Please help me list the E-11 filming variants

[Vagabond Elf]

Hi all!

I'm trying to figure out all the variants of E-11 (and E-11 inspired) blasters, including the different filming props that may or may not be a different weapon in-universe. I don't care about the sequel F-11 blasters so I haven't included them here.

If there's a thread on this already, I failed to find it, but would welcome a link.

This is what I've got:

E-11:
The classic Sterling SMG in cosplay weapon.

A New Hope: live fire: a dressed up L2A3 machine carbine, with a 10-round mag, firing blanks.

A New Hope: stunt: based on the live-fire prop but with the fire control group and some other parts replaced with casts. Most notably used in Tunisia, I've also seen this called the "sandtrooper" version or the 'Bapty" version (though I find this last somewhat useless since the live-fire was also made by Bapty.)

Return of the Jedi: My understanding is that new blasters had to be made for ROTJ, but I don't know what the real differences are. IMFDB says these are built on replicas made by MGC.

Rogue One: New E-11s had to be made for this movie (like almost every other prop) and these are based on an S&T airsoft version of the Sterling - in this case the L2A1 instead of the L2A3 the 1977 weapons used. These have minor differences in the greebles and are missing some of the "cooling fins" as seen on the ANH props, partly to expose what appear to be M-Lock slots with a flashlight attached.

Everything After Rogue One: Totally an assumption on my part, presumably every E-11 that appears after Rogue One was made is a reuse of those props. Unless it's in the hands of a 501st member serving as an extra, in which case it's whatever replica they had as part of their costume.

E-10:
An E-11 with the folding stock transformed into a foregrip (very similar to the sequel F-11 design) and a collapsing sock fitted to the rear of the receiver tube.

Solo: Mimban: dressed with a pair of flashlights and what are generally called "iron sights," although I think they're more like Gallilean sights. (Also, the Sterling's actual iron sights are still present on every E-10 and E-11 I've found.) Presumably either an airsoft or non-functional, given the time the film is made. PResumably there are hero and stunt variants, but I don't know.

Solo: Vandar: painted white (presumably "arctic camouflage") and equipped with the same general style of scope we saw on the E-11s, making it an E-10R. The scope is mounted very far forward. Probably the same physical props as the Mimban scene because it would be cheaper to repaint the prop than to make extras.

Andor: These look to be the same props as Solo, but with the scope moved back to the actual scope mounts on the receiver. Wookiepedia calls this an "E-10.5" because of course it has to be a "new" weapon and not just a different accessory on the same weapon...

E-11D:
This appears to be an E-10 prop, but with the Sterling's barrel and heat shield and all the greeblies attached to that removed and replaced with a simple large bore, perforated barrel. The internet claims this is to "to maximize its rate of fire and intensity" but personally I think it was supposed to be the Star Wars version of an M79.

Rogue One: carried by some, but not all, of the Death Troopers. Presumably non-functional since it doesn't have a real barrel.

The Mandalorian: again carried by Death Troopers. I know that most of the Stormtroopers were 501st members, but I assume the Death Troopers were all professional actors and the costumes and props supplied by Disney.

Andor: Wookiepedia says this appeared on the show, but I don't remember it. Presumably carried by the Death Troopers on Ferrix, and again presumably the same props as Rogue One.

E-22:
An E-11 with two barrels in an over-and-under configuration, the folding stock frame disappearing into the mounting point for the lower barrel, and a large fixed stock with what appears to be an adjustable cheek riser.

Rogue One: The first appearance; presumably a non-functional or airsoft prop. Mostly used by Shoretroopers but I think some of the Death Troopers have them too.

Andor: Presumably the same physical props as Rogue One.

Okay, that's what I know about. Any help filling in the details would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Banzai88]

Spice Runner blaster designed for TROS but ended up in Andor.

 

[jkno]

E-11:
The classic Sterling SMG in cosplay weapon.

A New Hope: live fire: a dressed up L2A3 machine carbine, with a 10-round mag, firing blanks.

A New Hope: stunt: based on the live-fire prop but with the fire control group and some other parts replaced with casts. Most notably used in Tunisia, I've also seen this called the "sandtrooper" version or the 'Bapty" version (though I find this last somewhat useless since the live-fire was also made by Bapty.)

Return of the Jedi: My understanding is that new blasters had to be made for ROTJ, but I don't know what the real differences are. IMFDB says these are built on replicas made by MGC.

For Ep. 4 (ANH) the artists at ILM used as a base a British submachine gun, a Sterling Mk4 L2A3, to which they added some "greeblies" (greebles) to make it more "sci-fi", keeping however, a clear image of that "used universe" that is present in the Original Trilogy:
- a WWII Sherman tank scope/telescope, models M38, M40 or M19, M32 (scopes that have also appeared on other blasters, including Han and Luke's DL-44 blasters from Empire Strikes Back ESB)
- a set of 6 plastic "t-tracks" on the pipe, most likely from kitchen cabinets
- a Hengstler Corporation mechanical counter with the Eagle logo - many of these counters fell off the blasters during filming, as they were crudely glued to the body of the weapon behind the magazine and on the rear sight (e.g. on Luke's blaster the traces can still be seen of glue in the place where the counter was located)
- a set of "power cylinders", which apparently were actually some special capacitors taken from a British radar installation from the Second World War - these "cylinders" also appeared on Luke's landspeeder (on the engine) and on the little Mouse Droid on the Death Star, and on other locations.
- the magazine has been shortened, some blasters have only a simple piece of wood cut at the end of the mag

In SW there were several versions of Sterling E-11. For the scenes on the Death Star and Tantive 4 (Rebel Blockade Runner) dry-firing Sterlings were used, weapons that fired blind bullets, making noise and smoke - there is a clip on youtube.

For the scenes in Tunisia with Sandtroopers, where it was not allowed to use blasters that look too much like a functional weapon, the people from ILM improvised, collaborating with Bapty Co. from the UK, who supplied them with some modified Sterling submachine guns (without triggers, which had the back of the gun cut off and replaced with an aluminum replica).

Several of these blasters now called "Bapty" were sold at the PropStore of London or Profiles in History - Hollywood Auctions in the past years at prices of tens of thousands of $, but unfortunately after filming, in the 80s the blasters all the elements that turned them into E-11s were removed (the rear sight, the Hengstler meter, the cylinders and the t-tracks).

The reason was simple: Bapty provided prop weapons for other films besides SW. So that the blasters submitted to recent auctions were later modified, with original and real parts, but not exactly those used in the film (also the exact model of t-tracks, for example, has not been found until today, as with the cylinders, but they used quality replicas).

In Ep. V (ESB), in general, the same blasters appeared as in ANH, only the types of greeblies differ a little. The scope is no longer M38/M40, but M19/M32 (that telescope with a hole in the side), no more Hengstler counter or cylinders. Behind the magazine they added a new type of greeblies, which come from a carbine.

For the scenes where the Stormtroopers were filmed from a distance (background/stunt), the ILM specialists created E-11 blasters cast from resin (e.g. the Pugman model), which kept all the attributes of a real Sterling, but it was no longer necessary to be rented by at Bapty, it was easier to reproduce and, being filmed in the background, the difference is not noticeable in front of the camera. Forgot to mention that these stunt E-11 were also used in a few Death Star and Endor scenes in ROTJ.

In ep. VI (ROTJ) a different machine gun was used. If in ANH (and ESB) we had the Sterling Mk4 L2A3, in ROTJ, especially in the scenes on Endor, MGC Sterling (Model Gun Corporation - Japan) was used, which was inspired by the Sterling C1 Canadian model. It has some subtle differences at the end of the barrel, the ejector protection system, the charger, etc. The sights from ANH and ESB (M38/M40 or M19/M32) were not added to this "new" blaster, but a complex model was created from resin that also contained a sight. Instead of the plastic "t-tracks" on the pipe, they inserted metal "U" shaped corners.

This is the only type of blaster, except for the resin ones, which is still in the Lucasfilm archives in the original version, as it appeared in the film. As I said, all the real versions of Sterling (dry-firing or Bapty) from ANH or ESB have been cleaned and turned back into movie props as submachine guns.

Top ANH E-11 conversion, bottom ROTJ MGC conversion:

 

[Vagabond Elf]

jkno Thank you for the details!

A couple points of pedantry regarding the real-world firearms.

1) "Sterling Mk IV L2A3" is redundant. "Mark IV Submachinegun" is what the Sterling company calls the weapons. "Machine Carbine, L2A3" is what the British Army calls the weapon. So one would not normally use both terms, just one or the other. Put differently, you noted there are differences between the British L2 and the Canadian C1 but to Sterling, these are both Mark IVs. This is why I used the term L2A3 (or L2A1 when relevant) rather than the "Mark IV." As I said, this is pedantry, but when one is really trying to pin down details "L2A3" is more precise than "Sterling Mk IV." However, since a lot of people will know this weapon as the Mark IV it's good to add it in.

2) "Dry firing" means pulling the trigger on a fully functional but unloaded weapon, and letting the hammer, striker, or bolt smash into the rest of the mechanism. On some weapons it's a big problem and can break things, on others it's no big deal. But it's important not to mix this up with a "blank firing" weapon. "Blank firing" means the weapon has been adapted to only fire "blank" cartridges - rounds with no bullet in them. (You called them "blind bullets" above. Usually this means the muzzle has been constricted so that there's enough gas pressure for the weapon's mechanism to cycle. Sometime it also means something has been added to the magazine well so that you can't load regular rounds, since accidently putting a live round down a constricted barrel can result in a "significant emotional event." I assume this is mostly a translation error, but mixing up "Dry firing" and "blank firing" when talking about real firearms can lead to serious safety risks. So it was worth highlighting

Now, "Blank firing" is also different from what I said - "live firing" - which of course means actual bullets. So I should have said "blank firing" in my first post.

Was the magazine actually shortened for filming? That seems like a lot of work. There were real, made-by-Sterling 10-round magazines (as opposed to the 34-round magazine usually used in military service) that had been developed for vehicle crews and paratroopers. I don't know if the British Army adopted them but the Canadian Armed Forces issued them to tank crews, and I've always assumed Bapty just had some on hand. Using something like a block of wood in any prop that didn't need to go bang would add a lot of safety, but for the ones that needed to feed blanks, it would be a hell of a lot simpler to let Sterling do the hard work of making the smaller mag actually function.

In any case, your post is extremely helpful! Thank you so much! From your information, I can conclude there were four or five major "in-character" variants of the E-11. One represented by the ANH prop. The "Tunisia" non-functional prop might represent a different weapon or we might dismiss it as a "for filming purposes only" in the same way as we should dismiss the wooden dummy mags as not being an "in-character" difference. The ESB prop feels different enough to count as an "in-character" variant. The resin cast stunt props would not be a different "in-character" version. The ROTJ prop is definitely an "in-character" variant, it's quite different. And then I feel the Rogue One version is also different enough to count as an "in-character" variant.

 

[Vagabond Elf]

Spice Runner blaster designed for TROS but ended up in Andor.

Oh, cool! Do you know where it showed up in Andor? All I'm finding is the twitter posts for the ROS concept art.

 

[Treadwell]

This is a great collection of info and I look forward to watching it evolve.
My pedantic contribution: ILM had nothing to do with ANH props. The "Bapty" Sterlings were almost certainly already made that way for prior productions for the same reasons. The art dept for the SW production would only have added greeblies.

 

[OdiWan72]

There already exists a compilation of all E11 ANH/ESB filming props…it was created years ago in combination with a list of all the power cylinder variations

 

[pm07]

Dont forget the E-11 Pistol used by the Shoretroopers in Andor

 

[jkno]

jkno Thank you for the details!

A couple points of pedantry regarding the real-world firearms.

1) "Sterling Mk IV L2A3" is redundant. "Mark IV Submachinegun" is what the Sterling company calls the weapons. "Machine Carbine, L2A3" is what the British Army calls the weapon. So one would not normally use both terms, just one or the other. Put differently, you noted there are differences between the British L2 and the Canadian C1 but to Sterling, these are both Mark IVs. This is why I used the term L2A3 (or L2A1 when relevant) rather than the "Mark IV." As I said, this is pedantry, but when one is really trying to pin down details "L2A3" is more precise than "Sterling Mk IV." However, since a lot of people will know this weapon as the Mark IV it's good to add it in.

2) "Dry firing" means pulling the trigger on a fully functional but unloaded weapon, and letting the hammer, striker, or bolt smash into the rest of the mechanism. On some weapons it's a big problem and can break things, on others it's no big deal. But it's important not to mix this up with a "blank firing" weapon. "Blank firing" means the weapon has been adapted to only fire "blank" cartridges - rounds with no bullet in them. (You called them "blind bullets" above. Usually this means the muzzle has been constricted so that there's enough gas pressure for the weapon's mechanism to cycle. Sometime it also means something has been added to the magazine well so that you can't load regular rounds, since accidently putting a live round down a constricted barrel can result in a "significant emotional event." I assume this is mostly a translation error, but mixing up "Dry firing" and "blank firing" when talking about real firearms can lead to serious safety risks. So it was worth highlighting

Now, "Blank firing" is also different from what I said - "live firing" - which of course means actual bullets. So I should have said "blank firing" in my first post.

Was the magazine actually shortened for filming? That seems like a lot of work. There were real, made-by-Sterling 10-round magazines (as opposed to the 34-round magazine usually used in military service) that had been developed for vehicle crews and paratroopers. I don't know if the British Army adopted them but the Canadian Armed Forces issued them to tank crews, and I've always assumed Bapty just had some on hand. Using something like a block of wood in any prop that didn't need to go bang would add a lot of safety, but for the ones that needed to feed blanks, it would be a hell of a lot simpler to let Sterling do the hard work of making the smaller mag actually function.

In any case, your post is extremely helpful! Thank you so much! From your information, I can conclude there were four or five major "in-character" variants of the E-11. One represented by the ANH prop. The "Tunisia" non-functional prop might represent a different weapon or we might dismiss it as a "for filming purposes only" in the same way as we should dismiss the wooden dummy mags as not being an "in-character" difference. The ESB prop feels different enough to count as an "in-character" variant. The resin cast stunt props would not be a different "in-character" version. The ROTJ prop is definitely an "in-character" variant, it's quite different. And then I feel the Rogue One version is also different enough to count as an "in-character" variant.

Please remember English is not my first language, and this was written in Romanian for a collector forum, then fast translated for RPF. Check that youtube video I was talking about and make your own mind about what I was saying regarding E-11 Sterlings being fired

And yes, there are shortened magazines with blocks of wood inside present on the E-11, on the Tunisian version.

 

[jkno]

There already exists a compilation of all E11 ANH/ESB filming props…it was created years ago in combination with a list of all the power cylinder variations

You mean Andy's PDF files?

 

[Vagabond Elf]

There already exists a compilation of all E11 ANH/ESB filming props…it was created years ago in combination with a list of all the power cylinder variations

Is this the thread you're referring to?

Screen-accurate E11 Power Cylinders / Cells / Targeting Sensors Project

Hi guys, I've discovered that some RPF members haven't yet heard about the in-depth Power Cylinders project over on FISD. It's been a fascinating project and is nearly at an end now. I think it's well worth a read for makers & collectors :) Here are some clickable links...

www.therpf.com

That's very interesting reading! All the references in the PDF - I haven't read the off-site thread yet - are to ANH, but from what JKNO said above, I assume the props didn't change too much to ESB.

Anyway, in addition to all the little differences of power cylinders those PDFs detail (and a list of which blaster used which scope family), there's also several very good shots of the magazines. A couple of the shots of the non-functional Tunisian blasters make me wonder if that's not the origin of the "Bapty and/or ILM cut down some magazines" as there's a couple of places where it looks like a real mag, but without the mag stops. This would be consistent with JKNO's last statement of "And yes, there are shortened magazines with blocks of wood inside present on the E-11, on the Tunisian version." I'm not making a definitive statement, though - and one can clearly see the wooden dummy mags in the "post production" blasters.

I'm now even more certain that the blank-firing blasters were just using proper 10-round mags and not something that had been altered by anyone, though.

Speaking of jkno , I really appreciate you translating information into a language I can read! I figured it was a machine-translating issue. But since I couldn't be having this discussion in anything except English or maybe French, I'm grateful for you doing that.

Dont forget the E-11 Pistol used by the Shoretroopers in Andor

Is that different from the one Banzai88 listed?

 

[James Kenobi 1138]

I like this thread, but I wish it had photos of each variant (to put a face with a name)

Weren’t there also variants in ANH, like the E11 Luke/Han used in the DS has the cylinders but not the counter?

 

[kevin926]

1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment

www.whitearmor.net

Go check out this site. They know every variant on the planet

Forwards and Backwards or Backwards and Forwards

 

[jkno]

I like this thread, but I wish it had photos of each variant (to put a face with a name)

Weren’t there also variants in ANH, like the E11 Luke/Han used in the DS has the cylinders but not the counter?

The counters were crudely glued on thus they fel off many times during filming. You can see glue residue:

 

[GreyGuard38]

Remember Nerds: Star Wars is a movie, not a documentary.

Wait... What?!

 

[Probe Droid]

Some pix from Disney and SW exhibits. Don't know which films these are from. Hopefully, you do.

 

[kevin926]

Some pix from Disney and SW exhibits. Don't know which films these are from. Hopefully, you do.

I believe that was used in Return Of The Jedi-- it's the greebies on the rear of the stock that give it away

 

[jkno]

This is a great collection of info and I look forward to watching it evolve.
My pedantic contribution: ILM had nothing to do with ANH props. The "Bapty" Sterlings were almost certainly already made that way for prior productions for the same reasons. The art dept for the SW production would only have added greeblies.

Of course the Bapty were made that way, they were used in other movies. ILM added the Star Wars greeblies, and maybe the wooden mags

Some pix from Disney and SW exhibits. Don't know which films these are from. Hopefully, you do.

Those are known images of ROTJ E-11

 

[Anakin Starkiller]

Pics or it didn't happen

 

[jkno]

Pics or it didn't happen

Check out the 501st whitearmor.net subforums here, I posted a lot of pics of ANH, ESB and ROTJ E-11 screen used blasters: BlasTech E11