New Anakin ROTS Stunt Hilt details and Replicas

[Saberz]

Hey everybody,

I'm pretty excited to show off the fruits of a very long quest to make a good Anakin ROTS Stunt hilt. It's a polarizing design, but personally I've always loved this saber. I love how the choke, and the absence of pokey greeblies, actually makes it much more functional. In my mind it's what a "real" Jedi would use. And for that reason, it's my favorite version of the Skywalker saber. I've always been digging for details on this saber, and made some attempts at replicating it as early as 2006. But now 15 years later, I was super fortunate to get access to some original, screen-used props (and not just Anakin either ...). So for anyone like me who has always wanted a really good replica of this hilt, it's a good time in saberland!

You can check out my project run here: Anakin ROTS Dueling Saber

For now, here's a quick picture of the money shot:

And ... a little taste of things to come:

LOTS of hilts in the works, and I can't wait to put them in the hands of folks like me who have always wanted them.

 

[thd9791]

Holy crap these are beautiful!

 

[Saberz]

Thank you!

 

[APOLLO IND]

Nice work!!

 

[Saberz]

One of the many small details in this project is the push rod, which is bonded to the texalium blade, capping the blade with a screw used to thread the blade into the saber.

We could have made life much easier if we had decided to go with an off the shelf solution, which would have looked fine from the outside but would not have been accurate on the inside. And my goal was to have a 100% accurate replica, even on the parts you don’t always see.

So we had these push rods custom built. Accurate material, accurate threading, and accurate HOLLOW stock. It was a big challenge, but worth it in the end, to make perfect blades.

 

[thd9791]

This is so cool. I'm confused on the capping of the blade.

Also bonded as in glued? I'm wondering if the other threading in the texalium was more surface area to glue or something

 

[Saberz]

Sorry maybe "capped" was not the best word to use.

I'll restate. All ROTS blades consist of two parts: a texalium tube, and a steel pushrod. The pushrod is threaded at both ends, that's just how they are made, how they exist in the real world for use in engines. I'm not 100% sure that the original props used pushrods - they could have been custom made parts. But in my opinion, it's more likely that they were indeed found items, hollow pushrods. I've tried to find real-world ones with matching specs, but haven't been able to do so. There are a LOT of different types across different industries.

On most ROTS blades, you can only see one set of threads, as the other threaded end is completely swallowed in the blade. But I've seen one or two where the the last bit of threading sticking out of the texalium end of the pushrod is visible. So that reinforces my belief that these are found items. For that reason, I replicated them as double-ended on my replicas, even though you don't see those threads; just being accurate. One more of those "it's exactly like the originals, even if you don't see it" kind of things. On my replicas, the pushrod is press-fit into the texalium tube, and we also bond it with two-part epoxy as well just for extra durability.

Make sense?

 

[thd9791]

That makes total sense, thank you! I guess I forget how strong press-fitting and glue can be together to. Very cool that you noticed the extra threads.. absolutely agree on the found part thing. Man..

 

[Saberz]

Yeah, strong enough that if you want the pushrod to come out, you will probably have to destroy the texalium. As in, cut it off.

 

[Saberz]

So, as always happens, I ended up staring at my reference material a little too long, and noticed a little detail that I'd missed! It was right under my nose the whole time, but I never saw it. And here it is, my friends. The grips on the Anakin ROTS dueling hilts are NOT SYMMETRICAL. That is, the raised ridge of the grip is not at its center, but offset. The sides slope down at different rates.

These grips were already interesting without that detail, having a strange concave valley between grips that no one has ever replicated before. But finding this grip asymmetry was a big deal. So, while waiting on our packaging to arrive, I remade the grip section of every replica that we have pre-sold, so that everyone will get the updated geometry and the most accurate saber possible. There are still two hilts left at the time of this writing, so if you are interested, head here: Anakin ROTS Dueling Saber (almost gone!)

And here are some comparison photos (the bladed saber is a screen-used prop, the other one is one of our A3 Limited Edition replicas).

 

[thd9791]

Great eye on the grips. With my limited exposure to this prop I just learned the whole bottom/grips were the same thing. I notice the scoop you mention, it's like they milled the recess ...not with a flat bit haha

 

[Saberz]

Ladies and gentlemen, a presentation of the A3 and O3 Limited Edition sabers. Thanks!

Watch for the new editions coming soon which will be CNC machined in metal and FX capable.

 

[mountainjedi]

Stop tempting me like this!! I have to save my $$ for your Maul! Haha

 

[thd9791]

Holy mother of god.

The archivist in me loves seeing how this was done. Nice work.

 

[Saberz]

Thanks gentlemen!

 

[Saberz]

Oh, and mountainjedi, your decision to save $$ for the Maul is a good one. That will be my crown jewel, the best saber replica I have ever made. I'm SO excited to show off all its little intricacies and inner secrets.

 

[Halliwax]

That is gorgeous!!!

 

[Saberz]

Thanks! That one will definitely be present in the metal fx-capable version.

 

[Halliwax]

Thanks! That one will definitely be present in the metal fx-capable version.

Please remind me when it goes live

 

[StevenBills]

Please remind me when it goes live

What he said. What's the timeline for the metal versions?

SB