graflex to ANH luke saber

[OldKen]

thought id change the title to get a broader range of responses, i know probably alot of you are leary to suggest something as far as cleaning or polishing, then see me come back here crying with a shiney brass colored nickel-less flash.

so any tips on getting as close as possible to the hero prop, or at least one of the ANH hilts, would be VERY appreciated.

should i get the saber freak grips? how do i round the other side?

are there any accurate sized/dimension grips, that instead of hard plastic... are made of rubber? (you know what we all thought it was when we were kids )

etc. etc.


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so im finally getting started on my ANH luke saber, i picked up a graflex top half with all the bits and bobs (picked up for a steal in the JY from killdozer )

its in relatively great shape, i wouldnt mind just kinda tring to get the grime outa certain places, and there are a few scratches...

i know the original prop was WAY less than pristene, but i was just wondering what all is possible as far as getting rid of the scratches or at least buffing them down or something... i know its nickel plated brass... but im not aware of the dos and donts with that material.

just wanted to pull together a bit more info...

ALL PICS WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED.

and if anyone has a bottom half or a clamp lying around that they dont need... fell free to PM me... :angel

thanks.

 

[OldKen]

not one person has anything to say?

i was just curious as to what could be broken down withouth breaking it, obviously the ears wont come out without damage...

and on the original prop, did the ears and bulb grip just flap freely or did they affix it somehow to stay centered?

like 90% of you have graflexes... :unsure SPEAK UP.

 

[DarthBish]

Mine's affixed.

 

[franz bolo]

If you polish it to much, the brass might show through. I haven't done it, but it happens with sink tubes all the time.

I would just clean it with Q-tips and not polish it.

FB

 

[TheRealMcFly]

I did this about a year ago.

My graflex was might dirty and I was looking to clean everything. The trick is taking the ears off... to do this you'll need to remove the pin. I masked my graflex top half and grinded down the flattened back end of the pin. Then all you have to do is pull the pin out, which is easier said than done. Try tapping the end with a nail.

Once this is done, the whole thing can be dissassembled. Before you move remove the guts, take all of the brass pins out for a polish. Also, take the screw out from the bottom. Try a fine metal polish, or toothpaste and be careful.

I wound up with a much nicer graflex for my project just recently, but I'm still impressed with how well the first came out everytime I pick it up. Taking some polish to it with a fine cloth won't bring out the brass as long as you are using the appropriate materials. When selecting a polish make sure its of a very fine grade.

 

[Probe Droid]

Unless you're looking to kill some time, I wouldn't take the whole thing apart. Old photogs trick to clean dirty flash contacts is vinegar. Apply it with a Q-tip, wait ten minutes, and wipe it off. Works remarkably well. I''ve breathed life into a lot of old flashes that way.

A lot of guys here will faint when I say this, but the best thing I've found for eating grime and tape residue, etc., off old flashes is a bathroom cleaner called Scrubbing Bubbles. The Graflex nickle finish is pretty tough and this stuff is mild. It really eats through gunk.

You can fix the bulb holder in place by centering it and then putting a tiny drop of Krazy Glue on the hinge. Did that to mine 5 years ago and it hasn't moved since.

 

[OldKen]

cool, thanks guys.

yeah, like i said not looking to make it pristene, cause then it wouldnt be a very accurate replica....

but some of the deeper scratches would be nice to make them less appearent, and the brass pins etc.. (so you can just unscrew the pins i take it?)

im goin to try a light cleaning, then a light polish, maybe get the pins back shiney, and probably glue the ears. (what did they do on the original prop? was it fixed?)

thanks again. B)

no one has a bottom half or a clamp lyin around? :angel

 

[OldKen]

B)

 

[franz bolo]

It looks like saber freaks grips are pretty cool. I don't have a set yet but I plan on getting one.

Blast_tech kits are great also.

Firt, which version do you really want to make?

If your sticking with the ANH, then there's not much to do to it.

The D-Ring is the hardest part. There is a template for the grips somewhere out there.

The bubble strip can be authentic if you can find one.

So, here it is:

1) D-Ring
2) Grips
3) bubble Strip

FB

 

[LogansRunner]

Here's a hole diagram I found a while back this might help with d-ring placement and grip placement.
http://lightsaber.cside.com/lightsaber/col...26/luke_anh.jpg

 

[jamiemp]

can someone tell me how to take out the brass pins?
thanks

 

[Probe Droid]

The brass pins can be unscrewed with needle-nose pliars or point tweezers, which is what I used.

 

[OldKen]

thanks guys.

yeah franz, i actually know ALOT about what the props are made of, alot even before here... especially ANH.

i noticed the no stripes TK after a very few first times of seeing ANH as a VERY young child so...

so yeah i know whats on it... and all the other OT sabers for that matter...

but actual measurments of the Ttrack and exact placements, and which parts should be cleaned, and which shouldnt, to get the SCREEN USED look of the hero ANH luke...
that and i just have no idea about the actual workings of the graflex, the thing with the brass pins as probe pointed out, is the kinda things im talking as well.

and logansrunner thanks for the diagram man. :thumbsup

probe, do you think that i should thouroughly clean the brass pins?

how did they really look in the movie? im thinking somewhere in between where mine are, and pristene clean (if anyones got any high quality stills that would rule)

mine look reall dull. and i know how brass is, i could bring it right back to bright and shiney... but should i?


and again thanks to the supringlsy FEW people whove chimed in outa the hundreds of saber purist that have seen this thread in the past few days...

 

[Gigatron]

I wouldn't really be all that concerned with cleaning the graflex unless it's almost black with gunk. Don't forget that in 1977, the graflex were already 35-40 years old and dingy and grimey.

I seriously doubt that the prop boys would have bothered cleaning the thing especially when A) there was never a closeup and B.) there were serious time and money constraints.

The whole idea behind Star Wars was that everything had a used and lived-in quality to it as opposed to the shiny, brand new condition of all the other sc-fi serials of the day.

You'll never get it absolutely screen accurate as far as the grime is concerned because we never see it close enough to see how crappy it really is. If you want screen accuracy, are you going to put on the seven grips and then pull one off to leave a nice big gap?

Just give it a quick wipe down with some rubbing alcohol to get rid of any weird residues, slap on the grips, bubble strip and D ring and put it on the shelf to be admired (or swing it around making lightsaber noises with your mouth when noone else is around :angel ).

-Fred

 

[OldKen]

yes i know this too... im just wondering if there were any good reference screen grabs that show the level grime scratches etc.

just striving for near perfection... isnt that what everyone here does?

well i guess the diagram is all i need.

oh and ive heard about the grip thing... that wasnt throughout the movie was it?

i want to make the hero saber as seen in bens hovel.

how were the grips in that scene?

or does anyone even know?

 

[Gigatron]

I'm pretty sure there is video evidence that the grip was missing in that scene as well.

I'd try and get caps but my capture software is acting up. For some reason, I can get audio, but no video.

-Fred