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- "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."
- ―Han Solo, to Luke Skywalker on the supposed advantages of a blaster over a lightsaber
Blasters came in many shapes and sizes.
A blaster,[1] also called a gun,[2] was any type of ranged weapon that fired bolts of intense plasma energy, often mistaken for lasers. Operating under the same principles as laser weaponry and firing at least partially by means of magnetic induction, blasters converted energy-rich gas to a glowing particle beam that could melt through targets.[1] They came in a variety of sizes and shapes, including blaster pistols, blaster rifles,[3] reconfigurable blasters,[4] and blaster cannons.[5] Blaster artillery could also be attached on droids[6] and vehicles.[7] They could deliver variable levels of damage intensity, from stun to kill settings. They also could hit with great frictional or even explosive force; this last allowed a bolt to kill on impact, even if the target was armored in any way. Some blaster hits could cause bleeding instead of burning, or could do both, with the explosive force causing other damage around the wound. Despite their blazing concussive blasts, those ranged energized particle weapons could be countered by magnetic seals and deflector shields.[8] The blade of a lightsaber could also deflect incoming blaster bolts.[8] In the Security Forces of Naboo, some blasters were equipped with ascension guns.[9] Some blasters could fire low-powered training bolts characterized by their orange color.[10]
Dedlanite was a material used in the manufacture of blasters, and could power them.[11] BlasTech Industries was a major manufacturer of blasters.[12]
Blaster bolts came in different colors. Red was the most common color, and was made from cheaper gas. This color was used by the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Rebel Alliance, the Galactic Empire,[13] and the First Order.[14] Blue was used by the Galactic Republic,[13] and the Resistance. This was an ionized type of blaster bolt that specialized in disabling machinery such as droids but was also effective against organic beings.[source?] Green was used by Naboo Security Forces,[13] and the Umbarans. This was a more expensive and more powerful type of blaster gas.[15] Yellow was used by Mandalorians.[13] Purple was used by the Geonosian Starfighters, the Malevolence and most notably the Magna Guards. Orange was used by the Marksman-H training remote and training droids on Kamino as a low power and non-lethal type of blaster bolt. Cyan was a low-powered version of the blue blaster bolt that was used by clone cadets in their training sessions against training droids.
Appearances[edit | edit source]
Non-canon appearances[edit | edit source]
- "All I Want For Life Day" (Appears in hologram)
- "Far Too Remote"—From a Certain Point of View
- Star Wars: Puzzle Droids
Star Wars Blips – "The Chase"- LEGO Star Wars Movie Short: Snowball Sight (Non-canonical source)
- LEGO Star Wars Movie Short: Wampa Woes (Non-canonical source)
- The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special
Sources[edit | edit source]
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Incredible Cross-Sections
- ↑
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Rookies"
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
- ↑ Solo: A Star Wars Story
- ↑ Star Wars: Complete Vehicles
- ↑
Droideka in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ Snowspeeder in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 blasters in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ Captain Panaka in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ "Vision of Hope" Trivia Gallery on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ Chewbacca 1
- ↑ Ultimate Star Wars
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Star Wars Super Graphic: A Visual Guide to a Galaxy Far, Far Away
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Darkness on Umbara"
External links[edit | edit source]
- Blaster on Wikipedia
