The Tie Fighter. It was the most vivid experience for me in
1978 when I saw Star Wars in the theatre. The sound of that starfighter was
off-the-charts AMAZING!!!! The Tie fighter, which stands for ‘Twin Ion Engine’ fighter,
Was the ship of The Enemy in Star Wars. The sound forever intwined with the
Empire and its presence on screen. Sure, the X and Y-wing fighters made unique
sounds, but the Tie fighters, when they showed up to the party, everybody knew
the Empire had arrived.
Honestly, in 1978, the sound production for Star Wars shattered
every other movie experience I ever had. To this day, there have been few films
that have been so groundbreaking (from my viewpoint). That Christmas, all the
kids wanted a Star Wars vehicle. My friends gravitated towards the X-wing and
Millennium Falcon. For me… I was all about the Tie! Even have Vintage Tie fighter pilots.
Here is what’s left of the tie fighter I got for Christmas.
I went on to learn that Mom went through quite the ordeal to get it.
Ultimately, a friend’s son working at a catalog store (Brand Names) in the
Southgate Plaza in West Seneca got one for me. Many thanks to Mom, Dad, their
friend, and their friend’s son! Don’t feel too bad for my Tie fighter. It got a
lot of use and provided countless hours of fun. Today, I have later editions of
Tie fighters, including a Tie interceptor and the Tie fighter used by the First
Order. I also tracked down 2 working Vintage Tie Fighters from 77/78. I also
managed to get a Vintage Tie fighter box.
In addition to cool sounds that the first Tie fighters made
(produced by Kenner), the wings could eject off as if damaged in battle with an
X-wing (my brother got an X-wing, which we still have intact). Now, I’m not a
fan of the Empire, but I am a bit pissed that X-wings didn’t have a similar “I-got-my-butt-kicked-by-a-Tie”
feature. Sure, they eventually made a “battle-damaged” X-wing, but we all know
that is nothing like exploding wings on the Tie. In any event, here are my two
intact Tie fighters as well as the cockpit chair from my original Tie fighter.
May the Force be with you!
Where to buy: Entertainment Earth has scale models Tie fighters that seem to be selling out fast. Ebay is where I got my latest Vintage one. For those who have a Vintage Tie fighter, check out Ebay for Vintage Tie boxes.
*** Save your toy boxes! Collecting 101. I failed miserably at saving boxes. Just sayin.
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