Defining the OWK tunisia saber. Is it even possible?
- Thread starter Anakin Starkiller
- Start date
Seemed to like hanging onto his belt. Sure looks like it sags on that side. I’m not aware of any record of a resin saber being used in ANH. Overall lack of resin in general for ANH.
Here is a lot of random saber reference. Didn’t load in order so I may have duplicates a couple. Also threw in some Cantina and Death Star saber.
Here is a lot of random saber reference. Didn’t load in order so I may have duplicates a couple. Also threw in some Cantina and Death Star saber.
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Save save save save save save save...... save!
I'm not decided either way whether or not the Tunisia saber was cast\partially cast, but to be fair, most of the pics showing him holding on to the sagging belt seem to be taken at or around the same time. I don't see that as conclusive evidence either way. I think the only thing that would settle it convincingly for me would be first hand accounts saying the Tunisia saber was heavy due to being all metal or video of Guinness pulling up the belt.
Thank you for these!!! very interesting.
Seems a bit dusty at the emitter lip as well, and I can still see those grenade scratches. I know the resolution isnt enough to claim more than a few things!
It's nice to see the difference between the London sound stage prop and the Tunisia one
Seems a bit dusty at the emitter lip as well, and I can still see those grenade scratches. I know the resolution isnt enough to claim more than a few things!
It's nice to see the difference between the London sound stage prop and the Tunisia one
Ridire Firean
Sr Member
I've been trying to find that one for two days! It may have been one of Sym-Cha 's Photobucket gallery pics.
As for scenes proving the lightsaber's weight, those would all of the scenes in the movie where it's hooked to Obi-Wan's belt. Here, let me detail them for y'all...
39min 54sec = "Now wait Luke, it's too dangerous!" scene in front of blasted Jawa Sand Crawler. The lightsaber barely moves as Obi-Wan spins/steps forward, his tunic is blowing around but the lightsaber is dead still after Obi-Wan stops moving.
47min 23sec to 25sec = "I'm alright." scene in Cantina when Ben leans over to help Luke up off of the floor. The lightsaber points to the ground throughout the motion of Ben leaning forward and standing back upright. *****You could also make a point about seeing that the pommel cap is missing in this section of the scene!*****
52min 14sec to 24sec = "All right, give it to me. I'll take it. Ever since the XP-38 came out they just aren't in demand." scene in the alleyway selling Luke's speeder. Obi-Wan holds his robe closed with his left hand directly over where his lightsaber belt would be atop his sash/obi. His right hand crosses over and pulls on his robe, his left hand regathers atop the robe and his right hand adjusts the belt beneath the robe. Both hands continue to hold the robe closed and the belt up through the end of the scene. There are two instances of shadow in the folds of the robe during this scene where the lightsaber can be seen effecting the robe in front of it.
55min 30sec to 32sec = "Chewy! Get us out of here!" scene as Luke and Obi-Wan scramble through the Falcon to their seats. The lightsaber points straight to the ground even in a dash. And the belt is clearly bowed down in an arc from the weight of the lightsaber.
59min 12sec to 23sec = "Are you alright?" scene as Obi-Wan reels from the Great Disturbance in the Force. The lightsaber moves once from a bump against Obi-Wan's leg and resettles quickly in its pointing at the ground position as it continues to pull down on Obi-Wan's belt.
1hr 7min 36sec = "Who's more foolish, the fool, or the fool who follows him?" scene. Obi-Wan's lightsaber is so heavy he can't even push himself up out of the smuggling compartment! HA!!!
1hr 8min 52sec = "Take over. We got a bad tranmitter, I'll see what I can do." scene. Obi-Wan's right hand is holding up his belt and his left hand is atop the pommel. The weight of the lightsaber has the belt pulled down towards the bottom of his sash/obi.
1hr 13min 38sec to 40sec = Obi-Wan sneaking through the Death Star hallway scene. Obi-Wan dashes from one side of the hallway to the other and the lightsaber barely sways. Compare this to the next scene of Darth Vader in another hallway where even the slightest twisting of his body upsets the lightweight MPP lightsaber!
1hr 13min 49sec to 51sec = Reversed image scene of Obi-Wan in a Death Star hallway. Obi-Wan's belt is bottomed out on his sash/obi as the weight of the lightsaber has pulled it below his belly.
1hr 25min 07sec to 16sec = Obi-Wan carrying his lightsaber in his left hand up the stairs and across the walkway to the Death Star's Tractor Beam Deactivation Lever scene. Notice how high the unweighted belt rides across his belly through the dead center of his sash/obi.
1hr 25min 19sec to 21sec = Obi-Wan clips his lightsaber to his belt as he rounds the corner headed towards the deactivation lever scene. You can see the weight of the lightsaber pull down on his belt as he releases the weight of the lightsaber into its hook.
1hr 26min 50sec to 58sec = "What was that?" scene as Obi-Wan Force throws a Force pebble past the Stormtroopers to divert their attention. The lightsaber hangs steady until Obi-Wan's left leg thumps it up his thigh and it takes a mighty swing across his center and back over violently to his left as its weight propels it to his left hip where he catches it with his left hand.
1hr 27min 00sec to 02sec = Obi-Wan turns to check behind him before heading back down the stairs scene. His left hand obscures the view of the lightsaber where his hand is laid atop the pommel, but you can see the weight of the lightsaber effecting the belt as it drags down the sash/obi towards the underside of his belly.
1hr 29min 24sec to 28sec = "We think they may be splitting up, they may be on levels 5 and 6 now sir." scene where Obi-Wan emerges from the shadows as the Stormtroopers trot past him. The lightsaber is bonked outward by Obi-Wan's left leg and crashes back down into it. The weight of the lightsaber has pulled his belt back down bellow his belly at the bottom edge of his sash/obi. Obi-Wan detaches the lightsaber from its hook at this point and carries or wields it until his sacrifice/becoming one with the Force.
1hr 29min 56sec = "Open the blast door! Open the blast door!" scene where Obi-Wan confronts Darth Vader in the Death Star's hanger hallway. With his lightsaber in his hand, his belt sits proudly across the top of his belly, right down the middle of his sash/obi. And it remains there throughout the lightsaber duel scenes... why?... because there's no HEAVY ALL-REAL-PARTS-LIGHTSABER hooked to it pulling it down!
Resin. HA! Casting. HA! An Obi-Wan carries not these things!
These time indexes are from the STAR WARS - THE COMPLETE SAGA - 6 DISC BLU-RAY BOX SET, so your timing may vary, but your eyes will see the weight.
Why am I so hungry? Oh yeah, I've completely missed dinner. Off to it then!
THUNK! <----Heavy lightsaber drop. ~Ridire Fíréan out.
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I agree with thd. Those clips certainly make a strong case for the Tunisia saber being all metal. While I also see some dark spots on the belt hanger photo that could be indicative of a solid windvane section and solid lower balance pipe, it could also be a trick of harsh lighting and deep shadows. For me it will never be 100% settled either way.
Ok, let me pose this to you guys in the resin camp; what other props in ANH were made of resin? Surely if they were making resin parts for the Obi it wouldn’t have been the only prop they made resin copies of. And why only the grenade? Why not cast the whole thing?
It makes no logical sense to cast just a part or parts of a prop.
It makes no logical sense to cast just a part or parts of a prop.
Mouse Vader
Sr Member
I read that a lot on this forum & written it a few times myself. I now associate it with insufficient data of which there is a dearth in StarWars esp. ANH. (Haha - Dearth Data - what a shining whit I am - excuse the spoonerism.)
In this case it does not make logical sense. They just didn’t go around making resin castings of things for this movie. It’s pretty plain and simple as evidenced by the lack of resin other than maybe from the model shop which was a self contained unit and not involved in hand prop production.
But we know they did cast an aluminum saber. Wouldn’t it make more sense for it to be aluminum if it were cast? Again, I don’t believe it to be a cast at all, but that’s a much more logical jump for me. There is proof of that process in use on similar props. Would explain the bright spots, but I still they it’s just glare. Would even explain a solid windvane, even though I don’t see that when I look at the picture.
I see real parts with the correct patina. When they made the V2/stunt saber they painted everything flat black, gunmetal, bronze. The finish on these look way more authentic, having seen and owned more than my fair share of parts.
But we know they did cast an aluminum saber. Wouldn’t it make more sense for it to be aluminum if it were cast? Again, I don’t believe it to be a cast at all, but that’s a much more logical jump for me. There is proof of that process in use on similar props. Would explain the bright spots, but I still they it’s just glare. Would even explain a solid windvane, even though I don’t see that when I look at the picture.
I see real parts with the correct patina. When they made the V2/stunt saber they painted everything flat black, gunmetal, bronze. The finish on these look way more authentic, having seen and owned more than my fair share of parts.
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DrkSideTndncies
Well-Known Member
I am not in the resin saber camp nor would I ever want one if they were proven to be “movie accurate” but there were resin pieces made, Luke’s Dagobah blaster(s) for example.
There were plenty of resin props made in later movies, just not many in ANH.
I believe this is Cinematographer Gilbert Taylor and that’s a director’s viewfinder.
Star Wars was shot on Panavision cameras, the company makes their own handheld director’s viewfinders which allow you to mount the same lenses that mount on the camera for filming. This frees you to line up a shot on the fly without carrying around the huge camera on a tripod or a dolly.
Typically, cinematographers will walk the set with directors looking for angles and mounting different lenses on these until they finalize a shot.
Some pics:
Ridire Firean
Sr Member
Thank you for the photo! I see now you snuck in quite a few pics in the 3 hours I was typing last night!
Hey thd9791 ! You're welcome! And I understood what you meant about the brightspots on Obi-Wan's lightsaber in the Tunisia photos. I understand how it can be hypothesized as showing a lighter color of a chip below a painted surface on a resin piece. I think the brightspots are simply reflections from a cleaner couple of cubes being surrounded by rustier ones. There are so many reflections from shiny things in the photos that show the brightspots, and it appears that those two cubes in question reflect both from the angled-sides in some of the Tunisia photos, and the face-sides in other photos from Tunisia.
Here's a couple of photos to illustrate how light can play tricks with your mind in photographs...
The effect of the weight of the lightsaber, both in Tunisia, and in the studio, are the same. In both locations the lightsaber pulls Obi-Wan's belt down the face of his sash/obi and below his belly. When the lightsaber is not on its belt hanger, Obi-Wan's belt is centered on his sash/obi and up on top of his belly, not below it... because there's no heavy lightsaber displacing it, both in the Tunisia photos, and in the studio photos.
I know first hand what effect the weight of Roman's MK1 has on my beltline when I wear it hung through the loops of my blue jeans, and that is that my pants are constantly being pulled down. Whereas my aluminum hilts hardly effect my beltline!
So, I posit this to all of you who have either an ALL REAL PARTS OBI-WAN KENOBI LIGHTSABER, a Roman's MK1, or a RussRep Obi-Wan, and an ANH style Obi-Wan or Luke belt with a lightsaber hook on it...
1. Put a "sash/obi" on. If you don't have one, fold a pillowcase (hotdog-wise), a towel, small tablecloth, or whatever, and wrap it around your waist over your belly.
2. Put your belt on atop your "sash/obi".
3. Look at yourself in a mirror and take note of the position of the belt.
4. Hook your lightsaber to your belt hook.
5. Take notice of the effect the weight of that lightsaber is having on your beltline.
6. Bounce once in place. Not a big bounce! Just a little one, we don't want your lightsaber flying off its hook and bouncing into your mirror! Or snapping your D-Ring out of your Armitage Shanks Handwheel!!! EEEK! That would be awful! O.K. maybe no bouncing at all with the ALL-REAL-PARTS LIGHTSABERS.
7. Where'd your belt end up? Is it still in place over your belly? Or did it drop below it?
Mine's below it!
Now, if you're one of those folks who have a bazillion lightsaber hilts, and you also have a resin cast or 3D printed ANH Obi-Wan Kenobi lightsaber replica, repeat steps 1-7 with that/those plastic hilts and compare your results from step 7.
I'll wager you have to jump up and down to dislodge your belt with the plastic hilts. And I'll say that the weight of the evidence in how the metal lightsaber effects Obi-Wan's beltline is proof enough to outweigh the optical effect of a shiny bit of metal playing tricks with our minds in old grainy photographs. The lightsaber in Tunisia was ALL REAL PARTS, not part resin.
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