BR Blaster Targeting Device

[phase pistol]

Well the gun concepts started off more science fictiony... Leon's "mother's defender" gun from the opening scene was intended to shoot a black beam, which was test-animated but didn't look right, so they dropped the idea.

And there's an early Syd Mead drawing of a blaster that to me looks more like a hair dryer.



I'm pretty sure though by the end, they had pretty much decided that the guns were "just guns", and fired bullets.

ALthough, has anybody counted the rounds shot in any one scene? We never see Deckard reload...

[andy]

The Syd Mead gun supposedly was mistaken for a phone by Ridley. Stephen Dane's gun would have been pretty wimpy for Deckard, but in the script he did also have an "ankle laser". Yep in the scripts they were called lasers, but I am sure so few years after Star Wars they really wanted to go in a different direction.

I think the idea was, like in Heavy Metal or Hard Boiled comics, to make something that echoed real (vintage) weaponry but still had an amount of futuristic technology. As in the explosive round that Deckard first fires at Batty. Leon's gun does shoot a black ray that is still in the film if you watch closely enough (Watch as the first shot comes through the table). From what I can get from the art department on the DVD set, that Ridley cared more about how things looked than actual function. I am sure he wanted to avoid cliche's like lasers, but he also wanted to avoid "just a gun" too.

I do find it interesting that we call it a "blaster" though. I think that was a term invented by George Lucas to avoid calling it a laser or the like. But it does seem to fit.

Andy

[andy]

For the Record according to the Final Cut...
Zhora=4 shots
Leon=1 shot (by Rachael)
Pris=3 shots (one less in the American Theatrical and Directors cuts)
Roy=2 (1 and 1 with the explosive shot)
...and if you combine Pris and Roy into one scene=5 (or 4 and 1 explosive)

Andy

[phase pistol]

Good points.

I am pretty sure the term "blaster" comes out of the science fiction pulps of the mid-20th century, and was in use long before Star Wars .

Robby in Forbidden Planet calls Commander Adams' gun "a simple blaster", and that was in 1956.

[andy]

[joberg]

Very possible that there was only one round in the gun for each take.
The gun is never re-loaded on screen and never fires 2 or more shots in a row.

[andy]

[joberg]

I know (my experience here) that if the scene requires only one shot to be fired, one round will be in the chamber (easy to remember and for safety reasons also). If the director/actor is not pleased with the scene and wants to continue rolling then, as you said, it's very unlikely that only one round would be used.
Could it be possible the barrel was static and could only be fired once and loaded once?
Why don't we see the loading of the gun in the movie?
Why is the gun only firing one shot at the time? (due to extensive tranformations)? I know that it's only a ''movie weapon'' and as such, the ''make believe factor'' is still in place: it's not a real weapon even if it's firing. Just my opinion

[phase pistol]

Are you implying that the gun didn't actually "fire as a gun" so to speak, but rather the blast was some kind of squib fired from off-camera? Triggered thru wires running up Harrison's arm and plugged into the back of the grip?

[joberg]

I think that a few options are possible:
1) The gun is a real gun and fires rounds like a real weapon.
2) The transformations added to the original ''base-weapon'' are extensive; the barrel is now static and cannot fire rounds one after another.
3) Due to the extensive transformations the gun can only be operated by inserting an electric wire rigged into the grip and fire an explosive charge located in the canon.
4) Another option could be a ''gas-fired weapon'' but it seems to me that the use of that kind of option in reserved for semi-auto/full auto weapon: e.g. Tommy gun, uzi, etc.

[The Loyalizer]

According to Rich and Phil's notes on the original prop, it suggests that two screws have to be removed and the entire magazine housing detached from the prop in order for the cylinder to be opened and rounds loaded. This is true on the C&S blaster.

I don't know how practical that would be on a set that is already over burdened by time and expense crunches, as it takes a good 2-3 minutes to disassemble, load, reassemble the weapon. Yes it could be done in between takes, but thats working harder not smarter.

Its possible the gun could have been pyrotechnically fired with wires hidden in the grip, but again you still have to load and connect it all up in between takes. I'm inclined to believe the hero prop was loaded with blanks with extra flash like they did with Leon's pistol in the beginning of the film, and reloaded in between takes by the property master.

Also, back then people were a lot looser about firearm safety on film sets, I remember hearing about one actor that killed himself accidentally with a blank gun on set while trying to impress some ladies with how 'safe' blanks were.

Its a shame that when the World Con pics were taken nobody thought to give the cylinder release switch a casual push and see if it opened up.
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"We began to recognize in them a strange obsession..."

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[andy]

[phase pistol]

[steevy]

A reloading scene was apparently filmed.Supposedly it was only scene in the first sneak preview and than cut before the second.The ONLY version of the film not in the DVD set of course!!!!

[The Loyalizer]

[phase pistol]

It was heavy. Very solid. No rattly on that one.

Couldn't guess at a precise weight though... suffice to say you wouldn't want to be clubbed in the head with it.

Coyle opened up the bolt action, which was more than I was willing to do.

[Delmustator]

Considering that the Hero was built off real firearms, I'd expect it to weigh at least 3-5 lbs.

The Hartford weighs 2.5 lbs itself.
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-Del

[clutch]

Would have been funny if the lever snapped off.

Makes me think about a skit on SCTV where Harold Ramis punches his finger through the Mona Lisa.

[Noeland]

Karl, the fellow behind the counter, did he look upset when Coyle started messing with the blaster? Personally, I'd of asked him if he could open the cylinder for me.

Kind of surprised Rich didn't try that one.

I'd of wanted to, but would have asked the fellow behind the counter to do it for me.



" . . . and, hey, what's inside the area with the lights? Can I see in there?"
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I don't have enough blasters!

[phase pistol]

Well I have to tell you, I was kind of in awe of the prop, but Coyle and the guy from Monsters in Motion were both pretty confident in handling the thing.

I suppose if I had thought of it, I would have asked the prop display guy if he would open it up and demo the gun's features for me, but frankly it never occurred to me.

The gentleman behind the counter was very gracious by the way, patiently answering my questions and, hell, allowing me to see the gun in the first place!

- k