Can it be done? - Vader ROTJ saber WIP

[Brevin Din-Shay]

After an 8-year hiatus from mastering these sabers, I'm about to finish off my 8th. For those interested, you can follow along as I go.

The pics are a bit bright, so I apologize in advance. The drilling is already finished (real Graflex topshell), and the hex bolts are countersunk in a sturdy nylon insert. The insert also gives a very "realistic" balance to the hilt.

I've only converted one other with the metal kit. Usually, I make my own parts for about half of it. As usual, I had to tweak some things to get them to fit together. There really is no such thing as a "ready-to-go" kit plus a Graflex. It is much more complicated than that.

This saber is being completed for Joe Garcia, another old-timer. :lol

 

[clancampbell]

Good to see you back in action! You realize you're going to be innundated with requests for kits?....speaking of which.....

Rich

 

[Brevin Din-Shay]

Must've had a name change....only Rich I can think of is Rayra.

Who is this?

 

[cayman shen]

Man, I remember doing that with a Kenny kit back in 07. Cutting those holes in a real Graflex and folding the bunny ears and sanding the bulb-holder below the lip so the emitter insert would sit flush...oh my god was that stressful. I don't think I pooped the whole time I was working on it. But the end results were fabulous. One of my favorite sabers. I picked up the MR for 200 shipped, which is a once in a lifetime deal, but decided that with the accurate uneven bolts and the lack of weathering, it just didn't suit me. God this is a cool saber.

 

[Brevin Din-Shay]

Ha, exactly! Glad to know you still have yours, man. Post up pics! I haven't seen it in a long time.

BTW, on a side note - it's weird coming back here and seeing the Archives section removed. My biggest thread ever is gone....researching this saber (it had 484 replies and tons of pics). :confused

Man, I remember doing that with a Kenny kit back in 07. Cutting those holes in a real Graflex and folding the bunny ears and sanding the bulb-holder below the lip so the emitter insert would sit flush...oh my god was that stressful. I don't think I pooped the whole time I was working on it. But the end results were fabulous. One of my favorite sabers. I picked up the MR for 200 shipped, which is a once in a lifetime deal, but decided that with the accurate uneven bolts and the lack of weathering, it just didn't suit me. God this is a cool saber.

 

[dcarty]

Must be something in the water--I'm building two of these myself!

 

[Brevin Din-Shay]

Must be something in the water--I'm building two of these myself!

Hey Dave! Long time, man!

You know what I started thinking about last night? Doing a complete scratch build like Wado Yado used to do. I want to use that stainless steel handicap rail for the base.

What do you think? I have a few weeks until I have to start teaching again....wanna give it a go with me, or at least try? I honestly don't know if I'd be able to pull it off, but it's something to shoot for.

 

[dcarty]

Synchronicity bro!

That's so funny--I actually am building an old-school scratch saber with the stainless tube for a friend of mine and doing up a Graflex for myself--lol.

Here's my little progress. I'm working on installing the bolts next:

Here's the vintage Target stainless refrigerator magnet:

 

[cayman shen]

Ha, exactly! Glad to know you still have yours, man. Post up pics! I haven't seen it in a long time.

BTW, on a side note - it's weird coming back here and seeing the Archives section removed. My biggest thread ever is gone....researching this saber (it had 484 replies and tons of pics). :confused

No, I had to sell it, along with a half dozen other sabers, when I got divorced. :cry I'm down to just three sabers at the moment. Everytime I buy one, another big bill comes, it seems!

The Vader ROTJ thread you refer to was something I read and re-read over and over a few years ago. Probably my favorite thread ever, all the speculation, the WIPs, the jillions of MOM pics. I have a real affection for this saber. Good times.

 

[dcarty]

Just for the heck of it here's what progress I have made on my Graflex based ROTJ stunt version.

If I ever do another one of these I'm going to be more careful when I drill the leftover Luke grip area holes. When I drilled them out this time I relied on a template posted here years ago to position the holes and I think it distorted when scaled to fit the grip. When I glued the grips in place I found that two of the "leftover Lukes" are off by about a holes' width:

 

[STARTREKTOS]

Can't wait to see some more pics. Looking nice.

 

[Brevin Din-Shay]

Wow, and all the talk back in the mid-2000s about how scratch-builders were doomed because of MR.

I LOVE what I'm seeing! The fire's back! Dave, is that control box one I sent you? I remember one that was yellowed with a few bubbles, that's why I ask. Also, when I said "scratch built," I mean COMPLETELY scratch. No casting or anything.

Caymen - sorry to hear that, man. I also had to sell off my entire collection after my divorce. The good thing is, you can always rebuild.
That's cool about the old thread. I'm glad you read it so much and got so much out of it. I really wish I kept it archived on a disc now.



One other thing - Dave, I like the Graflex, man. I also found my template made by Quartz last night, and I've wanted to build my own. That's a touch harder than the Vader, IMO, mainly due to the "ears" and the red button....

Keep posting!

 

[Wes R]

looks really good. And remind me not to get a divorce (assuming i can find a wife) lol. I've always thought of making one the way i'd want one if i was a jedi.

 

[OdiWan72]

Looking great! :thumbsup

ONe day I´ll have to rebuild my recent ROTJ DV saber, because mine has the equally spaced sunken holes due to an old -inaccurate- template I used (on a REAL Graflex shell :cry).

What template are you using for the top-shell?
Would it be possible to email me? odendall@t-online.de

Is there such a thing as a template for the 3 cell bottom with correct hole placement???

Markus

 

[Brevin Din-Shay]

I have the accurate template, Markus. Some people prefer the one you used, because it's symmetrical. It's an aesthetic issue, really.

I'll need to scan it and then I can e-mail it to you. The template I have always used (to answer your question) is the one made by Kal-El, using Quartz's and Wado Yado's measurements for reference.

Lastly, if you mean for the "leftover Luke holes" in the handle section, I have a template for that. I've never used it, though, because I don't think it's accurate. Darth Saber would know, if anyone does. I just go by photos.

 

[OdiWan72]

Thanks in advance :thumbsup

Markus

 

[dcarty]

Wow, and all the talk back in the mid-2000s about how scratch-builders were doomed because of MR.

I LOVE what I'm seeing! The fire's back! Dave, is that control box one I sent you? I remember one that was yellowed with a few bubbles, that's why I ask. Also, when I said "scratch built," I mean COMPLETELY scratch. No casting or anything.

One other thing - Dave, I like the Graflex, man. I also found my template made by Quartz last night, and I've wanted to build my own. That's a touch harder than the Vader, IMO, mainly due to the "ears" and the red button....

Keep posting!

That is the control box you sent! How cool is that? I'm not going completely scratch built on this one as it's for a buddy of mine and I figured I'd take the easy road where I could.

That said, I guess the emitter collar is at least "partially" scratch built. It's a resin piece I had that I sanded down too much (doh!) and had to rebuild it with Bondo-glass lol.

On another note- DO NOT USE the template for the leftover Luke holes that's floating around out there. That's the one I used on my Graflex based ROTJ pics you see and the holes are off--use the Mark 1 Eyeball and pics instead like you suggest David.

 

[dcarty]

Here's the stainless steel "graflex"

 

[Mr_Creepy]

If this is the same one you showed me 4 years ago it's about time you got it finished! :lol

 

[cayman shen]

Hey, this is kinda making me want to build another one. Are the Elvistrooper templates still considered solid for doing the drilling? Are wado yoda (or whatever his name is) templates still around? Weren't they at the Sith Archives or something?

Anyone wanna do some template posting? This thread has really got my juices flowing. I haven't had the ol' Dremel out in a month or two, and I've got all summer off...