Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter - OTC - Vehicles (Exclusive)

Technical Specifications:
MODEL: Custom Built TIE Advanced x1 Prototype
FUNCTION: Starfighter
CREW: 1 pilot
WEAPONS: 2 laser cannons
AFFILIATION: Empire

Using the stolen plans to pinpoint the Death Star's weakness, Rebel forces launched a starfighter attack on the station. Entering the battle, Darth Vader piloted his own specialty modified TIE fighter, the TIE Advanced x1 Prototype, which was faster, more maneuverable and more lethal than the standard TIE fighter. He managed to destroy most Rebel pilots in the battle by pursuing them in the battle station's equatorial tench, but was forced out of the conflict when his own vessel was crippled by the Millennium Falcon.

The sudden announcement of the Original Trilogy getting released on DVD put most Lucasfilm licensees at a disadvantage. Hasbro was not prepared. But many companies, including Hasbro, reached back into their parts catalog and re-released some of their greatest products to create an instant collection of Original Trilogy focused products. For Hasbro, The Original Trilogy Collection was something they thought up quickly, but the line exceeded their expectations. And in the case of retailer exclusives, most brick and mortar shops couldn’t get enough of them, no matter how impressive or how redundant they seemed. Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter (with Darth Vader pack-in figure), a Toys R Us Exclusive, added a pivotal vehicle into the Star Wars toy line, with some revised tooling and a completely new paint job. This version of Darth Vader's TIE Fighter is another fun and welcomed release for the line. It’s the first time we’ve seen it in the Hasbro line since 1997’s POTF2 [FF/TKC] Darth Vader's TIE Fighter vehicle. With a new 2003 date stamp and a completely different paint job, the Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter offers collectors another reason to purchase this vehicle, aside from the vintage Kenner-inspired black and white packaging tickling the nostalgia in collectors. Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter looks a little too blue, but depending upon what scene in A New Hope you’re viewing, the vehicle looks screen-accurate most of the time.

The Power Of The Force “2” [Green/Freeze Frame] modern vehicle is a tremendous update to the classic Kenner release. Instead of just using a standard TIE Fighter cockpit, Kenner now tooled a completely new body that not only includes an updated cockpit but the platform that surrounds it and attaches to the wings as well. There are some scale issues. Compared to the standard TIE Fighter, Darth Vader's TIE Fighter seems too big. Despite what seems like one problem after another, however, we have to admit that the vehicle still has some charm. Based on the vehicle seen during the Battle of Yavin in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Darth Vader's TIE Fighter is a vehicle that collectors should expect to see constantly released in the modern Hasbro Star Wars line. Darth Vader's TIE Fighter doesn't come with many play features, but it does come with the essential ones. In an odd move, Kenner expended quite a bit of time and energy to develop a slide-out cannon feature. They’ve tooled a large lever on the underside of the ship that you push out to extend the cannons. It’s obtrusive and borderline obnoxious, and we don’t understand why this was something they wanted to add to this vehicle. Would the shape of the vehicle be more accurate had they abandoned this play feature and ultimately make the vehicle more screen accurate? Perhaps, but when compared to stills in the film, Darth Vader's TIE Fighter looks fairly accurate to the onscreen model.

So, despite scale, color and play feature issues, The Original Trilogy Collection Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter is a nice release. When displayed in a collection, Darth Vader's TIE Fighter looks fantastic. The cockpit accommodates the included Darth Vader pack-in figure beautifully, even if the figure is obsolete at this point. They took the figure from 1998’s POTF2 [FF/TKC] TIE Fighter With Darth Vader Gunner Station set and added it for this release. When Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter was first released, the projectiles were bluish-gray with green tips. Now they’re colored in solid blue-gray plastic. This release may be the only way to get the projectiles colored this way. Green is the color of the laser blasts from vehicles in the Galactic Empire, but these colored projectiles look rather silly to adult collectors. Called the custom-built "Bent Wing" Space Superiority Starfighter as well as the TIE Advanced x1 Starfighter, there is no doubt that this vehicle is a special vehicle for Darth Vader, especially since he had some say in how it got developed. Packaged in an extra-wide vintage Kenner inspired long box, this Toys R Us exclusive is aesthetically what Star Wars collectors are looking to add to their collections. It’s quite impressive how packaging can make older toys looks incredible in the modern toy line. Still, we hope to see Hasbro tweak the vehicle further in the future, by reducing the scale, tweaking a few parts here and there, and give us the best definitive Darth Vader figure to accompany it.