The pursuit of the Rebel blockade runnerTantive IVhad seemed interminable.
However, now that the Rebel ship was secured inside the destroyers hangar bay it was showtime.
TG-638 had trained since childhood for this moment.
The BlasTech E-11 Stormtrooper Blaster armed the Imperial legions throughout most of the “Star Wars” films.
TG-638 was an Imperial Stormtrooper.
TG-638 and his mates from the 501stLegion were in the first wave.
His breath came in furtive spurts as the engineers placed line charges on the sealed airlock.
The E-11 Blaster props from the “Star Wars” movies were crafted from British Mk IV Sterling submachine guns.
Not all of his anxiety, however, spawned from the Rebels lurking behind the bulkhead.
TG-638 had never before seen Vader, but his reputation preceded him.
Between armed Rebel troops and Vaders saber, TG-638 would choose to face the Rebels any day.
Will is a huge fan of “Star Wars”, and that led to the project you see here.
The blinding flash momentarily overwhelmed his visor, and blaster bolts illuminated the passageway.
TG-638 was number six through the breach.
The lead fire team clearly couldnt hit the broad side of a bantha.
Will’s “Blaster” features extruded aluminum cooling fins on the barrel shroud that were formed from U-channel stock from Home Depot.
Then he heard the distinctive throb of Vaders lightsaber.
Despite the cold synthetic nature of his Stormtrooper armor, TG-638 shivered.
The Phenomenon
I really likeStar Wars.In 1977 whenStar Warshit theaters I was 11.
Original WWII-era M47 tank optics are rarer than honest politicians. Will was fortunate to trip over this example on an online gun auction site.
Playground intel told of some amazing new science fiction movie.
The Bad Guy was this big dude in a space suit.
I envisioned Kareem Abdu Jabbar dressed in Neil Armstrongs NASA moon rig.
You can see the M47’s markings here with 1942 manufacture date.
Then I actually saw the film.
Of course I collected the ships and figures.
Most everybody did that.
Will crafted the stubby magazine for the Blaster from an inexpensive Sten mag rather than the more rare and expensive Sterling magazines.
George Lucas purportedly forewent a substantial percentage of his salary in exchange for the marketing rights.
That guy was brilliant.
My obsession went somewhat deeper, however.
You can see an original curved Sterling magazine next to the cut-down Sten mag.
How deep might you ask?
Han Solos operating number when he was traipsing about the Death Star in stolen Stormtrooper armor was TK-421.
The princess was being held in Cell 2187, Sub-Level 5, Detention Block AA-23.
One of these guns is not like the others — but they all fire!
The telescopic sight includes a built-in rangefinder, while the collapsible stock has three positions.
Despite their fearsome reputation, Stormtrooper marksmanship always seemed underwhelming.
Perhaps there was a dearth of available range space onboard the Death Star.
The studio work forStar Warswas undertaken in England.
In the 1970s in the UK movie production companies had access to fairly current military weapons.
The movie props used in the original film werestandard Mk IV Sterling submachinegunsoutfitted with a little gratuitous window dressing.
The scope was a 1942-era M47 telescopic sight from a Sherman tank mounted backwards.
34-round Sterling magazines were cut down to make the stubby versions used in the film.
There were both blank-firing blasters and inert dummy versions made for the first movie, Episode IV.
The astuteStar Warsnerd can catch sight of empty cases ejecting out of the weapons during the combat sequences.
There were also minor variations from gun to gun as pieces fell off or were added during production.
A Live Blaster
I have actually built two of these weapons.
The host for this example began life as a 9mm Sterling.
The Sterling was designed from the outset to accommodate Sten mags as well.
The left-sided magazine means that Stormtroopers carry their weapons in a holster on the left thigh.
Many troopers in the movie fire their weapons left-handed as a result.
My first effort used a cheap Chinese red dot on an improvised aluminum mount.
I finished out the whole rig with bake-on ceramic engine block paint from my local auto parts store.
The gun weighs 6 lbs.
and is fairly miserable to shoot off-hand.
It seems I also cant hit the broad side of a bantha.
