Here’s my first pass I take when cutting the vintage boards up. Note that I intentionally go wide 1) as an insurance policy and 2) to fit my saw. I’ll post some additional “step by step” photos along the way as I continue w this build
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Interest DaveP's 40th Anniversary Luke Hero (Interest Thread)
- Thread starter DaveP
- Start date
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- Tags
- hero luke luke skywalker rotj
What kind of saw do you use?
Sorry for the radio silence everyone....
Very busy couple of months keeping up with orders, and dealing with various shipping issues (all now resolved).
I've been communicating with everyone who has placed an order behind the scenes, and I am actually on schedule for once.
I have neglected to keep the thread up to date though. So sorry for that...
I AM part way through writing up a full length update to send out to my mailing list, and to post up here.
Busy weekend this weekend though celebrating my wife's 40th. Normal service will resume tomorrow though!
I'll post up a proper full length update tomorrow and keep this one short if that's ok.
As well as the above mentioned update/newsletter, I am part way through writing up a full tutorial for both the reveal boards and the various fully finished hilt commissions too. Still finding it a bit tricky to balance physical work with computer work though with much of my time being spent catching up on messages (and chasing UPS).
For reveal boards, I did post a visual run through on my FB page here:
I will post a proper worded tutorial on the main forum soon. If you have any questions in the meantime please don't hesitate to get in touch and I'm always happy to help.
Full update incoming tomorrow, but just for those awaiting February orders, here's where things are up to:
Small orders which don't include hilts are done and will be shipping out tomorrow (Mon 12th)
DIY full hilt kits finished Fri 16th - shipping Mon 19th
Finished reveal boards/control boxes finished Friday 23rd - shipping Mon 26th
Fully finished/weathered commissions finished Friday 1st March - shipping Mon 4th at the latest.
Hope this all sounds ok for now. I'll go in to much more detail in tomorrow's update.
Hope you're all Having a great weekend.
All the best,
Dave
Very busy couple of months keeping up with orders, and dealing with various shipping issues (all now resolved).
I've been communicating with everyone who has placed an order behind the scenes, and I am actually on schedule for once.
I have neglected to keep the thread up to date though. So sorry for that...
I AM part way through writing up a full length update to send out to my mailing list, and to post up here.
Busy weekend this weekend though celebrating my wife's 40th. Normal service will resume tomorrow though!
I'll post up a proper full length update tomorrow and keep this one short if that's ok.
As well as the above mentioned update/newsletter, I am part way through writing up a full tutorial for both the reveal boards and the various fully finished hilt commissions too. Still finding it a bit tricky to balance physical work with computer work though with much of my time being spent catching up on messages (and chasing UPS).
For reveal boards, I did post a visual run through on my FB page here:
I will post a proper worded tutorial on the main forum soon. If you have any questions in the meantime please don't hesitate to get in touch and I'm always happy to help.
Full update incoming tomorrow, but just for those awaiting February orders, here's where things are up to:
Small orders which don't include hilts are done and will be shipping out tomorrow (Mon 12th)
DIY full hilt kits finished Fri 16th - shipping Mon 19th
Finished reveal boards/control boxes finished Friday 23rd - shipping Mon 26th
Fully finished/weathered commissions finished Friday 1st March - shipping Mon 4th at the latest.
Hope this all sounds ok for now. I'll go in to much more detail in tomorrow's update.
Hope you're all Having a great weekend.
All the best,
Dave
Ah, looks like that little piece is included. Loll so small I didn't even realize.Sorry for the radio silence everyone....
Very busy couple of months keeping up with orders, and dealing with various shipping issues (all now resolved).
I've been communicating with everyone who has placed an order behind the scenes, and I am actually on schedule for once.
I have neglected to keep the thread up to date though. So sorry for that...
I AM part way through writing up a full length update to send out to my mailing list, and to post up here.
Busy weekend this weekend though celebrating my wife's 40th. Normal service will resume tomorrow though!
I'll post up a proper full length update tomorrow and keep this one short if that's ok.
As well as the above mentioned update/newsletter, I am part way through writing up a full tutorial for both the reveal boards and the various fully finished hilt commissions too. Still finding it a bit tricky to balance physical work with computer work though with much of my time being spent catching up on messages (and chasing UPS).
For reveal boards, I did post a visual run through on my FB page here:
I will post a proper worded tutorial on the main forum soon. If you have any questions in the meantime please don't hesitate to get in touch and I'm always happy to help.
Full update incoming tomorrow, but just for those awaiting February orders, here's where things are up to:
Small orders which don't include hilts are done and will be shipping out tomorrow (Mon 12th)
DIY full hilt kits finished Fri 16th - shipping Mon 19th
Finished reveal boards/control boxes finished Friday 23rd - shipping Mon 26th
Fully finished/weathered commissions finished Friday 1st March - shipping Mon 4th at the latest.
Hope this all sounds ok for now. I'll go in to much more detail in tomorrow's update.
Hope you're all Having a great weekend.
All the best,
Dave
**UPDATE**
Hello everyone!
Please excuse the long delay in getting this update posted. There have been a number of developments this month (and particularly this week) that have taken up a LOT of time and have prevented me from getting this one out.
The build tutorials are still a work in progress too, but with the above-mentioned developments, those too have been delayed somewhat. When they're finished, these will appear on the main forum.
First up, an update on February's orders:
This past couple of months have been really quite intense!
A vast vast improvement on the pressure of producing large runs over long periods of time.
It has its advantages, but also some disadvantages that hadn't occurred to me.
Dealing with shipping on a weekly basis has proved to be a big change.
Whereas previously, I would deal with shipping at the very end of a run, I am now sending items out at various points each month.
Allowing time for packaging isn't a problem, although it does need to be accounted for of course.
Corresponding with UPS and customs has been a bit of a nightmare, however. I've never had a package go missing entirely whilst using UPS. Occasionally though, customs decide that they would like more information regarding the contents of a shipment.
This isn't always passed on to me, and on a number of occasions has required that *I contact them* to find out what the problem is and what they need in order to get things moving again. 99% of shipments go through without a problem. There only needs to be one though. This can cause me a headache on a weekly basis, pulling me away from the workshop and back to the computer screen.
I now have a number of template emails which I can send out to the relevant departments as soon as I detect the slightest hint of a hold up. There are usually warning signs that a package might have been singled out for further checks, and I will always get in there as soon as I can to ensure their released again as soon as possible.
These problems have never been too much of a hindrance in the past as they have usually occurred after a run has finished.
With my new method of working though, it can really throw a spanner in the works.
I now have a list of the relevant points of contact and have set up a system going forward to spot any potential problems and rectify them as quickly as possible.
While we're on the ubject of shipping, here are my targets for shipping out various orders over the course of the next couple of weeks and where things stand with this month’s orders:
It does allow for additional packing time too (if needed).
I hope this is ok with everyone and that the dates are ok.
Next, I'll explain the slight hold up on the V1 Hero kits!
I have found myself facing a bit of a dilemma...
I pride myself on making my replicas as accurate to the original OT props as humanly possible. Whilst I am always immensely proud of the work I put out, there is always room for improvement, and I am always looking for areas that can be improved upon, or new information.
So, whilst everything I send out is as accurate and up to date as I can possibly make it, using the available references, information and materials, new discoveries do happen (as they did with the reveal board).
There are still certain details on the original props which are open to interpretation and have various theories around how things were put together and what materials/products were used.
The rails are an obvious bone of contention. For this reason, I offer both brass and copper as options and whilst I personally lean towards copper at the current time, I'm happy to add rails in either material as part of my fully finished commissions.
There is another detail however, which has been bugging me recently. This is the T-Track.
Up until now, my replica has included a T-Track which is modified by myself to match the shape and size of the ones on the original prop.
They are made from white styrene and, as part of my finishing commission, are painted grey. The scratches seen on the original prop can then be replicated by scratching off the paint to reveal the white material underneath.
There has been a theory circulating for quite some time though, that the rails are in fact made up from multiple ABS profiles, rather than just one (along with another "filler" section):
I admit that up until recently I have been sceptical. It just seemed like such a an unnecessarily complicated setup for a start. Why on earth wouldn't they have simply used a T profile? Secondly, I was convinced that the underlying material was white (on account of the scratches).
I was also unable to test the theory for myself, as the grey ABS profiles are not available here in the UK. (not directly in any case)
Having seen the fantastic work that 3251bimmer (Shane Craig) has done with his vintage commissions recently though, I have had to confront my initial scepticism, and have slowly, and finally come around to the idea that this is very probably the way that the original prop was put together. I commend Shane for his excellent work on this and take no credit for the discovery. I believe it was first suggested by BRRogers over on the MoM research thread. Having seen it implemented by Shane, I'm no longer in any doubt.
This presents me with a dilemma. If/when I decide to alter the way that I go about producing my kits and commissions, when is it a good time to do so? Not only am I always in a position where I have very recently sent kits and commissions out, but I am also always part way through working on some. When is it ever a good time to introduce a potential improvement, without inevitably disappointing recent customers??
Do I avoid the above disappointment by continuing to use the styrene T-Track, knowing that there may be a more accurate method? Or do I continue to strive for the most accurate replica possible?
The answer is always going to be the latter, but it really does pain me to think that this might cause any bad feeling amongst customers who have bought earlier versions.
I must stress that this is a VERY recent development! So much so that I'm not yet in possession of these rails and haven't yet had a chance to test them out for myself.
They are on their way to me however, having managed to find a way of getting them to the UK. As they should be arriving before the end of this month, I have decided to hold back DIY kits this month in order to include them. They will also be used to finish this month's fully weathered commissions.
Now, how to address the inevitable disappointment that very recent customers may feel??
Well, I think there is a solution...
Luckily the T-Tracks and rails are one of the very last things to be fixed to the box and can easily be swapped.
I use B7000 glue, which is very strong, but not impossible to remove.
The rails themselves are very inexpensive, so if you can bear with me whilst I work things out, I will eventually offer replacement rails to anyone who needs them, for a very small fee to cover materials and shipping.
"There's more... It won't be easy for you to hear it, but you must..."
This is something that I really do agonise over!
Whilst I strive for perfection, my work is only ever as accurate as the information that is available at the time.
There has been another VERY recent development that has forced me to make another couple of very small improvements this month.
Again, these are both very minor/easy modifications.
A week or so ago, I was given access to an official and, as yet unseen reference of the original prop! This was completely unexpected and obviously very welcome!
This particular reference shows the reveal board in GREAT detail and I'm very happy to say that for the DIY kit, there are literally NO changes. Just a small detail I'll be adding as part of my commissions.
This new reference has allowed me to work out how the board actually functioned!
It had a rudimentary switch that I'm assuming switched between the red and green arrows:
The top and bottom solder points are connected via the traces on the board! So making contact with the middle solder point bridges the two wires.
Crazy that they went to so much trouble!
I'll be explaining in more detail when I finally get around to posting my build tutorials!
These WILL be coming soon and will be posted on the main forum. These developments have kind of been happening in real time (with lots of discussion behind the scenes) Hence the delay in getting this update, and the tutorials posted!
The one and only example I have made so far with the loop/switch has been sent to its new owner.
When I have this next batch made up though, I will be wiring one of them up to a breadboard/LEDs to test the theory!
This *may* lead to a possible lighting kit in the not too distant future.
Although I'm not able to share this new reference publicly, I can tell you that it clearly shows that the switch I've been using is not quite right unfortunately.
The Exactra style switch that I have been using up until now was chosen as it was the correct size. With no clear reference though, it was never confirmed to be 100% correct. The link with other props was a nice touch too. This new reference clearly shows that the actual switch is simpler in design, however. Closer to an Exactra 19 switch than the one found on the Exactra 20. So much so, that I would consider this to be a very likely candidate!
This is bittersweet. On the one hand, it's fantastic to know what the actual switch looked like. On the other hand, it's unfortunate that my previous kits and commissions included a switch that isn't quite perfect!
I was actually able to find the manufacturer of the Exactra 20 switch, and they still make them!
The one in the 19 isn't made by them unfortunately. At least not any more. So I've not been able to find an EXACT match.
I've found one that is the correct size and with the unbroken sides though, so for now I'll be using this one.
I can only apologize for any disappointment and reiterate that I can only be as accurate as the available references allow at the time.
Like I said, this reference only came in to my possession at the beginning of this month.
Luckily, as with the rails, we really are picking over the finest of details now, with very little left to discover. So, these new discoveries do tend to be quite easy to add to existing commissions.
It really does pain me to know that these improvements will inevitably be a source of disappointment and frustration for some.
I can't ignore new information though and where I see potential improvements, I can't allow myself to disregard them.
I really do hope that this is ok and that there are no hard feelings.
This is all in the pursuit of the perfect replica.
Apologies again for the delay in posting this update.
With everything that has been going on behind the scenes, as well as the shipping issues it's been a bit of a whirlwind couple of weeks!
If you have any questions or concerns about any of the above, please don't hesitate to reach out. I may not always be able to reply straight away, but I'll always do my best to catch up on messages eventually.
I am now moving on to the painting and weathering commissions for this month. I’ll be documenting these in detail and will use the images to finally put out the long-awaited build tutorials.
Thanks once again for your support and encouragement. It really is an honour to work on these and to see them arriving in people's collections!
Wishing you all a great weekend and MTFBWY!
Dave
Hello everyone!
Please excuse the long delay in getting this update posted. There have been a number of developments this month (and particularly this week) that have taken up a LOT of time and have prevented me from getting this one out.
The build tutorials are still a work in progress too, but with the above-mentioned developments, those too have been delayed somewhat. When they're finished, these will appear on the main forum.
First up, an update on February's orders:
This past couple of months have been really quite intense!
A vast vast improvement on the pressure of producing large runs over long periods of time.
It has its advantages, but also some disadvantages that hadn't occurred to me.
Dealing with shipping on a weekly basis has proved to be a big change.
Whereas previously, I would deal with shipping at the very end of a run, I am now sending items out at various points each month.
Allowing time for packaging isn't a problem, although it does need to be accounted for of course.
Corresponding with UPS and customs has been a bit of a nightmare, however. I've never had a package go missing entirely whilst using UPS. Occasionally though, customs decide that they would like more information regarding the contents of a shipment.
This isn't always passed on to me, and on a number of occasions has required that *I contact them* to find out what the problem is and what they need in order to get things moving again. 99% of shipments go through without a problem. There only needs to be one though. This can cause me a headache on a weekly basis, pulling me away from the workshop and back to the computer screen.
I now have a number of template emails which I can send out to the relevant departments as soon as I detect the slightest hint of a hold up. There are usually warning signs that a package might have been singled out for further checks, and I will always get in there as soon as I can to ensure their released again as soon as possible.
These problems have never been too much of a hindrance in the past as they have usually occurred after a run has finished.
With my new method of working though, it can really throw a spanner in the works.
I now have a list of the relevant points of contact and have set up a system going forward to spot any potential problems and rectify them as quickly as possible.
While we're on the ubject of shipping, here are my targets for shipping out various orders over the course of the next couple of weeks and where things stand with this month’s orders:
- Small orders which don't include hilts or reveal boards are finished and were shipped out on Mon 12th
- DIY full hilt kits and DIY reveal board kits were finished yesterday (Fri 16th) - shipping Mon 19th
- DIY V1 Hero kits are finished also, except for an additional part which will be arriving next week. I'll discuss this below! ...
- Finished reveal boards/control boxes will be finished Friday 23rd - shipping Mon 26th
- Fully finished/weathered commissions will be finished Friday 1st March - shipping Mon 4th
It does allow for additional packing time too (if needed).
I hope this is ok with everyone and that the dates are ok.
Next, I'll explain the slight hold up on the V1 Hero kits!
I have found myself facing a bit of a dilemma...
I pride myself on making my replicas as accurate to the original OT props as humanly possible. Whilst I am always immensely proud of the work I put out, there is always room for improvement, and I am always looking for areas that can be improved upon, or new information.
So, whilst everything I send out is as accurate and up to date as I can possibly make it, using the available references, information and materials, new discoveries do happen (as they did with the reveal board).
There are still certain details on the original props which are open to interpretation and have various theories around how things were put together and what materials/products were used.
The rails are an obvious bone of contention. For this reason, I offer both brass and copper as options and whilst I personally lean towards copper at the current time, I'm happy to add rails in either material as part of my fully finished commissions.
There is another detail however, which has been bugging me recently. This is the T-Track.
Up until now, my replica has included a T-Track which is modified by myself to match the shape and size of the ones on the original prop.
They are made from white styrene and, as part of my finishing commission, are painted grey. The scratches seen on the original prop can then be replicated by scratching off the paint to reveal the white material underneath.
There has been a theory circulating for quite some time though, that the rails are in fact made up from multiple ABS profiles, rather than just one (along with another "filler" section):
I admit that up until recently I have been sceptical. It just seemed like such a an unnecessarily complicated setup for a start. Why on earth wouldn't they have simply used a T profile? Secondly, I was convinced that the underlying material was white (on account of the scratches).
I was also unable to test the theory for myself, as the grey ABS profiles are not available here in the UK. (not directly in any case)
Having seen the fantastic work that 3251bimmer (Shane Craig) has done with his vintage commissions recently though, I have had to confront my initial scepticism, and have slowly, and finally come around to the idea that this is very probably the way that the original prop was put together. I commend Shane for his excellent work on this and take no credit for the discovery. I believe it was first suggested by BRRogers over on the MoM research thread. Having seen it implemented by Shane, I'm no longer in any doubt.
This presents me with a dilemma. If/when I decide to alter the way that I go about producing my kits and commissions, when is it a good time to do so? Not only am I always in a position where I have very recently sent kits and commissions out, but I am also always part way through working on some. When is it ever a good time to introduce a potential improvement, without inevitably disappointing recent customers??
Do I avoid the above disappointment by continuing to use the styrene T-Track, knowing that there may be a more accurate method? Or do I continue to strive for the most accurate replica possible?
The answer is always going to be the latter, but it really does pain me to think that this might cause any bad feeling amongst customers who have bought earlier versions.
I must stress that this is a VERY recent development! So much so that I'm not yet in possession of these rails and haven't yet had a chance to test them out for myself.
They are on their way to me however, having managed to find a way of getting them to the UK. As they should be arriving before the end of this month, I have decided to hold back DIY kits this month in order to include them. They will also be used to finish this month's fully weathered commissions.
Now, how to address the inevitable disappointment that very recent customers may feel??
Well, I think there is a solution...
Luckily the T-Tracks and rails are one of the very last things to be fixed to the box and can easily be swapped.
I use B7000 glue, which is very strong, but not impossible to remove.
The rails themselves are very inexpensive, so if you can bear with me whilst I work things out, I will eventually offer replacement rails to anyone who needs them, for a very small fee to cover materials and shipping.
"There's more... It won't be easy for you to hear it, but you must..."
This is something that I really do agonise over!
Whilst I strive for perfection, my work is only ever as accurate as the information that is available at the time.
There has been another VERY recent development that has forced me to make another couple of very small improvements this month.
Again, these are both very minor/easy modifications.
A week or so ago, I was given access to an official and, as yet unseen reference of the original prop! This was completely unexpected and obviously very welcome!
This particular reference shows the reveal board in GREAT detail and I'm very happy to say that for the DIY kit, there are literally NO changes. Just a small detail I'll be adding as part of my commissions.
This new reference has allowed me to work out how the board actually functioned!
It had a rudimentary switch that I'm assuming switched between the red and green arrows:
The top and bottom solder points are connected via the traces on the board! So making contact with the middle solder point bridges the two wires.
Crazy that they went to so much trouble!
I'll be explaining in more detail when I finally get around to posting my build tutorials!
These WILL be coming soon and will be posted on the main forum. These developments have kind of been happening in real time (with lots of discussion behind the scenes) Hence the delay in getting this update, and the tutorials posted!
The one and only example I have made so far with the loop/switch has been sent to its new owner.
When I have this next batch made up though, I will be wiring one of them up to a breadboard/LEDs to test the theory!
This *may* lead to a possible lighting kit in the not too distant future.
Although I'm not able to share this new reference publicly, I can tell you that it clearly shows that the switch I've been using is not quite right unfortunately.
The Exactra style switch that I have been using up until now was chosen as it was the correct size. With no clear reference though, it was never confirmed to be 100% correct. The link with other props was a nice touch too. This new reference clearly shows that the actual switch is simpler in design, however. Closer to an Exactra 19 switch than the one found on the Exactra 20. So much so, that I would consider this to be a very likely candidate!
This is bittersweet. On the one hand, it's fantastic to know what the actual switch looked like. On the other hand, it's unfortunate that my previous kits and commissions included a switch that isn't quite perfect!
I was actually able to find the manufacturer of the Exactra 20 switch, and they still make them!
The one in the 19 isn't made by them unfortunately. At least not any more. So I've not been able to find an EXACT match.
I've found one that is the correct size and with the unbroken sides though, so for now I'll be using this one.
I can only apologize for any disappointment and reiterate that I can only be as accurate as the available references allow at the time.
Like I said, this reference only came in to my possession at the beginning of this month.
Luckily, as with the rails, we really are picking over the finest of details now, with very little left to discover. So, these new discoveries do tend to be quite easy to add to existing commissions.
It really does pain me to know that these improvements will inevitably be a source of disappointment and frustration for some.
I can't ignore new information though and where I see potential improvements, I can't allow myself to disregard them.
I really do hope that this is ok and that there are no hard feelings.
This is all in the pursuit of the perfect replica.
Apologies again for the delay in posting this update.
With everything that has been going on behind the scenes, as well as the shipping issues it's been a bit of a whirlwind couple of weeks!
If you have any questions or concerns about any of the above, please don't hesitate to reach out. I may not always be able to reply straight away, but I'll always do my best to catch up on messages eventually.
I am now moving on to the painting and weathering commissions for this month. I’ll be documenting these in detail and will use the images to finally put out the long-awaited build tutorials.
Thanks once again for your support and encouragement. It really is an honour to work on these and to see them arriving in people's collections!
Wishing you all a great weekend and MTFBWY!
Dave
Martin Sabers
Active Member
Thanks a lot Dave for those existing news.
It is so admiring how much you care for your customers.
However you should not put too much stress on yourself. As you say, You can only offer a kit as accurate as the information you have.
We , as customers, are already lucky and thankful that you offer those kits and commissioning options.
I am looking forward to the lighting solution.
Have a great weekend too.
Clement
It is so admiring how much you care for your customers.
However you should not put too much stress on yourself. As you say, You can only offer a kit as accurate as the information you have.
We , as customers, are already lucky and thankful that you offer those kits and commissioning options.
I am looking forward to the lighting solution.
Have a great weekend too.
Clement
Haha I recognize that calculator
SethSolo510
New Member
Your communication and openness is truly unmatched. Please don't go too hard on yourself. Works of art take TIME, and art does not come easy!
We all wait with anticipation AND understanding the invaluable amount of effort you put into your creations! Thank you
We all wait with anticipation AND understanding the invaluable amount of effort you put into your creations! Thank you
MojaveTrooper
Member
Dave, as others have mentioned, your communication is truly immaculate. We need more of it in this hobby.
And I hope it's ok to mention my thoughts since I was part of the first batch of these latest Gen Heroes you offered in November. Personally, I don't feel any frustration. I expected things like this when I signed up to pursue the most accurate replicas. It's just how it is. New discoveries will always be made and not everyone will agree 100% on everything.
And since I got in with the small batch of Vintage Parts Heroes that you offered, I never strived for Most Accuracy in the first place. Especially since I chose to go with a B Variant Reveal Board as opposed to the more accurate (But more rare and expensive) A Variant. Same with the Vector Board Clamp Card and Exactra Switch. I just thought it would be cool to own a build composed of vintage parts, especially coming from your hands. With this said, I am still grateful for the work of art that it was.
Once again, your communication and updates are appreciated, and excited to see what the future brings with these discoveries that have been and will be made
And I hope it's ok to mention my thoughts since I was part of the first batch of these latest Gen Heroes you offered in November. Personally, I don't feel any frustration. I expected things like this when I signed up to pursue the most accurate replicas. It's just how it is. New discoveries will always be made and not everyone will agree 100% on everything.
And since I got in with the small batch of Vintage Parts Heroes that you offered, I never strived for Most Accuracy in the first place. Especially since I chose to go with a B Variant Reveal Board as opposed to the more accurate (But more rare and expensive) A Variant. Same with the Vector Board Clamp Card and Exactra Switch. I just thought it would be cool to own a build composed of vintage parts, especially coming from your hands. With this said, I am still grateful for the work of art that it was.
Once again, your communication and updates are appreciated, and excited to see what the future brings with these discoveries that have been and will be made
**UPDATE**
Hello everyone.
I figured I’d post an update in the run up to me listing more stock on the site and taking orders for more commissions during March.
Firstly, to update those with existing orders, and secondly to explain the situation for this coming month.
Progress first:
This month has been an unusual one to say the least! As I mentioned in my previous update, there were some changes that I decided to implement mid-run. This was to avoid sending out hero kits and commissions in the knowledge that alterations were coming in the very near future.
So, DIY kits have been held back temporarily to await the arrival of my new rails.
These updates took up a lot of time this month with all the discussions and the planning that was involved behind the scenes. That said, I did manage to keep to the schedule, and the vast majority of orders are pretty much ready to go (pending the rails, which I’ll discuss bellow!)
Fully finished reveal board commissions have now shipped, along with any other non-hilt orders that were not still waiting on the updated rails.
All bodies for full February's commissions are now painted and nearly all weathered.
Fully commissioned YUMA / I.S.Y.H.C.A.N.L will be completed by the end of today as promised and booked in for collection on Monday Morning. I'll send out tracking details for these later today.
I’ll get some pictures of these before packing (weather/light allowing). It is a truly awful day for taking pictures here, but I'll try my best.
Now for some news on the V1 Hero kits/commissions….
As I mentioned in my last update, I was waiting on the arrival of my updated ABS profiles before these could be completed and sent out.
The DIY kits have been semi-packaged up and ready to go for quite a while now, and fully finished commissions are just waiting on the final control box assembly (reveal boards are already made up and ready to install).
All great, but now for the unfortunate news… the profiles arrived (just two days ago!), and I’ve now had an opportunity to test the theory and put together a prototype.
Having finally experimented with the profiles (and after spending countless hours studying the references), I’m now in no doubt that this is how the rails were made.
I’ve come to a VERY disappointing conclusion, however. I seem to have ordered the incorrect size profiles!!!
When checking the available sizes in 2D, the larger size looked to be the closer of the two, but having now handled them in person, and after putting together a prototype, I noticed a couple of things that weren’t quite right.
All of these parts are interconnected. When you adjust one piece, it requires that the adjoining pieces be moved or adjusted too.
For example, I already knew that the blue board would need to be narrower. When looking at the reference, I could see that this was not a problem, as it did appear that it should have been narrower in any case. The I.SY.H.C.A.N.L board is the same width as the box, but when you look at references of the Hero, it is clearly narrower to allow for the inset T-Tracks.
It wasn’t until I put the box together with the new rails that I realised, the extent to which the board had to be narrowed was just too extreme and didn’t tally up with the top-down references of the box and card:
The end on diagram didn’t look too bad. It’s only when you see the effect in 3 dimensions that you realise, something has gone amiss!
There were other tell-tale signs that I’d made an error. The overhang of the rails had pushed the black buttons down slightly and reduced the gap between the rails and the triangles:
Quite subtle inaccuracies, but collectively I just knew that I’d messed up!
So, without access to the smaller rails, I sat down yesterday and modelled them in 3D to check how they measure up:
The above renders are using the smaller size profile and to my eyes they are perfect.
They also result in a board width that matches the top down references, as well as leaving the black buttons at the correct height.
I only wish I’d have modelled them in 3D before ordering!
My first thought was that they’d be too small, but seeing them in 3D and comparing with the available references, I can now see that this is the size I should have gone for in the first place!
My mistake means that I will not be able to send out V1 Heroes as planned on Monday unfortunately.
I really can’t apologise enough! Had things gone to plan with the rails yesterday, I could very well have had everything finished up and on its way as planned.
I will now need to wait (again) for the correct rails though unfortunately. I hope you understand and can see that the ones I ordered are just not usable. Accuracy is everything and I hope you don’t mind waiting just a little longer for the correct size profiles to arrive. These have already been ordered via Stackry and as soon as they get here, February’s V1 Hero’s will be my top priority. I will also try one of the quicker shipping options this time around so hopefully we won’t have to wait quite so long for them to arrive.
Apologies again to all those affected.
March:
With the above delay in mind, I will need to limit the amount of stock that I list on the site this month I’m afraid. I will still go ahead with the arranged time of Midday (UK time) Please bear in mind though, that when I receive the updated rails, I will need to jump back on to February’s orders to get those out to people as soon as possible. This should not take too long once I have them in hand, but to be on the safe side, I’ll be limiting fully finished commissions this month to try and keep everything within the 28day target.
I will include V1 Heroes and Control boxes on the site, but obviously these won’t be able to ship until the rails arrive. I have ordered enough to cover both February’s and March’s orders obviously.
With the lower numbers this month, I’m hoping to be able to do a better job of keeping on top of messages, as well as sharing more updates. I AM still working on a step-by-step tutorial for the DIY reveal board and Kit builds. I hope you understand, this month has just not gone as expected and really has stretched things to the limit. I’ve been documenting my process along the way though, and promise that this month, I WILL write it all up!
Here are some of the highlights from this month:
I’ll get some pictures of the finished commissions later today and will obviously keep you updated when the new rails arrive, and when I get the first set installed.
So just to recap in brief:
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
All the bet and MTFBWY!
Dave
Hello everyone.
I figured I’d post an update in the run up to me listing more stock on the site and taking orders for more commissions during March.
Firstly, to update those with existing orders, and secondly to explain the situation for this coming month.
Progress first:
This month has been an unusual one to say the least! As I mentioned in my previous update, there were some changes that I decided to implement mid-run. This was to avoid sending out hero kits and commissions in the knowledge that alterations were coming in the very near future.
So, DIY kits have been held back temporarily to await the arrival of my new rails.
These updates took up a lot of time this month with all the discussions and the planning that was involved behind the scenes. That said, I did manage to keep to the schedule, and the vast majority of orders are pretty much ready to go (pending the rails, which I’ll discuss bellow!)
Fully finished reveal board commissions have now shipped, along with any other non-hilt orders that were not still waiting on the updated rails.
All bodies for full February's commissions are now painted and nearly all weathered.
Fully commissioned YUMA / I.S.Y.H.C.A.N.L will be completed by the end of today as promised and booked in for collection on Monday Morning. I'll send out tracking details for these later today.
I’ll get some pictures of these before packing (weather/light allowing). It is a truly awful day for taking pictures here, but I'll try my best.
Now for some news on the V1 Hero kits/commissions….
As I mentioned in my last update, I was waiting on the arrival of my updated ABS profiles before these could be completed and sent out.
The DIY kits have been semi-packaged up and ready to go for quite a while now, and fully finished commissions are just waiting on the final control box assembly (reveal boards are already made up and ready to install).
All great, but now for the unfortunate news… the profiles arrived (just two days ago!), and I’ve now had an opportunity to test the theory and put together a prototype.
Having finally experimented with the profiles (and after spending countless hours studying the references), I’m now in no doubt that this is how the rails were made.
I’ve come to a VERY disappointing conclusion, however. I seem to have ordered the incorrect size profiles!!!
When checking the available sizes in 2D, the larger size looked to be the closer of the two, but having now handled them in person, and after putting together a prototype, I noticed a couple of things that weren’t quite right.
All of these parts are interconnected. When you adjust one piece, it requires that the adjoining pieces be moved or adjusted too.
For example, I already knew that the blue board would need to be narrower. When looking at the reference, I could see that this was not a problem, as it did appear that it should have been narrower in any case. The I.SY.H.C.A.N.L board is the same width as the box, but when you look at references of the Hero, it is clearly narrower to allow for the inset T-Tracks.
It wasn’t until I put the box together with the new rails that I realised, the extent to which the board had to be narrowed was just too extreme and didn’t tally up with the top-down references of the box and card:
The end on diagram didn’t look too bad. It’s only when you see the effect in 3 dimensions that you realise, something has gone amiss!
There were other tell-tale signs that I’d made an error. The overhang of the rails had pushed the black buttons down slightly and reduced the gap between the rails and the triangles:
Quite subtle inaccuracies, but collectively I just knew that I’d messed up!
So, without access to the smaller rails, I sat down yesterday and modelled them in 3D to check how they measure up:
The above renders are using the smaller size profile and to my eyes they are perfect.
They also result in a board width that matches the top down references, as well as leaving the black buttons at the correct height.
I only wish I’d have modelled them in 3D before ordering!
My first thought was that they’d be too small, but seeing them in 3D and comparing with the available references, I can now see that this is the size I should have gone for in the first place!
My mistake means that I will not be able to send out V1 Heroes as planned on Monday unfortunately.
I really can’t apologise enough! Had things gone to plan with the rails yesterday, I could very well have had everything finished up and on its way as planned.
I will now need to wait (again) for the correct rails though unfortunately. I hope you understand and can see that the ones I ordered are just not usable. Accuracy is everything and I hope you don’t mind waiting just a little longer for the correct size profiles to arrive. These have already been ordered via Stackry and as soon as they get here, February’s V1 Hero’s will be my top priority. I will also try one of the quicker shipping options this time around so hopefully we won’t have to wait quite so long for them to arrive.
Apologies again to all those affected.
March:
With the above delay in mind, I will need to limit the amount of stock that I list on the site this month I’m afraid. I will still go ahead with the arranged time of Midday (UK time) Please bear in mind though, that when I receive the updated rails, I will need to jump back on to February’s orders to get those out to people as soon as possible. This should not take too long once I have them in hand, but to be on the safe side, I’ll be limiting fully finished commissions this month to try and keep everything within the 28day target.
I will include V1 Heroes and Control boxes on the site, but obviously these won’t be able to ship until the rails arrive. I have ordered enough to cover both February’s and March’s orders obviously.
With the lower numbers this month, I’m hoping to be able to do a better job of keeping on top of messages, as well as sharing more updates. I AM still working on a step-by-step tutorial for the DIY reveal board and Kit builds. I hope you understand, this month has just not gone as expected and really has stretched things to the limit. I’ve been documenting my process along the way though, and promise that this month, I WILL write it all up!
Here are some of the highlights from this month:
I’ll get some pictures of the finished commissions later today and will obviously keep you updated when the new rails arrive, and when I get the first set installed.
So just to recap in brief:
- The last of Februarys orders will be finished and ready to go by the end of today, with YUMAs and ISYHCANL being collected Monday morning.
- V1 Hero Kits and commissions will ship out as soon as the new rails arrive. I will keep everyone updated on the progress of the shipment.
- March’s stock will be added at Midday today (UK time). Limited numbers this month.
- Next Friday (8th) I’ll be taking down any remaining stock so that I can plan the rest of the month and concentrate on getting orders out before the end of the month.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
All the bet and MTFBWY!
Dave
**UPDATE**
Hello everyone.
I figured I’d post an update in the run up to me listing more stock on the site and taking orders for more commissions during March.
Firstly, to update those with existing orders, and secondly to explain the situation for this coming month.
Progress first:
This month has been an unusual one to say the least! As I mentioned in my previous update, there were some changes that I decided to implement mid-run. This was to avoid sending out hero kits and commissions in the knowledge that alterations were coming in the very near future.
So, DIY kits have been held back temporarily to await the arrival of my new rails.
These updates took up a lot of time this month with all the discussions and the planning that was involved behind the scenes. That said, I did manage to keep to the schedule, and the vast majority of orders are pretty much ready to go (pending the rails, which I’ll discuss bellow!)
Fully finished reveal board commissions have now shipped, along with any other non-hilt orders that were not still waiting on the updated rails.
All bodies for full February's commissions are now painted and nearly all weathered.
Fully commissioned YUMA / I.S.Y.H.C.A.N.L will be completed by the end of today as promised and booked in for collection on Monday Morning. I'll send out tracking details for these later today.
I’ll get some pictures of these before packing (weather/light allowing). It is a truly awful day for taking pictures here, but I'll try my best.
Now for some news on the V1 Hero kits/commissions….
As I mentioned in my last update, I was waiting on the arrival of my updated ABS profiles before these could be completed and sent out.
The DIY kits have been semi-packaged up and ready to go for quite a while now, and fully finished commissions are just waiting on the final control box assembly (reveal boards are already made up and ready to install).
All great, but now for the unfortunate news… the profiles arrived (just two days ago!), and I’ve now had an opportunity to test the theory and put together a prototype.
View attachment 1795089
View attachment 1795088
View attachment 1795085
Having finally experimented with the profiles (and after spending countless hours studying the references), I’m now in no doubt that this is how the rails were made.
I’ve come to a VERY disappointing conclusion, however. I seem to have ordered the incorrect size profiles!!!
When checking the available sizes in 2D, the larger size looked to be the closer of the two, but having now handled them in person, and after putting together a prototype, I noticed a couple of things that weren’t quite right.
View attachment 1795090
All of these parts are interconnected. When you adjust one piece, it requires that the adjoining pieces be moved or adjusted too.
For example, I already knew that the blue board would need to be narrower. When looking at the reference, I could see that this was not a problem, as it did appear that it should have been narrower in any case. The I.SY.H.C.A.N.L board is the same width as the box, but when you look at references of the Hero, it is clearly narrower to allow for the inset T-Tracks.
It wasn’t until I put the box together with the new rails that I realised, the extent to which the board had to be narrowed was just too extreme and didn’t tally up with the top-down references of the box and card:
View attachment 1795086
The end on diagram didn’t look too bad. It’s only when you see the effect in 3 dimensions that you realise, something has gone amiss!
There were other tell-tale signs that I’d made an error. The overhang of the rails had pushed the black buttons down slightly and reduced the gap between the rails and the triangles:
View attachment 1795087
Quite subtle inaccuracies, but collectively I just knew that I’d messed up!
So, without access to the smaller rails, I sat down yesterday and modelled them in 3D to check how they measure up:
View attachment 1795082
View attachment 1795083
View attachment 1795084
The above renders are using the smaller size profile and to my eyes they are perfect.
They also result in a board width that matches the top down references, as well as leaving the black buttons at the correct height.
I only wish I’d have modelled them in 3D before ordering!
My first thought was that they’d be too small, but seeing them in 3D and comparing with the available references, I can now see that this is the size I should have gone for in the first place!
My mistake means that I will not be able to send out V1 Heroes as planned on Monday unfortunately.
I really can’t apologise enough! Had things gone to plan with the rails yesterday, I could very well have had everything finished up and on its way as planned.
I will now need to wait (again) for the correct rails though unfortunately. I hope you understand and can see that the ones I ordered are just not usable. Accuracy is everything and I hope you don’t mind waiting just a little longer for the correct size profiles to arrive. These have already been ordered via Stackry and as soon as they get here, February’s V1 Hero’s will be my top priority. I will also try one of the quicker shipping options this time around so hopefully we won’t have to wait quite so long for them to arrive.
Apologies again to all those affected.
March:
With the above delay in mind, I will need to limit the amount of stock that I list on the site this month I’m afraid. I will still go ahead with the arranged time of Midday (UK time) Please bear in mind though, that when I receive the updated rails, I will need to jump back on to February’s orders to get those out to people as soon as possible. This should not take too long once I have them in hand, but to be on the safe side, I’ll be limiting fully finished commissions this month to try and keep everything within the 28day target.
I will include V1 Heroes and Control boxes on the site, but obviously these won’t be able to ship until the rails arrive. I have ordered enough to cover both February’s and March’s orders obviously.
With the lower numbers this month, I’m hoping to be able to do a better job of keeping on top of messages, as well as sharing more updates. I AM still working on a step-by-step tutorial for the DIY reveal board and Kit builds. I hope you understand, this month has just not gone as expected and really has stretched things to the limit. I’ve been documenting my process along the way though, and promise that this month, I WILL write it all up!
Here are some of the highlights from this month:
View attachment 1795091
I’ll get some pictures of the finished commissions later today and will obviously keep you updated when the new rails arrive, and when I get the first set installed.
So just to recap in brief:
Thank you so much for your patience, everyone! It’s been a strange month. The changes I decided to make have obviously affected things this month, and my mistake in ordering the wrong materials (for which I apologise again!) has not helped matters! I am still glad that I decided to go ahead and change the rails though. And I’m excited to finally make this improvement when the parts arrive. Hopefully you’ll agree that it’s worth the additional wait.
- The last of Februarys orders will be finished and ready to go by the end of today, with YUMAs and ISYHCANL being collected Monday morning.
- V1 Hero Kits and commissions will ship out as soon as the new rails arrive. I will keep everyone updated on the progress of the shipment.
- March’s stock will be added at Midday today (UK time). Limited numbers this month.
- Next Friday (8th) I’ll be taking down any remaining stock so that I can plan the rest of the month and concentrate on getting orders out before the end of the month.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
All the bet and MTFBWY!
Dave
Good man with the ppe! Your kids will thank you in the future for keeping yourself safe!
Great progress as always dave
satoshi71100
New Member
no problem dave! takes all the time it takes! I want a perfect v1 hero! and that’s why I go through you! even if it took another month! no worries, I'll wait!
Thanks so much !
Thanks so much !
satoshi71100
New Member
I just find the rails too dark, no?
Thanks Danny!
Thanks Jordy. Really appreciate it
They are pretty dark, yes. If you look through the available references though, and discount the ones where a bright flash was used, the rails on the prop are pretty dark. There are end on references too where you can see the two different profiles, so I'm fairly sure we're on the right track now. Just very frustrating that I went for the wrong size initially. On the colour though, the bare ABS does match up with the references I'm looking at.
14trharris
Member
Do you have any extra reveal boards that can be purchased separately from the hilt?
Hi there. Yes, I've re-listed everything over on the store page. They're still showing as in stock for the moment.
Sounds like a plan! I can't tell you how many times I've made the mistake of getting the wrong thing. Recently just bought 3 camera cases thinking the d rings were the right size only for one of them to be correct lol.**UPDATE**
Hello everyone.
I figured I’d post an update in the run up to me listing more stock on the site and taking orders for more commissions during March.
Firstly, to update those with existing orders, and secondly to explain the situation for this coming month.
Progress first:
This month has been an unusual one to say the least! As I mentioned in my previous update, there were some changes that I decided to implement mid-run. This was to avoid sending out hero kits and commissions in the knowledge that alterations were coming in the very near future.
So, DIY kits have been held back temporarily to await the arrival of my new rails.
These updates took up a lot of time this month with all the discussions and the planning that was involved behind the scenes. That said, I did manage to keep to the schedule, and the vast majority of orders are pretty much ready to go (pending the rails, which I’ll discuss bellow!)
Fully finished reveal board commissions have now shipped, along with any other non-hilt orders that were not still waiting on the updated rails.
All bodies for full February's commissions are now painted and nearly all weathered.
Fully commissioned YUMA / I.S.Y.H.C.A.N.L will be completed by the end of today as promised and booked in for collection on Monday Morning. I'll send out tracking details for these later today.
I’ll get some pictures of these before packing (weather/light allowing). It is a truly awful day for taking pictures here, but I'll try my best.
Now for some news on the V1 Hero kits/commissions….
As I mentioned in my last update, I was waiting on the arrival of my updated ABS profiles before these could be completed and sent out.
The DIY kits have been semi-packaged up and ready to go for quite a while now, and fully finished commissions are just waiting on the final control box assembly (reveal boards are already made up and ready to install).
All great, but now for the unfortunate news… the profiles arrived (just two days ago!), and I’ve now had an opportunity to test the theory and put together a prototype.
View attachment 1795089
View attachment 1795088
View attachment 1795085
Having finally experimented with the profiles (and after spending countless hours studying the references), I’m now in no doubt that this is how the rails were made.
I’ve come to a VERY disappointing conclusion, however. I seem to have ordered the incorrect size profiles!!!
When checking the available sizes in 2D, the larger size looked to be the closer of the two, but having now handled them in person, and after putting together a prototype, I noticed a couple of things that weren’t quite right.
View attachment 1795090
All of these parts are interconnected. When you adjust one piece, it requires that the adjoining pieces be moved or adjusted too.
For example, I already knew that the blue board would need to be narrower. When looking at the reference, I could see that this was not a problem, as it did appear that it should have been narrower in any case. The I.SY.H.C.A.N.L board is the same width as the box, but when you look at references of the Hero, it is clearly narrower to allow for the inset T-Tracks.
It wasn’t until I put the box together with the new rails that I realised, the extent to which the board had to be narrowed was just too extreme and didn’t tally up with the top-down references of the box and card:
View attachment 1795086
The end on diagram didn’t look too bad. It’s only when you see the effect in 3 dimensions that you realise, something has gone amiss!
There were other tell-tale signs that I’d made an error. The overhang of the rails had pushed the black buttons down slightly and reduced the gap between the rails and the triangles:
View attachment 1795087
Quite subtle inaccuracies, but collectively I just knew that I’d messed up!
So, without access to the smaller rails, I sat down yesterday and modelled them in 3D to check how they measure up:
View attachment 1795082
View attachment 1795083
View attachment 1795084
The above renders are using the smaller size profile and to my eyes they are perfect.
They also result in a board width that matches the top down references, as well as leaving the black buttons at the correct height.
I only wish I’d have modelled them in 3D before ordering!
My first thought was that they’d be too small, but seeing them in 3D and comparing with the available references, I can now see that this is the size I should have gone for in the first place!
My mistake means that I will not be able to send out V1 Heroes as planned on Monday unfortunately.
I really can’t apologise enough! Had things gone to plan with the rails yesterday, I could very well have had everything finished up and on its way as planned.
I will now need to wait (again) for the correct rails though unfortunately. I hope you understand and can see that the ones I ordered are just not usable. Accuracy is everything and I hope you don’t mind waiting just a little longer for the correct size profiles to arrive. These have already been ordered via Stackry and as soon as they get here, February’s V1 Hero’s will be my top priority. I will also try one of the quicker shipping options this time around so hopefully we won’t have to wait quite so long for them to arrive.
Apologies again to all those affected.
March:
With the above delay in mind, I will need to limit the amount of stock that I list on the site this month I’m afraid. I will still go ahead with the arranged time of Midday (UK time) Please bear in mind though, that when I receive the updated rails, I will need to jump back on to February’s orders to get those out to people as soon as possible. This should not take too long once I have them in hand, but to be on the safe side, I’ll be limiting fully finished commissions this month to try and keep everything within the 28day target.
I will include V1 Heroes and Control boxes on the site, but obviously these won’t be able to ship until the rails arrive. I have ordered enough to cover both February’s and March’s orders obviously.
With the lower numbers this month, I’m hoping to be able to do a better job of keeping on top of messages, as well as sharing more updates. I AM still working on a step-by-step tutorial for the DIY reveal board and Kit builds. I hope you understand, this month has just not gone as expected and really has stretched things to the limit. I’ve been documenting my process along the way though, and promise that this month, I WILL write it all up!
Here are some of the highlights from this month:
View attachment 1795091
I’ll get some pictures of the finished commissions later today and will obviously keep you updated when the new rails arrive, and when I get the first set installed.
So just to recap in brief:
Thank you so much for your patience, everyone! It’s been a strange month. The changes I decided to make have obviously affected things this month, and my mistake in ordering the wrong materials (for which I apologise again!) has not helped matters! I am still glad that I decided to go ahead and change the rails though. And I’m excited to finally make this improvement when the parts arrive. Hopefully you’ll agree that it’s worth the additional wait.
- The last of Februarys orders will be finished and ready to go by the end of today, with YUMAs and ISYHCANL being collected Monday morning.
- V1 Hero Kits and commissions will ship out as soon as the new rails arrive. I will keep everyone updated on the progress of the shipment.
- March’s stock will be added at Midday today (UK time). Limited numbers this month.
- Next Friday (8th) I’ll be taking down any remaining stock so that I can plan the rest of the month and concentrate on getting orders out before the end of the month.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
All the bet and MTFBWY!
Dave
