**UPDATE**
Apologies for the lack of updates guys...
Rest assured that I've been insanely busy working on a variety of things relating to this project.
My time has been split between:
- Further research and development, (resulting in a couple of small but important design changes).
- Updating models
- Creating artwork (to show design changes)
- Testing new vinyl cutter and stencils
- Working on a complete Starkiller build (which is nearly finished). **
- Testing the solution for the ANH Blade/motor
** It should go without saying that no measurements have been taken from this, and my models were pretty much finished by the time I bought it from a friend. The reason for buying it was so that I could get a completed V2 build done to show as an example of my commission work before the run goes ahead, and to test my stencils. The thought of even raising a tape measure to someone else's work goes against everything I believe in and all of my measurements have been taken from references of the original prop (with the clamp as the scale reference). That
should go without saying, but as we know from recent events, it's not unheard of for people to take the easy road unfortunately.
I've just been so busy spinning all of these plates, that I haven't had a chance to stop and sit down to talk about everything.
Well, I thought it was high time I filled you in!
Starting with the new insights in to the prop, and what this means for the design.
The nipple has now been extended down in to the emitter, and the bearing sits below the emitter set screws.
This design change came about because the old design didn't satisfy some of the facts that I'm now 100% certain of regarding the emitter:
The ROTJ Nipple is fixed to the emitter (NOT the rod). This is quite a significant change from my previous thinking. I noticed when working on the stencils that there is a distinctive lens shape on the face of the nipple. It was necessary to reference two different images in order to get the full picture of the paint detail on the emitter plate. That's when I noticed the nipple was in the same exact orientation compared to the emitter!
This got me thinking about the fact that Brandon couldn't say for sure if the nipple was even a separate part, which implies that he hasn't been able to separate the two, or even move them.
If you look at the above references, the internal rod HAS changed position.
On reflection, from a design point of view, it makes sense that the nipple didn't spin with the blade.
I have arrived at the conclusion that the rod was NOT a part of the blade. (There would have been no way to connect it to the motor) *it
had to be connected to mechanism
prior to housing the motor inside the hilt.
As the emitter screws are presumably holding the nipple in place, and not the bearing, it figures that the nipple screws hold the whole emitter on to the rod and the hilt together when the blade is not attached. These would need to have been loosened in order to allow the rod (and blade) to spin independently of the emitter.
It could be that the nipple screws also served to protect to mechanism when pressure fitting the blade to the exposed rod which must have extended out through the emitter for the blade to then be attached.
So, the blade was attached to the rod
after the hilt was fully assembled, which explains why the entire hilt was swapped in, rather than just tricking in the blade.
I'm yet to see any definitive evidence that the blades had collars.
I'm fairly certain that the nipple we see on the prop today is what we see in ANH. It matches perfectly in diameter, height, and the unusual positioning of the set screw. There are also signs of the narrowing step in some of the references, which I believe was there to transition from the diameter of the bearing to the thinner diameter of the blade.
So... if what we're seeing is the nipple, and therefore part of the emitter/hilt, it would appear that, on this particular prop at least, the blades had no collars.
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence of course, but when you consider that these blades were frequently replaced due to breakage, perhaps it just wasn't worth fitting them with collars, which would have needed to be perfectly flush with the blade and hidden below the reflective tape?
"I had to teach them if that was the sword, to stop before the touch because the blades were breaking. We broke so many blades! They just kept snapping" - Peter Diamond (Stunt Coordinator)
So, based on the above, I believe that the blade itself consisted of just a wooden dowel that had been bored out at one end, in order to pressure fit the tang, which which already mounted within the hilt and protruding from the emitter/nipple.
*Vintage Motor setup
*Modern Motor Setup
Based on my observation, there is a slight taper towards the end of the blade. This is not obvious in many references but there are a couple where the blade is angled towards the camera, and where you would expect to see some perspective on an un tapered blade, it appears that the tip is slightly narrower than the base:
The black line on the blade appears to me to get thinner towards the top, which could indicate that the strips of reflective material are a uniform width, applied to a tapered blade.
There does appear to be some variation between blades, which is worth noting.
I'm open to suggestions/debate with regards to all of this. I know a lot of people have spent a lot longer than I have thinking about these blades, and there is every chance I've missed something. This is my thinking right now though.
I'll be posting another update soon to demonstrate the motor/battery/blade setup. I'm just waiting on the reflective material to arrive.
Stencils!....
I'm just about finished working on the Stencils! I'm really pleased with the vinyl cutter so far and the vinyl I've chosen is really easy to weed out and apply/remove. The only problem is that it isn't inkjet printable. I really like the vinyl though, so rather than go for a different, printable vinyl that might not be as suitable, I've decided to print separate labels for marking up the sheets and identifying the various sections.
I've gone over the process of making the Stencils in an earlier post, but here are some images of the Starkiller build that I've been working on this week:
I've been working on this at a leisurely pace alongside everything else I've been working on. It's very nearly finished though. I'm just waiting on the jig to bend the emitter, which is currently "in production".
I'm also in the process of rendering some artwork to supply along with the stencils to serve as a guide:
This particular view was requested by
Natesamlord to use as reference for a tattoo!
The stencils will be supplied with 4X different views taken at 90 degree intervals.
Anyway, that's all for today's update.... The next update will include the new accuracy checks (which are now happening this coming week), as well as a preview/demonstration of the ANH motor solution and blade (hopefully with reflective tape if it's arrived). I think it'll be a couple of weeks before the jig arrives for the emitters unfortunately, so my Starkiller build is on hold now for the time being. I'm expecting to have it in hand and tested before the run goes ahead.
Thanks for looking everyone! I'll be going off-grid again now whilst I tie up these last few loose ends and get the final models CAD drawn up.
All the best, and MTFBWY!
Dave