release of Return of the Jedi. The skyhopper model that Skywalker handles in A New Hope is the concept model Colin Cantwell built; budget limitations allowed only a partial full-size mock-up of the craft to be built. In Star Wars: Rebel Assault, skyhoppers are used by Rebel pilots to train in Tatooine's Beggar's canyon. Snowspeeder (T-47 Airspeeder) A T-47 airspeeder, better known as "snowspeeder", is a Rebel Alliance vehicle featured in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and several books, comics, and video games in the Star Wars Expanded Universe and also in Atari game cartridges in the 80's. Snowspeeder models and replicas have been merchandised by several companies. Origin and design During production of The Empire Strikes Back, designer Joe Johnston conceived a ship that combined the body of an X-wing and the cockpit of the Y-wing. However, this design was scrapped for the T-47, which featured no elements from previous craft. Johnston's designs for the Snowspeeders have influenced later Star Wars designers, such as Tommy Lee Edwards. The models were built in three different scales by Steve Gawley, Charlie Bailey, and Mike Fulmer of ILM, with the smallest (20 inches) used for motion control photography, and the largest (2½ feet) for hero and pyrotechnic shots. All models included motor-controlled flaps to imply maneuverability, and the largest version also possessed motor-articulated crew Several full-scale props were built in London for the hangar, cockpit, and speeder crash scenes. Depiction According to background sources, the Rebel Alliance received a small squadron of modified T-47 airspeeders – aircraft which utilize repulsorlifts to achieve flight – shortly after establishing Echo Base on Hoth. These civilian speeders, originally meant for retrieving and hauling cargo sleds with their tow cables, were converted for military use by bolting on a pair of laser cannons with accompanying power converters and laser generator system. Additional armor plating was also added on to increase protection; this armor was originally carried by Y-wing starfighters but removed by Rebel technicians to ease maintenance. These modifications made the T-47 a highly maneuverable short-range attack craft which uses its speed and agility to avoid being hit. However, the intense environment of Hoth initially proved too hostile to these T-47s as the cold temperatures would cause their power generators to lock up. Only after Rebel mechanics modified the heat radiator fins at the back of the ships to make them less efficient was this problem