TIE Fighter Pilot [1995, POTF2]

...with Imperial Blaster Pistol and Rifle!

Now, granted, I'm sure, in a TIE fighter, just like our current fighter pilots, they carry some kind of firearm. However, do you honestly think they are carrying the blaster pistol and a rifle? My guess is that Imperials would cut down on costs by giving them one small firearm, considering most of what they do IS IN SPACE! Do you think the conversation with command is going to go like this:

Pilot: "Yeah, my TIE is disabled, so I'll just wait here until pick-up after the battle."
Command: "Eject, and start firing with all those guns we included."
Pilot: "Sorry Command, last message sounded funny, could you repeat?"
Command: "Eject and start firing at those Rebels!"
Pilot: "You do understand that I could maybe get one shot off, any firearm would likely be ineffective against a vehicle designed to go into combat and withstand the rigors of space, and the one shot I do get off would likely cause me to go spinning off into deep space because of the laws of momentum."
Command: "Eject and..."
Pilot: "Sorry - radio just got shot out, can't receive any more."

Like all the initial POTF2 figures, the TIE Pilot is a bit beefier than his picture, otherwise it is an accurate portrayal.

Five reasons to get this figure:

1. Cooler than a Stormtrooper - gets to wear black.

2. More dangerous job than a Stormtrooper. Not only are you in space battle without shields, if you eject safely you're still wearing an all-black uniform IN SPACE. What rescue ship is going to see that?

3. Land, pop out of ship with huge gun in each hand.

3. Wear black, fly black ship, hang out with eco-crowd because you have solar panels.

4. Gets to slap people with black gloves.

5. 15 minutes of combat, maybe once a week. Oh, yeah.

Backstory:
Only ten percent of recruits that joined the TIE pilot program actually made it into the TIE fighter corp. Others were dispersed to do other military functions. TIE pilots had a full life-support system uniform, because TIE fighters didn’t actually have life-support. Unlike a ship such as an X-Wing, TIEs were ferried to their location by a supporting ship, like a Star Destroyer, so their actual flying time tended to be short. However, if they were shot down, their survival tended to be minimal, thus they were normally not given personal weapons or rations.

In the subsequent novels, there were a couple of TIE pilots that got a few pages, Baron Soontir Fel, and a TIE pilot that crashed during the original Battle of Yavin. He was discovered years later by Han and Leia’s kids when Luke founded a Jedi Academy on Yavin. Obviously inspired by those Japanese soldiers on remote islands that thought WWII was still going on for years.

Want the full story? Wookieepedia article