SPOILER New Special Tie Fighter Concept Art

Isn't the better question . . . does Thrawn exist at all outside of legendary novels.

 

I mean... There are two royal guards standing in front of it. Judging by this concept, this is the Tydirium's grandson. Who is it carrying though? I doubt Gwendoline Christie would be so important. Additionally, the background looks very similar to the planet we've seen Kylo Ren on during the teaser. Kylo's personal ship? However, is he THAT close to the "Empire"? From what I've gathered based on the rumors, he would more or less be a sith, not an imperial.

Overall, I think @Batman nails it: "Very... errhhh... Red Barron and Nazi...". It looks menacing, much more than the Tydirium shuttle seen in RoTJ. This ship would fit a warrior much better than an Emperor. Or maybe I'm looking too far into it and this is the new Tie Bomber!

 

I think that is a very good question... before Captain Phasma arrived, I would have said no.. I am not sure if Thrawn ever appeared in Tarkin's Fist, but it is possible...

 

I think it´s either a shuttle or a next generation bomber.

Missed out on those Royal guards. A shuttle it is.

 

This new tie fighter looks awesome.

 

As of right now, I don't think Thrawn is canon. Outside the movie canon, we have confirmation on canon status for

1. Clone Wars - TV
2. Rebels - TV
3. Tarkin - Novel
4. A New Dawn - Novel
5. All future Novels/TV/Video Games.

everything else is fan-fiction unless stated otherwise.

 

For some reason that elongated ramp on the front kind of made me think about the disembarking scene from the teaser. I have no idea why haha

We can't really tell how many storm troopers are in that teaser, might be just a handful?. I wonder if it could be some sort of elite strike-force ship that carries the chrome trooper and elite storm troopers down to hot zones?

Completely guessing here haha

 

Upon seeing this image last night, I became awesomely excited about The Force Awakens (again!). The angle, the designs, the coloration, everything about the image screams THIS IS STAR WARS AND IT IS BACK TO KICK YOU IN THE BROWN STAR and I just couldn't sleep, trying to come to a conclusion as to what this scene could be, and who the heck is arriving in this ship.

Conclusion:
Because the image looks to feature snow-covered mountains, I can imagine this is KYLO REN arriving because he's here to seek out someone named, uh, Skywalker (see what I did there?). The only thing that doesn't make sense is that he lands and then goes for a walk (see teaser trailer). But maybe the shot from the teaser trailer is like 2 feet away from the landing platform he arrived on.

My jaw dropped when I saw two crimson Emperor's Royal Guard in attendance! They seem to be the only design that has stood the test of time (and they are great looking so I'm glad they didn't absolutely have to change them just because). Their presence of course insinuates some important figure about to disembark from the TIE Bomber Shuttle [TM], so that's why my first hunch is KYLO GRAMS. I mean REN.

Second hunch is that it could be Gwendoline "Brienne of Tarth" Christie arriving, but there's something about the painting that suggests that sith is about to hit the fans, not a glorified stormtrooper. But of course, I don't know and JJ Abrams hasn't talked to me. Ever.

Anyway, the image has continued to haunt me today to the point that I once again am unable to focus on reality - which is correcting a great pile of student texts - because my thoughts keep flitting back to the great image.

Oh, one more thing; While I initially felt (and commented on the main page) that this image is giving the right Star Wars feels, I could also argue that the image shows us nothing we haven't seen before, only tweaked - the most obvious tweak being the shuttle thingy. Even the Stormtroopers look like the good old ones.

This led to two thoughts:
a] It's old concept art, they changed the designs of the Stormtroopers (and possibly, the Royal Guard, but I hope not) since this was painted
b] There are two factions in the movie, one with old Stormtrooper armor and one with new!

 

Ree i agree with ya. It looks like Abrams is going to make his best film.
Im happy with colorization and designs also.

Cant wait to see this film.

 

It's official, I am now craving two of these ships. A toy version for 3.75" figures, and a nicely detailed 1/72 scale model kit to go with all my other 1/72 Star Wars models. Just imagine if Hasbro incorporated the motion, lights, and sound effects like the boarding ramp of the Big Millennium Falcon into the new TIE. Maybe some additional interior lights, a few other sound effects, and include a new pilot figure or stormtrooper as a bonus...

Hasbro, Finemolds or Revell, are you listening?

 

You do know that Hotwheels is releasing an elite die-cast line of Star Wars vehicles, all about 6 inches in length.

Also, you'll rather want the new Bandai kits of the vehicles. Light years ahead of Revel and Finemolds.

 

I like the TIE, but this image tells us so much that the design of the fighter becomes less important. I do not know what the empire has done in the last 30 years, but here it is, stronger and more organized than before. I am curious of the political framework. Maybe the "New Republic" and the Empire are at war since ROTJ, or there is a Cold War scenario, which is IMO the more plausible situation. Looking back at all the concept art leaked (like the remains of At-At on Tatooine) it's more likely that the great war is in the past and that the two sides are fighting each other in more subtle ways.
A war through inteligence and fast battles in strategic areas of the galaxy. That could explain why Han and Rey, are undercover on Tatooine, as rumors suggest.

The leaked photo suggest an even more Nazi like attitude and style of the Empire like in some of the last episodes of the The Clone Wars or in Rebels (where the old Republic is slowly transforming, under the grip of Palpatine to become the Empire as we now it in ANH)

I had the same reaction. IMO it has to be the ship of a Sith or of the biggest commander in rank they are guarding. The camera angle, the composition, all leads me to think an important figure has to make his appearance on that ramp.

Wow... i can't wait for the movie.

 

I'd heard that Hotwheels is releasing some new diecast vehicles. I'll have to track down some photos, if there are any yet. I have some of the Hotwheels Star Trek ships, and they are very nicely done, and not terribly expensive either.

In regards to kits, I buy doubles or more of the more popular vehicles from all manufacturers, and at least singles of everything else. They are for comission builds, and for my own collection as well. I have everything Bandai has released so far, including the 1/72 TIE X-1 and X-Wing. The Bandai stuff is beautifully molded and engineered, but the panel lines are awfully deep and overdone, especially on the X-Wing. The lines are far more subtle on the Finemolds X-Wing.

But, the Bandai kits do come with all sorts of neat goodies and accessories, which I really like. Needless to say, if Bandai produces the new TIE, or any other TFA kits, I'll be adding them to my personal collection and to my build stock.

If people knew just how many unbuilt kits from all genres are in my collection, they would probably have me hauled off to the looney bin!

 

I for one feel rumors have supported an Imperial Kylo Ren but it's become a matter of taste at this point

My first instinct was also Kylo Ren when I saw this, GC is understandable but I don't think she is important enough to have Imperial Guards mark her entrance.

I imagine undisguised Kylo Ren is part of a family that is one of the Empire's remaining financial backers and thus has used his family's money to buy influence and power. I'm sure other members of his family served as Moffs and high ranking officers. I can also see a none rich spoiled kid approach, going instead spoiled officer's kid like a son of a powerful Moff (spoiled officer kids is something I dealt with as a kid)

 

Looks like Vader's ship from ANH, with the wings rotated 90 degrees anti-clockwise. Perhaps they rotate for landing?

 

Meh!

Not very creative in my opinion, only the Falcon should be allowed to have that quirky side cockpit.

 

But, the cockpit is in the centre of this Tie Shuttle.

 

Until recently, Captain Phasma did not exist outside of Tarkin's Fist, an entirely fanfiction work...

 

The concept is very cool. However, you can tell by the troopers this piece is mid 2013 work. Lots of non-TIE concepts were conducted. It can go either way.

 

I think it is cool looking. I'm sure JJ and co. probably looked at just about every concept at piece there is to get ideas. If this one made it, it will be cool to see it in action.