**Update**
Hi Everyone. I've been meaning to drop another update for a few days now, but there just never seems to be a good time. I'm always so eager to get on to the next job and keep things moving...
The first batch of commissions are now VERY close to being finished, and I expect to be moving on to batch two at some point next week!
We are just waiting on the levers still before I can get them 100% finished and ready to send out. Production has paused for Chinese New Year, but should be moving again soon and Roy is chasing them down for an update.
It's been an incredibly busy few weeks. I didn't quite hit the target of one batch per month unfortunately, but pretty close. After all this time and effort, it would be a real shame to rush things and compromise on quality. So thank you for your patience everyone!
All painting is finished now and I'm in the process of finishing things up on the V2s. De-stencilling has been a big job in itself. After removing the stencils, any residue from the vinyl has to be cleaned off using WD40/Q-tips (being careful not to take off the paint). The paint needs to be weathered too to get rid of the raised edges that build up against the stencils.
I've been in contact with everyone from the first batch to take their preferences for their builds.
The darkening of the metal has been optional. Whilst the prop today is quite dull, it was still relatively shiny at the time of filming:
I've discussed the various dings and scratches with everyone too, and while most people have gone for 100% accuracy, there are a few variations.
Most of the defining features/marks/scratches are on the pommel:
There is also gouge in the booster that some people have decided to incorporate in to their commissions:
The end results are looking great and I should have them all pretty much finished by the end of the week all being well (please excuse the incorrect lever for now):
You might notice that I've changed the neck tape on the top images. I've been agonising over this for a while. The tape I've been sending out with the stencil kits is a neoprene rubber tape (as seen on the bottom image). Whilst I still like the look of this tape, I've found that it's just not hard wearing enough. I've decided to start using a cloth loom tape from now on. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to send this particular tape out with the stencils. The tape is so thin that it requires about a meter of it to build it up to the desired thickness on the neck. There's just no way to transfer this from the roll to transport with the kits unfortunately. I'll continue to send out the neoprene strips for those who wish to use them, but going forward, I'll be using Tesa 15mm Adhesive Wiring Harness (available on Amazon). I hope this is ok with everyone.
To allow the emitter to spin, I fold over a section of tape so that the first part is non-adhesive. I do the same to a small tab at the end to give the impression that the tape is thicker, and to mimic the tape on the actual prop.
I've been in contact with everyone regarding the the Obi Stunts too, to discuss a couple of optional features.
I figure that the machining mark on the pommel would have been there from day one, so I've been asking people if they'd like it to be added to their Obi builds:
Also, the paint chipping on the emitters that can be seen in some of the Death Star shots:
I should be done wiring up the rest of the Obi Stunts this week (tomorrow hopefully). Here's one that's just about finished, apart from the incorrect lever.
This first batch has taken a little longer than I had planned, but I got a few systems in place on this batch which should mean that the second batch goes a little faster whist maintaining the same standards.
Big thank you to everyone for your incredible patience on this run. I'm eternally grateful, and I count each and every one of these as an honour to work on.
Hope you like what you see everyone.
Thanks again and all the best,
Dave