AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: ION CONTROL READY!

In the panoramic control room adjacent to the main weapon that is the Ion Cannon, Rebel technicians prepare to fire on the orbiting Imperial Death Fleet in this great conceptual art by Ralph McQuarrie, for a set that was apparently almost constructed for filming at Elstree but ultimately aborted for time and budget reasons. Instead, the action would be transferred to the main Rebel Command Centre set.

The maquette for the unused Ion Cannon control room set.

A close look at the would-have-been set matching closely with the McQuarrie painting.

CLASSIC IMAGE: THE LONELY WALK...

His mentor Obi-Wan is seemingly dead, and Han and Chewie are departing the crazy rebels with their reward loot. Luke's new family seems to have broken up around him as he and his droids make a lonely walk towards his new fighter within the immense Yavin IV base, in this rare B/W image from the original Star Wars. Note the cardboard cutout of the X-wing fighter in the background and the partial scale Y-wing fighter prop.

'STAR WARS' AT 40: WARTIME AIDES!

The communications of the Rebel pilots and their movements are tracked in the Rebel command centre on Yavin IV, by a team of technicians, bringing aid and assistance to the space heroes where possible, the overall actions overseen and watched by the main Rebel leaders, including Jan Dodonna and a concerned Princess Leia.

Generic shot of background technicians, filmed at Shepperton Studios.

One of the main liaison officers is played by veteran film and TV actor Burnell Tucker, appearing in other blockbusters around the late seventies and eighties like SUPERMAN THE MOVIE and FLASH GORDON, and whom would return to duty as a Rebel on Hoth for The Empire Strikes Back (though there his voice would be dubbed by another actor). Here he warns the Rebel pilots that enemy ships are incoming.

Burnell Tucker as a Rebel technician, warning the pilots of the approaching TIEs.

'STAR WARS' AT 40: THE SECOND PILOT...

As the Rebels enter final launching stages from their hangar, a concerned Threepio and a technician help load Artoo Detoo into Luke's new X-wing fighter. Though we already see Artoo hoisted up in the original 1977 film, this angle/footage didn't appear, though similar still images to this from the moment would appear in numerous magazines and merchandise back in the day.

https://starwarsaficionado.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/scenes-we-want-on-blu-ray-fighter-pilot.html