Tie Defender

The Tie Defender is the elite of Imperial fighter crafts
Originally introduced in Legends / Expanded Universe stories, it entered the new canon as a prototype series developed by Grand Admiral Thrawn in Star Wars: Rebels, and also featured in the game Star Wars: Squadrons.

This MOC was inspired by the 75300 Tie Fighter set, which was a more compact version of the Tie Fighter which I really enjoyed. After making a Tie Interceptor MOC based on it, I thought it would be interesting to have a Tie Defender in the same slightly reduced scale.

Unlike the Tie Interceptor MOC, the Tie Defender design forced me to redo most of the cockpit (while still keeping it the same size) in order to reproduce a more rounded shape. As a bonus, I managed to get more space for the pilot and its controls.

If you built my Tie Interceptor MOC or have the 75300 Tie Fighter, there are a lot of pieces in common with this MOC, so that could be a starting point.

For more pictures, see here and here.