One Day Builds: Han Solo’s DL-44 Blaster from Star Wars
Adam has constructed a Blade Runner pistol and Indiana Jones’ revolver, but not Han Solo’s blaster from Star Wars A New Hope. Fortunately, the makers at the Replica Prop Forum have thoroughly researched the details of this prop and have faithfully recreated the components needed to build it. Adam and Norm run through the blaster’s signature details and then work together to assemble this iconic space gun.
55 thoughts on “One Day Builds: Han Solo’s DL-44 Blaster from Star Wars”
Leave a Reply
One Day Builds
Adam Savage’s One Day Builds: Life-Size Velocirapt…
Adam embarks on one of his most ambitious builds yet: fulfil…
Show And Tell
Adam Savage’s King George Costume!
Adam recently completed a build of the royal St. Edwards cro…
All Eyes On Perserverance – This is Only a Test 58…
We get excited for the Perserverance rover Mars landing happening later today in this week's episode. Jeremy finally watches In and Of Itself, we get hyped for The Last of Us casting, and try to deciper the new Chevy Bolt announcements. Plus, Kishore gets a Pelaton and we wrack our brains around reverse engineering the source code to GTA …
Making
Adam Savage in Real Time: God of War Leviathan Axe…
Viewers often ask to see Adam working in real-time, so this …
House of MCU – This is Only a Test 586 – 2/11/21
The gang gets together to recap their favorite bits from this past weekend's Superb Owl, including the new camera tech used for the broadcast and the best chicken wing recipes. Kishore shares tips for streamlining your streaming services, and Will guests this week to dive into the mind-bending implications of the latest WandaVision episod…
Making
Adam Savage Tests the AIR Active Filtration Helmet…
Adam unboxes and performs a quick test of this novel new hel…
Making
Weta Workshop’s 3D-Printed Giant Eyeballs!
When Adam visited Weta Workshop early last year, he stopped …
One Day Builds
Adam Savage’s One Day Builds: Wire Storage Solutio…
Adam tackles a shop shelf build that he's been putting off f…
Show And Tell
Mechanical Dragonfly Automata Kit Build and Review
Time for a model kit build! This steampunk-inspired mechanic…
Tesla Goes Full K.I.T.T. – This is Only a Test 585…
WandaVision starts to get really interesting as we break down the latest MCU developments in the Disney+ show this week, along with discussion about Google's step back from Stadia games, multiple Mars landings this month, and Tesla's wild new car design decisions.
Watching this build was absolutely thrilling. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed following ‘s journey to learn everything about the DL-44. This was a great way to put a lot of it together. I look forward to seeing it completely weathered and finished. GREAT JOB!
*also, Adam’s reaction when the parts were unveiled was priceless.
This is now my favourite Tested vid. Adam’s eyes at “…time to make a blaster” were priceless.
glad to see that great article from last year manifest itself into a build. I’m sure it was very satisfying to see it all come together after delving into such a dense information-cloud and then trying to source and wait for the parts. Congrats on an awesome blaster!
PS. The original article was linked on YT, but not here, so http://mdvip-tested.md-staging.com/art/makers/452186-how-obsessive-fans-built-better-han-solo-blaster/
Those eyes are a window to 5 year old Adam, ‘Do you have the Parts?” that sheet gets pulled back and that pure excitement is fantastic, Love all the tested content coming out at the moment guys keep up the amazing work!
thats brilliant, great research norm and congrats!
I want to see them act it all out and recreate the scene from the movie, that would be epic!
Thanks to Norm for setting this video up, it was amazing and if I was Adam it would be really difficult for me to let that gun go.
Amazing stuff. ’nuff said.
LOVED IT!!!! Just one thing missing Norman, who is this “NY Machinist”? You don’t tell us who he is.
What amazing, intricate work he did!! Can you give us any information about him and does he have a website? Can he be contracted for other specialty jobs?
Just really awesome looking parts!!! Inquiring minds need to know who this mysterious machinist is guys!! Give us the details!!!
Just about as cool segment as could be had! This is part of what makes tested.com so much fun. Congrats on a fine sidearm, Norm!
Great job Norm! This was the perfect follow-up to the original article. I look forward to the weathering video…
I don’t think his or her name was ever mentioned in the rpf thread, which is understandable. It would likely be to avoid people contacting that person to have parts made outside their run of parts, which had taken years and years to research, design and fine-tune.
How lucky can you be to have Adam help you build a replica gun for your collection?!
Best video yet! awesome stuff!
His name wasn’t listed in the rpf thread Kim, you are right. This person though I am sure can help other collectors to make parts for their projects. I also think Norman mentioned it was a limited run so I don’t see any harm in knowing the “machinist” in case others want to contract him to make parts for their projects. What do you think?
Seeing the blaster come together was one of the most satisfying things I have ever watched.
That was really fantastic. I can’t wait to see the weathering, either.
The RPF dudes did the heavy lifting here by designing and developing these parts at their own cost, and it is 100% up to them how the resulting run was handled. If they wanted to share their machinist’s name, they would have. And for all we know, the machinist did this as a favor to them and doesn’t want a bunch of people coming to him/her for one-off builds, or even a production run.
The way it usually works is that if a run is over, you missed the boat and can either design and fabricate a new part yourself or wait for a possible second run. There was ample opportunity to get in on this.
It is worth noting that there are thousands and thousands of machinists out there that can assist with builds or design. If you are a maker looking to do a run, it only takes a few phone-calls and some money up front and you’ll find someone who is willing and able.
I did a little researching after I posted and googled one of the guys mentioned as the the “researchers” of this Han Solo gun. After connecting with him on LinkedIn, I actually asked him about his NY machinist and he said he had no problem “sharing” the information. Pat had said that it was not meant to be “secretive” and that his NY machinist was just known by his rpf name on the forum because that was just how it was. However, he gave me the guy’s website so I thought I would share it with you in case you are interested. Yes, there are a million of every type of person out there but if you know someone does awesome work, as outlined in this video and the way Adam and Norman are reacting to the skill and quality of the work, then why would you want to search and possibly not find the same level of workmanship and skill? Just doesn’t make sense to me.
Anyway, here is the website Pat gave me:
http://www.darkenergycreations.com
The content here was amazing and the presentation was beautiful.
Norm killed it with the research and voice-over. Adam’s enthusiasm and attention to detail were impeccable, as always. The video editing was really smooth…
You guys are raising the bar on the rest of us. I’m gonna show this to our videographer.
AND… the blaster was beautiful.
Thanks duder, I had been in contact with Dave (the machinist) to get these parts, but during that time (a few months ago), they were still overbooked on their first run. I think the best way to get in on these is to follow therpf thread to learn about when the next runs start gaining steam. But full credit to Dave for his amazing work.
I did check out his website Norman and it looks like he might be done with this project. I am going to contact him because Dave’s workmanship on those parts looked incredible and I for one wanted to find out if he would be opened to helping others with their projects. As Kim said, there are a million other machinists but it looks like Dave has proven himself and I wouldn’t want to test waters on an important project when it’s obvious he’s excellent at what he does. I haven’t seen such great detail, especially on the dial with the numbers and the knural pattern. Just insane! It also seems like you guys didn’t struggle with the fit too much on the parts which is also insane.
At least the secret of the “machinist from NY” is out…LOL
Thanks so much Norman for making this video….I for one really enjoyed it! Looking forward to the next project!
That was such an awesome video, great work you guys. In fact this video gave me an idea. You guys should totally do a one-day build and auction it off during the next Octoberkast!
the question remains,
who shot first? Adam or Norman?
That was excellent! All of the machined parts were gorgeous.
Awesome video! Assembling the most accurate Han Solo blaster with the aid of Adam? I am super jealous.
Thaaaat was awesome!
I agree with everyone this is one of the best build video’s to-date. One thing Norm, it would be cool if you did an extended version showing Adam doing more of the machining if you have the footage. Great Job, enjoy your Blaster……..I’m so jealous.
Really awesome video. I’m looking foreword to more like this.
*drooling* wow! great build! Thanks so much for sharing this!!
wow, that was amazing
What an absolute pleasure of a segment. Thanks, Norm and Adam, for a wonderful video. And Joey too, who I assume was behind the camera. 🙂
Awesome. Just awesome guys.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for dealing with proven suppliers if they make themselves available, especially ones that are directly involved in a community (I hadn’t read the whole DL-44 thread in months, so I wasn’t aware that the machinist was directly involved).
I recently worked with a machinist on a project and went out of my way to deal with a guy who was involved in the related hobby. We have to support the people who do these crazy things 🙂
I so agree with you Kim! Going to check out Dave’s website some more….might even contact him to see what projects he is willing to get involved with. Pat said that Dave is just great to work with and his level of expertise is just insane. Pat also said that Dave is very eager to work on some more great projects so I figured it was worth looking into….:-)
Adam’s eyes are priceless when he sees the parts.
But I have to be the guy to point out that adam gets so excited to build that his long golden locks of hair come very close to his mill…
PLEASE Upload a parts list/location of parts for future makers to make this awesome prop!!!
These parts were offered as a limited run of parts through the RPF in March.
The second run is supposed to be delivered in August, according to the website Mythfan linked to. Although I’m not sure if you can still get in on that.
You’ll also have to hit eBay with fingers crossed that you can find the replica gun. Worth noting that it is not a cheap prop, the first run of the steel kit was $860, add in the gun/replica itself and you’ve got a solid investment in nerdyness on your hands 🙂
Congrats, Norm. That thing looks great.
How many collectors build these from real Mausers? My great-grandfather owned many in China, but they were stolen from my family when the Communists came into power. As neat as the DL-44 is, I really hope no more of these great historical firearms are chopped into paperweight spaceguns.
The thing that specifically made me squee, and I think it follows Norm’s point about a single cast replica versus one assembled from parts, was the noise it makes when Norm swings it around, the metallic clinks of those pieces moving against one another just lends such authenticity. Seriously awesome.
Please tell me you either gave that to or you bought double of everything so that he can add one to his collection.
With the runs being limited, I’d hate for him to not be able to complete his Harrison Ford collection!
That’s incredible. Holy crap do I want that gun. Awesome vid guys.
Amazing. I loved this video so much.
I’m really impressed with how much research and how well prepared you were Norm. Just able to describe every little piece in an off the cuff manner, very well done. “The Greedo Killer” is a great bit.
I’m curious if Adam wants one for his collection now as well.
More, more of that!
That was really goddamned cool. Great build, great video.
haha. Adam’s eyes when you mentioned wanting to make a blaster
That was awesome! Did this get talked about on the podcast? I must have missed it.
Awesome video. I had the same gasp when Norm revealed the parts.
Parts were machined by a “NY Machinist”…his website is http://www.darkenergycreations.com
Just in case you wanted to check it out…LOL
I love that Tested is the kind of site that isn’t afraid to geek out about stuff like this. That it revels in the joy of knowing that the heatsink and greeblies come from a specific model kit. Or tracing the history of the different blasters in the movies.
This is absolutely fabulous. Keep it up!
This was a tremendous idea for a video. Please, please, please keep these coming! L.o.v.e.d it!
Fantastic video, guys! Norm doing voiceover over the edited build process really worked well. Bravo and kudos!
Yay
-> Now you’re are going to want this one … https://www.facebook.com/hkotg/posts/1008144942592076 … A softair DL-44 ;c)
Has anyone explained why there were so many variations of the gun in the films and promo shots? It seems odd that the production company would keep building (and losing) so many guns – and the rebuilds were not the same.