1/72 Fine Molds TIE Fighter

Gallery Article by Craig Sargent

 

The ubiquitous TIE Fighter (TIE stands for Twin Ion Engine, the means of propulsion used) was introduced to the world with the debut of the movie Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977. As a then 8 year old, this movie created an indelible impression on me and left me fascinated with the Star Wars universe. The TIE Fighter is the main interdictor/fighter/support ship for the Imperial Forces.

Having dabbled with the old AMT kits (and being very disappointed), when I heard Fine Molds was releasing a range of constant scale (1/72) ships from the various movies nearly 25 years later, I was a little cautious. Having now picked up each of their 3 current releases (the X-Wing, TIE Fighter and Jedi Starfighter), all I can say is WOW! The mold designers at Fine Molds have done their homework. Rumour has it that they actually got to measure the studio models for the tooling and, if that is the case it shows. Attention to detail is amazing (considering the 1:1 item doesn't really exist).

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Needless to say, this kit can be built into a stunning little replica straight from the box. The kit falls together very well, and there is very little clean up required. Ejector pin marks and seam lines are for the most part cleverly hidden by the way the kit fits together. Even the painting of the black radiator panels (note, these are NOT solar panels, for some excellent reading and an in-depth look at the various versions of this little fighter go to http://www.theforce.net/swtc/tie.html), is made simple in that the centre section can be painted and then sandwiched between the support frames after painting them grey. I followed the painting guide and airbrushed Gunze acrylics throughout using the suggested colour matches (these even have FS numbers, though this is a rather moot point in the Empire). The overall ship is grey H338 with darker areas such as the front viewport framing masked and picked out in H308.

Once painting is complete, decals were applied and a wash of 10% Paynes Grey oil paint, 10% Burnt Umber oil paint and 80% turps was applied to the whole model. Once dry the model was given a coat of Gunze Flat acrylic and then dry brushed using a Humbrol pale satin grey. The finishing touch was to pick out the tips of the two laser cannons just below the cockpit ball with Gunze Clear Orange. All in all a very enjoyable build. Now on to the Jedi Starfighter...

I'm pleased to say that my TIE Fighter took the Best in the Space and Sci-Fi class in the 2003 IPMS NZ Nats.

Craig Sargent

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Photos and text © by Craig Sargent