8087 TIE Defender

8087 TIE Defender is a LEGO Star Wars Expanded Universe set, and was a part of the first 2010 wave. The set contains 304 pieces, and includes one Stormtrooper and one TIE Pilot minifigure with a redesigned helmet.
== Description ==
The set features a rotatable cockpit and the characteristic three-winged design of the TIE Defender. It also has six flick-fire missiles (two mounted on each wing).
The minifigures included are a Stormtrooper with a blaster pistol, and a TIE Pilot with a newly redesigned helmet.
== Background ==
===Star Wars Legends===
The TIE/D Defender was a shield and hyperdrive equipped TIE series starfighter and was armed with 4 laser cannons, 2 ion cannons and 2 warhead launchers. This starfighter was utilized in the Empire's campaign against former Grand Admiral Zaarin, and was later used by the Imperial Remnant after the death of Palpatine, also being utilized in the Yuzzhan Vong War.
===Disney Canon===
Put into production on the planet Lothal, the Defender was quickly identified by the Rebellion as a considerable threat. Its shields and other capabilities made it far more dangerous than standard TIE Fighters and their variants. This was particularly evident after a Defender prototype was deployed with great effectiveness against rebel forces escorting Mon Mothma to a rendezvous of several rebel cells. Only though skillful and daring maneuvering in close proximity to a forming star were the Ghost and it’s remaining Y-Wing escorts able to force the fighter’s retreat.
A rebellion fleet formed as part of a plan to attack the Defender production lines on Lothal, but was decimated by Thrawn’s own forces. The wider rebellion was thus reluctant to pursue any further action, forcing the crew of the Ghost to make a more covert return to Lothal for more intelligence. After stealing an upgraded model of the Defender, Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren discovered-and demonstrated-the Defender’s effectiveness in a pursuit battle against three TIE Interceptors. This Defender was then disabled using a kill-switch on Thrawn’s orders, but the rebels were able to salvage its hyperdrive to equip a U-Wing in their possession.
Based on the intelligence Hera Syndulla brought back to Yavin IV using the U-Wing, the rebellion dispatched a flight of X-Wings to attack the production facility on Lothal. However, they were met by yet another Defender among the forces blockading the planet. The X-Wings were soon decimated, though Syndulla-piloting one of them-managed to shoot down the Defender before she and the only other surviving X-Wing crash-landed on Lothal. Syndulla was captured, but during the operation to rescue her the production facility was rendered inoperable. The Defender was thus never produced in numbers great enough to threaten the rebellion, though a handful would still see service during the Galactic Civil War.
== LEGO.com Description ==
== Notes ==
* This is the only Expanded Universe set released in 2010.
* Even though this set is from the Expanded Universe, Death Star II can be seen in the background of the box.
== Minifigures Included ==
== Gallery ==
File:8087_1.jpg|The Defender.
File:8087.jpg
== Instructions ==
== References ==
== External links ==
Category:Star Wars
Category:8000 sets
Category:2010 sets