TIE Fighter Pilot (75031) Lego StarWars Minifgure Review

The TIE Fighter made an appearance in all three Original Star Wars Trilogy films providing a memorable, iconic starfighter that could not be confused with any other science fiction film.   Variations on the original design were developed with TIE Bombers and latterly TIE Interceptors making an appearance in The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi respectively.  

The TIE Pilot has made approximately 15 appearances in Lego Star Wars sets over the years.  In this time we have seen four principal variants including significant redesigns in 2010 and 2013.

The 2014 variant is unique to the Lego Star Wars Microfighter set:  75031 TIE Interceptor.  So with this new 2014 variant what do you get?  Let’s start with the highlight:

The helmet of course is the most distinctive feature of the TIE pilot.    The helmet design is reminiscent of stormtrooper armour, although the shell is bulkier which led to rebel pilots referring to TIE pilots as ‘bucketheads’.  The helmet is predominantly black with silver line details and Imperial insignia to both sides of the helmet.  The helmet piece is unique to the set and is the only unique aspect to this minifigure.

The double printed torso representing the fully sealed flight suit is black with black arms and hands.  The Torso is not unique to this minifigure, it first made an appearance on the TIE Bomber pilot in 2013 in the planet series set:   75008 TIE Bomber and Asteroid Field.  The Torso details including the life support chest piece and breather tubes and the rectangular back plate containing the oxygen supply, all are highlighted with silver line details.

 

The head piece is not unique, being the same as the 2013 Phase I Clone Trooper.  This has become a regular fixture in 2013 and 2014 Lego Star Wars sets.  The face print to the front shows a grimacing, light flesh coloured piece with orange-brown facial lines.

The legs are unique in the sense that no previous TIE Pilot has had printed legs, but the simply printed black leg piece with silver line detail is not unique to the set, it has been seen on a number of 2014 winter wave of Star Wars minifigures:  the Death Star Gunners (75034:  Death Star Troopers) and also the Imperial Crew (75033: Imperial Star Destroyer).

   

So Lego are not breaking new ground here:  we get a new helmet, the Torso is nicely detailed and if you have not collected the Planet Series sets is nice to have.  The printed legs are simple: do the job, albeit are not unique.  What can I say – it is a subtle evolution of what has gone before it.

The only fault I would pick with the minifigure is unfortunately with the new helmet.  There is a lot of light flesh visible from the head piece when the figure is viewed from the rear.  Lego should have either supplied a black head piece or the helmet piece should have been longer at the back.  This is not be a big deal if the minifigure will spend most of the time in an enclosed cockpit.  However if you are looking to recreate the “Several fighters have broken off from the main group - come with me!” scene aboard the first death star, this might look a little odd, although easily remedied with a quick substitution from a Stormtrooper/Scout Trooper/Imperial Royal Guard.

Did Lego get it right? We are always interested in your thoughts on the Lego minifigures we review, please add your comments below and give the minifigure a rating on a scale of 1-10: