Stormtrooper E-11 Blaster

I've always been a fan of Stormtroopers, they're white armor, their expert aim, their ability to navigate doorways with ease (ok, I kid, but I am a fan). I've also been a fan of their blasters too, in fact I was just looking at photos last night for an upcoming prop project. So I was quite surprised and delighted to find this awesome LEGO blaster by Daryl Ng in my feed this morning. It's even got a spiffy UCS style display stand, neat!

Adam Savage Builds A LEGO Han Solo Blaster

I'll say it, Han Solo's DL-44 blaster is the coolest weapon of Star Wars (fight me!) and besides one of the screen used props or truly accurate prop replicas the coolest form of DL-44 has to be in LEGO. Adam Savage and Norm Chan think so too, and recently picked up kits from DemonHunterBricks on Etsy. In this video from Tested they build them, after showing off some other cool LEGO prop weapons, you might recognize one of them.

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Back in September when I visited the Tested headquarters to build the Millennium Falcon I gave a phaser to Norm. Seeing the disappointment on Adam's face I promised him one too. And last month when I went to see Tested: Deconstructed I was able to meet up with Adam after the show and present it to him, with a nifty little display stand.

I was delighted to see it at the start of this video.

DL-44

There are a multitude of weapons in the Star Wars universe. Everything from elegant Lightsabers to random, clumsy blasters. And while it may be clumsy and random, I've always liked the DL-44. First used by Han Solo in A New Hope, then by Luke in The Empire Strikes Back (unless you subscribe to the theory they are different models, feel free to comment), it's a compact and awesome weapon. Speaking of awesome, check out this version by builder The Crea1or. 

Rey's Blaster

Rey kicked much ass in The Force Awakens, and most of it didn't require the use of a blaster. But it was a nice moment when Han handed her this blaster and she remarks "I think I can handle myself" to which he replies "I know, that's why I'm giving it to you". This version by Lego Admiral captures it's look and feel pretty perfectly.

DH-17 Blaster

One of the challenges of play in my youth was the lack of rebel weapons sold as toys. When I was a kid there were two blasters available, the Stormtrooper blaster and Han Solo's blaster (both back then were fairly accurate to the screen too, overlooking the big "Star Wars" sticker, those days are over) But when it was time to recreate the Tantive IV battle, there were no rebel blasters (but plenty of white plastic bowls for our heads). If only we had thought to build one from LEGO like Nick Brick. Of course, I don't think they would have been even remotely as cool as this (and would have fallen apart the moment we got shot and fell down). 

First Order Stormtrooper Blaster

Like Star Wars fans all over the world I'm captivated with the new Stormtroopers. I was never a huge fan of Clonetroopers, and like a great many fans was cautiously optimistic about what Episode VII might have in store for us. But my doubts quickly evaporated the first time I saw the trailer. They have some pretty cool hardware too, like this new blaster by builder willgalb. I was also a proud owner of a toy blaster as a kid, back when you could buy one that looked like the ones in the movie. Then they got really weird colors for safety reasons. I guess that won't be a problem this time around.

Choose Your Weapon, Clumsy And Random, Or Elegant And Civilized

Builder Cole Edmonson has produced a small arsenal of Star Wars weapons for you to choose from. You can also pick the light side or dark side of the force while you're at it. I personally can't pick my favorite here, so I'll say I'd take them all and be prepared for any occasion.

Imperial Pew Pew

One of George Lucas' strokes of genius on the first Star Wars was to use real weapons and blanks as the basis of the blasters. The recoil and power were evident as the actors shot, and with the addition of Ben Burt's sound design and ILM's optical, it was a convincing illusion. The E-11 Stormtrooper Blaster was based on a Sterling sub machine gun, and this version by Nick Brick is the best brick-built version I've ever seen, and the quality we've come to expect from Nick. It even has a foldable stock, which while never used in Star Wars, is still a testament to the accuracy of this build.

Hokey Religions And Ancient Weapons Are No Match For A Good Blaster At Your Side

When Star Wars came out when I was a wee tike, there were many protracted arguments at playtime as to who would be Luke and who would be Han. Luke was the hero of course, but Han had a darker side, and he SHOT FIRST. There were of course arguments over who would end up with Leia, but later movies would reveal certain facts that made us all shudder just a bit. Anyway, Han also had the coolest blaster, and this mini version by Bruce Lowell shows us just how cool it was.

Clumsy And Random

“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side”

— Han Solo

Here at BrickNerd we like to look back from time to time, sometimes a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. The Imperial blaster (Blastech E-11) is one of my all-time favorite fantasy weapons. When I was a kid I had a really cool toy one (back before they started making them wacky colors) and spent many hours vanquishing imaginary Imperials. This version by Remi Gagne is awesome, and what's even more awesomer is you can build your own with instructions here (caution, it's a big file). Blast on readers!

Zam's Blaster

I love a good prop reproduction, and this one is sweet. The tapered barrel is especially nice, and the grip, wow. A very clean and elegant build, nice work Cole. 

The Cutest Little Blaster Ever

Here's proof you don't need a lot of parts to be freakin' awesome. Han Solo's blaster, built with 15 pieces by ObedientMachine. I'm inspired to build a whole arsenal of mini props, who's with me? 

“Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.”

— Han Solo