So I've never liked the TIE Defender all that much. It just seemed a bit too far off from the original TIE Concept. Like the creators of the TIE Fighter series ran out of ideas after the Avenger and were like "What if we make one with three wings?"

But I was definitely not a fan of the TIE Defender model for X-Wing. It always came down to the aesthetics of the wings and the tremendous gap between them making the Defender look too "big" or "round". The outward angle of the wings exacerbates this effect, while the inward angle of the Interceptors, Bombers and Advanced mitigate it.

The problem is, if you flip the wings to angle inward, then it becomes a TIE Burrito. So the best looking versions of the TIE Defender have been ones where the wings were tighter to the body .

So, when there was a recent sale on X-Wing minis, I decided to see what I could do to improve the aesthetics of the TIE Defender because $8 seemed acceptable for a ship I still might not even like when it was done.

My first attempt just chopped off the connector between the two "rings" on the support pylon, but it still didn't look right, so I decided to file down the outer ring to save about half a millimeter. Sounds like very little to worry about, but we're talking about a post that is only like 6mm long in total.

The final result:

It needs a little more finishing before I pin and glue the wings on "permanently", but here's the comparison. You can see how it really doesn't add up to all that much removed material, and I'm certain this project will be way too much effort for most people, but it really helped out the look of the ship for me.

Unfortunately, the rear magnet makes the modified one sit lower than the unmodified one, and the camera angle wasn't as "head on" as I had hoped, but you can see the changes.

How does it look on the battlespace? Well, I took some pictures of it yesterday during an Epic game.

Unfortunately the focal point for this shot wasn't on the Defender (I cropped it smaller), but you can see the new, tighter profile it presents.

If anybody's interested in the rest of my work (mostly True Scale Space Marines and other 40K conversions), or in the narrative Battle Reports from Heroes of the Aturi Cluster , you can check out my blog.

I've always had trouble figuring out where to magnetize the Defender due to the awkward positioning of the wings and the stem attachment. I never thought of placing the magnet there for the Defender. I'll have to try that out.

You know what, I kinda like this version of the Defender. It is indeed slimmer, and it looks faster, as befits the ship.

Definitely an improvement. Gives the ship a much needed sleeker appearance.

Yes, faster-looking, indeed. Love it.

I've always had trouble figuring out where to magnetize the Defender due to the awkward positioning of the wings and the stem attachment. I never thought of placing the magnet there for the Defender. I'll have to try that out.

It's important to note that I have it on a B-Wing post, with the ball on the end of the curved section.

It will work on a normal post, but not quite as well.

Superb work!

Should we call this the /x7 conversion?

I've always had trouble figuring out where to magnetize the Defender due to the awkward positioning of the wings and the stem attachment. I never thought of placing the magnet there for the Defender. I'll have to try that out.

Right under the cockpit works quite nicely. The ship is balanced (and light) enough that it's not that susceptible to wobbling. Move it slightly towards the back if you really want to counter the weight of the 3 arms.

Plus, this way, they fit perfectly into your magnetized Gozanti. You have magnetized it, right?

The only problem I found with mounting it directly underneath where the post-hole is, is that the wings block the angles available to the ship. You're only getting around 15-20 degrees of roll, max. With this mod it would be even less.

I tested it on the stock model before I modified it, and wasn't pleased with the results.

I'll certainly want to pick up another game piece and try this little mod