You know, this set, 8028 TIE Fighter, it ticks all the right boxes. I mean, it looks like a TIE Fighter, it’s pretty sizable and the proportions feel like they’re just right. But I just want to thumbs down this thing.

I’m pretty sure it’s the cockpit ball. it just doesn’t look right. The ball shape is a bit hard to pull off at this scale.

The bottom does a pretty good job but that’s thanks to the boat tile.

The front (the cockpit window) and the back use a 2×2 dish but to mount it on the bracket element, it has to be mounted on a 1×1 round plate first, extending the length front to back by two plates. It makes it longer than it is tall. And I think that’s why I’m not a fan of this set: the proportions are just off.

And if that wasn’t enough, the top of the set doesn’t have a dish element, instead just relying on a 2×2 round plate to try and round it off. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite work.

The things that do work are the solar array wings and the wing attachment pylons. The wings are a good shape. Not a fan of the gaping holes due to the Technic plates, but those plates were necessary to mount the wings to the body, so I’m okay with that.

There’s a Technic axle that goes from wing to wing. There’s a small bushing that separates the wings from the cockpit ball giving it that nice pinched look. The axle provides a solid connection so that the wings don’t fall off. It’s sturdy, and that is saying something.

So yeah, this set has a couple of really nice things going for it, but that cockpit ball shape, or lack of ball shape I should say, just ruins it for me.

Does It Suck or Does It Rock?

This set sucks! At its very basic level, 8028 TIE Fighter looks like a TIE Fighter and it’s proportions are mostly correct. It should get a thumbs up. But for some reason, I feel like I’m holding TIE Fighters up to a higher standard. Or maybe not. Either way. This thing sucks no thanks to that cockpit ball. Thumbs down.

Sponsorship

There’s no sponsor this week, and with sponsorships lasting a whole week, you can get plenty of exposure for mere pennies. Pennies I say! Want to sponsor a review? Send me a message to admin@fbtb.net or hit me up on discord of the polybag set you have that you want me to review. If selected, in exchange for the set you’ll get a mention right here in the review post and a link to your website or social media account or just about anything else.. Nearly free advertising, so what’s stopping you?

You Can Win This And Every Other Polybag I Review This Year

I’ll be raffling every polybag I review this year in one big lot, all 260 sets (with the possibility of more). Each set will be individually stored in a ziploc baggie complete with the extra pieces, instructions, and the actual polybag bag it came in. The cost of a raffle ticket is just $1 USD and you can enter as many times as you want. Send a PayPal payment to paypal@fbtb.net for $1 USD for every ticket you want to purchase. DO NOT send one payment for multiple entries i.e. do not send one $5 USD payment for five tickets; five $1 USD payments must be made instead. Raffle is open to everyone in the world except where raffles are illegal. Be sure to put “POLYBAG RAFFLE” in the notes section of the payment in order to be entered successfully. Winner will be drawn sometime early January 2023 and contacted at the PayPal email address the payment was sent from to arrange for delivery. For a running list of all the sets that you can win, check this Google spreadsheet.