Cool Stuff: The TIE Fighter Owners' Workshop Manual Extensively Details The Imperial Vehicle

Last fall, Lucasfilm and Insight Editions teamed up to bring Star Wars fans an official Millennium Falcon workshop manual that dove into the intricate details of the YT-1300 Modified Corellian Freighter that was famously customized by both Lando Calrissian and Han Solo (and less famously, Unkar Plutt). Now they're shining a light on the Galactic Empire.

The TIE Fighter Owners Workshop Manual gives the same detailed treatment to the disposable but deadly TIE Fighter. But we're not just talking about the default version of the Imperial starship. The TIE Fighter owners workshop manual dives into the entire history of the ship, including variants like the TIE Bomber, TIE Interceptor and Kylo Ren's recent TIE Silencer. See some images from the book below.

Here's the official description of the book:

Just as the Galactic Empire used great fleets of starships to expand Imperial control across the galaxy, the subsequent authoritarian government, the First Order, used even more technologically advanced ships to unify planetary systems and crush all opposition. With both regimes, the most abundant and ubiquitous ships in their respective fleets were the notoriously lethal TIE fighters.

The TIE Fighter Owners' Workshop Manual presents a thorough history of Sienar Fleet Systems' twin ion engine space superiority fighter, from early concepts and prototypes to the mass-produced starfighters that fought countless battles against insurgent groups. The history of TIE fighters—including bombers, boarding craft, and shuttles—is fully illustrated with numerous photographs, schematics, exploded diagrams, and computer-generated artwork by Star WarsTM vehicle experts Chris Reiff and Chris Trevas. Text is by Ryder Windham, author and co-author of more than 70 Star Wars books. This Haynes Manual is the most thorough technical guide to TIE fighters available, and is fully authorized and approved by Lucasfilm.

As you can see, the book written by Ryder Windham and illustrated by Chris Reiff will explore the origins of the TIE Fighter, making reference to Darth Maul's ship, the Scimtar, which was a modified Star Courier designed by Sienar-Jaemus Fleet Systems. Other ships with an influence on the TIE Fighter include the Jedi starfighters from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, as well as the V-Wing starfighter.

The book also takes a closer look at the functions of the ship itself, including the functionality of the unique wings. In case you hadn't already assumed it, they act as solar panel that collect energy, which can be used to power the ship.

Outside of the traditional Imperial TIE Fighter, the book also reveals some surprising information about ships like the TIE Silence. As revealed by io9 in some pages they debuted not too long ago, Kylo Ren gave detailed post-flight reports to Sienar-Jaemus Fleet Systems so they could make improvements to the ship and potentially build more of them for the First Order. There's something hilarious about imagining Kylo Ren doing mundane paperwork for the company that built his ship.

You can see even more of the book's details at io9, or you can just buy the book right now. It's available at Amazon for $16.50 right now and on bookstore shelves too.