Throughout the six films of the Star Wars saga, creator George Lucas was determined that the universe he envisioned would have a "lived-in" look to it. Thus, the many weapons seen in the saga are in fact visually modified or based upon real-world weapons.
The following lists the real-world firearms that were visually modified for use in the six films of the Star Wars saga:
In the early scenes of A New Hope and in a few scenes in Return Of The Jedi, Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) can be seen with a Defender Sporting Blaster, actually a Vostok Margolin .22 LR Target Pistol, with some muzzle attachment fitted. The end of the attachment is actually a compensator that was also available for the pistol.
Standard issue blaster rifle of the Imperial Stormtroopers. The E-11 blaster rifle props were built from the British-made Sterling L2A3 submachine gun. Numerous main characters, including Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) use the weapon. Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) also uses an E-11 blaster in The Empire Strikes Back.
While the gun is being fired, in some scenes, if you look closely, you can see the spent casings being ejected out of the gun. The one that comes to mind is in A New Hope when Luke and Leia swing across the gap to the other side of the bridge while inside the Death Star. The stormtrooper that fires at them from the platform they just left clearly has spent casings coming out of the gun.
The BlasTech DH-17 blaster pistol is one of the blaster pistols on issue to the Rebel Alliance. Like the E-11 blaster rifle prop, the DH-17 blaster pistol prop was also built from the British-made Sterling L2A3 submachine gun. The version used by Rebel troops in Episode IV is quite different than the Episode V pistol pictured below. The muzzle flashes appear to be added in post-production, given that there was no magazine.
Standard issue blaster rifle of the Rebel Alliance ground forces in both The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. Both the A280 and A295 blaster rifle props were CAST FROM replicas simlilar to (built from) both the World War 2-era German Sturmgewehr 44 (The Empire Strikes Back) and from the M16 series rifles (Return Of The Jedi).
Standard issue heavy blaster of the Imperial Stormtroopers. The DLT-19s were nothing more than World War 2 German MG34 general purpose machine guns with little to no modifications to its external appearance.
Imperial Sandtroopers can be seen carrying RT-97C heavy blaster rifles while on patrol on Tatooine. The RT-97C heavy blaster rifle prop is in fact a modified German MG15 machine gun.
The DL-44 blaster pistol was the blaster of choice for Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and the Rebel Alliance. The weapon is seen wielded by Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) throughout The Empire Strikes Back. Possibly the best known duplicate of a real gun, the DL-44 blaster pistol prop was built from a 9mm Mauser C96 handgun, sometimes with a sniper scope. The modifications are obviously added on to the exterior, though the distinct "broomhandle" grips are still wooden.
Error creating thumbnail: File missingPre-War dated Mauser C96 "Broomhandle" Commercial Version - 7.63x25mm Mauser. Note the rear tangent sight; in something of a display of wishful thinking, the C96's sight is adjustable for ranges up to 1000 metres.Error creating thumbnail: File missingThe Star Wars version of the pistol.Error creating thumbnail: File missingHan Solo with his DL-44 blaster pistol in Return Of The Jedi. In the background is Leia with her Vostok Margolin .22LR target pistol.Error creating thumbnail: File missingLuke gets surprised by Yoda's appearance and draws out his DL-44 blaster on him in The Empire Strikes Back.Error creating thumbnail: File missingHan Solo chambers his scoped DL-44 blaster in A New Hope. Note the coiled frame on the pistol.
Ion blaster
The Ion blaster utilized by the Jawa who shot R2-D2 in A New Hope was built from a cut-down British Lee-Enfield No.1 MkIII* series bolt-action rifle with the grenade launcher cup attached to the shortened barrel.
The SE-14C blaster pistol Ponda Baba used when his partner, Evazan, tries to get Luke Skywalker into a fight at the Mos Eisley cantina in A New Hope is actually a Swiss Rexim-Favor submachine gun with the stock, barrel, and magazine removed and has a double sniper scope attached.
An unmodified Mauser Kar98k bolt-action rifle was seen in the hands of the character Orrimaarko a.k.a. "Prune Face" in promotional photos for Return Of The Jedi.
Manufactured by BlasTech Industries, the DC-15-series was a range of plasma weapons used by the Republic clone troopers during the Clone Wars in Episode II Attack of the Clones and Episode III Revenge of the Sith. Although entirely computer-generated (as are all the Clone Troopers, no costumes were manufactured,) its design is based on parts from the German MG34 making up the rear half, as well as much of the Sterling L2A3 turned upside-down for the front.
Like the M16 has the M4, the DC-15A has the DC-15S. It is basically a compacted version (a "carbine" if you will) of the DC-15, lacking some of the range but making up for it in ease of use and portability. It is usually seen in the hands of officers, most notably Commander Bacara when he and the Galactic Marines kill Ki-Adi-Mundi, as well as in the hands of many regular clone troopers (the design of the DC-15S carbine would later influence the design and development of the E-11 blaster rifle used by the Imperial Stormtroopers in Episodes IV-VI). As this weapon is computer generated, what it is based upon (if any) is currently unknown; its similarity to the E-11 suggests it was based on the Sterling L2A3 as well.
