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I was visiting the old armoury in Copenhagen looking for something else and I found these! Thought everyone would like to see them. Maybe they don't tell us anything we don't already know, but it was still cool to see pristine examples.

They're just rubber o-rings, the same sort of thing as on the trooper comlinks.

How bout these- standard Imperial issue maglites? Useful when you pull over a drunk-driving moisture farmer. You know, the old 'blow this light out and it means you're not drunk' test.

OK how bout these: Dewback spurs. I wouldn't rely on that stick thing to keep a dinosaur in line...

I guess it has something to do with the current legal definition of 'art' in the UK, which may have nothing to do with what art actually is. This garbage about art having no function is something you might still hear from the odd paintings historian, but very few people who really know anything about art would subscribe to it these days. If I was on the Lucas legal team I'd go after that definition. It would not be hard to knock it down as a load of dewback manure. There are entire art museums dedicated to art that also has a function. Its often called 'decorative' art. On the flip-side, stormtrooper armour has no role beyond its own expressive 'costume' function, as part of larger works of art (the films; nobody argues films are art). Its not real armour, it doesn't work or do anything protective or practical. Its not as if we are arguing about the artistic value of flak-jackets or something. Sure, it is designed to be worn, but that occurs only as part of its capacity as an art-work that also incorporates a human body. Again, there are a lot of other examples of the human body, and body adornment, as art. Tell my local tatoo artist that he's not an artist and see what happens! So if a stormtrooper armour has no other function beyond the expressive, its art. You can win this arguement from either side...

Very strange. George clearly needs different lawyers. Armour most obviously is art. It always has been. Just because it is also utilitarian doesn't mean it isn't art. Its just wearable art. Whether its real armour, medieval or whatever, or Sci-fi armour makes no difference. The body becomes a sculpture. Its a no brainer. If armour is not art, why are almost all the great collections of medieval and Renaissance armour in art museums? If stormtroopers are not art, why is there one in the collection of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow? If stormtroopers are not art, why do they feature in the work of more than one modern artist, like that guy in London making pink and chrome troopers and selling them in a modern art gallery? Do art dealers not know what art is or is not? That's especially weird because Ainsworth is the one who actually made this art, working with the artist. Guess he kept his mouth shut at that point in the court proceedings. But I'm not a lawyer. TC

Nope, its gone awfully quite on the Imperial Commando front. Gorgeous pieces. If any of the Sci-Fire guys read this- there are probably quite a few IC fans out there besides me and Sands who would be happy to buy one of these lids! If there's any news on a possible run, or the project in general, we'd love to know of it, TC

Nice job! I'm envious. My pack building project feels like it will never end so its nice to see recent evidence that it is at least possible to finish one of these things...

I've seen those quick release couplers in a couple of different places, but it doesn't look like precisely the right thing. I don't think we even know for sure that what they were using in Tunisia was in fact a quick release coupler. I have no idea how you would go about that particular identification. Could it have been something they picked up in Africa, or was absolutely everything brought over from the UK? I don't think the Dewback prods have ever been seen in any photographs outside of the Tunisia shoot? So maybe they were made there and junked there? Maybe they're still out there, in some moisture farmer's hut, propping up the roof.

Have you heard something?

George could have saved himself a lot of time, money and effort by just hiring a squad or two from the MEPD... They'd have looked a lot better than those Dewback manure-smeared ROTJ phonies...

I'd love one of each type, but I'd take two of the non-frown version and add the mouth to one myself quite happily if only the non-frown was on offer! I hope this project is still going strong- they're the coolest SW customs out there, ever!

Great weathering. I love the crud extruding out of the mouth vents. It immediately suggests that the mouth does something, that it has a practical function. Nice detail!

Its great to see another Imperial commando out there too! Nice job! I'm waiting in hope for the mooted Sci-Fire run. Wish I had the time to make my own...

Ha ha. Love the idea that a G36 has a 'blast' setting. Any decent weapon would... Great armour!

****. I am still bummed that I missed the run of these things, but I don't know which is worse- not getting one, or getting one and then it gets broken by morons. Hope you get another one. And then I hope you tell me how you did it...

Cool! Just getting rid of the mouth has made that FX lid look ten times better. Can't wait for the Sci-fire run huh?

I'd definately like to see one of those with the compressed gas internals stripped out. It wouldn't be too heavy. The only reason the real MG34 is thought to be too heavy is people expect to be able to heft their big blasters around like assault rifles. The MG34 and the Lewis are light support weapons, although the 'light' part might be a tad misleading. They are meant to be put down on the ground or fixed to a vehicle before firing... I was always amused by the prison shoot-out scene when Chewie is trying to aim and fire his MG34 like a rifle, at all that stuff on the walls. You can see he's having a hard time with it! Personally I like my weapons to make clicking and clacking noises. Real firearms do. As said above, it makes it seem just that bit more like it could actually be real... Now about that dewback...

Geez Luize, so how many Imp commandos are there anyway? I've not seen the black one before. Too cool. Desperate to build my own now. Love the variations.

So the staff of the prod looks about seven feet long, perhaps a diametre of maybe one and a quarter inches? Or are there any long shots of the whole thing indicating that it is longer? They kinda remind me of the similar weapons in THX-1138; I don't expect I am the first person to notice that. But they didn't have any coupling-things on the head-end... did they?

**** you guys are good. 1970s hydraulic couplings- my new peculiar interest, along with 1970s toilet parts and 1970s food containers and 1940s Axis leathergoods... This is a great hobby. Too much.

I'm wondering what the latest thinking is on dewback prod heads. I noticed that Brak's Buddy had a schematic for one on his TD reference CD. Is this still current? Had anyone ever figured out what the originals look like (they're kind of hard to make out in the screen-shots!)? I guess they're not that common, but I'd like to make one. Turned aluminium I guess? TC

Excellent news! I will keep my lenses peeled for the run list!

Sounds like there is the makings of a respectable run list already...