Tie fighter

If the star destroyer is the backbone of the Imperial Navy, the TIE fighter is the fist. The TIE is named for its twin ion engines and is powered by two large solar panels. TIEs are armed with two powerful laser cannons but have no shields, life support systems, or even hyperdrive. The lack of this extra equipment makes it extremely maneuverable and its small profile makes it very hard to hit.

During the Battle of Yavin, TIEs destroyed nearly all of the attacking starfighters. At the end of the battle just 4 Rebel fighters remained.

Because of the shape and proportions of the TIE, I had assumed it would be impossible to make using a single sheet of paper. That may or may not be true and someday I’ll spend some time working on a single sheet TIE. This TIE fighter came about as another of my “doodling” moments. I was passing time in line at a store playing with a flower base. Just to see what would happen, I flipped it inside out and the result was a hexagon. Something about it looked familiar but I couldn’t put my finger on it. A few days later I realized what it was. It was perfect for the solar panel of a TIE fighter. I had two thirds of the TIE in my hands already. The trick was to take a third sheet, make the ball cockpit with wing pylons, and find a way to connect it to the wings without glue. As you can see from the picture, I was successful. The TIE fighter is one of two compound figures in my first Star Wars Origami book. (one made with multiple sheets of paper) The other is the Y-Wing.