Obi-Wan Kenobi Episode 1 Resin Stunt Lightsaber Research

[Excelsior]

I would like for that to be the case. I want to make sure I can get consistent results that I’d be willing to deliver to the forum. I also need to figure out what form everything will take.

My original thought was to offer completed (painted) sabers with stunt blades up for sale in small batches as I finished them. If I can’t find a good enough paint, I might just offer raw castings with completed blades. We’ll see. Either way, we are at least a few weeks away from me offering anything up for sale, as I still consider this being in the research phase.

Raw casting is what I'd want, as I am the DIY type. Your paint jobs are looking really good though, Drew. Curious to see how the pressure pot works out.

Btw, it would be nice to do a run of some metal emitter bezels for those who want to replicate the resin hero that Propstore sold:

And if you're wondering why I have a green arrow in there, it's because I noticed that the angle in this shot shows that "step" that I've been talking about even more prominently...

If you were to do this version, you'd probably want to cast a hilt without the emitter plate attached, to make things easier. Then we'd just need to get a run of the bezels/washers/rods done. I'd volunteer to do the parts myself, but I'm maxed out with production on other things (woes of being a one-man shop).

It would be a cool project. Would love to try copying the weathering on this hilt.

 

[Dewy]

Raw casting is what I'd want, as I am the DIY type. Your paint jobs are looking really good though, Drew. Curious to see how the pressure pot works out.

Btw, it would be nice to do a run of some metal emitter bezels for those who want to replicate the resin hero that Propstore sold:

View attachment 1726410




And if you're wondering why I have a green arrow in there, it's because I noticed that the angle in this shot shows that "step" that I've been talking about even more prominently...

If you were to do this version, you'd probably want to cast a hilt without the emitter plate attached, to make things easier. Then we'd just need to get a run of the bezels/washers/rods done. I'd volunteer to do the parts myself, but I'm maxed out with production on other things (woes of being a one-man shop).

It would be a cool project. Would love to try copying the weathering on this hilt.

I’ve definitely been considering it. I have a local machining job shop that would probably be perfect to take on a small run. That is further down the road though. First I want to nail the all resin hilts.

Do we think the emitter bezel is aluminum like the hero? It looks like it could be steel to me:

 

[Dewy]

If you were to do this version, you'd probably want to cast a hilt without the emitter plate attached, to make things easier.

Also, to be totally accurate I think it would be better to use the same mold and then modify the raw casting. As you can see in this comparison the emitter posts on a "normal" resin casting (right side) end at the bottom of the emitter bezel. On the "hero" resin casting they are tucked up under the emitter bezel. Additionally, you can see that last black rib from the emitter core is higher up. These pictures are not perfectly to scale and not the exact same perspective, but pretty close. So the modified resin "hero" was likely a slightly shorter saber overall than the regular resin castings.

 

[Excelsior]

I’ve definitely been considering it. I have a local machining job shop that would probably be perfect to take on a small run. That is further down the road though. First I want to nail the all resin hilts.

Do we think the emitter bezel is aluminum like the hero? It looks like it could be steel to me:


View attachment 1726414
View attachment 1726415View attachment 1726416

Cool. Yeah it's a simple part to make.

I don't think the bezel is steel. The metal looks white and like aluminum, in spite of the weathering. I'm presuming that it's one of the same aircraft bearing parts (?) as used on the hero and other TPM sabers. They just added that to spruce it up and make some of the hilt metal as it was used for a significant amount of screen time. I'm guessing that this is the saber that Ewan carried throughout most of the production, with the metal hero being saved primarily for the close-up during the Maul fight.

The fender washer and rod are steel, however, and you can even see a bit of red rust where those parts were ground down. You don't see any evidence of rust on the aluminum outer bezel, so it appears we are dealing with two different types of metal.

Here's another metal-bezel stunt. Definitely looks like the same aluminum part:

Notice that there is a slight fillet to the edge there as well.

 

[Excelsior]

Also, to be totally accurate I think it would be better to use the same mold and then modify the raw casting. As you can see in this comparison the emitter posts on a "normal" resin casting (right side) end at the bottom of the emitter bezel. On the "hero" resin casting they are tucked up under the emitter bezel. Additionally, you can see that last black rib from the emitter core is higher up. These pictures are not perfectly to scale and not the exact same perspective, but pretty close. So the modified resin "hero" was likely a slightly shorter saber overall than the regular resin castings.

View attachment 1726427

Very cool! Never noticed how much shorter it was. A belt sander will handle that no problem...

 

[Excelsior]

Please excuse a brief side tangent/derail once again, but concerning the metal hero... Can we safely assume that it is located at Skywalker ranch?

I mean, that has to be it... The Qui-Gon looks like the one you and Starkiller are currently working on also.

The yellow color under the fender washer could be epoxy* that has yellowed. Also looks like a lot of the paint has worn off the pommel, revealing the gray primer underneath.

And maybe it's just the perspective, but is one of the pommel cubes missing?


SWNZ Visits Lucasfilm - part 1, Skywalker Ranch - SWNZ, Star Wars New Zealand


*Or the yellow color could just be light reflecting off the zinc coating on the underside of the fender washer.

 

[Dewy]

Please excuse a brief side tangent/derail once again, but concerning the metal hero... Can we safely assume that it is located at Skywalker ranch?

View attachment 1726440

I mean, that has to be it... The Qui-Gon looks like the one you and Starkiller are currently working on also.

The yellow color under the fender washer could be epoxy that has yellowed. Also looks like a lot of the paint has worn off the pommel, revealing the gray primer underneath.

And maybe it's just the perspective, but is one of the pommel cubes missing?


SWNZ Visits Lucasfilm - part 1, Skywalker Ranch - SWNZ, Star Wars New Zealand

Here’s another picture from that day:



I’m not convinced it’s THE hero. Several things look off. I think it might be a mixture of salt shaker parts and possibly some leftover/extra hero parts.

 

[Dewy]

The black parts are too shiny. The red button looks different and it looks like it has the larger brass knob similar to the HA hero stunt:

 

[Excelsior]

Well now I'm even more convinced it IS the hero. Here's why.

Look at the machining marks on the pommel cubes, circled in green--specifically the one in line with the brass barb. Same exact marks!

Also look at the wear on the "o-ring," circled in yellow. Looks to be the same as on the ranch prop.

I am now starting to doubt that there is any o-ring there at all. It could simply be the bottom of the resin emitter core. The wear pattern is similar to that of the other resin parts of the hilt. If it's a rubber o-ring, why isn't it cracked and dried out? It could also look like some epoxy oozed out and is flaking off that area.

Regarding the paint being too glossy, it's plausible that after years of being handled the paint became a bit polished. If you look at the area above the pommel cubes, in the deeper recesses, the paint looks more matte/satin.

You can see in screenshots from the Maul fight that the main grip of the hilt looked glossier then already.

Overall it just looks like the hero. The salt shaker is totally different in its proportions. Yes, the red button looks off, but that could have been replaced later on. Also, given that there were a bunch of TPM-era props on display at the time of this tour (2012), I don't think this prop is from the later era of the salt shaker (circa ROTS).

Regarding the barb, the picture is too blurry to be conclusive. But even if I cede that point, it's still a piece that could have been replaced later on like the red button.

There are other things I'm seeing that look like the hero, but I'll leave it at this for now.

 

[Dewy]

Like I said, I’m just not convinced. I’m not saying that it’s not, but the burden of proof for me personally would be very, very high. Why would it only be displayed just this once? We know that the QGJ hero has toured with salt shaker sabers before:



Maybe the original hero was disassembled and this is partially it. It’s possible that the pommel cubes were leftovers from the original hero. It’s also possible the pommel cubes were found parts and whatever batch all had those machining marks. 100% credit to thd9791 for making this possible discovery:

 

[Dewy]

Also, if you look in the reflection there is not a pommel cube missing:

 

[StevenBills]

I would happily take an unpainted cast.

Same same.

SB

 

[Excelsior]

Like I said, I’m just not convinced. I’m not saying that it’s not, but the burden of proof for me personally would be very, very high. Why would it only be displayed just this once? We know that the QGJ hero has toured with salt shaker sabers before:

View attachment 1726470

Maybe the original hero was disassembled and this is partially it. It’s possible that the pommel cubes were leftovers from the original hero. It’s also possible the pommel cubes were found parts and whatever batch all had those machining marks. 100% credit to thd9791 for making this possible discovery:

View attachment 1726471

That is news to me regarding the pommel cubes. Of course they would be a found part... Have any of these been sourced that have the correct profile? Maybe the prop maker modified them, and that's why there are those machining marks. Either way, the fact that those marks are a perfect match, and the overall dimensions of the prop appear consistent with the hero, not to mention the location of the prop, makes an extremely good case that this is the hero, or at least what is left of it.

BTW, as you know, there are two different Qui-Gon heroes... You can tell the difference when looking at the "hooks" on the aluminum shroud by the red button. It's possible that these two heroes are kept apart--one with the salt shaker exhibits, and the other is at the ranch with the Obi hero and other TPM props. Disney owns Lucasfilm, but the ranch is directly owned by George Lucas.

Regarding why this saber would only be displayed here... who knows. Maybe Lucas just wants it to stay at the ranch? The TPM Obi hero saber has never been seen on an exhibit anywhere else. Why is there so much secrecy around this particular prop in general? Secret reference pics and such? If the original hero were to be put on display, those reference pics wouldn't be such a big deal anymore, except as documentation of the state of the prop right around the time of filming.

You may not be convinced (yet), but unless you have information that absolutely proves this isn't the hero, then I will take the evidence I am seeing regarding the unique features to be proof that it is the original. What really gets me is the weathering and machine marks. I don't see any paint flaking and revealing resin underneath on the salt shaker. This ranch prop, however, has that and the patterns are consistent with the TPM hero.

 

[Dewy]

BTW, as you know, there are two different Qui-Gon heroes... You can tell the difference when looking at the "hooks" on the aluminum shroud by the red button.

Okay this I’m even more skeptical of. I have never seen a second hero QGJ.

 

[Excelsior]

Okay this I’m even more skeptical of. I have never seen a second hero QGJ.

Well dang. Now I'm thinking I'm crazy. Let me double check my reference stuff.

 

[Excelsior]

Okay this I’m even more skeptical of. I have never seen a second hero QGJ.

Ok yes, I am mistaken. I was conflating two different types of Qui-Gon prop. The metal hero has more tapered "hooks," while the resin hero has ones that protrude out more:

 

[Dewy]

Yes, I believe that was discussed in the QGJ design thread. All the resin stunts have those sharper corners. They clearly polished the hero after making the mold for the stunts.

 

[Excelsior]

Like I said, I’m just not convinced. I’m not saying that it’s not, but the burden of proof for me personally would be very, very high. Why would it only be displayed just this once? We know that the QGJ hero has toured with salt shaker sabers before:

View attachment 1726470

Maybe the original hero was disassembled and this is partially it. It’s possible that the pommel cubes were leftovers from the original hero. It’s also possible the pommel cubes were found parts and whatever batch all had those machining marks. 100% credit to thd9791 for making this possible discovery:

View attachment 1726471

I'll reiterate this thought here: perhaps the salt shaker version is the one that was chosen to be put on exhibit with the Qui-Gon because the Obi TPM hero is obviously in rough shape. They'd want to pick the prettier saber for display.

Anyway, stuff to think about. I'll stop hijacking your thread now!

 

[teecrooz]

Maybe the original hero was disassembled and this is partially it. It’s possible that the pommel cubes were leftovers from the original hero. It’s also possible the pommel cubes were found parts and whatever batch all had those machining marks. 100% credit to thd9791 for making this possible discovery:

View attachment 1726471

Those all ended up being too large, correct? The ones I looked at were.

 

[Dewy]

Those all ended up being too large, correct? The ones I looked at were.

Yessir, probably twice the size of the saber pommel cubes.