For Aladyn Sane…

I realize that this is not the best time to write "gimme, gimme, gimme", but since things take time to brew and develop at Hasbro, I’ll at least put this one in the suggestion box for future use. Who knows? Maybe someone will read it?

Team Hasbro, I don’t know how to put this, but the TIE Fighter needs an intervention.

This is the TIE Fighter’s cockpit and seat as it has been ever since its original debut 30 years ago. This is also the same TIE Fighter cockpit and seat that is used in this iconic vehicle today. All of the other classic, icon ships have had a complete overhaul (the "BMF" Millennium Falcon; the X-Wing Fighter; and Darth Vader’s TIE Advanced). The only one missing a completed overhaul is the TIE Fighter.

I was personally thrilled just to get the big wings, but enough people have written to me about it this grievous oversight that I felt compelled to act as an intermediary between the Insane TIE Posse and Team Hasbro, because I worry about ya’ll. These people take this issue very seriously.

Now the rest of their complaints demands suggested upgrades require some body work. They, much like myself, hate screw holes. In general (not just amongst TIE Fighter fans) there is a lot of hatred for screw holes. If I could just interject between the rant part, would it be possible for the team at the Bro to make rubber plugs (color matched to the vehicle, of course) to plug up offending screw holes? That would be a favorable compromise, and we could even order them from Hasbro’s replacement parts web page.

I don’t quite understand why, but the cockpit window is too "bulky" and oversized. The ITP  demands suggests that it should be closer to that of the TIE Bomber cockpit window. (I’d like mine with a rearview mirror and some fuzzy dice.)

Finally, the Insane TIE Posse demand think that the TIE Fighter needs a hatch that opens from the back like Darth Vader’s TIE Advanced. Basically, they want what Hasbro did for the X-Wing, which was made as close to model spec as possible. Is that too much to ask? I think if I’ve read all of the demands suggestions correctly, you’ll end up with this:

Click to enlarge!

For those who might want to see the changes, I’ve added another illustration. I believe the goal of the TIE Fighter enthusiasts is to get the toy as close to the film model (as Hasbro managed to do with the Darth Vader TIE Advanced and the X-Wing Fighter).

Now having seen the spectacular work that the team has done for the cockpit of the new B-Wing Fighter (Dagger Squadron) that is exclusive to Toys’R'Us, I think it’s at least safe to ask for a bit of a nip and tuck for the TIE Fighter to finish it off so we can build the perfect fleet. That’s a spectacular piece of work there, that is.

So what do you readers think? Is it time for the classic Imperial TIE Fighter to get that last little bit that it needs to bring it up to standard with the other iconic vehicles from the line? Speak up.

One of the funny things that I learned whilst researching all of this is that technically the TIE Fighter Pilot is supposed to enter the craft through a hatch at the back. I always thought it was a window. No wonder Kenner had to improvise. That ship is one tough nut to crack.

Just to clarify for the forum-dwellers who are reading this, I would never expect the "big wings" version to be a $20 toy. What planet do people think I live on?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 at 10:13 am and is filed under Toys, Daily Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.