What I've depicted here is the 6.3m x 6.4m x 7.5m variant, the smallest one.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of this MOC is how I've designed the cockpit (yes, it is about as fragile as it looks!). Creating the spherical shape in this scale around the 4x4 piece is one of the hardest things I've attempted as a MOC builder. I'm quite proud of how it came out, though I acknowledge it doesn't look great from some angles.

A big challenge I faced that, honestly, I don't know if I ever really overcame, was the transition between the sphere and the "beams" that lead to the wings. It's a lot more pronounced on the actual model, but more of a gradual shift on my rendition, making the cockpit appear larger than intended. From a distance, though, it doesn't look too bad, at least to me.

A view of the backside, of course with the "twin ion engines" which form the acronym TIE. I think what I've done with the shaping here is great, and if I could have, I would have made the front look like this. However, since I wanted to use the 4x4 windscreen piece instead of the 6x6, I had to do something different there.

I don't think the wings are that great looking, but it's really difficult to capture the thinness effectively. As such they have a lot of bulk and weight to them, requiring reinforcement from the sides which I've incorporated onto the display stand. I don't think I did too bad, but maybe I will go back to the drawing board later down the line.

An aerial view

Here is what the pilot looks like inside if you were curious. The figure is pretty much trapped in there, though, since I could not find a way to design it such that I can easily remove it.

And that about covers the MOC, I think! This is definitely the most complex of the three models that I designed this summer, but I don't know that it's my favorite. I'm curious what you all think of the cockpit technique; I haven't seen any other TIE moc take this approach. And any other comments you'd like to share are welcome as well!

[JintaiZ]

Great build!

[josebricks]

I like that your Tie maintains the front cockpit frame very well, as seen in the pic without the 4x4 dish applied. Unique take on the hull shape!

[CardinalBricks]

1 hour ago, josebricks said:

I like that your Tie maintains the front cockpit frame very well, as seen in the pic without the 4x4 dish applied. Unique take on the hull shape!

Thanks!