Originally posted by lonepigeon@Oct 7 2005, 05:39 AM
Not to confuse this search, but I have another possible search to undertake...
I was going over John Knoll's new book and there's a great closeup on page 24 of the Falcon's gunport. I noticed right away that the four barrels of the gun mount into ....
Four combustion chamber interiors. but, not from the Derwent.
Only the tops are visible, but they're definitely from another engine. The hole patterns are very different.
Indeed, Chris - good eye.
One more idea -
There's an obvious white plane/jet wreck in Mos Eisley behind the speeder dealer (big tail in the air, partial wings - see Chronicles page 93, top left pic).
Perhaps it's the plane the Derwent came out of? (or this second engine).
It might help narrow the search or provide some context for more parts.
[snapback]1091622[/snapback]
Here's the pic in question:
Notice that there are too many intersecting planar surfaces that are aerodynamically overconstrained. It could have possibly been scrap wings/fins/stablizers/tail sections that were welded or bolted together to make it look like a futuristic aircraft. But even that seems unlikely, because I'm having a real hard time with the set lighting...
Look at the sunlight direction here:..................................................vs. the sunlight direction here:
................
Pretty harsh lighting on the arch and "junk plane" when Alec, Mark, the buyer, and the speeder in the foreground are hardly casting any shadows (guess it's overcast where they're standing, lol). But for the sake of argument, even if they're beneath a diffusion tarp, the sun behind them can't be in two places at once, even if you ARE shooting in Tunisia...

Could it be artificial lighting or a matte painting? It does look kind of "flat" - I don't sense any depth of field and it has a painted look to it... I say it's a matte background painting, and it wouldn't be the first time the technique was used in the Trilogy... Feel free to disagree, but I'm pretty confident about this.
Whatever it is, it's not like any tail or stablizer (vertical OR horizontal) configuration that I've ever seen - definitely NOT a Gloster Meteor (the vintage fighter that's powered by the Dewert), pictured below:
The Rolce Royce Nene engine - younger cousin of the Derwent - powered the following military aircraft:
Lockheed CL-30 "Silver Star" (Canadian variant of the T-33 "Shooting Star"):
Notes of interest: in Canada, the T-33 was designated the CL-30 Silver Star and the US-made Allison turbojets of the original were replaced with Canadian built Rolls-Royce Nene 10 engines. The type still serves as a trainer for both countries. Limited numbers were also produced for export, some being modified to carry light armament. While only 1,718 P-80 Shooting Stars were built, nearly 7,000 T-33s saw active service around the world.
Today, the T-33 continues to serve in Canada as a target tug and general utility aircraft, having been redesignated the CT-133. Additional examples are still in active military service in Japan and several other nations. About 50 are in the hands of warbird operators, mostly in the United States.
Chris, if T-33s and CL-33s are still flying using US or Canadian-built Nene engines, perhaps it might be useful to see what the balance pipe and combustion chambers looks like on their engines, as it's a safe bet parts are still being manufactured or modified to keep them airworthy.
Grumman F9F "Panther" (US Navy):
Note of interest: the American firm Pratt & Whitney proceeded to build the Nene engine under license for use in the Navy Panthers, so it's possible some surviving Panthers and US-built Nene engines can be found here in the US
and finally: Hawker FGA.6 "Sea Hawk" (UK):
- Gabe