Landspeeder

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the Star Wars vehicle. For the Warhammer 40,000 vehicle, see Vehicles of the Space Marines (Warhammer 40,000)#Land Speeder.
A replica of the landspeeder owned by Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill)
A replica of the landspeeder owned by Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill)

Landspeeders are fictional antigravity craft used through the Star Wars movies and Star Wars Expanded Universe. They are depicted both in civilian and military capacities, and several versions have been merchandised as toys and models.

Contents

[edit] Origin and design

Landspeeders first appear in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Two of them -- Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) XP-34 and a V-35 -- were fitted around cars; Skywalker's landspeeder was built around a small sports car manufactured by Ogle Design.[1] One of the major challenges the production crew faced was disguising the wheels to create the illusion that the craft was hovering.[2][3] For certain shots, they shot from camera angles that masked the wheels; for long-distance shots, they used reflective material, gelatin on the camera lens, and shadow effects. A small blur could be seen under the speeder, which George Lucas called "The Force Spot" (stated in Special Edition Tape).[2] Production designer Roger Christian used an angled mirror and a broom attached to the vehicle's underside to create, at certain angles, the illusion that the craft was hovering and kicking up dust.[1] Star Wars creator George Lucas used digital technology to enhance the landspeeder effects in the Special Edition of A New Hope.[2] Industrial Light and Magic's (ILM) Doug Chiang design the Naboo Flash speeder with a "race car look" while the Gian speeder's appearance is ILM's response to Lucas' request that the Naboo troops have "a pick-up truck with guns."[4][5]

[edit] Depiction

Expanded Universe material describes speeders as using a "repulsorlift" that allows them to travel above a world's surface; a key differentiating point between landspeeders and airspeeders is the altitude the repulsorlift allows the craft to reach.[6] In A New Hope, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hammil) sells his landspeeder in order to pay Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to take him, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) to Alderaan. Naboo security forces use landspeeders in their attempt to retake the capital city of Theed in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and various speeders appear in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Speeders are playable-controllable craft in a variety of LucasArts titles.

[edit] Cultural impact

 Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.


[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Star Wars Insider #98 Excerpt: Roger Christian. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-12-05.
  2. ^ a b c Star Wars Databank: X-34 Landspeeder (Behind the Scenes). Starwars.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
  3. ^ V-35 landspeeder (Behind the Scenes). Star Wars Databank. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
  4. ^ Gian speeder. Star Wars Databank. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
  5. ^ Flash speeder. Star Wars Databank. Lucasfilm. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
  6. ^ (1996) Star Wars Roleplaying Game, Second Edition, Expanded & Revised, West End Games. ISBN 0874314356. 

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Star Wars Vehicles
Air, aquatic, and ground vehicles
Landspeeder • Snowspeeder • Speeder bike • Walkers
Starfighters
Other spacecraft
See also
Languages