TIE
Pilot
TIE Pilot's alternate
mode is, appropriately enough, a TIE Bomber, and for the most part is pretty
much perfect. The prportions are pretty spot-on, and those who wants lots
of mold detailing will be very happy here. Paint detailing less so-- nearly
all of TIE Pilot's paint detailing is on the black parts of the wings,
with not much left for his main body (even the turbines on the back end
are completely unpainted). TIE Pilot's got the same pale blue & black
color scheme that most TIE Bomber/Fighters do. It's not that bad, just
a bit dull, but if you're looking for interesting, dynamic color schemes,
SWTFs generally aren't your line anyway. There are a few Mech mode extras
visible in TIE Bomber mode, however, the most obvious of which are the
stubs of the lower arms stucking out of the inside of the wings. The halves
of the Mech mode waist are also somewhat obvious on the underside, though
that's a minor quibble. Since this is a SWTF released after the brand switched
to the "Clone Wars"-style "Transformers Crossovers" packaging, TIE Pilot
does not come with a miniature pilot figure to fit inside his cockpit,
even though there's a little seat in there.
As with nearly all SWTFs,
TIE Pilot's Mech mode is the weaker of his two modes, though as far as
SWTFs go it's definitely one of the better Mech modes. The overall proportions
of the core body are pretty spot-on-- yes, folks, he's actually got fairly
bulky arms and legs! The mold detailing, particularly on his upper legs,
main body, and head, is also nothing short of extraordinary. It's amazing
how much mechanical detailing, buttons, and tubing they can sculpt in such
a relatively small space. He looks quite a bit like a TIE Pilot when it
comes to these parts, but given that a TIE Pilot looks rather robotic and
inhuman in the first place, I have no problem with them using a carbon
copy of the TIE Pilot's head for the Mech head in this case. Unfortunately,
the TIE Pilot does suffer from some pretty noticeable vehicle mode kibble
problems-- three major ones, in fact. The most major one, as is obvious
from the pictures above, is the big wings hanging off of his arms. Needless
to say, these hamper movement quite a bit, and beyond possibly serving
as shields, otherwise just seem to be random parts hanging off the Mech.
Second, the TIE Bomber's cockpit is supposed to peg into his upper back,
but the peg is far, FAR too shallow. It simply won't peg in, so you've
got the whole cockpit assembly flopping around on his upper back. And third,
the lower legs aren't very substantial-- they're actually just parts of
the vehicle mode curled in upon themselves, but without any pegs to hold
them in place, so it looks sort of like his lower legs are made out of
light blue metal cinammon rolls, if you look at them from any angle nearing
a top-down view. Still, there are a few nice design touches, like how parts
of the TIE Bomber form nifty heels to help keep the TIE Pilot stable. The
TIE Pilot comes with your standard handheld missile launcher-- unfortunately,
it doesn't really work, the missile just sits in there, you have to physically
push it out. The TIE Pilot does have fairly good articulation, however,
even if it is hampered a bit by his large arm-shields-- he can move at
the neck, shoulders (at two points), elbows (at three points), hips (at
three points), and knees (at two points).
TIE Pilot has some definite
kibble problems in robot mode, but if those don't bother you that much,
then he's definitely one of the better SWTF designs, with a nearly-flawless
vehicle mode and a robot mode that has great proportions, particilarly
for a SWTF. Mildly recommended.
Review by Beastbot