TIE Pilot

While not as popular as the more iconic Star Wars armors, the TIE Pilot is still a widely sought after character that is probably recognized more for Starfighter they pilot than the character itself.  Like all 6in Black Series figures, the TIE Pilot comes in the typical black window box, this one numbered five. I really have no idea what’s going in with the 6in Black Series numbering; The TIE Pilot is listed as #05 on the box though there have been well over five releases in the line. If someone could enlighten me, I would be very grateful.

While the quality of the human face sculpts in the series is debatable, their generic troops have always been pretty good for the most part. I’ve only owned a few of the 6in figures, though I think the TIE Pilot is one of the best looking troopers and is a faithful recreation of its onscreen counterpart. The molded folds of the flight suit look great and the armored parts have a nice glossy sheen.

Articulation is average for a 6in American figure, with double jointed knees and single jointed elbows. You can’t get any natural looking kneeling poses, but the TIE Pilot does look pretty good holding the E-11 Blaster Rifle. The belt and holster are a single piece which can rotate freely but cannot be removed. I don’t think the TIE Pilot armor is ever officially shown with a holster, and it seems odd that he comes with such a large rifle. You would assume being a pilot he could at least come with a small pistol and holster that would actually allow him to sit down in a TIE Fighter. It’s an odd choice, but I do wish the holster was at least removable. I’ve only owned a few 6in Black Series figures, but the paint applications on the TIE Pilot are vastly superior to the ones I had on the Prototype Boba Fett and Clone trooper. The tampo markings are crisp and there are not any random paint splotches.

The new Rogue Squadron movie is actually the story of a rogue Tie Pilot rescuing a little girl from the Empire.

I had pretty much given up on the 6in Black Series figures until I saw this at Wal-Mart on sale for 15 dollars. Hasbro’s incredibly poor distribution and kind of disappointing Clone Troopers meant that I had lost interest in the line for the most part. The newly released promo along with the fact that the figure was on sale reinvigorated my passion for Star Wars so I decided to give it another shot. Thankfully, the TIE Pilot is a pretty fantastic figure which has renewed my faith in the Black Series. There’s nothing really wrong with the figure, articulation could be better but it’s what I’ve come to expect with American toys and the holster/blaster thing is army builder in my nerding out. Hasbro’s distribution has been mostly terrible with the Black Series, and until last Friday, I had never even seen a TIE Pilot on the shelf. If you do manage to spot one, I’d recommend grabbing one as it’s a great solid toy that represents what the Black Series is all about.