Han Solo Blaster
Fans may be cold to the new Disney Solo movie, which is set to be the first Star Wars movie to lose money, it seems there are still many Han Solo fans with deep pockets.
The Iconic Han Solo blaster last used in the Return of the Jedi sells at auction in New York for $550,000 this past weekend. Beating out Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber previously sold at auction for $450,000.
Luke may beat Han at the box office but the force is still strong with Han Solo.
The “Hero” prop weapon made largely out to wood by Oscar-nominated James Schoppe has spent the last 30+ years in Mr. Schoppe’s private collection. Harrison Ford’s Han Solo used the prop in the Endor bunker scene in Return of the Jedi, the last time the classic DL-44 sidearm was seen on screen as part of the original trilogy.
The Han Solo blaster was part of over 40 items up for auction from James Schoppe’s personal collection. Other Star Wars items include Ewok ax and a Speeder bike pistol.
The DL-44 Heavy Blaster
The DL-44 heavy blaster sidearm as it is known was featured in all three of the original films yet each film and sometimes each scene featured a variation of this blaster.
The important early promotional photo’s feature unique beginning variation of the blaster. The blaster the killed Greedo when Han shot first was still another model used only in the iconic scene.
It has taken fans over 35 years to piece together the origins of this one of a kind prop and all its iterations. This prop like most of the props and ship models used in Star Wars were made using a technique known as “KitBashing” This is a process where the prop makers take pieces of different items usually model kits to create the now unique prop seen in the film.
Where have I seen that before?
WWII Mauser C96
The core of the Han Solo blaster was actually a WWII Mauser C96 pistol. The original screen-used Han Solo DL-44 prop can be seen in its original Mauser C96 form in Frank Sinatra’s 1967 British film The Naked Runner
or catch it in Oliver Reed 1972 suspense thriller Sitting Target.
You can read about these Geek friendly details here and learn how you can build your own replica.
Watch Adam Savage of Mythbusters build his own replica
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