Lets take a closer look at the Han Solo Blaster. We touched on the brief history of the piece in my first blog where I briefly looked at the origins, both factual and fiction. One thing that is universally overlooked when talking about the Hans Solo Blaster is Han himself. I mean think about, the character of Han, the lovable rogue with elements of the wild west gunslinger, combined with being the smuggler with a a shady past.
What type of weapon would he use ?
This was the conundrum for George Lucas, not just for Han Solo’s Blaster but for all of the characters weapons. Did he choose to go the more traditional route of having everybody use the same weapon or maybe a different weapon for each character. The story goes that Lucas wanted his Star Wars universe in Episode 4 to be live in. He wanted everything to have been used countless times, worn, weathered, scuffed, dusty, past its sell by date. Problem is, do you waste time designing it from scratch? You could weather stuff but that takes time and money. So with this, he tasked his set guys, Roger Christian and John Barry, to figure something out. Did they ever.
The story goes that John Barry took George Lucas to a company that specialized in supplying weapons to film and television. Odd choice you might think for a science fiction movie, but an inspired one that would change everything.
So all of a sudden the set guys from Star Wars had the basis for the Han Solo Blaster, aka the DL-44. Bring on the Mauser C96, an unusual looking pistol, long barreled with built in box magazine and distinctive stock. Made by the German Mauser Company between 1896 -1937 and later mass produced in Spain and China. Throughout history the gun was used in World War I and II, Spanish and Chinese Civil Wars and many more.
Interesting fact about the Mauser, apart from being in Star Wars its was also used in several Bond movies and was the basis for Buck Rogers Atomic Pistol.
For the first movie ‘Star Wars: A New Hope‘ the most distinctive thing about the Han Solo Blaster was its flash hider. The barrel end had a silver color with perforated holes from the base to the tip to the top. It was a clever design that basically turned a gun into a science fiction prop. Add the scope, bracket and grill to the front of the magazine, and hey presto instant space gun.
Did they make just one Han Solo Blaster?
No, they actually made several lightweight copies. The original was used in close up shots and they made several lightweight version for stunt work and action shots, which makes sense. There’s an interesting story to do with the Han and Greedo scene, which was actually shot in the US (not in the UK). They had to make up their own version of Hans DL-44 Blaster. The original prop which was made in the UK could not be shipped over because it fired blanks, so they had to quickly mock up another blaster. They used a flash hider from a M3 grease gun (a machine gun with a very long magazine). From then on in it was known as the “Greedo Killer”.
What about the the other Han Solo Blasters in the other two movies of the trilogy?
More modifications were made in Empire Strikes Back. The flash hider was recast from the original but this time without any holes. Bands were also added to the base. The biggest changes were the addition of a new smaller thicker scope from a World War II tank’s scope with a custom bracket. To finish off the new design, the heat vent was removed and two greebles (mini cylinders) were added to the side. Apparently Han and Luke use the same weapon. On Dagobah, you can clearly see Luke using it when surprised by Yoda.
In Return of the Jedi the modification were even more radical. The scope was made even larger and the bracket and flash hider were both redesigned. In The Force Awakens, the penultimate time we see Han Solo Blaster, gone is the shiny silver colored flash hider. It’s now black.
So we move on to the origin of the blaster in the Solo: A Star Wars Story. Low and behold its a rifle owned by Tobias Beckett. Its a DL-44 heavy blaster. He removes the barrel and the stock, attaches the flash hider, and now Hans Solo Blaster is complete. The scope’s end caps are now gold, along with the scope dial.
So that more or less is the history of the Han Solo Blaster from start to finish. Or is it? Of all the movies props across decades of film making, this one prop seems to have an enduring quality that hearkens back to simpler times where an old war piece, forgotten and remembered only by collectors or museums, has a more enduring legacy. Lets hope we see more of them in the movies.