Have you ever looked at stormtrooper armor and thought, “Hold up, why are their legs kinda mismatched?”
For soldiers who are supposed to be all about perfect order, it feels totally off, right? But here’s the kicker – there’s actually a reason for it.
And once you know, it weirdly makes a ton of sense.
When you look at a stormtrooper’s leg armor, you’ll see the left knee has this distinct “sniper plate.”
I’ve seen fans call it that, and it really does make sense in a practical way.
The plate’s purpose seems to be giving stormtroopers extra stability when they’re down on one knee, especially if they need to fire while kneeling.
Having that raised knee pad helps them stay balanced, protects the knee from the ground, and gives a bit of traction if needed. This setup helps make firing positions a bit more manageable.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting: while the Empire’s ideal soldier might be right-eye dominant, the actors playing stormtroopers often ended up holding their blasters left-handed.
Why? Because of the way the E-11 blasters were designed!
The blaster, which was actually modeled on the Sterling SMG, has a sideways magazine that would keep snagging on the trooper’s chest plate if held right-handed.
To avoid this hassle, most actors flipped it to their left hand, keeping that bulky mag pointed away from their armor.
This switch meant they came across as left-handed on screen, even though the armor itself was clearly designed with a right-handed, right-eye dominant stance in mind.
So, this “sniper plate” on the left knee was meant for stability, but the whole left-handed blaster quirk?
That was pure set impracticality, something that unintentionally became part of the stormtrooper “look.”