(Re)finishing a Vader Saber (Finished!)

[Crimsonnaire]

Oh, ok. It just occurred to me that if the accurate length of the correct sidebar is known, the exact diameter of the nail head could be scaled... Are your sidebars from Parks?

Also, would you happened to have any trouble bending the tip? Did you use pliers? And as it is now, is the clamp tightened all the way or is there just enough slack to be able to adjust it by hand if necessary?

 

[pengbuzz]

As far as I'm concerned clutch, you DO have a real Vader saber! Nice job!

 

[Clutch]

No idea where the nails are. lol It was a pain to bend and you will scar those bars if you are not careful. I used pliars. The clamp is loose enough that you can rotate it. I used a drop of superglue to hold it in the position I wanted. BTW, this is a Parks saber. The sidebars were black. I had a heck of a time sanding that stuff off.

 

[propmainiac]

hi clutch
great looking saber! Do the grips need to be trimmed to lay flat on the endcap?

 

[Clutch]

If you want them to lie flat. I did not trim mine.

 

[thd9791]

I'm just seeing this thread for the first time, but for future reference there's no need to bend open your clamp rails if you wanna put a piece of circuit board beneath your bubble strips. On the ESB/ROTJ prop the circuit board is cut narrower than the bubble strip and glued to the bottom of the bubbles. It doesn't make contact with the inside of the clamp. I've seen it with my own eyes and this is the best photo I could get to illustrate it.

View attachment 385365

So, basically, the Vader Hero uses the pinch method.

 

[Fabian 71]

I picked up a Parks saber a while back thinking it might be a real MPP. :lol The gamble didn't pay off so I decided to try and accurize it some by refinishing the shroud.

The shroud was thick. I sandpapered the inside of it until I had it at reasonably thin. The only problem is that this left a big patch of bare metal showing!

I went ahead and stripped the factory paint and bought a can of VHT Wrinkle Plus paint. Using this paint goes against everything I know about rattle cans.

Most people would think that several light coats spread out over time is best, but that will get you nowhere with this paint. You'll end up with a smooth, gloss black finish.

What you need to do is lay down three thick coats in a crosshatch pattern (all this is on the can instructions). Spray the first coat horizontally and let it set for 5 minutes. Then spray it vertically and let set for five minutes. The final coat will be diagonally sprayed.

It will look like you coated it with glossy black paint, but the magic starts a couple of hours after you spray it. The wrinkle effect takes time.

If you do need to respray an area, you should just respray the entire piece. What happens is the edge of the respray will be too thin to wrinkle and you will have a gloss 'boundary' between the original and respray.

http://www.heycomputer.com/wp2z.jpg

http://www.heycomputer.com/wp1z.jpg


Next to a MR FX saber. (FX in front)
http://www.heycomputer.com/wp3z.jpg

I would like to ask you if You noticed what kind of metal the shroud is made of .Is it aluminum,steele, brass or mild steele??

 

[Jedi Reali]

So, basically, the Vader Hero uses the pinch method.

The bubble strip is "in" the clamp. It's just that the circuit board beneath it has been trimmed down (and presumably glued to the underside of the bubble strip) so that it need not ever even make contact with the clamp. Make sense? I cringe when I see these mangled clamps because people think they need to cram the bubble strip AND the circuit board into the clamp's slots.

 

[thd9791]

Sort of haha, it makes sense to me if the circuit board is wider than the bubbles, so to say. But thinner? What does the clamp grip if not the bubbles?

 

[Clutch]

He's saying the clamp grips the bubble strip. The circuit board is narrower so it's not wide enough to fit into the clamp. It 'floats'. Lol! Anyway, it was just a secondhand Parks that I mangled. We don't even know if the ANH saber had a circuit board in it.

Sort of haha, it makes sense to me if the circuit board is wider than the bubbles, so to say. But thinner? What does the clamp grip if not the bubbles?

 

[thd9791]

He's saying the clamp grips the bubble strip. The circuit board is narrower so it's not wide enough to fit into the clamp. It 'floats'. Lol!

OH! okay, thats...weird haha, thank you! carry on..

 

[LTsmash1200]

Quick question, is Parks the only still in production mostly accurate Vader saber? Would I be better off trying to find a used MR or should I just get a Parks?

 

[Sym-Cha]

Please send an email or better yet call to check if Parks has any MPP Replica's left in his stash before ordering online. A used MR might be faster to receive if you can find a reasonable priced specimen

Chaim

 

[Clutch]

I've never messed with a MR. If I had a choice based on accuracy, I'd pick Parks, but he has a pretty bad reputation so buyer beware.

 

[LTsmash1200]

I've never messed with a MR. If I had a choice based on accuracy, I'd pick Parks, but he has a pretty bad reputation so buyer beware.

Yeah, I know, that's why I was wondering if there were any other options. Guess I should just wait and hope maybe some day somebody can convince Roman to do one...

Although, after looking around some, it doesn't look like Heilands are actually that expensive, but I may have been looking at the wrong ones. Also that's already starting off with a technically wrong base.