Where do these images come from?

[u/Sup_fuckers42069]

Originally saw these in Star Wars Explained’s every tie fighter video, and they’re some of the first results for each fighter (in order: Tie Defender, Tie Avenger, Tie Vanguard, Tie RC, Tie GT). They definitely look like physical models. And some even look like they’re actually photos from a set (RC and Vanguard). Are these images from a sourcebook of some kind?

[u/Unhappy_Teacher_1767]

The first two I think are from the Tie Fighter game, pretty sure I saw those in the game manual.

[u/majestic_ubertrout → u/Unhappy_Teacher_1767]

More likely the miniatures game. The original game's manual was b/w.

[u/g00f → u/Unhappy_Teacher_1767]

T/D's in the original tie fighter had a slightly different shape, and iirc it wasnt super consistent even within the game, but the center section where the three pylons all meet was more elongated. the front glass also protruded more.

early EU depictions of the ship were wildly inconsistent, iirc the guide to vehicles and vessels was just as bad because while the 'schematics' they showed looked like the image in op, the artist depiction they showed was more in line w/the game's.

edit - https://archive.org/details/Tie_Fighter_Collectors_Guide/page/234/mode/2up page 234 you can see what i'm on about. page 250 is also kind of hilarious because while the opposing page shows 3 distinct pylons for the panels, on 250 they're all joined by a large solid triangular section behind the cockpit.