Hey does anybody know what are those cylinders behind the Stormtroopers battle gear? Sry but I don't have a pic. see 4 urself
Blair
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Well we know that one contains a line and grapple hook (useful considering the Empire cut death star construction costs by eliminating handrails over bottomless pits.
Another pouch doubtlessly contains their trifocals that they need to be able to hit a fucking 7' tall hairy alien that's yelling.... Mabye Stormtroopers are clones of Mr. Magoo...
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
I always thought the boxy thing and the vaguely cylindrical shapes molded into the plastic, er, I mean, plasteel, of their armor were emergency oxygen tanks and an atmospheric scrubber for use in the case of Rapid Environmental Degredation.
Posted by Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
see 4 urself
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Stuff they'd actually need while on duty aboard the Death Star: Battery or powersource for the com link in the helmet. Access cards for their assigned areas. Something to pry off the codpiece when they have to pee. Fruit Roll-Ups Script for tough to remember lines like "Hey!" and "Over here!" and the classic "Stop, you!".
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Somehow I'm having a hard time making the leap from efficient, well trained soldiers to idiots who talk about the new hovercraft that was just released while on guard duty. Doesn't really work. Of course, by the time Episode 4 rolls around, they're probably not all clones anymore.
Posted by Da_bang80 (Member # 528) on :
I don't think they're all clones. Since clones would be the same height, yes,no?
And in episode 4 we see one stormtrooper bump his head on the top of the doorway when they enter the room where R2 and 3PO are hiding.
Which brings me to another point. Stormtroopers are dumb. But of course we all knew that! Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
...and, as Luke pointed out "I can't see a thing in this helmet!" When I was a kid I had a Don Post Stormtrooper mask (for a halloween costume that just never came together, but I digress)and it had no peripherial vision nor could you see anything in front you you closer than two feet. I know they're supposed to invoke skeletons in their appearance but the armor's design is pretty poor.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Well, yeah, since it doesn't actually block anything...
Posted by Sargon (Member # 1090) on :
Thermal Detonator has been the official identification, but originally they were Lightsabres. Perhaps after the Stormtroopers proved incompetent with Lightsabres (and were reduced to using ramdom and clumsy blasters) and handed in their big white shields, the Empire retro-fitted the Lightsabres into Thermal Detonators. Even without the retrofitting, Fascist Tyrants would like the idea of a nice big bomb on the back of every soldier: just get close to your enemy forces, then remote detonate the devices!
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
quote:Originally posted by Da_bang80: And in episode 4 we see one stormtrooper bump his head on the top of the doorway when they enter the room where R2 and 3PO are hiding.
That's one of my favorite bloopers of that movie. But it's not because the guy was too tall -- it's because he didn't duck!
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
Are we talking about this:
I can't believe the 5 seconds it took me to find this on google.
Too big to be a lightsaber, also a fairly stupid place to keep it stowed. Looks like a vacuum powered poop collector to me.
As for the head bumping incedent, there's an homage to that scene in Ep 2 when Jango is boarding Slave 1 after his scuffle with ObiWan. You can hear a clunk as he enters the ship and his head defnitely hits the top of the door.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
It's NOT a Thermal Detonator. It's a fucking parachute for all those narrow handrail-less bridges spanning 1000 foot deep chasms in the Death Star. Somebody got tired of the stink of decomposing stormtroopers at the bottom of all those pits.
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
It's a deadman switch that vaporizes their bodies after the fall. They call it the NeatCorpse Pro (R). It's behind them so they can't accidently activate it while screwing around. Cause they're dumb.
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
The typical german Wehrmacht soldier has the same item, Lucas must've been inspired by that. You know, that rifled, green, cylinder seen in ze movies. It's just a container for misc. goodies, to stow magazines, gloves, or like in this picture, a gasmask.
Putting thermal detonators in every Stormtrooper cylinder everywhere in the galaxy would be a tremendous waste of detonators, given the widespread use of 'troopers and the narrow mission envelope of the detonators.
As for rations in the 'trooper cylinder, I think a private nibbling on protein sticks under the helmet on duty would be shot without trial, for negligence. :-)
About the stormtroopers being clones, the whole debate is pretty much moot considering many of the officers out of armor, like in the Death Star prison complex, are former 'troopers given promotions. Since that is canon last I heard, the clones can't be.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
"Somebody got tired of the stink of decomposing stormtroopers at the bottom of all those pits."
I thought those pits were bottomless? B)
Posted by Mountain Man (Member # 1114) on :
quote:Originally posted by Cartman: "Somebody got tired of the stink of decomposing stormtroopers at the bottom of all those pits."
I thought those pits were bottomless? B)
Imperial budget cutbacks after the first DeathStar was destroyed allowed for only really deep pits and some matte paintings at the bottom for visual effect.
Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :
The storm troopers would probably be just people who have joined up - like Luke wanted to do - and go to the Academy.
That thing is probably where they put messages to be delivered to different parts of the Death Star (They ran out of money for vacuum tubes)
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Hmm, David West Reynolds' Star Wars Visual Dictionary does explain it as a thermal detonator. It even says that "though not usable inside ships or spacestations, they are standard-issue for every stormtrooper so they get acquainted with the weapon." Translated from swedish, I don't know what the english version says.
Although, I don't remember if the dictionaries were confirmed as canon?
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(They ran out of money for vacuum tubes)