Does anyone have pics of Jeff Parks' Mara Jade saber?

[Justpure]

Yes, that’s what I still have. I forgot to include mine to whoever I sold it to back in the day. I believe that Tim Pienta (Jedi135) did those. He used my Parks to make his replicas.

Here are some detail photos of my static prop...
This version should be very close to the original by Parks!

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

This version should be very close to the original by Parks!

As I said, I lent him my Parks 1of 5, so it is very close. He just opted to do an idealized solid control box instead of the hollow on the original.

 

[Kylash]

Back to the Decipher card, any insight as to why they made a 3D model instead of using a photograph? Was the Parks not ready?
This is a CG rendering right?

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

Back to the Decipher card, any insight as to why they made a 3D model instead of using a photograph? Was the Parks not ready?
This is a CG rendering right?

View attachment 1873842

I believe I was told by Jeff the card is a CGI. I do not know why they did it that way. Maybe they always intended it to be CGI no matter whether they had a prop or not. Of If I remember correctly, Jeff was given a design to follow, so it is not his creation. I don’t know what exactly he was given in or to make the design. However since the design was his creation, it was a big reason why he was reluctant to make his public offerings identical to the provided design.

 

[Kylash]

Got it yeah I was wondering if they did the render first then said here make this. Big differences are the pommel and recessed control box. Both the lightsaber card and the cards from the photo shoot with Shannon are in the same set, so it’s weird they didn’t do them both with the in hand replica. But they did a lot of weird things with the art on those cards.

 

[Halliwax]

I believe I was told by Jeff the card is a CGI. I do not know why they did it that way. Maybe they always intended it to be CGI no matter whether they had a prop or not. Of If I remember correctly, Jeff was given a design to follow, so it is not his creation. I don’t know what exactly he was given in or to make the design. However since the design was his creation, it was a big reason why he was reluctant to make his public offerings identical to the provided design.

All New to me, thanks for sharing

 

[Kylash]

The Korbanth is about 11.5" long. So bigger than the original for Decipher, but in line with what Parks made for public later.

This 90's StarWars fan is very happy. I'll add the washers to the grip screws and the control box bottom light.

 

[sithdaddy66]

I have these but the quality/size is small:

View attachment 1519635View attachment 1519636View attachment 1519637

So is this prop the most accurate representation of MJ’s hilt?

 

[James Kenobi 1138]

The most accurate MJ saber replica as far as I know are the original 5 that Jeff Parks made like the one Mara Jade’s Father posted earlier in this thread.

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

So is this prop the most accurate representation of MJ’s hilt?

The most accurate MJ saber replica as far as I know are the original 5 that Jeff Parks made like the one Mara Jade’s Father posted earlier in this thread.

It depends on how you look at it. If you are talking about the accurate to the hilt held by the model on the CCG for the character, then yes, the one I have (and the other limited remaining 4) are the closest because the J Parks made the original and those.

But another way to look at it is that there is a CCG card for the hilt itself. This is not a closeup of hilt but rather a CGI version of the hilt. From what J Parks told me back then is that he did not design the hilt, he was given an image or images of what they wanted and he made a hilt from the images. You could say that what J Parks made was the stunt and the CGI being the close up, is the hero even though it doesn’t physically exist.

You have to understand that J Parks back at this time made most of his hilts by cutting various stock tubing and other found stock parts. He might have some milling done to these parts but mostly he was not machining complete parts. This is why I believe you end up with a hollow control box and different color LED and bolt swapped for a LED in the control panel.

Because Disney’s new Mara Hilt is attempting to replicate the hero card rather than the J Parks built prop, you can argue that Disney’s prop is accurate since it is going off visual interpretation. I believe there might have been an unofficial neopixel version of the hilt done a couple years ago.

You can also argue that other people who have copied J Parks design but made idealized changes like a solid control box, and a brass covertec style knob might be more accurate than what Parks built because they did thing J Parks could not do at the time and might be truer to Diecipher’s vision of what the physical version should be.

 

[Halliwax]

I find less accurate is more fun to do… or should I say much more relaxing. Not having to worry about missing a scratch or dent…

 

[sithdaddy66]

The Korbanth is about 11.5" long. So bigger than the original for Decipher, but in line with what Parks made for public later.

This 90's StarWars fan is very happy. I'll add the washers to the grip screws and the control box bottom light.

View attachment 1874781

View attachment 1874786

Did you end up modifying your control box to a green led and a pop rivert at all? I’m considering purchasing this one

 

[sithdaddy66]

It depends on how you look at it. If you are talking about the accurate to the hilt held by the model on the CCG for the character, then yes, the one I have (and the other limited remaining 4) are the closest because the J Parks made the original and those.

But another way to look at it is that there is a CCG card for the hilt itself. This is not a closeup of hilt but rather a CGI version of the hilt. From what J Parks told me back then is that he did not design the hilt, he was given an image or images of what they wanted and he made a hilt from the images. You could say that what J Parks made was the stunt and the CGI being the close up, is the hero even though it doesn’t physically exist.

You have to understand that J Parks back at this time made most of his hilts by cutting various stock tubing and other found stock parts. He might have some milling done to these parts but mostly he was not machining complete parts. This is why I believe you end up with a hollow control box and different color LED and bolt swapped for a LED in the control panel.

Because Disney’s new Mara Hilt is attempting to replicate the hero card rather than the J Parks built prop, you can argue that Disney’s prop is accurate since it is going off visual interpretation. I believe there might have been an unofficial neopixel version of the hilt done a couple years ago.

You can also argue that other people who have copied J Parks design but made idealized changes like a solid control box, and a brass covertec style knob might be more accurate than what Parks built because they did thing J Parks could not do at the time and might be truer to Diecipher’s vision of what the physical version should be.

I guess the true reference is the prop that you have more or less. Everything else is idealised or self interpretation. What was the photo on the first page of this thread that had a MJ prop bellow a MR plaque, is that a parks replica to?

 

[4str0m3ch]

I believe there might have been an unofficial neopixel version of the hilt done a couple years ago.

Shadowfoil Props Hand Of The Emperor?

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

What was the photo on the first page of this thread that had a MJ prop bellow a MR plaque, is that a parks replica to?

No. That is a Master Replicas version. It is a very nice replica of Parks because I sent my Parks to China to Larry Leung who was a well known saber crafter from this board 25 years ago. He got hired by MR when the company started. So they had a good reference to make their replica.

If you want to see the Mara Jade one of only five copies of the hand held prop, then look here: Does anyone have pics of Jeff Parks' Mara Jade saber?

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

Shadowfoil Props Hand Of The Emperor?

Yes, I believe so.

 

[sakanade]

Is the one that's available from Korbanth still the best replica you can get in 2025? See attached.

PS: Did Anakin Starkiller have plans to make his own version based on the info he got from this thread?

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

Is the one that's available from Korbanth still the best replica you can get in 2025? See attached.

I don’t really know what is available, and I guess that would depend on what you needs were. Plus, “best” is a subjective term based on factors such as I posted about days earlier. It depends on what aspects you wanted it to have or match. Also without having one in hand, it’s tough to say with things like size if you were asking about a comparison against another item. I can tell you that the control box does not match either the stunt held by the model or the control box of the CGI hero hilt. They may have chosen an artist interpretation of what looked better.

PS: Did Anakin Starkiller have plans to make his own version based on the info he got from this thread?

I am not sure. Every once in a while he reaches out for more info. But I have not heard anything for a while now.

 

[Mara Jade's Father]

BTW, it appears Mara Jade is still very popular in the fan community. She won TVC March Madness.

TVC March Madness 2025: And the Winner Is… | Yakface.com

yakfaceforums.com

 

[Kylash]

Control box on the Korbanth I have looks pretty spot on to the original Parks design to me, after adding a washer. Other than maybe the larger LED housing not having a taper. If that lower led is supposed to just be a pop rivet that would be an easy upgrade.