eFX TIE fighter at SDCC

I believe a realistic time frame for the eFx TIE is December. The guys involved in making things as accurate as possible, have pretty much finished picking the designs over with a fine tooth comb. Looks like it's now pending final approval and production. The guestimate from this stage is December. I know you guys think eFx is dragging their feet just to torture us all...............but they are moving as rapidly as humanly possible to bring this stuff to us. There is so much back and forth communication between the design guys and the folks supplying knowledge for the various donor kit parts etc........that it would make your head spin. Same goes for the paint selection which is being matched to actual ANH TIE fighters found in private collections. The back and forth communications have been non stop since they first announced the TIE project. Have you ever heard of another Prop licensee that spends that kind of time on a project to get it just right? I haven't. Kudos to eFx and their extensive development process. Props and SS modeling has never been so cool!!!

Dave :)
 
I gave them my decal art and helped with reference where I could... Bryan really cares a a LOT about getting this right for a proper ANH presentation, color-wise. I'm happy that they care so much for what is usually "hand made one-off specifics" in a "mass produced" item.
 
I know there's a lot of complaints about efx and their preordering and their months/years of non-delivery. Why do they do this? Certainly it can't be because they want to make sure there is enough interest in what they are doing, I mean, it's Star Wars and the SW community will pretty much buy anything that comes out and for almost any price.

I preordered the Vader Legend helmet, cause I knew that it would sell quickly and be high priced to buy in the after market. I understand they want to do it right, but why can't they do it on their own time/money? I know, I don't have to preorder if I don't like their terms, but as said above, there's always paying a ridiculous amount in the after market.
 
I believe a realistic time frame for the eFx TIE is December. The guys involved in making things as accurate as possible, have pretty much finished picking the designs over with a fine tooth comb. Looks like it's now pending final approval and production. The guestimate from this stage is December. I know you guys think eFx is dragging their feet just to torture us all...............but they are moving as rapidly as humanly possible to bring this stuff to us. There is so much back and forth communication between the design guys and the folks supplying knowledge for the various donor kit parts etc........that it would make your head spin. Same goes for the paint selection which is being matched to actual ANH TIE fighters found in private collections. The back and forth communications have been non stop since they first announced the TIE project. Have you ever heard of another Prop licensee that spends that kind of time on a project to get it just right? I haven't. Kudos to eFx and their extensive development process. Props and SS modeling has never been so cool!!!

Dave :)

This is good news. I am glad they are paying so much attention to the details in order to get this 'right'.

Keep up the good work!:thumbsup
 
No one is upset that they are trying to do a good job.


Just keep us in the loop.

Drop us a picture or two , once every year or so.

Silence is really not the best response :(
 
Some news regarding the TIE Fighter and Vader Limited:

eFx Collectibles


25a6smd.jpg
 
Yay. Some news. Looking forward to this piece. Then they need to make a TIE Interceptor.

And, at one point, word was they had a 3' SD in the works. Make that too!
 
I know it is not much, but at least something:
According to a post in an other forum Bryan of eFX said at the Comic Con, that the first ties are schedulded to ship in approx. 4 weeks. So that would be mid or end of August.
 
Sigh, I did pre-order.
Lesson learned, never again from eFx.

I'm sure my opinion is colored by my experience so far, but their ability to miss their own deadlines over and over again is ridiculous. So is the lack of communication when a deadline is missed.

May 23, 2012 "More information coming soon!" LOL!
Over two months later, another anticipated shipping date past, surprise.

TAKE THAT, DEAD HORSE!
 
Looking at the Vader helmet packing problems, I cannot even start to think of the big fragile wings arriving like they were hit in the asteroid chase... :(
 
Well, here is an update of sorts -

The TIE prototype that was at this year's SDCC kinda landed on my kitchen table yesterday -
attachment.php


Here's the backstory - When eFX received the painted TIE for SDCC, they felt the paint was close - but still "off" enough to warrant telling the factory to try again. A newly painted TIE should be on display @ Celebration VI. In the meantime, just to doublecheck the paint samples against a known source, Bryan brought the SDCC prototype over to my place. (I've been slammed at work so I haven't had any time to do anything fun. Which is just another delay along the line.....)

Comparing the painted prototype with the hatch I got from Richard Edlund, yes it is off. To my eye, it needs to be bluer. This is completely subjective and dependent on lighting. (If you want to see the hatch color tests in excruciating detail, check out post 45 of this thread.)

So...... just to be sure about the paint sample (again), and to provide an accurate sample to the factory (again), we went over to the happiest place on earth (for model painters) - Ray's Auto Paints (again).
attachment.php

We took my tin of paint that was matched to the actual hatch and mixed up at that same time we mixed up some for eFX, had them shake it up, and dip a swatch. This is Bryan and myself literally waiting for the paint to dry so we could compare it and verify it was still good -
attachment.php


The good news is that the paint in my tin still matches the actual hatch and the swatches we made the first time. We siphoned off a small bottle and that is getting sent to China for them to use. We even sent a match for the darker gray as well......
attachment.php


TRIVIA - We checked the catalog number of the paint we matched to and discovered that it actually matches up with a piece of farm equipment. So if you have a Massey Ferguson tractor, well.....something on it is painted the same shade of gray as a TIE Fighter.
attachment.php

(Now I'm not saying that ILM used farm tractor paint in 1976, I'm just saying that that paint they used happens to match farm tractor paint in the swatch book.)

Anyways, below are a bunch of photos that I took of it. I am really impressed with the job Steve and eFX have done with this. It is crisp and detailed and perfect. I have a swatch of Koolshade myself, and know how hard it is to reproduce that look.

A couple of things surprised me - I guess, all the delays allowed eFX to add the markings that were discovered in some early photos -
attachment.php


attachment.php


attachment.php


Jason Eaton has researched the decals on a number of Studio Scale models and was able to provide files to eFX to reproduce (well, save for the yellowing decal film) -
attachment.php

Go here for details on that effort - http://www.therpf.com/f10/tie-spotting-first-post-updated-127749/index4.html#post1969715

The other surprise is the pilot figure. When it first appeared at SDCC in 2011, I believe there was a TIE pilot that was based on the TIE Pilot costume (Similar to what was done for the Luke pilot in their X-wing). That has been changed to more accurately represent the Harrier pilot/hybrid figure that ILM used in '76-'77 -
attachment.php


But when will it be ready? Good question. Bryan informs me that parts are being made now. Parts for the TIE, for the base, the lights, etc. The paint mis-match is a delay, but it is just paint - they don't have to re-tool anything or re-manufacture parts. Bryan's latest estimate is still third quarter 2012. That's a broad range, I know. But there are still a lot of moving parts that have to drop into place. I suppose the only way to pin it down is when the cases of TIE Fighters are on a freighter and has set sail. I'll try to get more info the closer they are to completion.........

Hope you enjoyed the update.

Gene
 
Ok..well, we have been waiting a long time. But to see this effort and attention to detail I think makes it worth waiting a little longer. It shows eFx is really trying to get this RIGHT and make it as accurate to the filming prop as possible. Great post and keep up the good work.:thumbsup

I also like that they are using the Harrier pilot now instead of the idealized TIE Pilot figure.
 
This thread is more than 10 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top