Han Solo Blaster: 2025 Studio auctions / Goldin auctions

[Halliwax]

A minor step might be to include links to the ANH Hero Discussion and the DL-44 Guide in the opening post of related threads. Unfortunately, the OP of the Pawn Stars / RIA thread appears to be gone, but Halliwax could consider adding them to the beginning of this one?


Just to press this point, a key word being "it."

If a match to the known C96 is presented, this group's experts will indeed have to cross that bridge and get out their fine-toothed combs to detect a sophisiticated scam. Otherwise, we're still at the stage where some auction houses can't distinguish between the hero and the Greedo Killer, so the real major takeaway is simply the dearth of evidence for anything beyond that one, which should imply a hefty burden of proof to justify another's existence, let alone "authenticate" any given example. Despite the Tony Watts claim weaving its way into the conventional record, the fact remains that (to our collective knowledge) an unambiguous, first-hand, 1977-associated, public reference to more than one has never surfaced.

[And to Rexermus's fair sentiment, a sudden recollection from Roger Christian doesn't count. All respect to Christian's work on the film, but the value of his memory for ultra-specific details is well-and-truly forfeit.]

EDIT: Initially wrote "the" key word rather than "a."

Post exactly what you want me to edit into the main post, I have no problem doing that for ya

 

[Tommy]

Post exactly what you want me to edit into the main post, I have no problem doing that for ya

Here's my suggestion; by all means, anyone feel free to suggest edits.


For additional context, refer to the following related threads.

The previous 2019 Pawn Stars / 2022 Rock Island Auction claim of a mostly-original Star Wars (1977) Han Solo DL-44 blaster hero prop, determined to only verifiably feature the original scope and a portion of the original scope mount:

Han Solo ANH Blaster From RIA, Prev on Pawn Stars

So, supposedly the original Han ANH blaster is going to be on Pawn Stars https://ew.com/tv/2019/12/23/pawn-stars-han-solo-blaster-star-wars-exclusive/ Thoughts?

www.therpf.com

The documented construction, screen use, and surrounding history of the single known original Star Wars (1977) Han Solo DL-44 blaster hero prop, missing and likely destroyed apart from the aforementioned scope and mount portion:

ANH Hero DL-44 Discussion - Three ANH Greeblies Found

This thread is to discuss the accuracy and details of the DL-44. Any ideas, finds, reference, or any information at all is Welcome! A HUGE Thanks to Everyone that has contributed to this Research, this Blaster is going to be understood better than ever by the time all of us are done with it...

www.therpf.com

A general overview of all DL-44 blaster props across the original trilogy:

DL-44 Blaster Props ANH to ROTJ a Guide

The ANH to ROTJ DL44 blasters, Identification guide *Glossary near the bottom of the post. Star Wars (ANH) 1977 ……………………………………… Han Solo‘s hero DL-44 prop (Cantina, Docking bay 94 escape, Millennium Falcon interior, and Yavin scenes) [Mauser C-96 with custom bull barrel, rented from Bapty &...

www.therpf.com

 

[joberg]

Even then, that would be acceptable if they performed solid independent research. Or I suppose in this case, any research at all.

Though what frustrates me more is that news agencies with desks and break rooms and weekly meetings - and journalists - seem to be equally ignorant and dismissive of any voice or resource outside of an auction house when it comes to props. I emailed so many major outlets in 2022 about blindly-parroting coverage of RIA's claims, and got nowhere. Despite this latest example being such an open-and-shut case as to demand zero DL-44 familiarity, I suspect that had it made it to TV, newspapers and magazines, we still would've run up against the same intransigence.

Journalism and investigative journalism is a thing of the past in most cases. There's always been a mind set, in any professional business, that "amateurs" like us, don't know as much as the "experts/pros" I've seen many "amateurs" knowing as much, if not more than the so-called "experts". That's just snobbery at best

 

[Halliwax]

Here's my suggestion; by all means, anyone feel free to suggest edits.


For additional context, refer to the following related threads.

The previous 2019 Pawn Stars / 2022 Rock Island Auction claim of a mostly-original Star Wars (1977) Han Solo DL-44 blaster hero prop, determined to only verifiably feature the original scope and a portion of the original scope mount:

Han Solo ANH Blaster From RIA, Prev on Pawn Stars

So, supposedly the original Han ANH blaster is going to be on Pawn Stars https://ew.com/tv/2019/12/23/pawn-stars-han-solo-blaster-star-wars-exclusive/ Thoughts?

www.therpf.com

The documented construction, screen use, and surrounding history of the single known original Star Wars (1977) Han Solo DL-44 blaster hero prop, missing and likely destroyed apart from the aforementioned scope and mount portion:

ANH Hero DL-44 Discussion - Three ANH Greeblies Found

This thread is to discuss the accuracy and details of the DL-44. Any ideas, finds, reference, or any information at all is Welcome! A HUGE Thanks to Everyone that has contributed to this Research, this Blaster is going to be understood better than ever by the time all of us are done with it...

www.therpf.com

A general overview of all DL-44 blaster props across the original trilogy:

DL-44 Blaster Props ANH to ROTJ a Guide

The ANH to ROTJ DL44 blasters, Identification guide *Glossary near the bottom of the post. Star Wars (ANH) 1977 ……………………………………… Han Solo‘s hero DL-44 prop (Cantina, Docking bay 94 escape, Millennium Falcon interior, and Yavin scenes) [Mauser C-96 with custom bull barrel, rented from Bapty &...

www.therpf.com

Pooof!

 

[Tommy]

No new info here, but I threw together a pair of images precisely lining up the 2011 iCollector and 2025 Goldin/Studio Auctions photos such that casual viewers can more clearly appreciate the fake-match by flipping back and forth:

 

[Gregatron]

Excellent.

 

[Vanitas]

I genuinely think that grill is one of Field Marshal's aluminum replicas, it looks like it has the same shape. Same with the scope mount.

 

[chubsANDdoggers]

I genuinely think that grill is one of Field Marshal's aluminum replicas, it looks like it has the same shape. Same with the scope mount.

It’s all FM parts.

 

[Dann]

This is hilariously bad.

 

[chubsANDdoggers]

This is hilariously bad.

Yes. Yes.. it absolutely is.

 

[Tommy]

Yet sadly, if not for RPF members raising an early alarm, there's a decent chance the scam might've succeeded. After all, it purportedly came with "impeccable documentary provenance." [Wish we could get a look to see how hilariously bad THAT was.]

As exemplified by a lingering offshoot of Studio Auctions' announcement campaign posted by a Dubai real estate broker, the below confusion – using a photo of the 2018 Julien's ROTJ – seems to be roughly the level of prop literacy we're up against:

[I got to hold that ROTJ piece at 2019's Dragon Con, btw. Not sure if it was necessarily wise on Ripley's part... but I wasn't going to turn down the opportunity.]

 

[Gregatron]

Yet sadly, if not for RPF members raising an early alarm, there's a decent chance the scam might've succeeded. After all, it purportedly came with "impeccable documentary provenance." [Wish we could get a look to see how hilariously bad THAT was.]

As exemplified by a lingering offshoot of Studio Auctions' announcement campaign posted by a Dubai real estate broker, the below confusion – using a photo of the 2018 Julien's ROTJ – seems to be roughly the level of prop literacy we're up against:

View attachment 1926563

[I got to hold that ROTJ piece at 2019's Dragon Con, btw. Not sure if it was necessarily wise on Ripley's part... but I wasn't going to turn down the opportunity.]

As we saw in the hero phaser auction, there was a meticulous backstory concocted, complete with bogus and (likely) forged and signed LoAs.

 

[Riskbreaker]

We cover this very topic in and amongst a deep-dive on the Han Solo blaster(s) this week on The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of.

 

[Tommy]

We cover this very topic in and amongst a deep-dive on the Han Solo blaster(s) this week on The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of.

Thank you!!

I just emailed thread links with brief descriptive blurbs in case you wish to add to the video description. Either way, this was very helpful.

 

[Tommy]

Minor clarification:
I updated the color-coded visual guide diagram to reflect the ambiguous statement of authentication by one "Jason Joyner" in the press release.

As a few folks suggested both here and on FB, this would seem from context to likely be a careless spelling error, intended to reference Jason Joiner (who appears to be a long-dormant member here). Since the single statement is - as far as I'm aware - all we have to go on, I don't want to make an assumption, so I just added "Joiner?" in parentheses. If, however, some confirmation is established that it was indeed Joiner, I can update again.

Maybe they just accidentally reached out to some random dude named Jason Joyner with no Star Wars association at all...

random Jason: "Uhhhh, yeah, I guess that looks like Han's blaster. Who are you?"
Brad: "Sweet. Impeccable authentication."

It wouldn't shock me at this point.

 

[Captain Dunsel]

The fact that this blaster was missing a Star Wars decal was the first giveaway that we were not dealing with the authentic prop:

Steel thy nerves and behold this image of the screen-used blaster. I have been given permission to show this image, publicly, for the first time:

 

[chubsANDdoggers]

Been away from the RPF a long while, but as the PS/RIA blaster drew me to join in the first place, here I’m dutifully drawn yet again.


My compliments and thanks to all who contributed to the swift and decisive deflating of this even-more-brazen auction claim, and kudos especially to PVmodels and JMSupp for the nail-in-the-coffin 2011 iCollector revelation. Is “fake-matched” a term?

Not only does it appear to be preemptively-withdrawn based on the removal of announcements from social media, but it seems an imminent television appearance was also thwarted – see below the scheduled lineup for 26 March on ABC’s GMA3 (I watched the episode; no Brad).

View attachment 1919122


Since I’ve already seen understandable confusion elsewhere online between the PS/RIA and this new example, I’ve updated my earlier diagram as a shareable rough visual guide. If I mixed anything up or any aspect could be made clearer, let me know and I’ll revise.

View attachment 1927037


Lastly, while the advertised piece has received an admirably thorough scrutinizing, I thought I’d try a little digging into a curious side statement made in the 21 March SWNS / Dean Murray press release which has thus far flown under the radar of this discussion. The press release notes:

“Studio Auctions’ CEO, Brad Teplitsky said the blaster came from a consignor that contacted him after hearing him on a radio broadcast discussing a recently disqualified replica Han Solo blaster. He explains: ‘I met the consignor with a little trepidation. I mean, we’d just done months of backflips trying to authenticate a blaster that didn’t pass muster and was proven to be just a very good replica.’”

Hold up. If the blaster that passed muster was as mediocre a fake as has been demonstrated… how bad was the one they caught?
And what was the story there?

Well, I went looking for said interview, and while I can’t be sure of the precise one that prompted an opportunistic consignor, I found that Brad Teplitsky appeared on several podcasts in October/November 2024 promoting SA’s late November auction. In at least two – with Dr. Marissa Pei on 29 October, and Jim Masters TV on 09 November – he indeed mentions a Han Solo blaster undergoing authentication as a 1977 original, and conveniently references a specific photo displayed in the live stream videos. Bingo!

Now what’s weird… is that the specifically-referenced photo is the same one belonging to their preceding 21 September auction’s lot 165: the previously-mentioned cast resin Han blaster attributed to The Force Awakens.


View attachment 1919124

Huh?

So they first authenticated it as a Force Awakens prop, sold it, and then I guess maybe the winner approached them trying to flip it as original to 1977? And then, judging by the press release, they not only disqualified the 1977 claim… they also proved it was a replica all along?

Can anyone make sense of this? Am I missing something? Because if that also happened in addition to the iCollector-sourced fake… wow.

Great work. Unfortunately it’s kind of lost on me as I’m honestly color blind. I know the details well enough to understand what ur pointing out but those colors unfortunately really blend together.

 

[Tommy]

Great work. Unfortunately it’s kind of lost on me as I’m honestly color blind. I know the details well enough to understand what ur pointing out but those colors unfortunately really blend together.

Yeah, that thought occurred to me midway through making it originally. An understandable downside to otherwise-useful color codes.

The current colors are, top to bottom, green (Hex #87AE6C); yellow (Hex #E1BA59); yellow-orange (Hex #D38A59); red-orange (Hex #F66C15).

If you can suggest four colors with better contrast, ideally ones that can still be placed in a logical order, I could give it a try.

 

[Tommy]

I have been given permission to show this image, publicly, for the first time:

Likewise. Sorry, guys:

 

[Gregatron]

Likewise. Sorry, guys:
View attachment 1927191

Shades of the hero phaser LoAs, here…