Pics from the Star Wars/Trek Show! - Crazy AT-AT bar, My hilt, Other awesome work.

So I hadn't planned on trying a hardware lightsaber... I was waiting for a Heiland flash I had ordered to arrive, as well as start a graflex ANH saber project... Just needed my next work contract to start.

But then THIS Art show came up...



I've been a part of this show a few times, and with the theme being Star Wars / Trek, I knew I had to do something, so why not a lightsaber? (I've read a lot of threads on rpf regarding builds)

The trick is, I don't have much money, and I have NO tools currently. At most I can get a drill.

So the challenge was to hit Home Depot and find parts that I don't need to chop up, that fit together with some glue or maybe some drilled screws. I figure I can spend about 50 bucks... and I only have 4 days.

So I hit Home Depot this morning, and after perusing the aisles, came out with these parts:



Yep a lot of plumbing peices. I wanted to do a saber closer to the ANH Vader saber, but I couldn't cut a shroud.

Assembled, this is my base:





It sizes up nicely to the Vader FX hilt...



So here's what I'm thinking to make it look less a bunch of plumbing...

I'm thinking the final piece should look a little battle worn (make it a little more "art")... so I was going to paint the middle piece black, and the threaded peice near the front black as well... then sand down the edges. Does that make sense?



I saw this Vader saber posted by another member - I can't find the thread for the life of me, so I can't give credit - but I would love to achieve this sort of look:


So any suggestions to achieve this in a simple and cheap way? Should I even go for this worn look?

Any ideas about what to use for grips? I was thinking black strip magnet, or trying to find some windshield wipers... suggestions are appreciated! Can't do anything like blastech or Gino T-tracks... for cost and time (4 Days!)... so any rubber/plastic suggestions?

Also, the holes on that metal piece in the middle, I was thinking of LED's glued in (not working, obviously)... Any other ideas?

I'll also need to find a good D-Ring for the bottom.



Last but not least, When you look down the front, it's hollow... any suggestions of what I can lodge in there that may look cool?


Any suggestions, feedback is appreciated! I've seen some crazy work on these boards, and I'm looking to learn.

Re: Hardware Lightsaber Build Challenge for Art Show - Suggestions/ideas wanted!

Hmmm. Well I was expecting the images to show like I saw in my preview... any idea why this didn't work?

Re: Hardware Lightsaber Build Challenge for Art Show - Suggestions/ideas wanted!

Try isolating the image URL, it should end with something like .PNG, .GIF, .JPG; and then put them in image tags.

Re: Hardware Lightsaber Build Challenge for Art Show - Suggestions/ideas wanted!

red4 said:

Try isolating the image URL, it should end with something like .PNG, .GIF, .JPG; and then put them in image tags.

Click to expand...

Thanks... I think I got it figured...

Re: Hardware Lightsaber Build Challenge for Art Show - Suggestions/ideas wanted!

NeoRutty said:

... any suggestions of what I can lodge in there that may look cool?

Click to expand...

Tunnel-gun Tutorial - Laser Pointers

All you need are two small mirrors, a small toy motor and a cheap laser pointer. You can do the same thing with a red laser pointer keychain from the .99 Cent store -Just won't be as "naked eye" visible as the green, without a little smoke or fog.

Re: Hardware Lightsaber Build Challenge for Art Show - Suggestions/ideas wanted!

For the grips, get yourself a long black shoelace and wrap it up Katana style!

View attachment 178297

Re: Hardware Lightsaber Build Challenge for Art Show - Suggestions/ideas wanted!

Beautiful work so far! I think the plumbing pieces you picked up are fantastic.

As for the hollow top of the saber, my suggestion would be some kind of threaded hose nozzle, like this -





You should be able to find these at any hardware store. Lowe's has a decent supply of d-rings, as well - Shop d ring at Lowes.com: Search Results!

Hope this helps, and good luck!

Kind regards,
Craig

Re: Hardware Lightsaber Build Challenge for Art Show - Suggestions/ideas wanted!

Copper9 said:

For the grips, get yourself a long black shoelace and wrap it up Katana style!

View attachment 178297

Click to expand...

That may be a solution should I not find anything else... I did a katana wrap for my "Dr. McNinja" Halloween costume... it's a cool look (see profile pic)...

Re: Hardware Lightsaber Build Challenge for Art Show - Suggestions/ideas wanted!

serrecuir said:

Beautiful work so far! I think the plumbing pieces you picked up are fantastic.

As for the hollow top of the saber, my suggestion would be some kind of threaded hose nozzle, like this -


[url]http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk36/serrecuir/RPF/BrassNozzle_zps19bcbf13.jpeg[/URL]


You should be able to find these at any hardware store. Lowe's has a decent supply of d-rings, as well - Shop d ring at Lowes.com: Search Results!

Hope this helps, and good luck!

Kind regards,
Craig

Click to expand...

Thanks!

Yeah the brass coloring look could be good too... I may have to dig around Home Depot again.

The challenge is securing it... so far I'm using rubber washers to keep everything tight. I need a workshop and tools.

Re: Hardware Lightsaber Build Challenge for Art Show - Suggestions/ideas wanted!

As for the green laser light.... I like the look, but I wouldn't be able to fit it in the small area I have. I actually tried to get the innards of an LED flashlight from the dollare store inside, but I couldn't figure a way to get it to light up without major tooling around and soldering (no tools!)...

Re: Hardware Lightsaber Build Challenge for Art Show - Suggestions/ideas wanted!

So continuing with my cheap, budget, hardware build...

So that piece in the middle has a pretty awesome "Mexico" tag and other markings on another section. I tried to figure a way to get rid of it without sanding it off (no tools to do it) so I decided to just cover it with a sliced up coke can...





I sanded the pieces down so they'll hopefully take to glue better... here are the two pieces...





Just gotta wait for it to dry, then do a good coating of black.

Was having a hard time finding something to use for grips, so I had to settle for bunjee chords (3 bucks) and will cut and bolt them in place.



Maybe work?

Re: Hardware Lightsaber Build for Art Show - Suggestions/ideas wanted!

Finished! And off to the gallery.

4 days, 50 bucks, and a drill - all from Home Depot/Canadian Tire...











It was fun trying ot put something together for this show at the last minute with little money and no tools (save for a drill)...

I'll post pics from the show after Friday...

Re: FINISHED - Hardware Lightsaber Build for Art Show



I know this isn't EXACTLY prop replicating... but I dropped by the Art Show this Friday, and figured I'd post a couple of pics of the pieces I liked... starting with my friend, Colin Johnson's, crazy AT-AT Wet Bar!













Colin's work can be seen at: It's Blog it's Blog it's Big it's Heavy it's Wood

Then of course there was my saber hilt...



My wife (http://fromthep-nutgallery.blogspot.ca/)had put together three pieces... a Yoda (complete with orange snake... cuz that's what I remember most about my 80's figure), A Chewbacca, and, to fit in with the "Wars vs. Trek" theme, a Chewbacca Tribble.



I wanted to buy the AT-AT piece by Fred Chevalier, but it was already sold. Ah well...



Fred also made this one... which was nuts, but too much for my pocket...



This piece by Vicki Lynn Rae was pretty bad-ass as well...



Ah if only I had the wall space and money...

Rutty

Re: Pics from the Star Wars/Trek Show! - Crazy AT-AT bar, My hilt, Other awesome work

Wow, great pieces all around!