Greetings all.

So.. i have been reading and serching for a few days now.. and am now reaching out for alil help.

I want to add squadron markings to my TIE's.. i know they didnt really go into much depth on this unless you count the 181st. But logisticly..when you have multipal people playing TIE's on a side. As my local group does. It would be more asteticaly pleasing to have markings. Not just the little numbered tabs on the bases.

So to this end i have been serching..with not alot of luck.

Anyone else doing this, thinking of doing this, or already have done this?

Thanks for your time and help.

SgtG/ DS-137-1

I believe in canon, there are no squad markings on the TIE's because they were completely modular with pieces being switched out regularly, such that a pilot would never fly the same ship twice. There are a lot of inconsistencies in the bloated mass that is the EU. I know they put red stripes on the 181st because they needed something visable in the comic book, but I never liked that. Paint yours blue to match the Interceptors then you'll have no problem telling which ships are yours, which ships they are however, by the Tournament Rules must be tagged with the Number tokens.

Black Squadron flew the same ships and had some minimal personalization painted on them. Mithel had a flame for each kill he made painted on his cockpit. Not enough to make individual ships stand out, but otherwise there are no squad markings.

Are you saying that if I put in my Blu Ray, and slo mo it I'll see flames on Mauler's Tie? This isn't some EU thing they made up 30 years later? Tell me now, cause I don't want to spend an hour looking for something that's not there.

The TIE Pilots did individulaize their helmets though. It is difficult to see, and you have to be quick, but all the on screen pilots some how marked their helmets. Silver "beards", "teeth," Mauler blacked out a corner of one of his Insignia's, tears, the mohawk. Doesn't help you any, but it's fun to talk about.

The only markings I can ever recall on TIE Fighters are the red stripes for the 181st (to signfity 10 kills?), and rebel starbirds painted into the hexagonal grids on the outer faces of the TIE Fighter solar panels. That's it.

TIEs were even more expendable than their pilots, so I would think hardly any got attached to a partiuclar craft enough to stylize them.

To personalize mine I painted all the Ion Engines red.

Norsehound said:

I like the sound of that.

FFG board software =

I've painted all my TIEs (advanceds and regulars) with a dark blue color.

If you're looking for examples the only three I can remember are the 181st, Avenger squadron " Veterans of Avenger Squadron flew TIE Intercepters that were marked with double white vertical stripes on both lower wing panels " , and the Emperor's royal guard's red fighters (there was apparently a pirate band with red TIE/In fighters also)

Ultimately just come up with a color/design you like, or you could look at decals for fighter models and see if any have something you'd like to add on to your ships.

It turns out the Tie Pilot core was really into recipes

http://www.rebelscum.com/eFX/TIE_Fighter_Studio_Scale_model_eFX/image22.asp

Sgt. G said:

I'm thinking about doing this since it seems like spam TIEs might lead to some issues. My thoughts were to apply a small decal somewhere on the model (probably underneath) and then use some decal softener and flat sealer to make it not come off. An inconspicous white or grey decal on a surface not commonly seen won't look too concerning for some purists but still allows me to customize the models. I just have to try it with a single TIE first to make sure the chemicals in the softener or sealer don't somehow react wierdly with the FFG paint or plastic.

after much debate and alot more reserch..and looking at the models and the stincel sizes out there.. i have kinda narrowed it down to 3 options.

1) do a stripe much like the 181st.. just in some other color.

black

grey

white

blue

2) a large number in the lower forward space on the solor wing ( this option has the most limits )

3) pilot ID numbers just over the center frame of the outer solor wing. in white with a micron pen.

i know this is the least cannon of all the ideas, but maybe being stationed from the death star they hadnt lost a ship in ah while..or maybe they were hopful.

again.. this is not intierly about being perfectly cannon..its about being able to tell models apart on a table in a more styleistic iconic way then just the number tabs..

and i am leaning more towards option 1.

If you want simple marking ideas you can also go with screenshots from theX-wing vs. Tie Fighter video game. Options were red green blue and gold. Also has options for Rebel ships. As for other personalizations all of my markers are rimmed with red permanent marker and every person I played with at KRE appreciated how easy it was to tell our ships and markers apart because I had left all my numbers on throughout the day.

Crimson.Owl said:

where did you play KR? Someone at our KR did the same.

You could also think about doing a thinned down "ink" wash. In black, blue or grey, to make each stand out from the others. I also like the idea of painting the engine red, although i think I will go for a blue instead.

Has anyone considered just going completely nuts with the TIE Fighters and changing the paint scheme entirely? I'm talking giving them a dark green wash with some green and blue highlights or something similar. If you don't mind deviating from the "canon" then why not come up with a remote squadron of TIEs which have a unique color scheme.

The idea of dark blue washes is really nice for sure, but why not some really interesting TIE Fighter squads? The same could be done for all the ships really. If you're making them up to be the standard core units from the films, then that's fine too, but if you want to feel like you're piloting a distinct squad of ships, go nuts.

so the latest idea im playing with.. is the hight the inside front of the solor pannels with bright green.. as if it was shooting..almost ANY google for TIE pics will have pics like that.

but im going back and forth on if i want to add beams of not..

One idea I had was to do the reverse of other artists and paint my interceptors a new hope white when they come in. Same with the Bombers.

Alamoth said:

My gaming buddy is going to spray-paint Howlrunner's TIE gold. He was going to put miniature chains and bling on it too, but then realized that it wouldn't be legal in a tournament.

Well if you are looking for cannon paint schemes you are limited but still have some options.

ANH TIEs were a lighter blue/Grey than TIEs from ESB and RoTJ. But either shade is legit on the Standard TIE. (I've re-painted about a third of my TIEs with a Darker blue/grey.

There is also proof that some TIEs did have squadron markings from as far back as ANH.

Image linked from the PRF, not mine…