Unknown Star Wars ESB Hoth Blaster?

[wazza]

Hi All,

First post on here so sorry if have posted this in the wrong place or commited some unspeakable act!


I was just watching Star Wars ESB and i noticed during the opening scenes of the battle where the Imperial Walkers are first spotted and all the Rebel Troopers line up in the trenches, amongst the classic A280 blaster rifle, the medium mark 2 blaster, several E-11s and DH-17s and even a DL-21 pistol i noticed an unusual blaster being carried by some of the troopers. The blaster is similar size to the medium mark 2 blaster but has a different barrel look. Searches on Star Wars Wikis and in general havent provided me with anything so far.


The closest thing i can find similar in look is the T-21 light repeating blaster/lewis gun used by Sandtroopers.


Below are some of the screencaps i could find of the blaster.

(One of the screencaps im unsure if it is the myserious blaster, maybe just the barrel being carried, if not, what is it then? :confused)


Curious to know what it is if anyone can help.

Thanks Guys! :thumbsup -Wazza

 

[OdiWan72]

The battle of Hoth is one of the scenes with quite a few unidentified blasters ( Used by the rebel forces). Check the guy to the left in the first pic you posted... Another yet to be identified blaster, also seen in the bonus material of the SW BR box where rebels run inside of the falcons corridors.

It's still a mystery what the prop dept used to build them from afaik

Markus

 

[Sym-Cha]

Hi there,

Sometimes I seek in an unsual place to see if the weapens have been replicated too.

This is Hasbro's Vintage Collection Hoth Rebel Trooper Target Exclusive with beard
but alas his big blaster is not available in that scale, perhaps some other vintage
Hoth Rebel action figures will carry them?

-Chaim

 

[wazza]

I actually found it....of sorts. By trolling through pictures i stumbled across a link which lead me to here....

Long-barreled blaster - Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki

Good to find out kind of but a little unfufilling lol Im just totally surpised with the amount of canon and info regarding the star wars universe that there are instances like this still found in the movies, espcially that items and other stuff in novels, spin offs and games have detailed bios based on them, even with all the behind the scenes publications and info. I just would of thought considering the epic following the fans would have scrutinized and picked clean the universe espically when seeing in the forums the discussions of identifying some obscure part on a prop from a few dodgy screencaps! :lol

Im curious Odi-Wan what other blasters havent been identified, anything as significant as this one? Also what's the unknown blaster you mention? the only other two i can see is the A280 blaster (made from the stg44) and the Mark 2 Medium Blaster (manned by the guy ahead of trenches)

Spose considering it hasn't been named and the lack of pics not much chance of identifying parts, still if anyone wants too feel free!

Ive added the best pic ive found below.

Anyway thanks for replying Odiwan72 and Sym-Cha and thank you to all who viewed i appreciate your help, i dont know what the rules are regarding bumping old threads but if its ok, anyone has any info that surfaces or even just wants to add their 2 cents, feel free! :thumbsup

Maybe this is the thread that helps solves the mystery!

 

[OdiWan72]

Here´s the one I was talking about...

Markus

 

[ComedicHistory]

Wazza, the gun in the last pic you posted looks like some kind of PVC IMO. Reminds me of the thick plastic tubes I'd pretend were guns and bazookas when I was a kid lol.

 

[jackdoud]

Isn't there a behind the scenes vid of the director telling the actor how to react when "firing" that blaster?

 

[wazza]

Odiwan - That gun is mentioned on Wookieepedia as the Mark II Medium repeating blaster cannon

Heres the link and also some close up pics:

Mark II medium repeating blaster cannon - Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki


ComedicHistory - Yes, but what size PVC? what brand? Details Man! lol but yeah id say your bang on target there (unlike most stormtroopers) Its probaly why there aren't any decent closeups, it was probaly some rush job...also no one around to tell us because the troopers died from embarresment carrying it! Just a shame you see so many people making the Hoth Blaster Rifle, E-11s and even a few E-Web Cannons. Could of been another cool model to make. Wow, only as a kid? Im 24 and was fixing a burst water main the other day and couldnt resist making the classic "Ka-Boosh!" sound while holding one! :lol

JackDoud - Wow really? Thanks il have to try and find that, they might have some good shots of it. Where did you see it? I must confess ive only ever owned the classic trilogy on VHS lol and when one was eaten by the VCR and the other two wore out i never bought the dvds, didnt wanna see the changes. I was given a copy of the trilogy the other day and couldn't resist watching. tho seeing Han shoot 2nd :facepalm I'll never understand what was so wrong with the originals and old school fx. :unsure

 

[jackdoud]

JackDoud - Wow really? Thanks il have to try and find that, they might have some good shots of it. Where did you see it?

Found it:
The Making of the Empire Strikes Back-Part2/5 - YouTube

 

[lonepigeon]

Found it:
The Making of the Empire Strikes Back-Part2/5 - YouTube

I love that video
That blaster always looked like a leaf blower to me. I'm sure it's not, but it just has that look.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

Here's a couple stills from that that someone on here posted a while back. I've always like this one for some reason.

Found another Hoth unidentified gun that's pretty cool.

 

[moffeaton]

There's a bunch of them.

 

[wazza]

Wow amazing! I knew RPF would know! Aws work on the video and screencap guys, there are some really cool shots.

Wow i cant believe how many others there are...some of them look like left overs! lol I think the 3rd and 4th pic in the top row posted by moffeaton is what the hoth trooper is carrying as he runs (one of the original screen caps i posted)


Sluis Van Shipyards - That blaster you like, Ive posted a link to the star wars wiki page in an earlier post but here it is again:

Mark II medium repeating blaster cannon - Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki


Also i stumbled on this pic of a blaster used in RTOJ that the Hoth Blaster may have been the basis for or at least some parts from it. It is those portable blasters you see being used on Jabba the Hutt's Sail Barge. According to Star Wars wiki its called a Gi/9 antipersonnel laser cannon.

Ive posted the link and screencap below. See what you guys think.

Gi/9 antipersonnel laser cannon - Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki

 

[king of spades]

V cool

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

There's a bunch of them.

Cool! I haven't seen those before. I've seen the blaster in the top left and lower right, but not any of the others.

 

[GlueWorkshop]

i love it. perhaps this goes on my to do list.

 

[Geohazard]

I can't be the only one that has thought of this, but those unidentified blasters that look like a (3"?) tube with a carrying handle look an awful lot like anti-vehicle missile weapons to me.

 

[Atlas]

I can't be the only one that has thought of this, but those unidentified blasters that look like a (3"?) tube with a carrying handle look an awful lot like anti-vehicle missile weapons to me.

Well, the Hoth shoots were supported by norwegian army, if I remember correctly, so that's not even too far unlikely.
To me,they look like some sort of a heavy machinegun barrels(quick removable)

_Atlas

 

[Darth Lars]

Well, the Hoth shoots were supported by norwegian army, if I remember correctly

I thought it was the opposite, but now that you say that I am no longer sure.
I thought I heard that the snowmobiles that Lucasfilm used were mostly hired from Sweden, because the Norwegian Army did not want to loan theirs out. The production brought a great many props to the site, so I don't think that they needed to borrow any guns.
The troopers were members of the Norwegian Red Cross.

By the way, I noticed I had this photo of a framed photo of one of the Hoth blasters. (The photo is hanging on a wall at the hotel in Finse)
If this is a known production photo, it should be out there in better quality somewhere.

 

[Tyrsdag]

There's a bunch of them.

http://www.roboterkampf.com/roboterkampf/misc/hothguns.jpg

Wow! I've never seen this picture before -- I joined just to ask about it!*

What is the source of this image? And were these props definitely all created for TESB/the Battle of Hoth? Very eager to find out about these unusual blasters.

Here's all I know about these:
1. pictured as "laser rifle" in the Star Wars Visual Dictionary
2. pictured as "A280 Sharpshooter Rifle" in the Decipher's Endor expansion set
3. seen in The Empire Strikes Back carried by Rebel Scout Vildar Blin as he runs towards a downed walker
4. (same as 3)
5. (same as 3)
6. the basis of an accessory that came with Hasbro's Zutton figure in their Power of the Jedi line
7. (same as 6)
9. unknown!
10. (same as 9)
11. (same as 1)



Above is a picture of Vildar Blin with #3 in the Hoth trenches. It is very distinctly the same gun (as distinctive as Vildar Blin's forked goatee). However, in the picture of it here it looks like the scope tapers in the reverse direction. It makes me wonder if the above photos were taken of blasters for The Empire Strikes Back, or if perhaps this prop was appropriated for Return of the Jedi with a few modifications, a la Boba Fett's EE-3.

It is a really unusual looking weapon, and does look more like a "launcher" than a "blaster", especially because it apparently doesn't have a blaster ("firearm")-style grip & trigger assembly. It's hard to even tell which way is forward on this prop. Notice that the scope only has a single mounting point: it's circular -- I wonder if it can even swivel, as it appears it may have been changed between its production photo and on-location appearance. It is also hard to tell if Vildar Blin is resting it on a folded up bipod, or if it's a shoulder rest.

What can anybody else add? Does anybody recognize any of the real-world bases for any of these? Are there any more such photos of unused blaster props? Or even just a higher-resolution version of this photo?

Thanks!

*Though now that I've joined I can think of at least a few more topics to post on.