Lightsaber calc bubbles

[James Kenobi 1138]

Right now the caster wants to see if, with shrinkage, casting a real strip is a viable solution.

If you were casting a Ghostbusters Trap, and the stuff you were using had a 1% shrinkage rate, you would hardly notice the size difference.

The bubble strip is so small that even 1% shrinkage is a big deal. But this liquid acrylic from Smooth-on is supposed to have no real shrinkage, so we'll see.

 

[TV8]

Right now the caster wants to see if, with shrinkage, casting a real strip is a viable solution.

If you were casting a Ghostbusters Trap, and the stuff you were using had a 1% shrinkage rate, you would hardly notice the size difference.

The bubble strip is so small that even 1% shrinkage is a big deal. But this liquid acrylic from Smooth-on is supposed to have no real shrinkage, so we'll see.

Sounds thorough. Let us know the results in due course

 

[BigGeek]

Sure hoping to hear some good news about this soon. I'll definitely be interested in some of the replicas if they meet the exacting standards of those here on RPF!

Thanks to everyone for all the research and hard work!

 

[Sym-Cha]

Hi James,

Any luck sofar with casting the bubble strip? :confused

Chaim

 

[James Kenobi 1138]

Yes, but I'm waiting to hear back from the caster about posting pictures. He's still working out some casting details.

 

[Aaron_1973]

I recently picked up an Exactra 20 off of ebay ($36) and just cracked it open. Surprisingly, this one has a tan background. Attached are a couple of pics, 1 showing the tan background and the other showing the flat sides.

You can see the entire set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaronshane/sets/72157621591631401/detail/

 

[Sym-Cha]

Thanks Aaron for sharing your pictures. Again flattened sides :love Apparantly there are multiple color backgrounds used in the making of the Exactra 20.
For my vintage MPP Vader project I need to take off 1 bubble. Does any of you have experience with this how to proceed? What tool would be advisable? And does the ANH Vader lightsaber bubble strip also has the board attached? :confused

Chaim

 

[Clutch]

I would use a mitre saw:

I would say the board being under the bubbles is debatable.

 

[Aaron_1973]

I would say the board being under the bubbles is debatable.

With that being said, there were a number of Exactra calculators with bubble strips of varying bubbles. The cut Vader bubble strip could have actually come from another model other than the 19 or 20... correct?

 

[Sym-Cha]

Hi Aaron,

Here's the full line up of TI Exactra's : http://datamath.org/Album_Basic

See Exactra Line (Click a calculator for more details). Only the Exactra 19, 20 and TI 2000 have 7 clear bubbles! All the rest have more bubbles, red in color and also a lot smaller. So the Vader cut bubbles must have come from either an Exactra 19,20 or TI-2000. Most likely the propmakers had a whole bunch of them at their disposal to use. :love

-Chaim

 

[Sym-Cha]

Hi everyone,

Take a good look here :

http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=67487&highlight=calculator+bubbles

and here's where they are for sale :

http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=67567&highlight=calculator+bubbles

-Chaim

 

[George L.]

I say,

<snip>
...then the calculator would be destroyed beyond repair.
So until James or his associate comes home with a perfect run the Exactra's are still REAL on ebay. Grab them while you can guys! :love If your looking for the authentic vintage "screen"-used effect that is ...

Chaim

First thanks for your post on my Graflex build. After checking here is there any updates on the 'proper' ANH Exactra strip, re-makes or other?
[edit] never mind.

The tutorial at the beginning of the thread verified and help a lot, even though I was already on that path... Again thank you and the other Graflex saber freaks here for your time.

A re-post of the Exactra strip I pulled today out of the storage of 8 years in the box. I pray to the the maker it is correct!



Cheers,

Chip

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[Jedi Reali]

A re-post of the Exactra strip I pulled today out of the storage of 8 years in the box. I pray to the the maker it is correct!

Wow, you've got a frosted one! Never seen one myself, but it's accurate to the Vader ESB/ROTJ saber. The ANH Luke and Obi-Wan bubbles were clear on the flat edge around the bubbles.

 

[George L.]

Wow, you've got a frosted one! Never seen one myself, but it's accurate to the Vader ESB/ROTJ saber. The ANH Luke and Obi-Wan bubbles were clear on the flat edge around the bubbles.

Now my head IS spinning, the ANH Luke and Obi-wan ones were clear?

Dang it Jim!, anyway thanks for the heads up (that's why I am a RPF member, you all are awesome).

Please, further updates on my now obvious predicament/thread:
(*bump to*): http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=252507&p=3953132#post3953132

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[Fusion]

I recently picked up an Exactra 20 and now I'm wondering how to tell if the bubble strip is legit. Or, did that turn out to be a non-problem after replicas got made?

 

[Darth Lars]

If the bubble strip is still attached to the circuit board with plastic rivets then it should be genuine. The rivets are posts at the bottom of the strip that go through the circuit board and are melted on the other side - small circles of clear plastic.

Also, most replicas are sized to fit into a Graflex or MPP clamp without having to trim the sides and/or sand the back, which you would have to do with a real strip.
I think only Rebelscum's replica bubble strip was so accurate that it was sized as a real one and had the rivets/legs that fit into the tiny mounting holes in the circuit board -- but the rivets are not long enough to be melted to hold the bubbles in place (Edit: I checked, just to be sure).

 

[Fusion]

Nice. And thanks. Now, I need to score ANOTHER real bubble strip. Because I find I am as loath to cut up this Exactra as I am to modify the really super nice Graflex I found. I really want to build a fairly screen-accurate ANH light saber using original components (within reason) while keeping examples of the sources used by the makers for the original parts. It's gonna end up being an expensive little display....