Luke ANH Graflex grips (Hollywood auction house pictures)

Malaki Skywalker

Malaki Skywalker

Well-Known Member
Hello everybody, a "long time lurker" here!

I'm on a mission to find the most accurate ANH (possibly ESB) lightsaber parts. The biggest problem I have come across is the grips, I understand they were made from sliding door tracking. However, after viewing the auction of a lightsaber prop from ANH - it seems Saberfreak has the most accurate grips.

Here 's the auctioned Lightsaber:

0347_1_lg.jpg


Notice the material is brown underneath what looks to be paint:

0347_2_lg.jpg


Another shot:

0347_8_lg.jpg


Is this a variation of the grip material? Is it the material that was used on all the lightsaber props?

Any input would be appreciated :)

Regards

Lewis
 
I always thought that they were strips of rubber from car windscreen (windsheild for you lot in the us ) wiper blades.
 
No, the windshield wiper thing has long been dismissed. The grips are definitely T-Track.

To date no one has found authentic period T-Track that is identical to the stuff Lucasfilm used.

Your options for the best stuff out there are Saberfreak for authentic T-Track that is very close, but not identical, to the original or Gino's T-Track which is very accurate to the original but is a reproduction. It's a tough call and very much up to whatever your personal standards dictate: do you install inaccurate but authentic parts or do you install accurate reproduction parts?

I have some of both and have broken it down this way: The shape of Saberfreak's T-Track is really good and it is mainly lacking in missing the groove, or channel, running down the middle of the bottom surface and that it is brown not black (the inestimable Kurtyboy has used this T-Track on his saber hilts and cut the groove in perfectly then painted them). IIRC there is some photographic evidence that suggests brown T-Track was used on some of the Stormtrooper guns and then painted with the gun. No evidence has surfaced that the T-Track used on the sabers was anything other than black.

So, with those factors in mind, I've kept the Saberfreak T-Track to use on some of my Stormtrooper weapons and I use the Gino T-Track on my Saber hilts. (until such time as we hit the jackpot and find a cache of the real deal)

That's my $.02

Dave
 
Last edited:
The saber from the auction in the OP's first post is not using original t-track found on the screen used props.
In other words, the t-track on that saber was added on later after the production and is not correct. Whether the graflex itself is original to the production or not is anyone's guess.


The original t-track used on all the props throughout the original trilogy were black, plastic, and the same profile in shape.

As said above, no one has found the original track in the same shape and color as the originals.
The closest you can get is the repro stuff I made using screen-used track as the basis.
It is identical in all respects including plastic, color, and shape.
The only difference is that on the original t-track, every 8-10 inches or so there were holes manufactured on the side of the middle hump made for a nail to go in when installing into cabinetry.
You can see this hole on some of the blasters' grips.
Of course when it was cut for the sabers, it was cut into lengths in between the nail holes.

Here's a pic of the screen used hero Vader saber that was used in ESB and ROTJ (and I believe ANH as well).
Also pictured is a quick at-a-glance comparison as well as some of the track used on the ROTJ Fett rifle.

original_grips2.jpg

6354292.jpeg





.
 
What I've always wondered is what profile was the T-track used on the original pre-production models, and is it the same as the sabers.


(photo from moffeaton's flickr)

3733661670_bc0f5a36ee_z.jpg


3732861317_29c74081a3_z.jpg
 
Of all authentic, non-repro tracks found, I would say that Marv's is the closest, but still not close enough. The shape of the fin and the total height is spot-on, but the base is too thin making the fin too high in comparison to the base.
 
About 20 years ago I was visiting Starland in Denver and they had a fan-made lightsaber hilt for sale the grips of which were made of grey Plastruct T-Rod. I bought some to use on my first attempt to build a lightsaber lol I had forgotten all about that until just now.
 
Hi guys and girls,

This is metal T-track that I purchased from Paul a.k.a. pfillery from Australia, which he had discovered in an antique cupboard :

track1.jpg


It has the holes for the screws and almost the same profile as Gino's plastic but lacks the glue channel as seen on the original.


When you look closely at the ends of this metal T-track it's clearly made of folded sheet :

track6.jpg

(Pictures courtesy pfillery)


Here's Paul's finished Luke ANH Graflex lightsaber with the same metal T-track used :

http://www.therpf.com/f9/my-graflex-anh-luke-saber-metal-t-151031/

It looks great and I guess it gives more weight to the end of the 3 Cell as well :)


Still when looking for the most screen-accurate plastic T-track replica ... contact Gino :D


-Chaim
 
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