I've been getting back into model making recently. I built Bandai's excellent 6'' R2-D2 and C-3PO, but I hadn't gotten any ships from The Force Awakens yet. Unfortunately, Bandai's ship models are difficult to get in the U.S. due to a licensing dispute with Disney, so I decided to try Revell's out offerings. I’ve grown to love the Special Forces TIE Fighter as a neat variation on a classic ship, so I decided to try it out. The ship is available from Amazon here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0125KV5RO
First of all, this is only a model in a very loose sense. The pieces aren't attached to a rack so there's no cutting required. All the pieces snap together very easily. In fact, the entire construction took less than 10 minutes. So I wouldn't really recommend this for anybody looking for an involved build. In terms of difficulty, it's probably suited more to younger kids.
That said, the final product is a nice version of the TIE Fighter. The ship is over 8 inches tall, and unlike Hasbro’s TIE Fighter this model uses nice, hard plastic (these wings won’t warp) The ship itself is very detailed. You can open the cockpit hatch, but sadly there’s no figure. The model comes partially prepainted, at least the major features like the white wing panels and red marking, so no need to worry about paint. Best of all - and this was a surprise to me - the ship comes with pretty good light and sound effects! The cockpit lights up red and it has shooting and flying sound effects.
One (tiny) complaint is that the model doesn't include a stand. It does have landing gear, which works well enough, but a stand would still have been nice to so we could display the ship in mid-flight.
If you're looking for a movie-accurate model/toy of the TIE Fighter, this is a good choice. It's certainly great value for your money. I remember getting the Action Fleet version of the Original Trilogy TIE Fighter during the 1990s. It cost about the same price, wasn't as accurate, and didn't have sounds, so the retail price for this kit is a bargain.
NOTE: I received this model for free in exchange for an honest review.
