My weathered Obi ANH saber- new pics

[Gigatron]

Hey Gang,

I just finished weathering my Obi ANH to point where I think it looks pretty good. I just want some opinions before I make it permanent.

It's a Park's saber just weathered to death.

Here's what I did:

1) Sand frag body, stem, vane and emitter with 150 grit sandpaper

2) Spray frag body with water and leave outside over night to rust

3) Wrap frag body and stem/vane in a paper towel soaked in vinegar and leave outside over night to get some rust and patina

4) Hold the entire assembly over an open flame constatly turning to get a good soot base

5) Wipe some places clean to show the original metal underneath

6) Seal with an automotive sealer and a dull coat (haven't done this step yet)

Anyway, on to the pics:

Please, let me know what you think before I make it permanent .

Thanks to WC for hosting.

-Fred

 

[Polluxius]

Good weathering on the top half, the lower half could use a little more IMHO. Great start to a beautiful saber.

 

[Kris]

Oooh .. Shiny.

In my untrained eyes, it looks nearly perfect. Maybe try and dent that emiter up a bit... but that is just what I think of it. Great job.

 

[Solo Nomo]

Wow man, looks amazing. I agree a little with Polluxius, i think the lower end (clamp) could use some more... but it does look amazing. I'f your going for the authentic look of the screen-used prop I'd say keep it weathered.

 

[ortiz34]

I just got one on rpf and am hoping to add some more weathering to mine as well.

Yours looks good,
needs some 'crimps' on the top part, add a few scratches, and you are good to go.

Aside:
That is one funny thing about the star wars 'used universe' is that things look much better when they are weathered and battle damaged.

I guess its good and bad for prop buyers since:
-the item usually starts as pristine
-i kinda feel like a jerk wrecking these things im paying good $ for

but in the end, if it looks good thats all i care about

Originally posted by Solo Nomo@Jan 14 2006, 11:56 PM
Wow man, looks amazing. I agree a little with Polluxius, i think the lower end (clamp) could use some more... but it does look amazing. I'f your going for the authentic look of the screen-used prop I'd say keep it weathered.

[snapback]1159435[/snapback]​

 

[MikeyX]

I also agree with Polluxius - the top half looks great. The booster doesn't look like it's weathered as much - it almost looks like it wasn't attached to the saber when Obi was using it for all those years

It might just be the pic though - I think a few more nicks and scratches, along with some weathering on the booster would sort it out a treat.

Again though the top half is really really good

 

[Gigatron]

Thanks guys .

The funniest part of this whole thing is is, I haven't even started to weather the bottom half yet.

Since the booster is annodized, there's not there I can do except scratch off some paint. I've done some slight weathering to the clamp (same soot treatment as the rest - not pictured yet) and I think I'm going to leave the pommel chrome. It should wear down on it's own over time.

Now once I get all the correct replica parts from all the various runs, I'll make that a "as first built by". But since I don't know how long it will take to accumulate all those parts, my Parks saber will have to suffice as my "been kickin' around the desert for 20 yrs" saber.

-Fred

 

[Darth Lars]

You could of course use paint.. Drybrush the booster/gear/heatsink with "rust"/"gunmetal" in-between the fins and "gunmetal" and "steel" on the edges. Mist some silver spraypaint over the chromed sinkdrain and/or add "grime" with a wash of dark paint.

 

[BLEE]

Looks pretty good. Can't wait till I get all of the parts to finish mine. I just bought a powder coat gun, so now I can paint my own parts.

 

[lesternessman]

That's the best looking USK I've seen to date. Agreed with all prior comments on weathering the rest of the saber. A light sand paper run over the pommel won't do much but add some lines through the chrome, but its a nice touch, especially on a few of the cubes. The booster needs a little knicking, a little crimping under the emitter just above the stem will mirror the MR version. The windvane as well needs a dent here and there, see Chronicles picture to see what I'm talking about.
Great Job, I love the grenade and how it came out. Keep posting pics as you tackle the rest of the saber.

 

[Gigatron]

Thanks guys .

I've done some further weathering, but I'm going to wait until I get some automotive clearcoat on there before I take some more pics. The problem with the soot is that it just wipes right off; so I'm trying not to play around with it.

I'm really pleased with the way the grenade and emitter section turned out, though I wouldn't have any idea on how to crimp that section. It's not exactly soft enough to do it with pliers. Any ideas?

-Fred

 

[Star Wars Man]

i think the top has a little to much abnd the bottom doesnt have enough.....

 

[Sporak]

You might want to consider chopping off the extra step on the emitter...
You could then clamp it it a vise and squish it a bit...working your way around...

I just put my emitter in a vise, clamping the extra step and took a hacksaw to it...then sanded the bottom nice and smooth...but, I was going for the clean look...

 

[lesternessman]

hey Sporak,
Where'd you get your obi ROTS activation board? That looks closer to the actual then the ones I've seen on ebay from tfxstudios...
Nice saber by the way...

 

[franz bolo]

That looks like it got HOT. :angry

Looks great..

The Pommel is hard to weather though.

Post more pics when your done.

FB

 

[Gigatron]

OK gang,

Here's some new pics

Cut off the last step in the emitter and tried to weather the booster (not much you can do to it, I hate using paint). There's no crimping the step in the emitter. Unlike the original which has a thin wall, the replica wall is 1/4" thick and sits snug on the grenade stem. It has no where to compress to.

Anyway, on to the new pics:

Thanks to WC for hosting.

-Fred

 

[Probe Droid]

Yummy.

 

[MikeyX]

I like the way it looks in the new pics. The chips on the booster really make it fit in with the rest of the saber. Nice job.

Cutting off the step on the emitter is one of those things I just didn't think of doing to mine until the posts about it here - doh. - I might be doing that now.

 

[lesternessman]

Its always the small things that have the biggest impact. That looks much better this round of pics, fully weathered if you will. I think the booster looks fine, granted as you said there isn't much you can do to it, but a couple chips in the paint here and there really go a long way. Your clamp looks nice too, did you do anything special to it? The only things left to add, or subtract is 1. the square under the clamp lever. I have heard that this wasn't on the actual saber. Some folks may beg to differ but at the end of the day, whatever floats your boat. 2. some accurate bubbles. 3. transistors...Great looking saber, really nice work on that. Thanks for posting the new pics for the rpf world to see.

 

[Gigatron]

Thanks guys .

Lester, any chance you can elaborate on the square under the clamp lever? I'm not sure I follow what you're talking about.

As for the clamp itself, nothing special - just holding it over an open flame and then dabbing it with a tissue.

I have vintage transistors, but still looking for washers. And I don't know where Parks got his bubbles from. I'm looking in to replacements for them.

-Fred