SSG BATTLE OF THE MACHINES Quarterfinals - Fight 8!!!

[Tycho]

Tonight is the last match of the SSG Battle of the Machines Quarterfinals!

The competition is tight now as we see which Hasbro Star Wars vehicles will go into the Semi-Finals.

The challenge before us now? Darth Vader's TIE Fighter versus the Imperial TIE Bomber!

Is it firepower or the Force that counts the most? Or is it even a contest with firepower as it pertains to the TOYS?

Darth Vader's Sienar Fleet Systems Advanced TIE Fighter is a main bad-boy in the Empire's Starfleet! This ship is completely resculpted compared to the vintage version, and features an awesome array of weapons the Dark Lord of the Sith can command from the one-seat cockpit. This ship accomodates ONLY Darth Vader, or he'll be very, very mad! At his disposal are repositioning laser cannons that can be extended or withdrawn, plus dual missle launchers that actually fire rockets! The main body's molding is authentically styled straight from "A New Hope" and features the crest where Lord Vader's ship has room to be the only TIE Fighter to have shields and a hyperdrive installed on board. Darth Vader's TIE defeated Gold Leader in the Y-wing Fighter in a close match that ended with the Dark Lord on top 67-55, carrying 54% of the vote back to his StarDestroyer.

The Imperial Navy's TIE BOMBER was only just released about two months ago. It is getting harder to locate for many collectors who never found this ship, though online stores seem to have obtained a stock of them. Meanwhile, a brand new original body sculpt featuring twin body-pods and great details contributes to this first-time ever offering of this awesome vehicle from "The Empire Strikes Back!" The ship is quite a good sized vehicle and features an opening cockpit that holds one TIE Pilot action figure that's included! The difference between this figure and the carded one released in 1996 would be jointed knees, and it's equivalent to the pilot that comes with this year's Toys R Us exclusive, the Interceptor. Meanwhile, the TIE Bomber is a Wal*Mart Exclusive that makes a blast on the collectors' sites with 3 detailed plasma bombs that are gravity activated from a firing control on top of the ship's weapons module! The TIE Bomber narrowly defeated the B-wing Fighter 67-63 to be here. It carried about 52% of the vote in its victory.

Which one of these Hasbro toys is the best?

It's Imperial on Imperial tonight. Indeed it is a period of Civil War. Who's going to win?

You decide now - then tell us why you think so!

[The True Maul]

I voted for Vaders fighter it's awesome !!!! Neat cool looking this ship is one cool, fighter!!

[Val Da Car]

Because you can NOT beat the Original....I had a Darth Vader TIE Fighter from Star Wars as a kid and it sets the tone of the Empire..

[NRPeace]

For the bomber's size, it really doesn't have that many cool features.

[bigbarada]

I pick the TIE Bomber, no contest.

DV's TIE is more accurate than it's vintage counterpart; but it still has some glaring flaws that will always make it inferior in my mind. For one, the window is too small and the top hatch sticks up too far, it should be flush with the ball shape of the pod. The retractable guns and firing missiles are idiotic additions that only detract from the overall toy. On top of that, the tooling and detail is VERY substandard compared to any other vehicle in the line.

The TIE Bomber on the other had is one awesome ship! In my mind one of the greatest toys in the SW line since it premiered in 1978. It's bomb dropping feature works flawlessly and, most importantly, is virtually unnoticeable. Apart from that almost necessary feature (what good is a bomber that can't drop bombs?) there are no stupid gimmicks that detract from the look of the ship (retractable guns, firing missiles).

When all is said and done, the TIE Bomber toy is one of the highlights of the Star Wars line. The POTF2 DV's TIE is scraping the bottom of the barrel as one of the worst of the entire line.

Note: My opinions on the toy have nothing to do with which ship I like best, as I do like the design of DV's TIE better than the Bomber. There has just never been a toy that has done Vader's ship justice.

[aharry]

Okay, it maybe Vader's TIE, but let's face it, the bomber is closer to the mark. It has bombs, which it used in ESB. I don't remember Vader having missles or retractable mega-cannons. I applaud that they got Vader's TIE closer to the movie this time than with the vintage, but the details on the bomber are even more accurate. Plus it came with a pilot, which I think is important when you don't have indiuvidual carded pilots available in normal retail outlets. I feel this will be close, it was hard for me. I just went with detail over what it represents.

[bigbarada]

Even though the Bomber is winning the margin is very slim, if you count posts DV's TIE has 3 votes and the Bomber has two. C'mon people, if you voted for the Bomber post here and let us know why.

[NiktosRule]

I voted for the Bomber because it is a very accurate and detailed toy. One poster said that it doesn't do much and it shouldn't do much. It should only do what the ship actually does and that is drop bombs. I also like the cockpit a lot.

I don't have Vader's Tie because it looks like a piece of junk. What is with the extra features that the ship doesn't have. They shouldn't be an addition to the toy. It makes the toy less accurate and less fun.

[bigbarada]

I remember seeing a pic of Vader's TIE on the internet back in 1997. I saw the link and immediately thought, "Oh cool, I hope they make it look more like the movie!" I clicked on the link, waited 20 minutes for the picture to load and immediately thought, "ick!" I was terrible!

I saw it in the store a few months later and, against my better judgement bought it thinking, "That was probably a prototype, they always suck. Kenner would never allow something that crappy to pass QA/QC." I opened the box and immediately thought, "ick!" I was actually worse than I imagined!

I gave it to my brother who keeps it in his closet, and everytime I look at it I am just amazed at how someone could actually look at this toy and think that it is anything other than a total piece of garbage.

Those voting in this poll should keep in mind that you are not voting on the vehicle design or the pilot, you are voting on the toy. The detail, accuracy, playability and overall quality. It really has nothing to do with what is your favorite ship or who is your favorite character.

[Tycho]

I'm going to call in for Vader's TIE on this one.

You guys who are saying it's less accurate are way off-base if you ask me. Especially if you don't have this ship, and have it loose.

First off, I've waited YEARS to get a TIE Bomber. And all it does is let gravity make it drop 3 plastic bombs? They even fall out the top if you make the ship roll. Every TIE fighter should hold at least one figure and nowadays ships should come with their pilots. It makes it a complete toy.

But for its size, the TIE Bomber should've also shot missles out the front. Firing missles are fun!

This is precisely why I like the Darth Vader TIE! Also, my missles are gray and match the ship's color, not green as later releases may have been. So I don't think it looks bad at all! Now if the ship just shot 2 missles and seated 1 figure, it still would be lackluster like the Jedi Starfighter. But the switch that brings the laser cannons in and out of the hull is a totally awesome extra for more imaginative play value! Retracted, you barely notice this feature if you don't go looking for it. Extended and retracted fast, you can make believe it is a repeating blaster cluster similar to the AT-AT's chin cannons. The hidden extra fire power is somehow appropriate for Darth Vader's personality!

While I admit the TIE Bomber looks very authentic (save for size which I'll excuse because I understand costs), the ship really doesn't do much but sit there and look good. You have to fly it over targets to knock down Rebels and other action figures with bombing runs. The Vader TIE can hit targets from quite a further distance - and that's fun!

I voted for Darth Vader's TIE Fighter!


(also, in almost any source book on the ships, its shown that the TIE Bomber carrys concussion missles, proton topedoes, as well as laser cannons and cluster bombs. Just because a feature of the ship wasn't shown in the movie, doesn't mean the toy has to have less stuff to use! The TIE Bomber should have been the most heavily armed fighter in the Imperial arsenol!)

Multi-firing missles and deploying seismic charges are the biggest reason why Jango's Slave One is nearly my favorite vehicle out of all of them!