Making a "Replica" of Han Solo's DL-44 Heavy Blaster from Star Wars: A New Hope

Back in the mid 80’s, I was at the house of the family who babysat me and spent the whole afternoon playing with the boy who lived next door to them.  We had a great time and were exhausted by the end of the day.  When my parents showed up to pick me up, I went to the boy to return the toy gun he had given me while we played.  He thought for a second and said, “nah, you can keep it.”  Now, I don’t remember the kid’s name but perhaps it was Tobias Beckett because the toy gun he handed me was the Kenner Han Solo DL-44 Heavy Blaster.

I had no idea at the time that this blaster was the original, cereal mail away version from 1980 but I kept it in immaculate shape.  Still to this day, it has its original ‘Star Wars’ sticker, battery cover, and both knobs that allow for the battery compartment to stay closed.  While I haven’t put batteries into it for several decades, the last time I did the sound effect still worked.  

Sitting in my office during the 2020 pandemic more than I ever had before, I see the blaster every day as I have it (and a number of other sci-fi, comic book, and fantasy toy weapons) mounted on the wall above my computer.  Now that I am spending 9 hours a day sitting at the desk, I began to think to myself, “wouldn’t it be cool to have a version of that painted to be more of a film-accurate replica?”  There are a lot of replicas of the DL-44 blaster out there...if you have $300-$500 to spare.  You can buy 3D printed versions and even 1:1 Lego versions of it but those can be pricey depending on the quality ($50-$100).  

I would never do anything to damage my well-preserved 1980 blaster, so to the internet I went.  Amazon had a Halloween prop version (white with an orange plug) that could be picked up pretty affordably (~$15).  However, while it has some nice aspects, the mold blurs the scope and the barrel into a single amorphous blob.  Maybe I could get another version of the blaster I already had?  I knew the challenge would be getting an affordable version with the battery cover and knobs.  That’s when my searches on eBay revealed that there was a bright orange version created for the Disney Star Tours ride. 

In fact, it used the original mold that my 1980 version used with the exception of changing the battery cover and knobs to meet safety standards of the time.  Best of all, I won an auction for it for $10 (plus $8 S&H).  

Once in hand, I started the process of transforming this orange version into a semi-film accurate version of the beloved scoundrel’s side arm.  

Step 1:  Reference photos

The first step was finding photos of the original to figure out what I wanted it to look like.  This was shockingly hard.  For the original trilogy, Han used this gun only in A New Hope.  It looks very different in Empire and Jedi.  Why?  In mythology it apparently has something to do with Han customizing it to allow for quicker draws.  In reality, while I haven’t read this as fact, I am guessing they probably either lost it, threw it away, or scavenged it for props in other films.  Whatever the reason, I only had one original movie (plus Solo and the limited time it was viewable in The Force Awakens) to go off of.  In fact, must of the images I found were either prop replicas or customs made by people doing the same thing I was.  This meant there is no definitive model to go off of...which is good because it means it is harder to do it wrong.

Step 2: Prepping and sanding

The next step is prepping it for painting.  First, I removed the stickers and cleaned the areas to remove residue. 

Next, I glued the battery compartment shut so that it wouldn’t wiggle any and disturb future painting.  Finally, I used sandpaper to sand down all the molding seams (it was molded in two halves and screwed together) and two areas with raised writing (mostly copyright and safety information).  

Step 3: Filling in the holes

Next, I used a putty filler to fill in any unnecessary holes.  The screw holes and the seams of the battery compartments were the most noteworthy holes but I also filled in a couple gaps between other molded pieces.  Once done, I sanded it down, cleaned it off, and then reapplied when necessary.

Step 4: Knobs

The original 1980 toy had 2 nice big knobs on it to match the real version (though, the film version actually had 3).  The toy I was using had the two knobs...but they were no longer separate pieces or even distinct enough to think they would stand out on the finished product.  So, I went to my supplies to try and find an alternative.  My vast Lego collection was the best place to start.  I used two 2x2 round tiles with technic holes for the left and right knob.  I then used putty to fill in the side gaps.  The center one I used an upside down 2x2 round time and added a washer and some putty to give it a slightly different look.  

Step 5: Priming and painting

Once I had everything sanded to my satisfaction, I applied a light sandable primer to the gun to help fill in the gaps and prep for painting. 

Once I was happy with it and fixed some minor issues, I painted over it with a flat, matte black spray paint.  Ths one dried quickly into a smooth shell that looked great.

Step 6: Wood handle

Before moving forward with detailing, I taped off the two halves of the handle and painted them brown to create a wooden appearance. 

Once dry, I dry brushed on three different shades of brown to add texture and finally dry brushed black on it to add more texture and wear.  The result is enough color variation to make it look like it could be a weathered piece of wood.  

Step 7: Weathering and detailing

Finally, it was time to add the detailing and weathering to make it stand out.  To start, I painted the front heat sync with a gloss black to make it stand out as a different material as the rest of the blaster. 

Next, I found any edges that would be likely to get worn over time and added some careful silver detail.  Edges, dials, and corners were all touched up to give that feel that this had seen a lot of action. 

I then switched over to gold to detail around the eyepiece and end of the scope as well as add some dry brushing in spots to the scope. 

Finally, I mixed up a dark silver paint and applied it to the barrel and muzzle (in A New Hope, it’s hard to tell how silver it actually is; the updated version in Empire and Jedi was clearly a chromy silver).  I used this same paint on the knobs and they dry brushed some silver and black on to them.  

While I could have gone on tweaking and making changes (I really wanted to find plastic or glass for the scope but with the pandemic going to a hobby shop was out of the plans), once I painted the muzzle I was so thrilled with the look I decided to step away and call it final. 

I had a blast on the project and spent less than $30.  Not sure where I’ll go from here.  I did buy a 3D printed lightsaber a la Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi but I would like to do other easy props in the future.