Initially given a blue color scheme, the TIE fighter models for the first film were grey to better film against a bluescreen TIE fighters in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) shifted back to being a muted blue. Joe Johnston created additional details, such as the cockpit window and the attachment points between the solar panels and the hull.
Star Wars creator George Lucas liked the basic design consisting of two panels connected by a stick with a ball-shaped cockpit, but Cantwell's concept had few details. Colin Cantwell created the concept model that established the TIE fighter's ball-cockpit and hexagonal panels design for Star Wars (1977).
