Greetings fellow star wars fans of the RPF! I am new to the forums and can not be more happy to have joined 
.
Late this summer I acquired a semi-complete Graphlex unit. I won it from an auction and it came with a Graphic Crown 4x5, light bulb, reflector and, of course, the beloved 3 cell. The only problem I with this unit in particular was that it was missing the red button.
Not suppressed by missing my missing piece I proceeded with my ANH build.
I had a general consesus of what it entailed but still, I started by messeging a couple of RPF members to be sure I had all the minute details in order (Thanks, Chaim and Roy!) Then, I ordered the grips and d-ring from Roy. At the time, the exactra bubble strips were not in stock at Roy's site but I do plan on ordering soon.
While the kit was being shipped, I printed out the grip template from parts of star wars. I taped it onto the bottom of the flash and made marks so I would be ready when the grips arrived.
A little less than two weeks later, Roys kit arrived. Immediately, I measured them to length and started to cut them. To cut them I used a 10in mini-hacksaw and after sanded down the rough edges.
To accurately mark the bevel on the grips I used a neat little protractor I found at Home Depot, and then I sanded them down with a file.
I made a couple of small mistakes on the grips here and there, but it was of no importance because I planned on weathering them. To achieve a subtle weather to the grips, I used various grades of sandpaper and a few different files. I really wanted a used feel to them without making it seem out of proportion to the rest of the vintage hilt. Im really happy with the final results:
Before attatching the grips, I weathered the d-ring, again with sand paper and files. Using a couple of reference pictures and templates (supplied by Chaim) I masked off the bottom of the flash and lined up the d-ring. I then traced the hole of the ring onto the masking tape and was ready to drill. I was so relieved after drilling to see that I didnt screw anything up :cool. Now, I had to attatch the d-ring. This part was not hard whatsoever. I just used a standard pop rivet to rivet them into place.
All I had left to do now was glue in the grips. I used Gorilla super glue and it works fine for now. Maybe sometime in the future I'll reglue with something like IC-2000.
Alas, the some-what finished product:
Note that was still missing the red button. So, I did what any rational person would do... I went online and bought another flash unit. Not willing to spend $150+ on a button alone, I went a got a 2 cell. It came with all original parts so Im pretty happy with my decision. I switched out the button and it looks great.
Im now debating on what to do with this 2 cell now. At first I thought of selling to turn a quick buck, but now I think Im going to convert it to a hero ESB. Heres my thought process: I'll order the new bubble strip and ESB kit from Roy at the same time to save shipping time, and try to get some of Roman's new parts upon release. Sounds reasonably right?..
Anyways, thats pretty much it. I'll close with this beauty shot:
.Late this summer I acquired a semi-complete Graphlex unit. I won it from an auction and it came with a Graphic Crown 4x5, light bulb, reflector and, of course, the beloved 3 cell. The only problem I with this unit in particular was that it was missing the red button.
Not suppressed by missing my missing piece I proceeded with my ANH build.
I had a general consesus of what it entailed but still, I started by messeging a couple of RPF members to be sure I had all the minute details in order (Thanks, Chaim and Roy!) Then, I ordered the grips and d-ring from Roy. At the time, the exactra bubble strips were not in stock at Roy's site but I do plan on ordering soon.
While the kit was being shipped, I printed out the grip template from parts of star wars. I taped it onto the bottom of the flash and made marks so I would be ready when the grips arrived.
A little less than two weeks later, Roys kit arrived. Immediately, I measured them to length and started to cut them. To cut them I used a 10in mini-hacksaw and after sanded down the rough edges.
To accurately mark the bevel on the grips I used a neat little protractor I found at Home Depot, and then I sanded them down with a file.
I made a couple of small mistakes on the grips here and there, but it was of no importance because I planned on weathering them. To achieve a subtle weather to the grips, I used various grades of sandpaper and a few different files. I really wanted a used feel to them without making it seem out of proportion to the rest of the vintage hilt. Im really happy with the final results:
Before attatching the grips, I weathered the d-ring, again with sand paper and files. Using a couple of reference pictures and templates (supplied by Chaim) I masked off the bottom of the flash and lined up the d-ring. I then traced the hole of the ring onto the masking tape and was ready to drill. I was so relieved after drilling to see that I didnt screw anything up :cool. Now, I had to attatch the d-ring. This part was not hard whatsoever. I just used a standard pop rivet to rivet them into place.
All I had left to do now was glue in the grips. I used Gorilla super glue and it works fine for now. Maybe sometime in the future I'll reglue with something like IC-2000.
Alas, the some-what finished product:
Note that was still missing the red button. So, I did what any rational person would do... I went online and bought another flash unit
. Not willing to spend $150+ on a button alone, I went a got a 2 cell. It came with all original parts so Im pretty happy with my decision. I switched out the button and it looks great.Im now debating on what to do with this 2 cell now. At first I thought of selling to turn a quick buck, but now I think Im going to convert it to a hero ESB. Heres my thought process: I'll order the new bubble strip and ESB kit from Roy at the same time to save shipping time, and try to get some of Roman's new parts upon release. Sounds reasonably right?..
Anyways, thats pretty much it. I'll close with this beauty shot:
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