Revell of Germany continues its production of Star Wars EasyKits by releasing the Imperial TIE Fighter in 1:65 scale. There is a little confusion because the Revell-Germany website lists this kit as being 1:57 scale. Which one is right? I have no clue!

Other kits in the series include the Millennium Falcon, an X-Wing Fighter, Darth Vader’s TIE X-1, and the X-34 Landspeeder.

The kit’s parts come pre-painted on four sprues, with gray interior parts, and blue-gray exterior parts. The solar panels are two-tone blue-gray and black. The parts are crisply molded, and there doesn’t appear to be much flash, if any. An 8-page instruction manual with some information about the TIE fighter is printed in color, and a German-language data card (about the size of a playing card) is also included.

One neat feature involves assembly of the solar panels using two parts. The first part has the inner frame molded right to the panels, while the outer frame is composed solely of the exterior beams.

A nice stand is included, allowing the builder to display the TIE as if it were in flight, or if desired, as a docked TIE with the upper pilot hatch open to show off the pilot and the cockpit interior.

Construction was straightforward, and nothing really stood out as a problem with the kit. One disappointment was that, while the TIE pilot is dressed in the appropriate black armor with the white Imperial logos on his helmet, the figure is made of the rubberized plastic that was also used on the Obi-Wan and Anakin figures in the larger-scale Jedi Starfighter kits. Fortunately, Revell designed the cockpit so that the pilot stays in place securely rather than having him flop around loose as the Jedi figures do.

I used glue on my kit to make sure everything stayed put, and I was glad that I did. The outer frame of the solar panels tended to gap without cement, so I carefully pried off the section that I had snapped down, applied some glue, and reattached it. After about an hour of clamping, the parts came out perfectly.

Also, I deviated from the instructions by waiting until everything else was done before attaching the laser cannons. The instructions actually have you attach them before snapping the upper and lower main fuselage together. They looked too fragile, and I didn’t want to snap one off while assembling the main part of the fighter. I glued the completed cockpit into the bottom of the fuselage, then cemented the front viewport and the aft bulkhead in place. The upper hatch was installed using glue to attach the lock-bar that holds the hinge in place. After everything dried, I applied glue to the perimeter of the fuselage, then mated the upper and lower halves. The completed solar panels slide onto round tabs located at the ends of the booms, and are locked in place by keyed outer plugs.

The stand was nice, and with the exception of one side of the lower crossbeam it was painted in gloss black. I think that the spray paint simply missed a spot, and it wasn’t a huge deal. The stand holds the completed TIE Fighter securely by forming a cradle under the main fuselage bulb. A pin in the top of the stand fits into a corresponding hole in the bottom of the fuselage.

The completed kit stands about 7 inches high (not including the display stand) and is about 5.5 inches wide and 6 inches long.

Review by: Rich “Lonewolf” Dula

Entry created: January 6, 2012