Hasbro Star Wars "Saga" TIE Fighter (Imperial Dogfight) Review

A Long Time Ago.....A Look at TIE Fighters of the Past

I've been a Star Wars fan ever since - after some initial resistance to George Lucas's space-fantasy set "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" - I saw the first of the six live-action Episodes in October of 1977.

I've also been a Star Wars action figure and spacecraft collector since 1978, when I received the original Kenner Toys Landspeeder vehicle and the R2-D2 and C-3PO action figures as a 15th birthday present.

Now, if you have ever been - or know - a Star Wars collector you're probably aware that the accessories and vehicles based on the spacecraft, landspeeders and other modes of transportation are among the most coveted toys (or, if you prefer, collectibles) for Star Wars fans of all ages.

Naturally, since the exciting space battles in the Star Wars saga are among the reasons most young men (and some women, too!) love the films, both Kenner Toys and its successor Hasbro have always produced very detailed replicas of the various Republic, Separatist, Trade Federation, Imperial and Rebel starfighters.

To be sure, because Kenner and Hasbro both often have to make some trade-offs between realism and practical restrictions in many areas, many of the toy versions have never been proportionately correct.  For instance, he original Kenner X-Wing Fighter and Millennium Falcon were pretty nicely rendered, but cost and practical considerations led to their being scaled down so young kids could handle and store them easily.

But because the design of the Galactic Empire's Twin Ion Engine (TIE) Fighter is simple (a spherical cockpit/engine compartment connected to two hexagonal solar panels, one on each side of the "ball"), the original 1979 Kenner TIE Fighter and its follow-ons have the distinction of being proportionately correct reproductions of the deadly Imperial spacecraft seen in the three Classic Trilogy movies.

The TIE Fighter vehicle, despite its proportional correctness, has been tweaked several times even though it's a very simple vessel, designwise. The first variant (released by Kenner in 1978) had a white body rather than "Imperial gray" colors, and the "solar panels" were not molded and painted but were simulated by stick-on labels.

Furhermore, in an attempt to make the TIE Fighter a little more exciting to play with, Kenner placed a "laser emitter" (actually a little red bulb) in the central "chin" of the cockpit sphere that lit up when you pressed a button on the battery compartment in the rear of the TIE.

Kenner also added a sound emitter that produced what the packaging amusingly claimed was an "authentic battle sound." It was a wimpy little whine which sounded nothing like either the TIE's famous screaming sound or even the distinctive laser cannon blasts heard in Star Wars. The battery compartment, which also doubled as a handhold, was the only detail that marred the "authenticity" of the TIE Fighter's lines.

After the release of Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Kenner Toys tweaked the basic TIE Fighter toy by adding an Imperial gray color scheme and optional "battle damage" stickers one could add on top of the solar panel labels.  The downside to this was that the "battle damage" labels could not be removed once they were affixed.

New and Improved: Hasbro Revisits the Classic TIE Fighter

Bursting from Imperial hangar bays in gnat-like clouds are the standard starfighters of the Imperial arsenal -- the Twin Ion Engine craft known as the TIE Fighter. The single-seater short-range vessel lacks a hyperdrive, and as such requires deployment from launch bases and capital ships. It features two fire-linked laser cannons chin-mounted on the ball-shaped cockpit. Though TIEs presented a formidable challenge to pirates and civilian craft, the skilled pilots of the Rebel Alliance made short work of them in combat. Imperial TIEs swarmed around the first Death Star, engaging Rebel Alliance X-wing fighters in fierce dogfights as the Rebels attempted to destroy the massive weapon.- Imperial TIE Fighter (Imperial Dogfight)

Weapons and Accessories: 

• Imperial Pilot
• Updated Styling and Battle Damage
• Ejecting Solar Panel Wings
• Opening Cockpit

Sold originally as a Kaybee (KB) Toys exclusive, the 2003 Imperial TIE Fighter  is a much improved version of the classic toy vehicle.  It follows closely on improvements that first appeared on other Hasbro TIE variants.

Starting with the 1997 edition of Darth Vader's TIE Fighter and followed by Hasbro's Power of the Jedi TIE Interceptor and the 2002 "Saga" Collection TIE Bomber, the solar panels on the wings are molded on rather than having to be added on from label sheets. And while the wings still "fly apart" to simulate catastrophic damage (as Imperial TIEs in the movies usually ran into either asteroids or Rebel laser fire), that annoying "battery pack" handhold is gone, making this the second TIE variant to match its movie-original counterpart's look.

The 2003  Imperial TIE Fighter comes -- as do the TIE Bomber and various Rebel fighters -- in a display-ready package with a printed backdrop. The box identifies this particular vehicle as being from "Imperial Dogfight: A New Hope" and shows another hapless TIE Fighter exploding and a Rebel X-Wing at the toy's "six." A TIE Fighter Pilot figure is also included,

My Viewpoint:  Though this was a Kaybee Toys exclusive and not widely available outside of the Internet, this is a very desirable collector's item for Star Wars fans ages eight and up.  Hasbro's suggested age limit has always been "4 and up" and that's what it says on the box, but it's better to get the Imperial TIE Fighter (Imperial Dogfight) to older kids who can better appreciate it as a collectible rather than a toy to play with.

Personally, I like the fact that it can be displayed in its original packaging (even if that means you can't see all the nice detailing in the redesigned engine compartment) and that the package itself is a mini-diorama of the first Death Star battle. 

I also love knowing that as long as the package is protected from direct sunlight, it can keep the Imperial TIE Fighter dust-free and in as near-mint condition as conditions (and handling) permit.

Of course, because of the various moving parts and small pieces, parents are reminded that the Imperial TIE Fighter, like all of Hasbro's Star Wars action figure line, are not intended for children  ages three and under.