Why did the animators design it the way they did? How does it even work?

It works... with Disney magic...

Meh, I like it as is.

Having the panels be grey on the outside makes the ship look more sleek, and they also make the Prototype a bit more visually distinct from the endless waves of TIE variations.

How does it even work?

It's already ludicrous that solar panels can provide energy for a TIE Fighter in the first place.

To anyone wondering, they're talking about the Tie Advanced Prototype.

Having the panels be grey on the outside makes the ship look more sleek, and they also make the Prototype a bit more visually distinct from the endless waves of TIE variations.

How does it even work?

It's already ludicrous that solar panels can provide energy for a TIE Fighter in the first place.

I prefer the explanation that they are radiators, not solar panels. Makes a bit more sense, IMO.

Having the panels be grey on the outside makes the ship look more sleek, and they also make the Prototype a bit more visually distinct from the endless waves of TIE variations.

How does it even work?

It's already ludicrous that solar panels can provide energy for a TIE Fighter in the first place.

I prefer the explanation that they are radiators, not solar panels. Makes a bit more sense, IMO.

Except the latest tech guides clearly label them solar panels.

But yeah on the inside they'd be a pretty poor source of supplementary power.

Having the panels be grey on the outside makes the ship look more sleek, and they also make the Prototype a bit more visually distinct from the endless waves of TIE variations.

How does it even work?

It's already ludicrous that solar panels can provide energy for a TIE Fighter in the first place.

I prefer the explanation that they are radiators, not solar panels. Makes a bit more sense, IMO.

Except the latest tech guides clearly label them solar panels.

But yeah on the inside they'd be a pretty poor source of supplementary power.

TIEs without ejection seats or life support, utter rubbish.

But then there was that one guy who supposedly worked out calculations that required inertial dampers to cancel almost 100% inertia and used conventional ion drives powered by solar panels, but I didn't buy it.

Having the panels be grey on the outside makes the ship look more sleek, and they also make the Prototype a bit more visually distinct from the endless waves of TIE variations.

How does it even work?

It's already ludicrous that solar panels can provide energy for a TIE Fighter in the first place.

I prefer the explanation that they are radiators, not solar panels. Makes a bit more sense, IMO.

Except the latest tech guides clearly label them solar panels.

But yeah on the inside they'd be a pretty poor source of supplementary power.

I mean, you have a Twin Ion Engine that provides enough energy to power a spaceship and then you stick on these giant delicate easy-to-hit solar panels on the sides that provide maybe enough energy to power a lightbulb.

The Empire might as well just slap a giant hamster wheel on the back and have a Stormtrooper run on the inside if they're that desperate for inefficient ways to power a spaceship.

I think it's supposed to look like it was designed by the same guy as the Scimitar.

I think it's supposed to look like it was designed by the same guy as the Scimitar.

Um, exactly. Sienar designed both. TAPs are primarily used by Inquisitors to hunt down Jedi, same as Maul in his Infiltrator. TIEs have a long design linege greatly predating the empire.

I think it's supposed to look like it was designed by the same guy as the Scimitar.

Um, exactly. Sienar designed both. TAPs are primarily used by Inquisitors to hunt down Jedi, same as Maul in his Infiltrator. TIEs have a long design linege greatly predating the empire.

That's my point, yes.

I think it's supposed to look like it was designed by the same guy as the Scimitar.

Um, exactly. Sienar designed both. TAPs are primarily used by Inquisitors to hunt down Jedi, same as Maul in his Infiltrator. TIEs have a long design linege greatly predating the empire.

That's my point, yes.

Don't forget the Eta-2 and its 'solar panels' (or S-foils) being 'armored' on the outer surface but waffled on the inside.

"Prototype"

I think it's supposed to look like it was designed by the same guy as the Scimitar.

Um, exactly. Sienar designed both. TAPs are primarily used by Inquisitors to hunt down Jedi, same as Maul in his Infiltrator. TIEs have a long design linege greatly predating the empire.

That's my point, yes.

Don't forget the Eta-2 and its 'solar panels' (or S-foils) being 'armored' on the outer surface but waffled on the inside.

Yeah. The TIE/v1 is clearly drawing on clone-wars era designs more heavily than newer prototype TIEs like the TIE/x1. I appreciate the effort Rebels put into design continuity even if I'm not a huge fan of the look of the actual ship.

Yeah ludicrous that our modern day solar panels have an effiency rating of 17-20% and only capture the red spectrum. Hard to imagine anyone capturing 90+% and up through multilayer capture and having batteries to store it. Just crazy. Next people might think solar panel film that can wrap around objects and is printed out of an industrial printer is possible.

Real Alexander graham bell we got here...lol

Having the panels be grey on the outside makes the ship look more sleek, and they also make the Prototype a bit more visually distinct from the endless waves of TIE variations.

How does it even work?

It's already ludicrous that solar panels can provide energy for a TIE Fighter in the first place.

I find it funny because the basic design of the TAP was the Republic TIE from a XWA mod a number of years ago.

Yeah ludicrous that our modern day solar panels have an effiency rating of 17-20% and only capture the red spectrum. Hard to imagine anyone capturing 90+% and up through multilayer capture and having batteries to store it. Just crazy. Next people might think solar panel film that can wrap around objects and is printed out of an industrial printer is possible.

Real Alexander graham bell we got here...lol

Having the panels be grey on the outside makes the ship look more sleek, and they also make the Prototype a bit more visually distinct from the endless waves of TIE variations.

How does it even work?

It's already ludicrous that solar panels can provide energy for a TIE Fighter in the first place.

The solar flux at approx 1AU for a G-type star, even at 100% effecient capture, just isn't enough for the accellerations and power needs noted in the canon. It's much worse when attempting to use starlight. Even if the TIEs wings are crenelated and honeycombed to provide 100 or 1000 times the surface area one would expect it still wouldn't be enough. And forget jumping into hyperspace.

Yeah ludicrous that our modern day solar panels have an effiency rating of 17-20% and only capture the red spectrum. Hard to imagine anyone capturing 90+% and up through multilayer capture and having batteries to store it. Just crazy. Next people might think solar panel film that can wrap around objects and is printed out of an industrial printer is possible.

Real Alexander graham bell we got here...lol

Having the panels be grey on the outside makes the ship look more sleek, and they also make the Prototype a bit more visually distinct from the endless waves of TIE variations.

How does it even work?

It's already ludicrous that solar panels can provide energy for a TIE Fighter in the first place.

The solar flux at approx 1AU for a G-type star, even at 100% effecient capture, just isn't enough for the accellerations and power needs noted in the canon. It's much worse when attempting to use starlight. Even if the TIEs wings are crenelated and honeycombed to provide 100 or 1000 times the surface area one would expect it still wouldn't be enough. And forget jumping into hyperspace.

Eh - TIEs can't jump into hyperspace? At least, most can't - certainly not the TIE Fighters or TIE Advanced Prototype. IIRC, only fighters that CAN are the TIE Advanced (which probably has something to do with that huge body it has and no other TIEs of its era do), TIE Defender, and TIE Phantom. All of which have quite a lot of solar panel area, and above-normal masses of the fighter bodies (likely including additional heavy power sources).

In any case...the solar panels, after all, don't have to provide all the power the ship needs. If they are enough to just power the 'sublight' engines while on patrol, pilot wearing a space suit so not even life support is needed, that's realistically 99% of the power usage the fighter will ever require. Being able to do that without using fuel IS A VERY GOOD IDEA. Yeah, if the fighter gets into combat, it has to switch to its fuel-burning fusion reactor (or whatever it has) for the energy needed to fight...but combat is always going to be an incredibly rare event. Not having to use any fuel unless that actually happens will be a massive advantage to a galaxy-spanning Empire that needs to patrol so many countless worlds and systems.

The solar panels don't so much provide power for the whole ship, as provide the catalyst to activate the ship's fuel. At least, going by Incredible Cross Sections: The Force Awakens.

Eh - TIEs can't jump into hyperspace? At least, most can't - certainly not the TIE Fighters or TIE Advanced Prototype.

The inside solar panels are actually ground up relatives of Mickey's family that either shamed the family name or didn't want to get into the family business.

They run on mouse magic.

Eh - TIEs can't jump into hyperspace? At least, most can't - certainly not the TIE Fighters or TIE Advanced Prototype.

The TAP can - according to Rebels Visual Guide.

That seems like a bit of a plot problem, doesn't it? Weren't Ezra and Kanan, on stealing a TAP, worried they could not escape until the Rebel-captured Gozanti arrived and towed them all away?

Eh - TIEs can't jump into hyperspace? At least, most can't - certainly not the TIE Fighters or TIE Advanced Prototype.

The TAP can - according to Rebels Visual Guide.

That seems like a bit of a plot problem, doesn't it? Weren't Ezra and Kanan, on stealing a TAP, worried they could not escape until the Rebel-captured Gozanti arrived and towed them all away?

Not a fan of explaining away inconsistencies, but...

Kanan only has encountered non-hyperspace-capable-TIEs, so probably he and Ezra just did not realise the Q-Tip can jump. Prototype and unfamiliar control counting in here too.

Well if you're not a fan of the way the armored wings are facing you can always cut them off and reverse them.

I think the ship looks fine.

My problems with it are:

A. The name is super lazy. Another TIE Advanced. And they couldn't even bother to call it, like, the x2 or something and actually fit it into the lore. I keep hoping that, since it has become the go-to ship for the Inquisition, that they just rename it the TIE Inquisitor or something like that.

B. It's stats in the lore and in this game don't match it's appearance. The ship expressly has extra armor plating instead of solar panels on the outside of it's wings. Logically, that means the ship should have more armor, and less energy to power systems like, say, shields.

The ship shouldn't have shields in the lore. And in game, it should have 4 Hull, 0 Shields instead of 2 Hull, 2 Shields.