weapon – Living History in the Star Wars Galaxy

Project: Naboo pistol retool

Near the end of last year, while scrolling through some Star Wars groups on facebook I came across someone showing off a bunch of white and fluorescent orange plastic blaster props made by Rubies. While otherwise just another pointless ‘hey look the stuff i ordered got delivered’ post, one of them was something I had no idea even existed in a mass-produced form—the Merr-Sonn Q2 hold-out pistol. (Fun fact: supposedly this blaster was designed by George Lucas himself, and was prototyped from sketch to prop in just one day). While it wasn’t made by them, as a pre-teen in 1999 such a weapon is permanently associated in my mind with Padme Amidala and the planet Naboo, especially given its decidedly un-militaristic Art Deco styling. Seeing that such a replica existed (and was readily affordable!), I realized that including a Q2 in one of my Naboo-based impressions would be a great way to better connect kit and homeworld—especially since those ‘outer personas’ diverge from what most people think of when they picture Naboo style (the typical ‘Renaissance’ style is really a nobility thing).

Since this model blaster is only ever wielded onscreen by Padme or her handmaidens, I had always assumed it was a specially-made pistol just for Royal use. However, skimming through some RPG materials I came across the Q2 included in a listing of common blasters of the Galaxy, where it was listed as acceptable for use in the pre-Empire, Imperial, and New Republic periods—perfect for any of my needs!

this was much more than just a paintjob!

Project: Thermal Detonator facelift

In the course of my research on real-world historical partizan kits, I’ve found the most common items carried by WW2 guerrillas are binoculars, grenades, and knives or bayonets. Since I’m always trying to improve my Rebel partizan impression, I thought having a bit of ‘personal artillery’ (Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, p100) would be a fun way to add some authentic weight to a vest pocket, giving a better living-history understanding of what it would feel like to be equipped in-universe. Around the same time, KR Sabers released an all-metal thermal detonator kit. It was a thing of beauty…but it also cost $200+…and I simply could not justify spending that much on something that was just for looking shiny on a display table or taking up space in a pocket. (Plus, for some reason, high-end propmakers always insist on including things like explosions or character voice soundclips in their electronics, which actually decreases the immersion for me. Anyone else feel the same way? Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!). Since I couldn’t justify the cost for something that didn’t do anything besides look cool and flash lights, how could I add some authenticity to my kit without breaking the bank?

In search of the functional ‘blaster’ rifle

If you’ve been wondering why I haven’t posted in far too many weeks, this is one of the reasons. Don’t worry, projects are proceeding apace!
A295-StG44 Hothrifle *I use EU terminology. If you’re into post-Disney stuff, just replace any instance of ‘A295’ in the following with ‘A280C’*

About a year back, I began toying with the idea of retooling my SKS into a more GFFA-style slugthrower. Eventually, though, I had to resign myself to the limitations of the Simonov platform, and abandoned the idea. However, a few weeks ago, someone in the Endor Commando facebook group was seeking help on a A280 prop rifle they were planning…and I got the bug again. I never liked the looks of the Endor rifle…it just seemed clunky and ugly to me (the alternate version with the triangle buttstock especially so) – give me an A295 Hoth rifle any day!
A280 a295 Owing also to having more time onscreen and the easier availability of the base gun*, I see way more prop A280s online. At the same, I got to thinking about what folks these days could use to build an A295 prop out of, and one fellow pointed out the most accurate base rifle would be AGM’s all-metal electric airsoft StG44, which retails for $235; he commented that it would be awfully expensive “for something you will be cutting up” for a prop rifle. I agreed, but this led me to my next question: well, what if you were cutting it up, but it was still a functional rifle? And just out of curiosity, how cheap could I do it for?
Continue reading “In search of the functional ‘blaster’ rifle”

Image Analysis: Ruusan lookout

Dorman - Ruusan lookout

“The statue that had occupied the platform off to his left had fallen hundreds of years before. The remains of it were scattered down the forward slope and pointed toward a skillfully sculpted hand. The palm was blackened where signal fires hand burned, beckoning travelers from many kilometers away. It must have been something to see.” Star Wars: Jedi Knight (William C. Dietz) 1998.

I’ve always liked this piece from the Jedi Knight novella. Actually, Dave Dorman’s photo-realistic paintings have always been very influential in terms of how I imagine the GFFA. This vignette just happens to be one of the few EU depictions of an isolated cell of commoners on the run from Imperial forces – and so is very useful for my purposes.
Here we see a familiar mishmash of gear that is very inspirational for those of us who portray fringe-y Rebel personas:
Continue reading “Image Analysis: Ruusan lookout”

Building the Outer Persona: an authentic Gaderffii

Back in the beginning of the year, when I was only doing an AgriCorps Jedi impression, I started thinking about what it might look like to do a living history ‘display’ in the GFFA. For actual historic periods, displays at events often take the form of a collection of soldier’s gear laid out for the public:
VnamLHDisplay
In my mind’s eye, I thought it might be interesting, starting out, to simply have a collection of in-universe ‘artifacts’ for the public to examine, which could function as potential ‘engagement hooks’ for interpretation. Continue reading “Building the Outer Persona: an authentic Gaderffii”

Building the Rebel Persona: 5.2 – Blaster rifle

20210113_124609
Once I had made enough progress on the research front to begin crafting the ‘outer persona’ for a Rebel impression, and had made plans to debut ‘Citizen Olis’ at a summer camp presentation on wilderness survival, I knew I’d need some kind of blaster. While I talk with my hands and demonstrate a fair amount during workshops, it’s still nice to have a blaster at your hip or on a sling, etc., as it underlines the always-armed attitude of a partisan guerilla: Continue reading “Building the Rebel Persona: 5.2 – Blaster rifle”