Darth Vader square shroud dedicated stunt saber + Barbican

[thd9791]

Hello there,

alright, so I'm back on this now I will be finishing the prototype in the coming days to open the interest thread

two of the last parts, which are a bit difficult because of poor references are the two plugs at the back of the tube. here is my 3D model for this, feel free to tell me what you think!
View attachment 1677096
View attachment 1677097
View attachment 1677098
View attachment 1677099

those will be 3 parts as they are not present on all variations of the saber. they will probably assemble with glue if we want to be screen accurate. i'm also keen on feedback for this of course!
View attachment 1677100

cheers

Do you have the right plastruct part for the end? I just got a baggie of black ones because there’s a “minimum” order from Plastruct. I can mail you some.

Also I have a CNC here from a good source and the inner hole on this one is… 25.5 mm give or take, maybe .6 … my calipers fluctuate a little trying to stretch exactly the to diameter of a circle.

I think you captured the inner profile of the endcap very well.. hard to see from that terrible reference

 

[eethan]

Do you have the right plastruct part for the end? I just got a baggie of black ones because there’s a “minimum” order from Plastruct. I can mail you some.

Also I have a CNC here from a good source and the inner hole on this one is… 25.5 mm give or take, maybe .6 … my calipers fluctuate a little trying to stretch exactly the to diameter of a circle.

I think you captured the inner profile of the endcap very well.. hard to see from that terrible reference

Hey,
so, I have the plastruct parts for the sides, and I assumed those would be the same parts, but it looks like they went with one size up for the one on the end! It will be ok for the prototyping, and I'll get all that is needed after the interest request for the run thanks Tom

for the inner hole at the end, looks like I have 26.6mm for now. This is based on the severed hand cast as this is the only one where we see the open end. i'll double check this when i get back to my model

 

[eethan]

alright, I doubled checked immediately lol!
this is what I get on my perspective match with the cast with my initial 26.6mm hole and with your 25.6mm hole. since the cast is not perfectly equal and round, I guess I could go i between, it's pretty close

 

[thd9791]

alright, I doubled checked immediately lol!
this is what I get on my perspective match with the cast with my initial 26.6mm hole and with your 25.6mm hole. since the cast is not perfectly equal and round, I guess I could go i between, it's pretty close
View attachment 1678253

WOW thank you! Your 26 and a bit more is probably accurate, to calculate for a tiny bit of shrinkage.

Also thank you for confirming the plastruct part!!! It’s a size bigger!!! So glad you’re getting some so we won’t have to!

 

[redbutton]

This is great, Great, great job!

 

[slothfurnace]

Following!

 

[moffeaton]

Man I want one of these!

 

[eethan]

Hello there,
quick update,
I have had trouble with my 3D software for the past couple weeks that delayed me as I was unable to open it. This is now fixed.
I was given some amazing references, 16 new great close up of details, especially some great ones of the back plug that was so blurry in the one reference I had.
I have spent the day polishing my 3D model and correcting a few details with those new references.
I can't share the refs but here are some images of my 3D model matched in 3D to those references so you can see the type of close ups I was given I changed a few things on the back plugs and am now certain that it is very accurate, so that is great as this was the one blurry part

I was able to improve even more on that part that I already had good references of, I added some slopes to the walls in the opening, as well as fine tuned a bit the wall thickness and position overall:

there was a new side image of the full saber that I matched and that confirmed my model from another view:

and this is to show better the final shape of the back plug part:

I am working on editing my machining plans and will be able to finish the prototypes soon and launch the interest thread, finally!
I still have to model the different looking part attached to the shroud of the cast saber as well, but I'm well underway for all the rest

cheers

 

[Psab keel]

It's great to see this saber getting some love. Will the run be for completed hilts, hilt kits, or just individual parts?

 

[eethan]

It's great to see this saber getting some love. Will the run be for completed hilts, hilt kits, or just individual parts?

For now, hilt kits because I don't have any leads for MPP clamps. I bought a couple from custom saber shop to test but I don't have high hopes.
Cheers

 

[thd9791]

WELL HERE WE GO

Thank you for sharing your model results… the endcap makes a bit more sense now… interesting slope to the notches… very cool to see!!! Thank you to the anonymous source, this saber certainly has a history

 

[joberg]

Really eager to see the next update

 

[eethan]

Hello

so, last time, i didn't hide that I wasn't really sure about the finish of my prototype tube for the body. I needed to start over anyways because I started from a 38mm tube last time that I knew was a bit skinny. I actually now have the direct measurement of the barbican body, so, i did a new tube and I changed the technique a bit as well. I am sanding with 600 and 800 grain after turning the tube to the right measurement. It adds an additional step that is a bit time consuming, but I'm very much more happy with the result, it's more uniform, less shiny and looking much more authentic I think

here are comparisons with the old tube on the left:

with the macro lens from my phone:

and even a video to compare as the effect is more visible in movement:

I started working on the back cap as well, those are the first steps:

the last step is the rounded groovein the center of the part:

there isn't really a tool to do that, but old school machinists used to make their own tool from HSS steel quite often, so I did the same as last time for the cloud city blaster muzzle, and sculpted my own tool from an HSS steel blade, by hand with a small diamond file:

I need to finish the blade tomorrow and see if it works. It's more complicated than the cloud city blaster as this time, it's an "inside turning tool", it has to penetrate the material 4.4mm deep from the end of the round stock, so it has to have a really thin profile under the cutting edge so it doesn't touch the wall of the material on the left sideof the groove while going deeper. I don't know if that makes sense. hopefully it will work as i don't really have a backup plan for that groove!

cheers

 

[joberg]

Beautiful workmanship eethan

 

[thd9791]

Hello

so, last time, i didn't hide that I wasn't really sure about the finish of my prototype tube for the body. I needed to start over anyways because I started from a 38mm tube last time that I knew was a bit skinny. I actually now have the direct measurement of the barbican body, so, i did a new tube and I changed the technique a bit as well. I am sanding with 600 and 800 grain after turning the tube to the right measurement. It adds an additional step that is a bit time consuming, but I'm very much more happy with the result, it's more uniform, less shiny and looking much more authentic I think

here are comparisons with the old tube on the left:
View attachment 1686963
View attachment 1686964
with the macro lens from my phone:
View attachment 1686965
and even a video to compare as the effect is more visible in movement:

View attachment 1686966


I started working on the back cap as well, those are the first steps:
View attachment 1686967
the last step is the rounded groovein the center of the part:
View attachment 1686971
there isn't really a tool to do that, but old school machinists used to make their own tool from HSS steel quite often, so I did the same as last time for the cloud city blaster muzzle, and sculpted my own tool from an HSS steel blade, by hand with a small diamond file:
View attachment 1686974
I need to finish the blade tomorrow and see if it works. It's more complicated than the cloud city blaster as this time, it's an "inside turning tool", it has to penetrate the material 4.4mm deep from the end of the round stock, so it has to have a really thin profile under the cutting edge so it doesn't touch the wall of the material on the left sideof the groove while going deeper. I don't know if that makes sense. hopefully it will work as i don't really have a backup plan for that groove!

cheers

questions for you
knowing the original diameter of the main tube, is it your opinion they used stock alumium tube or a found item?

Also, is the center of the endcap (where the plastruct part sits) the same height as the second cut you've already made? (second step)

It looks wonderful, you nailed the finish

 

[eethan]

questions for you
knowing the original diameter of the main tube, is it your opinion they used stock alumium tube or a found item?

Also, is the center of the endcap (where the plastruct part sits) the same height as the second cut you've already made? (second step)

It looks wonderful, you nailed the finish

Hey,
I finished the end cap parts today but had a last minute thing tonight and didn't have the time to take pics, so it will have to wait for tomorrow!

The diameter of the tube is over 1.5inch and well under 40mm as well, so it's a bit of a weird size. To me, it's a machined tube they made since it has a turned/sanded finish but I don't know exactly how they came up with this size, either, hey we have that MPP clamp without plastic spacer, let's make a thicker tube for it, or, oh shout, we turned this tube too fat, let's remove the plastic sleeve so the clamp fits...

Yes, the plastruct parts sits approximatively on that second step in the last photo, then I add the groove right where the step starts. So, the inner and outer wall of the groove are not the same depth if you see what I mean.
That said, there is a very shallow concave step added after that, so it sits actually 0.15mm deeper than this.
I don't know if this is exactly what you have in mind, it depends where you start counting the stairs. I'll post a cutout of my 3d model tomorow for clarity.
Cheers

 

[eethan]

Hey guys,
sorry, was a bit of another weird day today and didn't take the time to take proper pics of everything, so i'll just leave you with a teaser with the back cap part. This is with the smaller diameter plastruct part used to cover the side holes on the main tube. The actual plastruct part used for this cap is larger, so this is just a mockup for now.

and a teaser as well for the intermediate plug part:

cheers

 

[thd9791]

AMAZING!!! You freaking nailed it, I never realized the dish in the center. Is that because the plastruct part used is almost the same size as the concave area?

 

[eethan]

AMAZING!!! You freaking nailed it, I never realized the dish in the center. Is that because the plastruct part used is almost the same size as the concave area?

Thank you Tom. Ahah I don't know! Maybe there is a hole underneath the part is hidding... When I first finished the part, I thought it looked empty until I put the plastruct part on it though. Sometimes the greeblies can feel all over the place, but they are mostly pretty clever!

 

[eethan]

Hey guys,

so, I'm trying to make 3 prototypes for the 3 versions I want to offer so I can show everything clearly.
we have 3 tubes, 3 back plugs and 3 back cap (even if it's used only on the Barbican version, wanted to be sure to make this part properly)
I made 2 shrouds last time but I was a bit quick I think and I should have waited to cut the front slope until it was finished for the Barbican, now I can't machine the 2 rounded corners. So, i'll have to work on 2 new shrouds tomorrow for the Barbican and cast version.
we have 3 front inserts, brass for the Barbican, Aluminium for the square shroud, and long aluminium for the cast version as I will use it as a real core with the 2 back screws threaded into it.
It's slowly coming together, I wish it was faster, just trying to really nail this project. It's almost there guys, just a few more days and we can lauch the interest request!

I now think the actual Barbican core is rusted steel, not brass. So I don't know it we should go with brass to depict what it "looks like" or actually use steel to be closer to "as constructed", or let people chose what they prefer. I'm always struggling with the options...

I'm using aluminium for both the square shroud and cast version, even though it's most likely the same core for all, but, we don't have clear references for the square shroud and I'm going with aluminium for the cast version as it is actually resin painted silver and black, so the aluminium will be the best depiction for this.

here are the final plug parts together in the tube:

closed and open versions:

I hope you like it
cheers