Here's a page from an early Star Wars coloring book showing some Death Star droid armed for battle.
Image via Plaid Stallions.
A Return to the Stars
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After a veeeeerrrryyyy long, and mostly unplanned, hiatus, Stuart and I got
together to play more Stargrave in recent days. It was good! It was also a
bit ...
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Sorry to burst your bubble, but I am pretty sure that is 4-LOM, one of the bounty hunters hired to hunt down Han Solo.
ReplyDeletehttp://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/4-LOM
(I hope this wasn't a joke that I missed)
The head is different, but it's definitely a C3PO body.
ReplyDeleteCameron, I'm pretty sure that picture is based upon the prototype action figure of the so-called Death Star Droid.
ReplyDeletehttp://theswca.com/images-speci/concept/
Which itself _might_ be an inspiration for 4-LOM.
Ah, would you look at that! Cool!
ReplyDelete4-LOM was one of those New Hope Era we-need-a-bunch-of-random-dudes bounty hunters anyhow. I bet they did just find the death star droid in the concept art and try to make it out of whatever they had handy!
Then again, maybe these concepts evolved into the RA-7 protocol droids...
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_Star_Droid
IT doesn't quite look like 4-LOM or the Death Star Droid, but it is cool. I'm guessing the artist was going for 4-LOM, since you don't really see any original character ideas in coloring books, but thankfully he or she was a bit off in the likeness.
ReplyDeleteWell, crap... I missed the Plaid Stalliosn like. I guess it was ANH era! And the dark shoulders remind me of the Death Star Droid action figure... since in the movie the colors were actually different, maybe this drawing was inspired by that figure? Nice find Jeff.
ReplyDeleteThe Empire is arming droids to achieve its evil ends!
ReplyDeleteThat, or they're hiring space phraints as mercenaries.
Not directly related, but Jeff, have you seen this? It's called Snub Fighter, and is the Death Star battle if Luke was actually incompetent, with some other funny twists too. I think you'd really get a kick out of it.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RajguJoZ8aA
"The Empire is arming droids to achieve it evil ends!"
ReplyDelete...but of course.
Simply put, when the emperor took control the old republic was crawling with protocol droids. These were previously used as diplomats and emmisaries struggling to bring the many senators to consensus on the issues of the day. Some would have been kept in service, but most were mothballed and put into storage since the empire quickly found intimidation preferable to persuasive reason.
Then a young engineer named Timmons went over the head of his commanding officer and submitted a proposal that catapulted his career during the early days of the empire. This army of droids could be repurposed for military applications by simply replacing the heads with ones that he designed.
This would bolster the early empire with obedient troops at a minimal cost. Using the distintive bodies may keep enemies offguard, since they might assume it was just another harmless protocol droid. The insectiod head and eye design would give the droids a 360 degree field of vision. Although it was true that combat droids lacked the instincts and initiative of biological soldiers, Timmons combat algorithms proved adequate for most circumstances. These droids would be best suited for monotonous patrols and guard duties where their eternal vigilance would be prized. They could also be used in extreme enviomental conditions without the need of expensive, bulky protective gear. Not to mention their use in situations that other troops might find morally objectionable.
Of course, there are laws against military droids... but laws are for little people.
Also, that's a high-pressure washer. He's going to clean Vader's TIE.
ReplyDeletei can see the droid is in black and white. must be from the 60s.
ReplyDelete