Bubble strips. Sanding sideways vs thickness

[D3adrock]

Hi everyone. I was just wondering if a consensus was ever reached or any information revealed that dictated the correct way to fit an Exactra bubble strip. Weather the correct way was to sand it thinner so that it fits under the slots of the clamp or to sand it sideways so that it fits in between the edges of the clamp when closed? I'm curious to hear what everyone has to say. Thanks!

 

[Jedi Reali]

I'm curious too! I think it is under the clamp rails on the ANH Luke because of this photo:



I think if they weren't sanded down to fit beneath the rails they'd sit higher and you'd see more of the bubbles rising up out of the clamp.

As for the Obi-Wan, I am undecided.

Now this is just my personal opinion, but sanding the bubble strip to fit it beneath the rails makes more sense to me. I mean, the rails are there and they were made to grip something inside them. Why not use them? You have to sand the bubbles down either way. Fitting them beneath the rails makes them more secure and less likely to fall out during filming. Merely having them pinched between the rails' edges seems a bit too precarious to me. But that's just my opinion. I've already sanded my Exactra bubbles for my Luke saber but I haven't sanded the bubbles for my Obi-Wan yet precisely because I'm torn between the two methods. I lean towards under the rails, but I see a lot of people on here prefer the pinch method on their Obi-Wan sabers so I'm curious to hear the argument in favor of the pinch method.

 

[NeoRutty]

I agree with above... I've heard some say they wouldn't have taken the time to do it, with the rush to get shooting...

But every production I've worked on has levels of laziness, and levels of anal retentiveness that is mind blowing.

So while shortcuts were made (and can be seen), one guy taking the time to sand down the strip to fit perfectly, totally makes sense to me.

 

[Edraven99]

The monkey wrench about not being bothered or time constraints of course is that the Vader ESB/ROTJ hero *did* have the strip edges filed down... which from personal experience is a bit of a pain in the ass to do.... so it could have gone either way...

 

[D3adrock]

Alas, it is too late for me so for consistencies sake I sanded both thinner, although supposing the correct method was ever discovered I could always make another strip. Does anyone think Roger Christian still remembers or knows?

 

[JoeG]

Does anyone think Roger Christian still remembers or knows?

Here's what he said about that in an interview thats on starwars.com

I had broken-down calculators, and I loved the little bubble strip which illuminated the numbers underneath, and magnified them so you could read it on the screen. That fit perfectly into the clip.

Link to interview - http://www.starwars.com/news/roger-...ns-blaster-and-more-from-star-wars-a-new-hope

 

[D3adrock]

Too bad he doesn't mention what method he used to get them to "Fit perfectly"

 

[JoeG]

With all due respect to Mr. Christian, I really think he can't be relied on for accurate info as to what he did over 40 years ago. His memory seems spotty a lot of the time and sometimes he says things that sound like they came straight from these forums. There's just been too much time passed.