EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE
Used by:
Battle Droids
Captain Panaka
Naboo Palace Guard
Naboo Security Guards

 

Trade Federation battle droids are equipped with these specialized blaster rifles. They were designed by ILM hardware designer Jay Schuster. Clearly this blaster was conceived as a predecessor to the E-11 and DH-17 rifles manufactured by BlasTech as seen in the original Star Wars Trilogy.

The influence of the E-11 rifle goes even deeper than just the general design. The handle of the Battle Droid blaster is actually from the E-11 Stormtrooper rifle toy made under the Kenner label by Hasbro. The 1996 version of the toy, made of white plastic, was used. It is not yet clear if any of the main tube of the toy was used or if just the handle was cut from the gun. Presumably a single toy part was modified as a master copy and then cast in resin for making the numerous blasters needed. The handle was extended about 1/2 inch in length, widened and a handguard was added.

Kenner E-11 Stormtrooper Blaster Rifle

The film prop shown in the first photo at the top of this page is actually broken. The rail like parts just above the grip originally extended all the way to the back of the gun, but they've broken off as evident by the chips in the paint on the end cap. The full gun can be seen in the lower of the two photos at the top of the page as well as in the computer generated rendering below.

CG Battle Droid holding gun.

We are currently researching the rest of the parts for this gun.