My fireplace mantle and work area are now COVERED in Lightsaber parts. I've been collecting parts for a while now, and am finally putting them all together, with the goal of a complete collection of O.T. sabers. It's gotten away from me a bit though. I mean you gotta have AFBB versions... weathered versions... variants of different screen used... and I haven't even tinkered with electronics. But before this gets completely out of hand, I need to finish what's on my plate. So figured I'd do a thread on it...
Anyway, some quick background! It all started with an art show...
A gallery in Vancouver contacted me and my wife to submit art for a Star Wars/Star Trek art show taking place a few weeks later. My wife decided to crochet some characters, and I, not feeling up to painting or inking anything, decided I would make a lightsaber. I am a HUGE Star Wars fan, and while I watched the O.T. regularly , I never really looked too closely at the props.
I knew NOTHING about lightsabers, aside from them looking something like flashlights. So I looked up pics online and found the RPF. I joined and discovered "hardware builds". I was liking how they looked, so I went down to Home Depot with a bunch of pictures of lightsabers (with no idea who's was who's) and looked for parts to make something that could be one of the family.
I finished it, patted myself on the back, and then dropped it off for the show.
This was that rather embarrassing, clearly home depot, first saber...
But I was hooked... and also being between work contracts at the time, had more than enough time to read up on everything to do with lightsaber props.
Even though between contracts, I still started hunting graflex's and various other parts I would need to complete my new quest... collect ALL the O.T. lightsabers (it's good to have goals when between contracts and going stir crazy).
Well it's now a year and a half later, and I have a pile of unfinished sabers, and a wife who's wishing she never said “yeah! You should look into doing a lightsaber!”
Anyway, time to get at em! I have some sabers that need just a bit of finishing, and others that will need a lot of work... Some I'm still looking for parts.
So far the only two I would say are COMPLETE are Luke's Star Wars Holiday Special saber, and the scratch build of the Vader ROTJ MOM saber (my favorite - so you will see multiple show up in this threads future.)
I'm aware the Holiday Special isn't O.T., but then neither is the yoda that I'm finishing up... there will be a few exceptions (cue the wife with “How many of these are there?! I thought you said SEVEN!”)
So first up on the block is the saber you probably aren't very familiar with...
LUKE ANH!
This is the graflex I'm working with for this saber... I have one that is quite a bit more beat up, but I'm gonna ESB Luke that one. This one is as close to pristine as I could find without paying 300+ bucks.
I took my graflex to my friend who has a GREAT workshop, with all the tools I don't have because I live in a tiny condo that I can barely fit a dremel into. Though I've had this graflex for over a year, I actually spent most of that time hmmming and hawwwwing over what D-ring clip to use. I went for the one I got off a member earlier this year, cut a piece of wood to support the back (at Chaim's recommendation) and finally put a hole in it.
Riveting that ring on was the most satisfying thing yet.
Last night I cut up my Gino tracks, sanded down the edges, and tonight will pull out my Exactra 19 and get a look a that bubblestrip.
More to come! Lots more...
Anyway, some quick background! It all started with an art show...
A gallery in Vancouver contacted me and my wife to submit art for a Star Wars/Star Trek art show taking place a few weeks later. My wife decided to crochet some characters, and I, not feeling up to painting or inking anything, decided I would make a lightsaber. I am a HUGE Star Wars fan, and while I watched the O.T. regularly , I never really looked too closely at the props.
I knew NOTHING about lightsabers, aside from them looking something like flashlights. So I looked up pics online and found the RPF. I joined and discovered "hardware builds". I was liking how they looked, so I went down to Home Depot with a bunch of pictures of lightsabers (with no idea who's was who's) and looked for parts to make something that could be one of the family.
I finished it, patted myself on the back, and then dropped it off for the show.
This was that rather embarrassing, clearly home depot, first saber...
But I was hooked... and also being between work contracts at the time, had more than enough time to read up on everything to do with lightsaber props.
Even though between contracts, I still started hunting graflex's and various other parts I would need to complete my new quest... collect ALL the O.T. lightsabers (it's good to have goals when between contracts and going stir crazy).
Well it's now a year and a half later, and I have a pile of unfinished sabers, and a wife who's wishing she never said “yeah! You should look into doing a lightsaber!”
Anyway, time to get at em! I have some sabers that need just a bit of finishing, and others that will need a lot of work... Some I'm still looking for parts.
So far the only two I would say are COMPLETE are Luke's Star Wars Holiday Special saber, and the scratch build of the Vader ROTJ MOM saber (my favorite - so you will see multiple show up in this threads future.)
I'm aware the Holiday Special isn't O.T., but then neither is the yoda that I'm finishing up... there will be a few exceptions (cue the wife with “How many of these are there?! I thought you said SEVEN!”)
So first up on the block is the saber you probably aren't very familiar with...
LUKE ANH!
This is the graflex I'm working with for this saber... I have one that is quite a bit more beat up, but I'm gonna ESB Luke that one. This one is as close to pristine as I could find without paying 300+ bucks.
I took my graflex to my friend who has a GREAT workshop, with all the tools I don't have because I live in a tiny condo that I can barely fit a dremel into. Though I've had this graflex for over a year, I actually spent most of that time hmmming and hawwwwing over what D-ring clip to use. I went for the one I got off a member earlier this year, cut a piece of wood to support the back (at Chaim's recommendation) and finally put a hole in it.
Riveting that ring on was the most satisfying thing yet.
Last night I cut up my Gino tracks, sanded down the edges, and tonight will pull out my Exactra 19 and get a look a that bubblestrip.
More to come! Lots more...
Last edited: