ICONS ANH Kenobi Saber prototype....

[Straycatt]

I managed to snag this off of the bay a week ago, and though some might be interested in seeing the breakdown that ICONS came up with for this prop, at least during the prototype stage. I will try and take some photos tomorrow and post them up here.

-Adam

 

[ReturningSon]

really interested! Was the seller toyhawks?

 

[Straycatt]

That was not his eBay handle... Whoever it was, he did not know what he had. he, or she, thought is was a Skywalker prototype...

-Adam

 

[Straycatt]

Nothing special with this first set of photos. Just some overall shots with a scale reference. Some of the details are off, so it makes one wonder what they used for reference.

Here we go:

 

[Straycatt]

Up next are some shots of the "clamp spacer area". Of note are the spaces for the back of the transistors, and the hole at the edge, presumably for the "wire".

Next up are shots of the individual components, which also show the breakdown of this saber. All of the components are held together by a central threaded rod.

Faucet handle:

 

[KramStaar]

Personally I'm fascinated seeing the development process. Perfectly machined steel is real eye-candy for me and this is certainly no exception.

I'm sure the original seller was unaware of its significance and from my side, I'm deeply grateful to you for posting these.

Cheers....

 

[Straycatt]

The faucet handle fits into their version of the booster. Albeit an incorrect version.

The booster nests into their version of the clamp spacer, which is also part of the grenade body. Once again, inaccuracies in the design of the grenade body, specifically where the brass wind vane would attach.

Up last is the emitter assembly. This is made up of at least 4 parts from what I can see. The wind vanes are simply set in place. The 'balance pipe' portion is machined from one piece, and inaccurate on details. the emitter cone appears to be glued or press fit in the balance pipe, and then glued or press fit into the grenade neck. The top part of the neck is, or at least appears to be, part of the emitter cone.

 

[lonepigeon]

Some of the details are off, so it makes one wonder what they used for reference.

At the time the only reference for that saber were the few pics seen in SW Chronicles. The Graflex clamp was the only known part. I think we may have known what the sink knob was, but there were no known examples of the correct one.

The grenade, balance pipe, and booster were all unknown.
I think the grenade was maybe found a year or two after Icons. The balance pipe and booster have only been known for a few years.

 

[James Kenobi 1138]

That little hole was not for the wire. The ICONS has a weird fastener there, probably mistaken from the few reference shots available at the time.

 

[Straycatt]

I am reasonably certain this is aluminum and not steel. It also may not actually be a prototype. There are hints of paint throughout the nooks and crannies, especially in the emitter and wind vanes. From photos I have seen of completed ICONS OBI sabers, it looks as though they either powder coated, anodized, or painted the booster, grenade, grenade neck, and wind vane black.

After comparing this version of the Obi with Nicksdad's ROTS Obi blanks, it almost looks like Lucasfilm used an ICONS OBI to model the ROTS OBI.

-Adam

 

[Straycatt]

Of course the next question is, do I leave it like it is, or do I go through and 'finish' it??? Add the clamp, transistors, etc, and paint it???

-Adam

 

[Slave1]

At the time the only reference for that saber were the few pics seen in SW Chronicles. The Graflex clamp was the only known part. I think we may have known what the sink knob was, but there were no known examples of the correct one.

The grenade, balance pipe, and booster were all unknown.

I remember the first big convention I went to (pre-Icons replicas), and a guy there had an Obi saber. He went on and on about the different parts, and how everyone just "knew" the grenade piece at that time was a motor cycle grip, it just hadn't been determined exactly what specific grip had been used.

I look back and laugh now since I bought everything he was saying, including his insistance that the Fett blaster used a cavalry gun as the base. Despite all his "known facts," inaccurate though they might have been, thought, it was the first time I'd ever been involved in a props discussion. It definitely was not the hobby back then that it is now.

It didn't matter how off this guy was. I was hooked!

 

[Slave1]

Of course the next question is, do I leave it like it is, or do I go through and 'finish' it??? Add the clamp, transistors, etc, and paint it???

-Adam

Best to keep as is and maintain the historic significance. If you want to finish one, keep this one a virgin and buy a more accurate one to complete.

 

[Jedi Lawja]

Yes, definately keep this one in it's 'prototyping' form. It's a valuable (historic, not necessarily moniteric) artifact of the reverse-engineering process Icons and so many hobbyists went through on the route to the ultimate ANH OBW replica! It's probably more valuable monitarily too.

The movie came out in '77. Far as we know the real prop has been lost for over thirty years. It's only been in the last six or seven years that we've been able to say with some degree of certainty what each component is. I find this a bit amazing, for over twenty years what is believed to be a motorcycle grip (Yeah, that was the common belief when I was first into propping..) is actually an English grenade that a guy I knew from my town found and identified at a GUN SHOW!

I digress. Good find!

Jay

 

[GeorgeC]

I vote to keep what you got off e-Bay as is...

There plenty of replicas out there that don't have the pedigree this one does.

IF you finish it up, you arguably reduce its value.

 

[cayman shen]

What's with that booster? Were they assuming the ribs were short strips of t-track or something (a belief I held for a time myself)?

 

[Straycatt]

That would be my guess, and was my first thought when I saw it.

-Adam

 

[Apollo]

I would leave it as is!

nice addition to the collection! :thumbsup

Of course the next question is, do I leave it like it is, or do I go through and 'finish' it??? Add the clamp, transistors, etc, and paint it???

-Adam

 

[Tan Djarka]

That explains the odd pommel replica I got a while back. Looks like it was based on this.

 

[Funky]

I remember when the gear part was thought to be a gear from some sort of brush hog. And of course the emitter being a drain from a small sink that went into a camper. :lol