BEHIND THE SCENES: BUILDING DAGOBAH!

Potential filming in either the Florida swamps or the Phillipines, so as to represent the 'Bog World' of Dagobah, proved too problematic and potentially dangerous for The Empire Strikes Back's production team, who instead elected to make the strange and atmospheric environment within the UK and Europe's largest all-new soundstage at Elstree - the aptly crowned Star Wars Stage, during July 1979.

The end results seen on the screen were more than spectacular and memorable.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 45: INSIDE THE ECHO BASE HANGAR...

Having successfully evaded the dreaded Imperial Starfleet so as to set up a seemingly secure operation on the challenging ice realm that is the Hoth system's fourth planet, the key Rebel Alliance cell commanded by General Rieekan and Princess Leia Organa soon faces great hurdles in getting its weaponry and vehicles adjusted to the planet's inhospitable climate. Thankfully, they have a huge set of hangar bays and a talented team of technicians to make the impossible ultimately possible. 

But it won't be long before Echo Base soon has an unwanted enemy visitor discovering their presence...   

Located on the massive Elstreet Studios' Star Wars Stage, specially built for the ambitious new worlds to be realised for The Empire Strikes Back, enjoy this behind the scenes image selection.

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Building the hangar at Elstree during Summer, 1979.

Positioning the full-size Millennium Falcon build.

BEHIND THE SCENES: FUN ON THE 'STAR WARS STAGE'!

Image: Mark Sennet via the Star Wars Archives website.

Forty-three years ago this Summer, the legendary and expansive Star Wars Stage was built exclusively for use with The Empire Strikes Back at Elstree Studios, and proved an enormous asset not only for the all-important first Star Wars sequel (for sequences set on Hoth and later Dagobah), but for all other future blockbuster films made there (including the Indiana Jones trilogy), right up until its eventual and sad demise by the nineties - the space now enjoyed by a Tesco's shopping centre!

Enjoy this great image selection of Empire's main cast (and crew) taken on set during filming of critical Rebel Base hangar scenes for the movie in 1979...

Underneath the Falcon.

Mark Hamill in a Snowspeeder.

Threepio hides out by an X-wing engine pod!

He loves her. She knows!

Fisher always enjoyed frolicking with Anthony Daniels in his Threepio costume.

The various UK and US art department talents pose for a group shot by a transport vehicle.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: CREATING DAGOBAH!

A new realm takes shape at Elstree Studios.

With the idea of location filming having been ruled out for time and practical reasons (though swamps in Florida, as well as other Latin American areas, had been prior checked out), it was decided that the newly built Star Wars Stage at Elstree would be the perfect controlled venue for creating the unusual and visually distinctive bog planet realm of Dagobah, which would not only include massive trees constructs (which could be moved and rearranged so as to be different forest areas), set decorated with huge amounts of foliage and brought-in reptiles of all shapes and sizes, but also needed a swamp lake to house an X-wing fighter prop and a small hut belonging to Yoda. This would prove a huge but rewarding challenge for Production Designer Norman Reynolds and his team, especially as the entire set had to be resistant to the various elements of rain and mud that would be thrown at it, and raised from the studio floor so as to make allowances for puppeteers to maneuver, as they started construction work in mid-Summer, 1979.

Here's a selection of shots showing Dagobah's evolving construction...

Building the pool area that will house the crash-landed X-wing.

The styrofoam-based material hut for Yoda is carved and created.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: MISTY ARRIVAL!

It's 'something out of a dream' indeed for both Luke Skywalker and actor Mark Hamill, in this superb behind the scenes image shot on the evocative Dagobah swamp set at Elstree Studios, as filming on The Empire Strikes Back nears completion by Autumn 1979.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: SWAMP SPLASH DOWN!

Disappointed with his landing skills, Luke looks out to examine his unusual new surroundings on Dagobah.

 Now free of the Rebel base hangar, an Asteroid cave and a Bespin landing platform, the ever-busy Star Wars Stage was miraculously transformed into this incredibly alien vista. The opening scenes were actually filed in reverse, with the landing scenes near the end of filming, as the set was not originally ready to house the water tank. It got so dirty and slippery to traverse that people often nearly fell in, with production design team member Les Dilley actually coming a cropper.

The Dagobah swamp set takes shape at Elstree Studios' Star Wars Stage.

"All of the scenes on Dagobah were difficult. We needed the water to be three-and-a-half to four-feet deep- and it had to be controlled under the set. We had a bunch of frogmen underneath the water who had to pull Luke's ship down. It was so large that once it was taken off its hinges and sunk it had to be brought right back up for the next take. Thankfully, the water was so muddy you could never see anyone underneath it, but people were always lying down there. I remember being asked at the beginning of the sequence if it was a good idea to clean the water and I told them to keep it dirty because otherwise it would be impossible to hide anything."

Irvin Kershner - STAR WARS Insider magazine interview - 2010

The X-wing would be propped up in the water tank by unseen scaffolding.

Note the Dragonsnake creature prop in the swamp water that will be operated under its shell by on-set divers.

The Kenny Baker-less Artoo shell would be pulled into the water by unseen piano wire attached to one of its foot stumps.

Mark goes for a swim!

With UK on set diver Joe Gibson.

Technicians help Kenny Baker, now in the Artoo shell, for close-up scenes.

Kenny Baker in the Artoo shell, alongside Joe Gibson.

The Artoo 'periscope' is constantly in and out of the water.

An on-set diver with the Artoo shell, of which he is spray-applying more dirt and grime to it.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: THE ROGUES GATHER!

Reunited with his team mates of Rogue Flight, Commander Luke Skywalker hops into his Snowspeeder, chatting with his friend and co-pilot Dack (played by John Morton, his voice dubbed in post production), a young man eager and ready to take on the whole Empire himself!

A relaxed Mark Hamill between filming takes.