My first 'official' saber build on RPF… Luke ANH saber

[Whovian]

Here is my first real prop build thread… a Luke ANH saber I built for my son, for Christmas.


The body I got on EBay. Like most of the parts, it’s a reproduction, not an original, but I figured if I screwed it up I’d rather not screw up an original

 

[Whovian]

The clamp, red button, clear lens and flash attachment al came from the Graflex Shop. I got the calculator bubbles from them as well, but it was not accurate, so I did not use it.

 

[Whovian]

The grips were from Blast-Tech. I sourced a few places, but I liked the way these curves to fit the tube.

 

[Whovian]

I used the calculator bubbles from Blat-Tech as well. I had a strip from an actual Exactra at one point, but it got lost when I moved. Anyway, the Blast-Tech ones were closer to the Exactra than the ones from the Graflex shop. I also used their silver tape.

 

[Whovian]

The D-ring came from Blast-Tech as well.

 

[Whovian]

Now, this one I had a hell of a time finding… the infamous ‘beer tab’ under the red button. It took me 6 months to locate one of these little bad boys. I actually got it from DCARTY back in January. Many thanks!

 

[Whovian]

My son requested a ‘slightly weathered look’ to his saber. I have never done anything like this, so I’m a newbie in that regard. I researched a bit, and tried a few different methods (painting and wiping, scratching and then painting, etc) This is one attempt on the clamp.


You’ll see the finished product isn’t nearly as weathered looking… mostly because I did not know how to keep the paint from rubbing off. Maybe an overcoat of some kind? Any suggestions for future builds are appreciated.

 

[Whovian]

Here’s an early shot of the top body piece after an attempt at weathering it. Again, you’ll see the finished product is much less weathered than this.

 

[Whovian]

Bottom tube after weathering.

 

[Whovian]

Here’s the bottom tube with the guide marks I used for the grip placement. I got the placement for the grips and the d-ring from a post by parfaitelumiere. Thanks for the info!

NOTE TO SELF: Don’t use a Sharpie next time. Use a non-permanent marker. I got the marks off where they showed afterwards, but it was not easy.

 

[Whovian]

Here’s a semi-assembled pic. You can already see the weathering has rubbed off quite a bit.

 

[Whovian]

Grip placement in progress…

 

[Whovian]

Here’s an end shot of the grip placement in progress, with the D-ring already attached.



I learned a fairly painful lesson about using the correct tools for the job on the D-ring assembly. When drilling metal, use either a Titanium or Cobalt bit, which will go through the metal tube easily and quickly.



Do NOT make the same stupid mistake I did and try a typical steel bit. The bit snapped, and I wound up with the broken bit shoved into my left hand.



Amazingly enough I managed to miss all the important bits in there. A few dozen Band-Aids, some Neo-Sporin and a tetanus shot later I am 100%.

 

[Whovian]

Here’s a shot of the top area after assembly. For the piece that holds the ‘beer tab’ down, I wound up using the head of a nail that looked close to the right size, and simply gluing it on. I also did not have the correct piece to hold the ‘rabbit ears’ in, so I ended up with a machine screw, and sawed off the protruding end. The silver sleeve covering the screw is a plastic sleeve painted silver. I wasn’t happy with this part, but it was all I could come up with.

 

[Whovian]

And so, we come to the completed project. Well, almost completed. I still have to make the little slide switch that was not part of the reproduction tube assembly, but that can wait until after Christmas.



This will be displayed in a 1/18th scale model car case. The stand and plaque were ordered from PastorJedi, and should be here soon. I’ll add a display pic once I have the plaque and stand.

Comments, critiques, suggestions, etc. are appreciated. Be gentle with me

 

[gyoung2993]

Very nice work ,love it.....

 

[Bryancd]

Great job! Building up a real was one of my first props. You can loose the reflective tape, I recall a while back we decided it was never there on the hero.

 

[Sym-Cha]

Hi there,

Very nice lightsaber to give your son

-Chaim
__________________

 

[PoopaPapaPalps]

Phooey! Reproduction or not, this is still one gorgeous hilt. I wish my dad did this for me as kid!

 

[Whovian]

Phooey! Reproduction or not, this is still one gorgeous hilt. I wish my dad did this for me as kid!

Thanks... lol, my 'kid' is a 3rd year college student. A sci-fi geek, just like his old man