jkno
Stormtrooper
I can't see if there are t-tracks there or not, pics too small.
Interesting to know. I don't have access to my TK/TD hi-res screenshots right now to check it out. Can you post pics?
That helmet is probably at about 80% size.
The trooper with orange pauldron to the left and back is holding his MG-34 upside down. No wonder the Empire lost.
Yeah, that comp is hilarious!
Any of you guys ever wear one of those suits?
I've read that they are very uncomfortable...
I believe I am the only one who is totally creeped out that many weapons used as Star Wars prop weapons were German army guns (that one above is an MG 34, Dengar's onscreen gun is an MG 42) that were actually used by Nazi troops during WWII. So it is more than possible the actual weapons those sandtroopers are carrying were used against civilians in the war, likewise Han and Luke's blasters - based on German Mausers (though they were more common in WWI) though some were casts for stunts. The same can be said for many of the German uniforms in Berlin scenes of Last Crusade.
The MG34 is a HEAVY gun, you carry as well as you can considering you wear an uncomfortable plastic armor and helmet in Tunisian heat, under director's pressure.
Besides the head too big/helmet too small, they also forgot the leaf foam, your head shouldn't touch the top of the helmet. The bad visibility issue is most likely because of the bubble lenses present on Hero helmets.
In ANH most of the Imperial guns came from real world guns: the classic Stormtrooper blaster is a British Sterling Mk4 L2A3 SMG, the big DLT-19 rifle is in fact a WW2 German MG-34 (with t-tracks, a disk and a box added to it), the Sandtrooper's dual ammo magazine rifle called RT-97C is the German anti-aircraft MG-15 (but without inner barrel), the Sandtrooper's big gun Blastech T-21 is a Lewis Mark I machine gun (without the round ammo magazine).
And other various real guns were used by Han, Luke, Leia, Fett and some of the bounty hunters. To most of these guns the talented guys at ILM added various parts and greeblies (scopes, t-tracks, etc.). Some of the big guns like MG15 and MG34 seems had the inner barrels removed both because of the law in Tunisia and for making the lighter
It sounds a little strange these days - laws in Tunisia removing inner barrels of machine guns.
I think the point I was trying to make is that it is possible the Nazi guns used in the making of the Star Wars films were used in the committing of atrocities. I understand that the Imperials and Nazis are thematically linked and SW is essentially WWII in space, but the idea of guns that were actually used by Nazi (and "Imperial" Japanese, who used MG's) soldiers ending up in the hands of SW film characters is a little weird.
The Indy films are equally guilty (MG 34 in truck chase, MP 40 used extensively etc.) The book burning scene is particularly troubling given the massive use of real German uniforms mixed with a comedic tone. I guess you just have to overlook this kind of stuff but if I was making these movies, I would have asked to use prop replicas, not ex-WWII weapons, especially given the SW guns had parts added.
MG 15 was pretty much always an aircraft gun so I have less problem with that one. But MG 34 and MG 42 (Dengar onscreen gun) have bad reputation.
And I wonder if Tunisia still has that law.
The WWII connection does make things easier though - IG 88's gun and Hoth Rebel rifle are same German MP 44 so easier to build them in 1/6 as opposed to hunting rare SSC SW rifles.
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