Welcome to a look inside The Holocron. A collection of articles from the archives of *starwars.com no longer directly available.

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The Magic of Myth

The look of Star Wars – its costumes, props, and sets – reflects the same eclectic mix of cultural, historical, and mythical sources that gives the story its rich texture. Working with concept artists Ralph McQuarrie, visual effects art director Joe Johnston, and costume designers John Mollo, Nilo Rodis-Jamero, and Aggie Guerand Rodgers, as well as a team of other artists and craftspeople, George Lucas created a universe that has the look and feel of myth.

Needless to say, for a film trilogy with the word war in its title, a great deal of attention went into the creation of all the military paraphernalia. Many basic costumes, for example, were made to look military by the addition of bandoliers, belts worn over the shoulders to carry cartridges or small pouches. These accessories also gave them a romantic, frontier-America look. Parts of the Hoth costumes also suggest the frontier: the boots are similar to the mukluk worn by the Eskimo, and the shirt was based on the American frontier hunting smock.

Chewie carries a pouch slung across one shoulder that is similar to the Dyer pouch developed in 1870, a combination carbine sling and cartridge pouch. But his actual weapon dates to a much earlier era, for it is based on a medieval crossbow. Luke’s rifle with its extra-long barrel and crooked stock, evokes the Arab jezail.

Other Star Wars weapons were created by decorating real-life firearms with various devices to make them look futuristic. Perhaps the most notable is the blaster used by Han and carried by Luke as a sidearm on Hoth and on Cloud City. It is a “broom-handled” 7.63-caliber Mauser; one of the earliest and most successful of all automatic pistol designs, it was used in both world wars. The prop department simply added a fancy-looking scope and an emitter nozzle at the end of the barrel. The tripod blaster is based on the 1908 Vickers Maxim Class C machine gun. This was used by both the British and Germans in World War I trench warfare. Similarly, the tripod blaster is used by both the Rebels (on Hoth) and the Empire (at Mos Eisley).

There are three main kinds of Star Wars blasters. One is a variation on a German MG-34 machine gun from the 1930s, with the shoulder stick removed at one end and the barrel shortened at the other. Another is the MG-42, which was mass-produced during World War II. The third is the British Sterling Mk 4 used in the 1950s, a submachine gun with an air-cooled barrel; vents, sights, and scopes were added.

World War I is again called to mind as the Rebels hunker down into the trenches in preparation for the Imperial onslaught on their base on Hoth. Here the Rebels look much like troops in World War I France preparing for a tank offensive. This suggestion is underscored by the presence of the Vickers-based tripod blaster, for the Vickers was used extensively in trench warfare. The gun turret glimpsed above the trench derives from the rotating turret of the British Saladin armored car of the 1950s, with its 76-millimeter gun.

The standard Imperial stormtrooper’s blaster rifle was originally created in the British prop shop of the original Star Wars production from a replica of the British Sterling L2A3 Mk 4 SMG (sub machine-gun). Barrel grip rails, a scope, and electronics packages added to the guns to “dress” them as science fiction props did not change their basic design. The use of actual sidearm props in Star Wars as the basis for the blasters gave the film one more subtle dimension of reality and grounded the space fantasy in a world of convincing technology.