Building Bandai’s Star Wars TIE Fighters – Part 1: Overview And Cockpit

I don’t think that I would have ever imagined there would be as many variants of the Star Wars TIE Fighters as we have seen over the years. It’s a ping-pong ball with two waffle irons strapped on the sides, basically.

Yet not only has Lucasfilm managed to keep it going, they’ve been able to morph that initial design into more variants than any other ship in the franchise.

And still retain the ping-pong ball and waffle iron look. 😉

I’d previously built Bandai’s 1/72 scale TIE Fighter, and the Advanced TIE Fighter, otherwise known as “Darth Vader’s TIE Fighter”, and thoroughly enjoyed them. As you’d expect from a Bandai kit, they went together easily, had loads of detail, and each faithfully recreated the vessel as it looked on-screen.

When I opened up this TIE Striker kit and began to plan my build, I realized that aside from some external shape differences, the process of building, painting, and weathering any of Bandai’s TIE Fighter range would be exactly the same. Though there are a few differences, the vast majority of what works for one kit will be beneficial for another.

Though I’ll be building the Bandai 1/72 TIE Striker from Star Wars: Rogue One, I’ll be approaching it from the standpoint of what all the kits have in common. Where appropriate, I’ll also note how to handle and differences.

This first video takes a look at the kit, and discusses the similarities across the range. I also show a simple but effective way to paint the cockpit.

So no matter which Bandai Star Wars TIE Fighter kit you choose to build, this video series will help you get the most out of your project!


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