This is one robust TIE Fighter. I’ve reviewed a couple of these things to date, but today’s set, 30276 First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter, is the weightiest.

That is not a bad thing, far from it. It feels robust and solid. It’s similarly built to 8028 in two ways.

First, there’s a Technic axle that runs through the entire width of the ship. It provides a solid connection for the cockpit module and the solar array wings.

Second, the cockpit module isn’t a great ball shape. It uses 2×2 round plates for the top and bottom which don’t really give it much of a ball shape.

There is a massive improvement in the front of the cockpit though by way of a printed 2×2 dish with a window pattern. Pretty sure this was the first mini TIE Fighter to have this element. And even if it wasn’t, if there was another mini TIE Fighter to have this piece that was not part of my pile of polybags, it’s still the best piece to use and honestly the only piece that should ever appear in future mini TIE Fighter sets.

There are additional accoutrements present on the First Order Special Forces version of the TIE. There’s the red color blocking on one side of the ship. The rear features what I assume to be an antenna array and some more red color blocking.

There are some Technic gears just on the inside of the solar arrays matching what the source material seems to have. The wings are pretty similar to the ones found in 8028, holes and all. But the square plate provides a bit more stability to the build.

Does It Suck or Does It Rock?

This set rocks! Very similar to 8028 TIE Fighter, 30276 First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter is an upgrade in every way. Better wings, better cockpit ball, better everything. I crap on the sequel trilogy all the time but at least it can give us some decent sets like this one.

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.