KurttKrueger

Midi Minifig Tie Fighter Idea

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Greetings folks,

Just thought I'd pop a quick post up to get your opinions on idea I've had.

I've just finished building my 10188 Death Star tonight (that set is made of pure win), and got to thinking of the Tie Advance that comes with the set. What I'd like to do is build a couple of additional Tie Fighters in the same scale. I'm not sure if this has been done before, as a quick search didn't come up with anything specific, but I thought it would add a nice bit of extra playability (not that it needs it) to the set, especially if X-Wings could be done in the same way.

If any of you have already done this, I'd love to see your creations. To my mind, it should just be a simple conversion on the existing Tie Advance.

Also, just thought I'd mention that I'm relatively new to Lego Star Wars. Picked up a few of the first releases back in 1999, but haven't done much with SW Lego since. However, I recently had a life laundry, selling all my old junk, and put the funds toward the Death Star. Boy, is that the biggest and best set I've ever built! I figured, as a mainly OT fan, I don't need to buy another SW set again :P

What I'm trying to say is, you guys intimidate me, so please be gentle! :)

Cheers,

Kurtt

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That would be a great idea. I would suggest looking at the large, minifigure sized Tie-Fighters as well as the Mini Fighter to get ideas on how to maintain detail but keep it small.

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What a good idea, I think you should get a feel for the tie advanced scale and then play around with different looks for the tie fighter and then you should get it right

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I had a very similar reaction when I finished my 10188... except I'm going for more accurate models at the expense of room for a minifig. I modded the 10188 Vader's TIE for greater accuracy, and am working on a TIE Fighter (photos coming soon). I also just started on an X-wing based on dateman's work (haven't quite figured out how he attached the wings), and I picked up the Midi-scale Falcon a few hours ago--just finished it! :wub:

I agree with you, though, that a TIE should be fairly easy, based on the TIE Advanced design. I played around with the wing designs a bunch; I can share what I've tried, if you're interested. Dateman has one on brickshelf you could check out too. Now making an X-wing wide enough to fit a figure, that will be tricky!

Edited by Pellaeon

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I had a very similar reaction when I finished my 10188... except I'm going for more accurate models at the expense of room for a minifig. I modded the 10188 Vader's TIE for greater accuracy, and am working on a TIE Fighter (photos coming soon). I also just started on an X-wing based on dateman's work (haven't quite figured out how he attached the wings), and I picked up the Midi-scale Falcon a few hours ago--just finished it! :wub:

I agree with you, though, that a TIE should be fairly easy, based on the TIE Advanced design. I played around with the wing designs a bunch; I can share what I've tried, if you're interested. Dateman has one on brickshelf you could check out too. Now making an X-wing wide enough to fit a figure, that will be tricky!

I'd love to see what you've come up with so far. Dateman's brickshelf folder certainly contains some inspiration, thats for sure.

I'll probably break down the 10188 Tie Advance and use the parts to experiment with the design. It would be nice to have Vader's two wingmen!

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A good idea, sir!

I wish I had the Death Star set, but saying it's rare I even get to spend £20 on a Lego set at once, I think it's a little out of my budget :tongue:

However, these lovely little TIEs look like a great way to "experience" a little bit of that set, and from looks of it, I'll be able to make one myself, albeit with a horrendous colour scheme :tongue:

I think it would be a great idea to make more ships in this scale, so good luck with anyone attempting it!

I have one question, however, how do the minifigs fit in the vehicle? I presume one lifts the lid of and places the fig in the cockpit, though I'm unsure.

I'm also unsure as to what scale the Death Star TIE is - is it smaller than it should be in real life (the film) or is it still too big, like the big TIE sets we've had before it?

Regards,

Will/Rocketbilly

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I'd love to see what you've come up with so far. Dateman's brickshelf folder certainly contains some inspiration, thats for sure.

I'll try to take some pictures and post them in a day or two. For the wings, I made a couple designs similar to Dateman's, but didn't really like them (though they are more "in spirit" with how the wings are done on Vader's TIE). My current wings are using lots of black 1x1, 1x2, and 1x4 tiles on top of dark bley wings.

I think it would be a great idea to make more ships in this scale, so good luck with anyone attempting it!

I have one question, however, how do the minifigs fit in the vehicle? I presume one lifts the lid of and places the fig in the cockpit, though I'm unsure.

I'm also unsure as to what scale the Death Star TIE is - is it smaller than it should be in real life (the film) or is it still too big, like the big TIE sets we've had before it?

The entire front of the cockpit folds down on the original 10188 TIE Fighter. Behind that front hatch, there is just barely enough room to shove a Vader minifig inside. I think if you check the reviews of 10188 in the Review Index, one of them surely has a picture of it with the front opened up. [EDIT] They do: this one has good shots of the model itself, and this one has a picture of the opened cockpit.

As for scale, it's significantly smaller than it should be.

Edited by Pellaeon

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Thanks for clearing that up! :classic:

When I first saw it I thought it was just one of those mini scale ships......those minifigs really can fit into some odd places :tongue:

Looking at all those details really has made me want the set, but I'm sure that in the future when I'll be able to buy it, it'll be SO much more expensive, what withit being Star Wars and everything. Still, it's a beautiful set :thumbup:

Ahhh, thanks for clearing the scale issue up too! I thought there was something fishy about the size. Now you've pointed it out, it's definitely way too small!

Will/Rocketbilly

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I'd love to see what you've come up with so far. Dateman's brickshelf folder certainly contains some inspiration, thats for sure.

Here's a couple pictures of my work-in-progress TIE Fighter... sorry the pics aren't too good, I didn't manage to get around to taking pictures while it was still light outside.

tie-wip-1.jpg

tie-wip-2.jpg

The body of the ship is fairly straightforward, as there isn't much detail we can add at this scale. I'm still playing with the back of the fighter, but I'll probably end up using some boring dish on the back. The wings I've played with quite a bit... with this particular design, I'm trying to show the ridges in the black panelling. I don't have all the tiles I need in all the right colors, but the upper-left sections should give you an idea of what I'm going for. I feel like it's a neat idea, but I feel like it's not quite working out. A black 1x3 tile would help, if only they existed...

I appreciate whatever feedback y'all have on this stuff, and don't worry, I'll keep tinkering with it. :wink:

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I'm liking the look of that. I'm particularly interested how your going to do the back of the fighter, as I've been thinking about that for the midi-minifig scale version I plan on doing.

Meditate on this, I will.

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Hello, i'm a french AFOL and i'm working on midi scale starfighter. I have creat a X-wing and TIE. In the futur i would make TIE advanced, bomber, and all SW fighter in finally.

pic_0610.jpg

pic_0611.jpg

pic_0612.jpg

pic_0613.jpg

pic_0614.jpg

Last week, i have updated my TIE, the wing are bigger.

tie_0110.jpg

tie_0210.jpg

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Just an FYI, I asked Jens Kronsvold if the Vader's TIE Fighter that came with the Death Star is a Midi-scale set and he said no.

Don't let this deter you from your goal though. I just thought I'd get share piece of information.

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Just an FYI, I asked Jens Kronsvold if the Vader's TIE Fighter that came with the Death Star is a Midi-scale set and he said no.

Don't let this deter you from your goal though. I just thought I'd get share piece of information.

What the heck is it then? :look:

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Just an FYI, I asked Jens Kronsvold if the Vader's TIE Fighter that came with the Death Star is a Midi-scale set and he said no.

Don't let this deter you from your goal though. I just thought I'd get share piece of information.

That's interesting to hear, though I'm not surprised. Though it's not clear quite what midi-scale is, the fact that Vader's TIE can fit a minifig and is so lacking in detail does imply it's not midi-scale. They certainly aren't to-scale with each other, but I doubt the midi-scale ships will actually be to scale with one another (assuming we someday get another midi-scale ship).

Personally, I imagine "midi-scale" means "Less-than-ultimate Collector's Series". Models for middle-income fanboys. :grin:

Hello, i'm a french AFOL and i'm working on midi scale starfighter. I have creat a X-wing and TIE. In the futur i would make TIE advanced, bomber, and all SW fighter in finally.

pic_0610.jpg

Those are really nice, Dark Zion. I especially like the X-wing's canopy. These fit in well with sort of "stubby" look of Vader's TIE, making them inaccurate but cute. They remind me of the "Galactic Heroes" Star Wars figures (link 1, link 2). We could call them chibi-scale. :tongue:

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hey great work Dark Zion! I like the x wing and how you made the cockpit its really good. I like how you made the wings bigger on your TIE I thought the original wings looked too small but the new ones are a good improvement.

Great work

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