obi wan windvane

[propmainiac]

Hello
Im currently working on a obi wan anh saber, have most of the parts, the main body and the gear peice are resin.. the windvane eludes me. Has anyone scratchbuilt this part or used found parts to create this. I had a resin windvane but it was flimsy at best. Has anyone tried to machine one?...

 

[Tan Djarka]

I've made several by hand, It's kind of an involved process.

For the "sleeve" you start with a plastic tube that's the correct diameter, and cut it to length. Not the full size, but the distance between the "top" edge before the flare at the "bottom". Then using a Dremel tool or file, cut a notch into the bottom of the tube. Be careful, as you'll be removing half the thickness of a tube that's already thin. Then glue piece of styrene, about 1/8" thick and bigger than the diameter of the tube, to the notched bottom. Cut out the inside completely and grind the outside of the styrene into the flare.

The "fins" can be made by gluing styrene "T-track" or "L-track" around a suitable section of styrene tube or a PVC plumbing fitting. The "fins" won't be angled, but once the sleeve is on, it won't be too objectionable. Or you could cut angled notches in the center tube to insert small pieces of thin styrene for the fins.

 

[Sidewinder]

I have an original vintage one and stem that is from a different model, the stem has been machined to match the correct model. There is no outer ring but i could machine one from brass for it.

SAS