ANH Hero DL-44 Discussion - Three ANH Greeblies Found

I'm not sure if anyone knows the exact timeline placement of the photos or not but that photo is what I've always assumed to be one of at least two pre-production photos taken that show the blaster how it came from Bapty, before the SW prop guys got their hands on it and added the Paint, Disk, Grills, Barrel Greeblie and Weathering.

If the SW guys indeed added those details rather than being revisions made by Bapty themselves after the pre-pro photos, the mystery disk seems more likely to be just masked off into the black Paint that the SW guys or whoever added. Also aside from the few custom machined and fabricated items here and there(i.e. Vader), in ANH the prop guys didn't show really any evidence of having access to the kind of machinery or experience needed to Mill in the Mystery disk as perfect as it looks. So to me the disk seems likely to be just masked into the paint whenever the paint was added. And like lonepigeon has said, the Imperial greeblie may somehow be involved in the 'mystery' of the disk too.

I would always love to find out more about the true order of events that resulted in this beautiful blaster!


-Carson

Interesting...

It wouldn't work if the Imperial disk greeblie ripped off and took the paint with it, revealing bare metal, but what if the Imp disk was painted silver and the disk ripped off, but left the silver paint behind on the Mauser's side?

I agree that there seems to be something else going on there, the exposed metal does seem to be a bit lighter than I realized in the disk and chipped areas. To me it seems whether masked in or milled the disk looks like it may be intentional. I'm not sure if an imperial disk was glued on or not but the size is mighty close. And as mentioned by someone earlier on, the Merr Sonns had the Imp disk right around the same area as the DL-44's mystery disk.

Since the Imperial disk was just that, Imperial, I wonder if they intended to make the DL-44 look as though it 'had' an Imp disk on it at one point along with the added weathering? You know, since Han's character wouldn't likely want an Imperial insignia or emblem on his Blaster. Very tough to tell for sure!


-Carson

Yeah, until some better reference comes along this is just another detail we'll have fun obsessing over and endlessly debating. As far as the disc being "Imperial" they're all over Chewbacca's Bowcaster so maybe they're cutting it some slack lol.

Also from an expanded universe stance wasn't Solo supposed to be an Imperial Officer Candidate at some point in his past? Also I suppose you could stretch a point that his DL-44 is a modified Military issue blaster (if you're into that sort of thing).

Dave

dcarty said:

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Yeah, until some better reference comes along this is just another detail we'll have fun obsessing over and endlessly debating. As far as the disc being "Imperial" they're all over Chewbacca's Bowcaster so maybe they're cutting it some slack lol.

Also from an expanded universe stance wasn't Solo supposed to be an Imperial Officer Candidate at some point in his past? Also I suppose you could stretch a point that his DL-44 is a modified Military issue blaster (if you're into that sort of thing).

Dave

Good points!

..I forgot all about the disks on the bowcaster too. Back to square one!


-Carson

Interesting!

Are you able to share the high res pics of the ESB stunt DL44?

Markus

good spotting...

There does seem to be something there on the HERO receiver that causes an overhang in that spot. On the other side it is like other c96s.




strange new detail?

OdiWan72 said:

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Are you able to share the high res pics of the ESB stunt DL44?

Markus

Sure, those close ups are from photos in a thread started by Rymo for SW exhibit photos.

Star Wars exhibit - Lots of Pics

I would love to see more quality photos of the ESB stunt! Not only to find out more about this ledge, but there might be something else there that we should see.

The ANH Mauser is turning out to be even more unique than I realized.


-Carson

I think that's a ROTJ stunt, it has that Scope mount. The ESB was quite different. I think the Exhibit just has it marked wrong - they're not as serious about props as we are

Good catch, it does appear to be the ROTJ stunt. But that should be the same exact cast Mauser base as the ESB stunt except with a different Mount and such attached.


-Carson

Guys, please tell me not all Denix are like this. There isn't a straight line on this gun. It would be sacrilege to put anything on this turd. I've posted a couple of side by side to my MGC:

That´s how they are.

But you can´t complain, it´s not that bad for the requested price - and with some tlc they can be improved.

Yeah. definitely not the greatest replicas. In my situation, being in Canada, I'm actually lucky to even have 2. I believe they are the list of Denix replicas 'banned' in Canada. I was able to get mine through customs by fluke.

Like Michael said, The Denix is far from perfect out of the box, but if you take some time, with just files and sand paper, you can really fix it up so it looks much better. If you have a Dremel all the better.

The good news is that it is a Zemac casting, mostly Zink and can be easily filed and can even be soldiered.

I posted some images of the things I did to mine way back in the thread so you can see some possibilities.

...if we get enough interest.. we could make a very accurate aluminum version... Maybe they could be shipped separate top and bottom ?

thd9791 said:

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I think that's a ROTJ stunt, it has that Scope mount. The ESB was quite different. I think the Exhibit just has it marked wrong - they're not as serious about props as we are

The labeling is correct. That's an ESB stunt (although I think the same stunts were likely used in ROTJ as well).

The ROTJ heroes were copied from the ESB stunts. That's why they have the same mounting bracket.

Haha, sorry that is what denixes are like. That's why people save up for real mausers, mgcs, or buy mr blasters

Anakin Starkiller said:

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Haha, sorry that is what denixes are like. That's why people save up for real mausers, mgcs, or buy mr blasters

Denix or MR - plaque or cholera, just that cholera is more expensive.

Imho it´s better do buy a Denix and spend some effort in making it good looking with nice parts added, than paying to much for a overpriced toy (not to mention some MR Han Blasters were based on the Denix) - but mileage may vary.

lonepigeon said:

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The labeling is correct. That's an ESB stunt (although I think the same stunts were likely used in ROTJ as well).

The ROTJ heroes were copied from the ESB stunts. That's why they have the same mounting bracket.

Ah, thank you! Never knew, but that makes sense. That's very common in these movies, the stunts turn into hero props later on haha

The Denix is more of a toy with the working trigger. MR has a ton more detail. But some key areas are missing detail like the rear sight. What would be best is for someone to cast a few key parts to add to either one. ( rear site, hammer, etc)

Keep in mind the first MR was a modified Denix. The Elite was much better.

I would love an MGC, but have never found one for sale and probably couldn't afford it if I did. The Denix is what I have to work with.

I'd even be willing to have some parts in resin since it's gonna be painted anyway.