Star Wars First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter - Level 1

[Mike]

Star Wars - The Force Awakens
First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter
Revell

Well, if you've had your head jammed behind a wardrobe for the last six months it might be news to you that we're being treated to a new Star Wars film under the Disney auspices, with J.J.Abrams at the helm. A raft of new characters, the return of some of the old favourites, and a host of new hardware will be gracing our screens as of December 2015, and quite frankly I can't wait!

The new TIE fighter is operated by the First Order, which is the new name for the Evil Empire, who despite our fervent desires weren't polished off with the demise of the 2nd Death Star, but managed to re-establish their grip on the Empire, but to what degree we don't yet know. It is upgraded from the original, and squeezes a two-man crew into the same cabin space – even Sci-Fi technology is advancing in terms of miniaturisation! They're black now, and this one has a red accented panel, which I'm going to guess represents their unit badge?

The Kit
The first thing to get straight is that this is a kit, but it is firmly aimed at the younger audience, and has been simplified with them in mind, as well as being provided with a small sound-module that also has some lighting effects built in. inside the box the parts are held firmly by two vacuum formed clear end caps, with the smaller parts in a small polythene bag. There are 15 parts for you to put together, and if I'm honest I'm quite impressed with the quality of the detail, although it's probably not up to a serious modeller's standards without some upgrades. That said though, it builds up in just a couple of minutes in the hands of an adult of limited intelligence such as this reviewer, and when it's done it looks really nice. Seriously!

It is moulded in ABS rather than normal styrene, as it gives a lot more strength to the finished model. It has some fun features like an opening cockpit hatch in painted clear, and of course a little button on the bottom that activates a red light in the cockpit and plays one of three sounds, once you've removed the little tab that breaks the contact with the two LR44 batteries that are pre-installed. If you've watched the videos I posted up the other day, you'll be pleased to know that they're a lot better than the audio would suggest, and they are as follows:

1. The TIE fighter screaming fly-past
2. Firing cannons
3. A muddled sounding explosion

They're lifts from the previous films (I think) and you can hear other weapons firing in the 2nd sample, while the 3rd sample is a bit poor compared to the other two. The red light illuminates the coaming of the cockpit quite nicely, which can be seen through the faceted windscreen. I did make a short video demonstrating the sounds, but my heavy breathing ruined it a little, so I deleted it

Conclusion
If you buy it expecting a highly detailed model of a new TIE fighter, you might be a tad disappointed, although I think that it has potential if you're willing to put the effort in to turn it into a "proper" model. If you're a kid with a liking for Star Wars however, it will seem absolutely awesome to you, and I can't wait for my five year-old to see them when he comes home from school.

Highly recommended if you understand what you're getting in the box.

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit

[Shar2]

Not my scene at all, but that does look very good for the target market.