BEHIND THE SCENES: 'DEADLY BLASTERS!'

In one of the many corridors of the immense Death Star battle station, a trio of Imperial Stormtroopers believe they've finally re-captured the escaped Princess Leia and one of her Rebel cohorts, as the classic chasm sequence begins from the original Star Wars. The above shot, part of a sequence filmed in late April 1976, was one of the well-used images in worldwide publicity and merchandising of the soldiers.

Stormtroopers attack our heroes just as the chasm shield door goes down. Note that in this unseen take there are four troopers, one of whom is down - presumably taken out by Luke's return fire.

No matter how better constructed future generations of armour would be across the various sequels, and how many other variations of soldiers were created, the original onscreen incarnation of the Stormtroopers, created for the 1976 filming in bulk via the London-based Shepperton Design Studios, remains the best.

Stuntman Colin Skeaping (left) with two extras/colleagues (right, possibly stuntman Reg Harding) either in scene rehearsal or in-between action filming.

(12) Every Stormtrooper in Star Wars Explained By Lucasfilm | WIRED - YouTube