justjoseph63[Staff] Posted February 6, 2022 Report Share Posted February 6, 2022 I was recently asked "What's the difference between the regular (Sterling) E-11 and the Bapty versions of the blasters used in ANH"? So, having some time on my hands this is what I have come up with. Is it the end-all-be-all of this subject? Not by a long shot, but it should answer the basic questions along with a few odd facts. If anyone has any input or corrections please let me know and I will update this thread as needed. Thanks for looking! The "Blastech Industries" E-11 While no one knows exactly how many were used/seen onscreen, these were real British Sterling Mk4/L2A3 sub-machine guns which actually fired 9 mm blanks from a shortened 34 round magazine. As seen in the 2nd image below this gave the actor(s) the realistic effect of responding to live fire (note the actual smoke coming from the barrel.... and the wince on Han's face). In some scenes the shell casings are seen being ejected. Red "laser" blasts were added in post production by "rotoscoping" each one by hand, frame by frame. Some didn't match up exactly, lol, but it was 1977 and who noticed? I certainly didn't, but it explains our legendary bad aim. To give them a more "futuristic" appearance, the prop masters added all manner of objects: 1. Hengstler counter model 400- Added to the left side behind the magazine, at least 2 versions of this were used in the film. Eagle only- I believe these to be the older versions, made in either brass or a base metal with 890 in the center. Wings are rounded on the outside tops and square on the inside. Eagle with HENGSTLER below it- There are 2 versions of this one. The "wings" logo on the older one have slightly rounded tops and are a tiny bit narrower than the newer version which has squared tops. Both have a smaller 890 in the center as compared with the older models. NOTES: Placement of the counter is ideally mounted slightly above the folding stock rail with the rear lined up above the stock bolt as seen below. As seen in the last 3 images below, the counter is angled and follows the contour of the folding stock. Although cool looking, the coiled wires connected to the counter/power cylinders were not seen in the film and only used on the Bapty version in promotional images so are therefore not "screen accurate". The counters originally had 2 small metal prongs (connector pins) attached to the front. Very few of these made it into any reference images, and were probably knocked off when holstering the weapons. 2. Power cylinders/setup- Unless they were knocked off during filming, these were present on all blasters seen onscreen and were mounted on top of the magazine. If you want to dive into this rabbit hole (and I highly suggest you do, it's actually fascinating reading) about the details I highly recommend checking out Adam's page here. You simply will not find a better reference, and it has everything you could possibly want to know (and more) about these mystery items! Side notes: 1. Some references state that the red wires behind the power cylinders were not seen on-screen, but in at least 2 scenes they were (photos 1-2). The first shows a Stunt TK holding his weapon with it present, and the second is from a photo where Luke is holding it, but I believe this to be the same exact weapon. 2. Ideally the cylinders/mounting plate should be parallel with the end of the magazine well, at an angle to the receiving tube (photos 3-4). 1 2 3 4 T-tracks- While the exact origin/source is unknown, these were 6 of these used to cover the holes in the shroud. They were made of plastic**, the ends bent over and inserted into the openings at the end of each row except for the bottom and row with the bayonet lug. ** Used on both versions, these should not have any metallic color showing when weathering your weapon. Scope- Both the Sterling and the Bapty versions used surplus WW2 tank scopes. While the 1942 M38 type was seen on the majority, 2 other models were employed as well. Note on the M19 model that the original hex nuts were used to attach it to the rail. M38 (1942) M19 (1942) M38 (1943) Scope rail- 3 methods of mounting the rear of the rail can be confirmed. The first (photo 1) shows the rear held in place with a vertical bolt/hex-nut. Photo 2 shows a horizontal version. Photos 3-4 shows how the Bapty's were mounted using a bent end and fastened with what appears to be a star-head screw. 1 2 3 4 The Bapty versions (photo 1) all had a 90 degree bend at the front of the rail while some others (photo 2) had none. Either is fine for all levels of approval. 1 2 Other items- This rectangular item on the top front of scope (photos 1,2 and 3) was seen on both the Sterling and Bapty versions in a few scenes. While it is not known exactly what these were, they appear to be a 14 prong IC socket. These may have been added to all blasters, but since they were glued on few are seen as apparently most were knocked off during filming. There is only one photo I can find of these mystery items being used, and both were located on the left side of the folding stock. The longer one was located toward the front and the smaller one toward the rear above the trigger guard. Many parts like the Hengstler counter and power cylinder set-ups were simply glued to the weapons, and during filming these were knocked off by accident (photos 1-2). Some were seen held on with wire or cable ties (photos 3-4). 1 2 3 4 The Bapty E-11: Because actual weapons are difficult to export between countries during filming (UK, California and Tunisia) approximately 20 custom made replicas were fabricated by the Bapty company (a UK based armorer/prop maker) that could be. Based on the L2A3, these were leased to the production to conserve costs, and since they were not actual firing weapons it saved additional money by not having to have a licensed armorer on set. These looked very similar, used Sterling folding stocks and real scopes/counters, but there were quite a few differences from the Blastech version, including: Sterling grip/trigger 1. No D-ring 2. Solid rear sight 3. Star(?) head screw holds rear scope rail directly to shroud (body) 4, Faux cocking lever 5. Aluminum billet (tube) replacing bolt/spring 6. Wood barrel (not seen) 7. Larger/rounder trigger guard 8. No trigger/mechanism 9. No retaining bolt/screw or emblem 10. Custom made smooth aluminum grip 11. 2 piece body (shroud) 12. Rivet (not seen on all models) 13. Trigger cover plate is different 14. Rivet instead of selector switch Two interesting facts: 1. While Bapty used real Sterling magazines, they cut them in half and used both sides. Some had the original end plates (photo 1), some had flat replicated plates (photo 2) and some just had wooden plugs (photo 3). 2. I have always been told that "There were no Philip's type screws seen in ANH", and having studied literally thousands of reference images I believed that to be true. Until now, when the Bapty cocking lever caught my eye (photo 4). There was another version as well (photo 5). 1 2 3 4 5 IMPORTANT Even though I believe these were seen more than the Sterling version in the film, please note that the Bapty version is not permitted for approval at Centurion level. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doggydoc[Staff] Posted February 6, 2022 Report Share Posted February 6, 2022 Great comparisons. thank you for doing this 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revlimiter[Staff] Posted February 6, 2022 Report Share Posted February 6, 2022 This is extremely serendipitous. I was just cleaning printers in the shop thinking about the original replica blasters vs real Sterlings. Crazy coincidence since I hadn't yet looked at the forum. Also, beautiful post and fantastic info! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted February 6, 2022 Report Share Posted February 6, 2022 Nice compilation and resource. And pinned. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Jay[TK] Posted February 8, 2022 Report Share Posted February 8, 2022 Wow! Outstanding job, Joseph. Looking at your reference photos below, I just noticed the counters being parallel to the folding stock, not the receiver tube. Hadn't seen this before so all my builds and the FISD E-11 Blaster Reference show the parallel installation. How do we treat this? Leave it up to everybody individually? Seems to be the same issue with the placement of the power cylinders on top of the magazine well: parallel to the receiver tube or parallel to the angled end of the magazine well? What do you think? On 2/6/2022 at 2:32 PM, justjoseph63 said: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted February 8, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2022 3 hours ago, T-Jay said: Looking at your reference photos below, I just noticed the counters being parallel to the folding stock, not the receiver tube. Hadn't seen this before so all my builds and the FISD E-11 Blaster Reference show the parallel installation. How do we treat this? Leave it up to everybody individually? Seems to be the same issue with the placement of the power cylinders on top of the magazine well: parallel to the receiver tube or parallel to the angled end of the magazine well? What do you think? Excellent point, Tino, and you are 100% correct! I noticed these details as well during my very first DD resin build many years ago, but after looking at the ones that had been approved they all seemed to be vertical so I went with what was the most common (and still is). It may have something to do with the fact that the originals were glued and they needed a larger contact surface for better adhesion, but now days we attach them to the scope rail with mounts/screws and it's easier to make it more vertical. (Aesthetically I actually prefer that vertical look, but that's just me). Since troopers (and blaster makers) have been doing it this way since way before I joined, and as long as doesn't sit too far back or forward I have no issue passing one at higher levels either way. The power cylinders/mounting plate should ideally (there's that word again) be parallel with the angle at the end of the magazine well and not with the main body. This was just meant to be an overview of the differences in the weapons and a basic reference, but since these items are indeed screen accurate I have added both items to the main thread. Thanks for the input, mein bruder! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaskedVengeance[Staff] Posted April 11, 2022 Report Share Posted April 11, 2022 Two months late to this super fun E-11 party. Is it even necessary to say "excellent work" when describing Joseph's posts such as these, or can we all just come to an agreement that such accolades are assumed? I've now added this to the E-11 section of my resources compilation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkno Posted July 5, 2022 Report Share Posted July 5, 2022 Very interesting compilation. I would add the fact that they might have used both M38 and M40 scopes, as well as M19 and M32. And with M38/M40 there are 2 versions, 1942 version with smooth front foot and 1943 with curved foot. 1942: 1943: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkno Posted June 4, 2023 Report Share Posted June 4, 2023 (edited) On 2/8/2022 at 9:56 AM, T-Jay said: Wow! Outstanding job, Joseph. Looking at your reference photos below, I just noticed the counters being parallel to the folding stock, not the receiver tube. Hadn't seen this before so all my builds and the FISD E-11 Blaster Reference show the parallel installation. How do we treat this? Leave it up to everybody individually? Seems to be the same issue with the placement of the power cylinders on top of the magazine well: parallel to the receiver tube or parallel to the angled end of the magazine well? What do you think? I would add a few more things: At the Hengstler counter section, I'd not use the last 3 images as they are of screen used Sterlings from various auctions like Prop Store, but the E-11 parts were added later on. I would be wary on using those images for the greeblies, the screen used sold on auctions Sterlings should only be used for the blaster itself and not for the parts added on it later. In ANH the Hengstler counters were in various positions depending on how they were glued on, see images attached. Edited June 4, 2023 by jkno 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helotech[TK] Posted June 11, 2023 Report Share Posted June 11, 2023 Great thing I’ve stumbled on here. I’m starting to build my Blaster Factory E-11 and will be scouring these pages for details like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted June 11, 2023 Report Share Posted June 11, 2023 8 minutes ago, Helotech said: Great thing I’ve stumbled on here. I’m starting to build my Blaster Factory E-11 and will be scouring these pages for details like this. You may want to contact @justjoseph63 for one of his greeble kits 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helotech[TK] Posted June 12, 2023 Report Share Posted June 12, 2023 10 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said: You may want to contact @justjoseph63 for one of his greeble kits Already done 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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