ROGUE ONE: AN X-WING IN READINESS!

Within the converted hangar bay of one of the Massassi Temples on Yavin IV, an X-wing fighter and its unique astro droid navigator/technician stand ready to receive their next call to outer space action.

A nice selection of behind the scene images from the location filming of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story that nostalgically took place at Cardington air hangar turned studios Shed 1, during 2015, at the same facility that had played host to Yavin IV exterior filming for the original Star Wars back in 1976.

Photo blow-up of an X-wing side for background use.

Exterior filming at Cardington Shed 1.

BEHIND THE SCENES: ARRIVAL AT THE YAVIN IV BASE

Image: Ann Skinner/ BFI.

Outside the immense Shed One at the former airship construction hangar at Cardington in Summer 1976, the main cast (minus Harrison Ford (his filming schedule prior completed, and now returned to the US) and Anthony Daniels (back at Elstree where he is needed for other filming)- replaced by unknown British stand- ins) film their arrival at Yavin IV's Massassi Temple for the original Star Wars, of which a matte painting would be superimposed over the background in post production. Also shot was an ultimately deleted sequence where our heroes board transportation vehicles to head into the temple's fighter bay interior.

Filming in 1976.

A modern shot of the Cardington sheds now often used for studio filming. Image: Wikipedia.

ROGUE ONE: RETURN OF THE X-WINGS!

Potential Spoilers Ahead...

A familiar, nay iconic, fighter is put into position at the Cardington Air Base location in London (previously used in 1976 for the original STAR WARS), housing a part of the Rebel Alliance's contingent of old but souped-up Rebel craft, soon departing their secret base of Yavin IV and partaking in a gripping battle above and below the skies of the tropical world of Scarif. We're looking forward to a key effects sequence where a flight of cover fire support X-wings take on the ground-pounding blaster power of the Imperial's AT-ACT Cargo Walkers!

Inside the hangar, as seen in the teaser trailer.

Don't be too surprised to see a few familiar pre-Battle of Yavin X and Y-wing fighter pilots appearing in ROGUE ONE, either, via clever ILM digital magic, come December 2016.

'Rogue One': Meet the U-Wing, the New 'Star Wars' Model | Hollywood Reporter

X-wings seen outdoors as a U-Wing fighter takes flight on Yavin IV.

BEHIND THE SCENES: FILM HISTORY IN THE MAKING...

STAR WARS Fan Club art by Ralph McQuarrie.

Today is the 39th anniversary of the original STAR WARS, yet 2016 is also the 40th amazing anniversary year in which the film started filming, under (mostly) snobbishly ignorant gazes, little press attention or studio enthusiasm, at London's Elstree Studios, and transatlantically via George Lucas's in-development effects house ILM, at what many thought was a shoddy but now iconic building/garage located at Van Nuys, California.

Here's a taster of the amazing work being undertaken in that incredible and now history-making time- some great, very rare B/W images which previously appeared on mega-fan Kevin Burton's now seemingly defunct UK website: www.swrealprops.com, which once dealt in rare props and imagery selling.

R5-D4 gets a close inspection from Luke, in one of the first scenes filmed for the movie in Tunisia. March 1976.

Mardji the Elephant is costumed to become a Bantha for additional California filming in January 1977.

UK crewman Jim Marlowe dons a Threepio suit for costume assembly reference photography.

"I think we took a wrong turn!"

The original, ultimately unused shot of the Jawa Sandcrawler filmed on location in Tunisia, replaced by additional footage at Death Valley, and with a further matte painting enhancement.

A shot of the Tusken Raider view of the canyon soon traversed by Luke's Landspeeder.

The droids wait in an alcove of the Death Star Hangar.

"What a piece of junk!"

The classic Lars Homestead location, as the sunset occurs.

The Jawas acquire Artoo on location in Tunisia- March 1976.

A close-in look at Luke's Landspeeder.

The missing Artoo is found as filming continues at the now famous STAR WARS Canyon in Tunisia.

Anthony Daniels and Mark Hamill film their soon deleted Landspeeder scene against back projection at Elstree, near the end of the film's UK shooting.

Peter Cushing's Tarkin watches a graphic-less view screen on the Death Star overbridge.

Troopers at Tunisia prepare to see the to-be-added Falcon blast off from the spaceport.

Nice shot of a droid and human extras at Ajim, Tunisia, during April 1976.

More of the Tunisian extras for the Mos Eisley spaceport scene.

Sir Alec Guinness film the tractor beam scene, in this great above the studio image.

Another image- the Death Star elevator section -  that will be enhanced with a McQuarrie matte painting

Filming at the UK's Cardington Airbase hangar for the Massassi Temple arrival on Yavin.

Han Solo blasts a TIE fighter. Storyboard: Joe Johnston.

Blue Leader is ready. Note the lost of kills!

At the Death Star equator. Storyboard:

The Death Star is approaching...

Point of view within the Death Star trench.

"All wings report in." Storyboard: Joe Johnston.

Soon a classic image on film. Storyboard: Joe Johnston.

Y-wing commander Red (later Gold) Leader is killed.

X-wing fighters almost ready for paint detailing at ILM.

Closer shot of an X-wing.

Another closer shot.

Darth Vader's striking persoanl TIE fighter.

HAPPY THIRTY-NINTH BIRTHDAY TO THE ORIGINAL 'STAR WARS'!

BEHIND THE SCENES: ARRIVAL ON YAVIN IV!

Now landed on the lush jungle world of Yavin IV, Princess Leia and our heroes are collected and escorted by two speeder transports for delivery into a Massassi Temple housing the Rebel Alliance's secret base and hangar bay. Shot on Wednesday 14th July, 1976, this live-action scene was originally filmed by a second unit (with Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Peter Mayhew in attendance, with a double (paid £38.15p) for Anthony Daniels as Threepio (presumably in a spare golden suit), who was back at Elstree filming alongside Kenny Baker as Artoo. Having already returned States-side, Harrison Ford, prior completing his filming on June 24th, 1976, would also be replaced here by an unknown stand-in (paid £24.25p) outside one of two immense plane building hangars located at RAF Cardington Air Establishments in Bedfordshire, with a superb matte painting overlaid by Harrison Ellenshaw during ILM's Post Production*. 

A sequence of the two arriving speeder transports (in the original Fourth Draft script to have been a single military vehicle) moving off with their passengers on a stretch of road by the huge hangar (also presumably to have been overlaid with art) was additionally shot that day but ultimately cut from the film (though luckily captured for reference purposes on colour Polaroid by Script Supervisor Ann Skinner).

* For the later SPECIAL EDITIONs of the film, additional background embellishments were added to the distant hangar area.