<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(James Kenobi 1138 @ Mar 17 2007, 02:51 PM) [snapback]1442141[/snapback]</div>
Wow, it's been a long time since this subject came up.
The Hoth and Bespin Saber and the Dagobah Saber were not the same saber.
The Hoth/Bespin were the 'hero' and had:
Silver rivets/screws in the grips
Both red buttons, no beer tab
Smooth 1/4 mylar tape on the clamp
Silver lines of HP-44 away from clamp lever
and the d-ring was 'upside-down' attached with rivets
The Dagobah/Ranch saber had:
Screws in the grips that were either black to start with or silver and turned black due to all the water/moisture during filming
It also had TEXTURED tape on the clamp
Small 2mm screws in the top of each grip
Brass screw holding lever to clamp
Silver lined of HP-44 toward clamp lever
A brass slotted head screw holding the clamp together (with lever tab present)
Only the bottom red button present
No beer tab
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(clancampbell @ Mar 17 2007, 12:36 PM) [snapback]1442104[/snapback]
The screen used sabers never had that textured tape, and the "ranch" version is basically a cobbled together last remnant of the Luke sabers....with many things wrong.
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You see the Textured tape every single time Luke is on screen in Dagobah.
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No, you don't.
I've checked carefully. The Dagobah saber had the smooth 1/2" tape, but is missing the upper red button, like the Ranch saber.
As far as I can tell, the textured tape NEVER appeared on-screen.
Also, the Hoth and Bespin sabers both appear to have black screws/rivets. In the Wampa cave and when Luke escapes from his snowspeeder, the D-Ring bracket is not upside-down, as opposed to the Ranch saber (it looks like the MR version), and the rivets appear to be black. Also, when Luke is in the Bespin corridor (and Artoo is bumping against his leg), you can see the right-side-up d-ring bracket, the 1/2" silver tape, and the black rivets/screws (in a well-lit shot, no less).
Check out the Parts of SW page:
http://www.partsofsw.com/esbsksab.htm
The first photo at the top of the page is the Ranch version as it was in the 90s (rusty screws, upside-down d-ring bracket, textured tape) , the second is from the snowspeeder escape (black rivets/screws, right-side-up d-ring bracket, 1/2" tape), and the third is an early pre-production/publicity shot (siver rivets, right-side-up d-ring bracket, 1/2" tape).
Here's my breakdown of the ESB sabers:
PRE-PRODUCTION AND HERO VERSIONS:
As in A New Hope, Luke's lightsaber was made from a vintage Graflex 3-cell flashgun. It appears that the prop department referenced pre-production photos from A New Hope, since the clamp is in the same position on the ESB props as it was in the pre-production ANH version.
However, although the new props were intended to represent the same lightsaber that had been given to Luke by Obi-Wan Kenobi in the first film, there are several noticable differences:
1. Six (instead of A New Hope's seven) black plastic or rubber grips were attached to the lower half of the flashgun, and the edges are not rounded as they were in the first film (they are instead at 90-degree angles). Further, to help keep the grips attached to the flashgun, notches were cut into the lower part of each grip's ridge, and small rivets or screws were added. The grips are at(looking at the saber from the rear with the rabbit ears/red button at 12:00) 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00, 9:00, and 11:00.
In all of the early pre-production/publicity photos, these rivets/screws are SILVER (which is the version the Master Replicas Luke ESB LE and SE props are based on).
However, in nearly every scene of the film itself (except for one shot of Luke getting knocked off his tauntaun by the Wampa ice creature, at least) these rivets/screws are either BLACK, or are painted BLACK (to disguise the fact that the grips are being held on in such a manner).
Also, some (possibly all) versions of the hero prop have small screws added at the top of each grip to the right of the ridge (just under the Graflex's middle band) to help reinforce the grips even more. The Master Replicas version of the prop does not replicate this feature.
2. A strip of 1/2"-wide smooth chrome tape was wrapped around the flashguns' middle band to cover the "GRAFLEX" imprint.
3. An old HP-44 computer card edge connector was cut down to 13 gold bars (which taper to silver lines), and slid into the lashgun's mounting clamp (with the silver lines facing away from the clamp lever).
4. The "beer tab"/retaining ring (and the post it was mounted on) around the Graflex's knurled red button was removed.
5. A second knurled knob/red button from another, identical Graflex flashgun replaced the test light lens on the flashgun.
6. A d-ring mount (actually the mounting clamp from a Kobold flashgun--the same type of flashgun used to make Luke and Han's droid callers) was riveted to the bottom of the flashgun, and a d-ring (much larger than the d-ring on Luke's ANH saber) was attached.
THE DAGOBAH SABER:
A variant of the main hero props can be see in the film during all the Dagobah scenes. This version appears identical to the hero versions, except that the upper knurled/red button behind the Graflex's "rabbit ears" is missing, leaving only an empty socket.
It has been speculated that because of this common trait (the missing red button), the "Dagobah" and "Skywalker Ranch" (see below) sabers are one and the same.
THE SKYWALKER RANCH VARIANT:
The only surviving Luke ESB saber is known as the "Skywalker Ranch saber". These details differentiate it from the other HERO versions:
1. There is no knurled button behind the "rabbit ears", just an empty socket with the two gold pins. In recent years, the other red button (which replaced the Graflex's test light/lens) was removed from the lower socket and screwed in behind the rabbit ears.
2. The clamp lever is screwed down against the clamp with a brass slotted head screw. Also, the HP-44 edge connector is upside-down compared to other versions. On this version, the tin silver lines are facing the clamp lever.
It is possible that sometime after filming, the clamp lever broke or became loose, and the edge connector feel out and was put back in upside-down prior to the lever being screwed on.
3. A piece of 1"-wide, textured tape was added to the middle band to cover the "GRAFLEX" imprint. It is important to point out that THIS TEXTURED TAPE IS NOT SEEN IN THE FILM. It may very well have been added AFTER filming, possibly to replace the 1/2"-wide smooth tape.
4. The d-ring mount is attached to the flashgun upside-down compared to other versions, and is screwed on. The mounting gear in the grip notches are rusty phillips-head screws, and the are also small screws to the right of each grip ridge.
It is more than likely that the current state of the prop is not how it was during filming.
Although it has been speculated that the "Dagobah" saber and this saber are one and the same, please note that the Dagobah saber definitely had the 1/2" smooth chrome tape around the middle band in the film, whereas the "Ranch" saber currently has the 1" textured tape.
It is possible that the 1/2" tape was replaced (possibly because the it was weakened and decayed/fell off after being submerged in the first scene in the swamp on Dagobah).
This battered variant later served as the basis for Anakin Skywalker's ROTS saber.
STUNT SABER # 1:
There is some photographic evidence that indicates that at least one stunt/dueling saber prop was nearly identical to the HERO props, save for the addition of a wooden "blade".
STUNT SABER # 2:
Another bladed stunt version of Luke's saber appears to have a black middle band. This saber was presumably the one converted into Darth Vader's ROTJ saber.
STUNT SABER # 3:
For the shot of Luke's hand being severed, what appears to be a reused saber from A New Hope was used. Photos indicate that it has 7 grips without notches/mounting gear (instead of the 6 seen on other ESB sabers), the red button with tab/post in the upper button socket, the test lens in the lens socket (as in ANH), a missing bulb release clamp (the "rabbit ears"), and no d-ring mount. This saber was attached to a dummy hand for the shot.
