[MOC] TIE Interceptor™ (ROTJ 40th Anniversary Product Concept)

[Rui Miguel]

TIE Interceptor™
(ROTJ 40th Anniversary Product Concept)
By Rui Miguel

“Greetings exalted ones”


From the Galaxy Far Far Away I bring you the TIE Interceptor. One of my favourite Empire Starfighters from Star Wars. When I was 12 years old in 2006 I remember receiving on my birthday the set 6206, it was a blast back then, but little did I know it would be the last time seeing another release of this specific class. 

In 2023, The Return of The Jedi will be celebrating its 40th anniversary so I asked myself: what would a TIE Interceptor look like nowadays? I feel like this is one of those long overdue Star Wars vehicles, us LEGO fans hope to see with a modern take and add to our collections.








This is my attempt to fill that gap in your collection. As with my previous projects, I brought into my MOC the same design process in order to present a product concept that could identify with the official LEGO product standards.

Bellow you can get access to the PDF file of the building instructions and the Bricklink studio file of the model (without minifigures). You can upload to Bricklink and generate a wanted list of LEGO parts needed to order.




 

Download Links (Google Drive):

- PDF Building Instructions (23 MB)
Here

- Bricklink Studio file (375 KB)
Here
 

Features:

- 545 pcs (Starfighter and Stand only)

- Removable and playable Starfighter

- Stand display

- Printed tile not included

- 4x Spring Shooter Darts

I'm very happy to finally be able to share this with fellow LEGO Star Wars fans and I hope my MOC inspires LEGO to consider making a TIE Interceptor in the future, that would be awesome. If you have the opportunity to build my version and add it to your collection I hope you have a fun experience while building, playing and displaying 😉

Until the next project,

May The Force Be With You


If you haven't, check out my other projects
SDCC Ghost Rider Midnight Race
Utapau Defense - Crab droid

 

[ARC2149Nova]

Excellent work! I love the fact that its design is very official, it fits right in with last year's TIE fighter.

I'll take 20 

[Rui Miguel]

46 minutes ago, ARC2149Nova said:

Excellent work! I love the fact that its design is very official, it fits right in with last year's TIE fighter.

I'll take 20 

Oh I'm so happy you like it @ARC2149Nova It means a lot to me :) Fans like you motivate me to create and continue building. I hope you can build my version and add it to your Empire shelf collection. Cheers ;)

[ForgedInLego]

The box art just takes it to the next level! Is there a template you used or did you make that from scratch?

[Rui Miguel]

21 minutes ago, ForgedInLego said:

The box art just takes it to the next level! Is there a template you used or did you make that from scratch?

Thank you @ForgedInLego Yes all from scratch, taking measures, designing textures, drawing effects and implementing all :) The graphic part that was already done was of course the LEGO logo, the Star Wars logo and the two minifigures photography. The building instructions were also quite a work. Step by step, page by page. 

[Mandalorianknight]

The model is excellent, and the presentation takes it up a level as always. Yours are the most believable set images I've seen.

[Rui Miguel]

14 minutes ago, Mandalorianknight said:

The model is excellent, and the presentation takes it up a level as always. Yours are the most believable set images I've seen.

That's a good sign 🙌 and awesome feedback thank you for your support again @Mandalorianknight ;) For my next Star Wars project I will add 1 or 2 photos with the physical model something like this: 



I think it's something I feel I could add in the future. My next MOC in the pipeline are also two certain vehicles that are part of wish lists, but to me, it will be more of a homage, I'm also very excited to reveal when it's ready, (there's a teaser of this in the last pages of the instructions 🧐) But right now, I still need to recover from designing this set's instructions 😅 

[Monkeyulize]

I love everything else you've added to the model to make it like an official set with marketing materials. I've also done some box art designing and it's much harder and more tedious than it looks!

[Rui Miguel]

3 hours ago, Monkeyulize said:

I love everything else you've added to the model to make it like an official set with marketing materials. I've also done some box art designing and it's much harder and more tedious than it looks!

Thank you so much @Monkeyulize 😀 And you are totally right! The packaging is my favorite part. There were some challenges in the process, but to me, the most tedious part can be the building instructions and its editorial part. I don't have the assets as a LEGO designer, of course, so I try my best with what I can have and do. I use Bricklink Studio 2.0 to make the steps drawings and after that, I export each one to PNG. Studio 2.0 still has its limitations but it still is a powerful software for our MOCs. Then with the PNGs I design in photoshop using my own assets; organize each page and make some "photoshop magic" for lack of description 😅 this part can be very tedious as the model gets complex... but when I reach the last page it's totally worth it. 

Edited September 20, 2022 by Rui Miguel

[ForgedInLego]

22 hours ago, Rui Miguel said:

The building instructions were also quite a work. Step by step, page by page.

 

48 minutes ago, Rui Miguel said:

Then with the PNGs I design in photoshop using my own assets; organize each page and make some "photoshop magic" for lack of description 😅 this part can be very tedious as the model gets complex... but when I reach the last page it's totally worth it. 

As someone who is working on instructions right now, I know the ridiculous amount of effort that goes into just the basic steps, but the extra work to match the graphic design of official instructions? That's impressive

[Rui Miguel]

15 minutes ago, ForgedInLego said:

 

As someone who is working on instructions right now, I know the ridiculous amount of effort that goes into just the basic steps, but the extra work to match the graphic design of official instructions? That's impressive

Thank you, I appreciate your attention on the details. Yes absolutely! :) 

[lowlead]

Wow - what a great presentation!  LEGO should feel lucky there are customers out there willing to do set design & product packaging for them   The box design is nearly indistinguishable from 2022 sets.  Let's see if an official version is anywhere near as good...

Downloaded - thank you!

[Rui Miguel]

1 hour ago, lowlead said:

Wow - what a great presentation!  LEGO should feel lucky there are customers out there willing to do set design & product packaging for them   The box design is nearly indistinguishable from 2022 sets.  Let's see if an official version is anywhere near as good...

Downloaded - thank you!

Thank you for your warm message, @lowlead I feel honored. Hope you have fun building, playing and displaying. 🙌

When the leak for next year's sets was out I was very surprised about the TIE bomber listening considering that its first appearance was on episode 5, but I think they will do it as an Andor set from the tv show since on the trailer there's a scene with TIE Bombers. It is funny because I have made the 3 classics from Empire: the TIE fighter, TIE interceptor and...

Spoiler

TIE advanced

 which I have plans to share with the same presentation as I deliver here ;) The TIE Bomber was the only one left I didn't start production and its the one they will release. Hope my interceptor inspires them to consider making display stands for the ships I think it's something that elevates the model and toy. Thank you again for your feedback ;) Feel free to share a photo if you build it.