Request for reference, discussion. Prequel and clan sabers.

[Gregatron]

Okay, so, I couldn’t resist. Took some measurements of the Dewy/Starkiller Obi-Wan TPM emitter flange (which, of course is the same part used on the other TPM sabers) to recreate it in 3D. I also recreated the washer and a representation of the threaded rod to fit in the washer’s hole.

I just need the threaded section of the SP emitter as reference to add that to the flange piece which screws into the saber.

I wonder how hard and/or expensive it would be to get these parts machined in aluminum, then sandwich them together with the appropriate needle bearing parts. A multi-part emitter (with the key missing detail of the needle bearings), and thus much more accurate to the original.

 

[Gregatron]

…and this looks pretty good, in terms of diameter and detailing:

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/03380961

 

[Gregatron]

This one was previously sourced, here on the RPF. Looks even closer.

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[thd9791]

I bet there is a machined core to the emitter, something to center everything around the rod. Also.. do we think the original beveled part has a lip to it inside?

Those resin stunts that popped up recently.. with the metal emitters.. it almost looked like the underside of the thick washer was visible inside the ring!

 

[thd9791]

Also wanted to say publicly please check with starkiller and dewy before ever attempting to get these produced, if they were measured from their hilts and not props

You already know but for newbies, wanted to keep up our standard to the public

 

[Gregatron]

Also wanted to say publicly please check with starkiller and dewy before ever attempting to get these produced, if they were measured from their hilts and not props

You already know but for newbies, wanted to keep up our standard to the public

Of course. I just wanted to throw something together quickly to play around with in 3D, and that’s what I had on-hand to measure. Once the SP Fisto arrives, I’ll give that a once-over with the calipers, as well.

Really, the whole point is to reproduce the Fisto emitter in separate pieces, to allow the insertion of the needle bearings. I suppose i could just cut the SP emitter apart, but it’s polished steel, and that would be a lot of work. Therefore, reproducing each section seems a more logical choice.

 

[Gregatron]

According to tracking, SP Sabers’ Clan Fisto hilt has safely arrived here in the good ‘ol US of A. Once I receive it, I’ll give it an examination and post some photos.

 

[Gregatron]

Received the Clan Fisto saber.

Although it’s supposedly based on a production asset, I wouldn’t give this one high points for accuracy. Which is odd, since the other clan sabers SP is offering (Mundi, Koon, Ti, etc.) all look pretty spot-on.

This is essentially an idealized version of the saber. It varies from the actual prop(s) in a few notable ways:


*The main body is anodized aluminum, which is a medium gray color, riffing on the painted main body of the TPM hero.

*The shape of the pommel knob thingy seems a bit off, shape-wise.

*The ribbed lower section features eight raised ribs and nine grooves between them, as opposed to the seven ribs and eight grooves of the original props.

*The placement of the buttons and LEDs in relation to each other—and their spacing—are idealized.

*The purple greeblies on the lower half are too large, and are 3/4 spheres, instead of smaller domes sitting atop knurled buttons.

* The knurled buttons 3/4 of the way up the hilt are vertically thinner then the actual props’, and sit atop thin, chamfered bases (think the MPP/Vader emitter shroud knobs).

* The LEDs are yellow and green, whereas the TPM hero appears to have white/clear LEDs, and the stunt versions were painted or chromed to match the rest of the hilt.

*As previously noted, the emitter is missing the thrust bearing details (as most replicas of this design do). It also appears too long, compared to the actual props, and I find myself wondering if the overall scaling of the prop might have been affected by this.


Anyway, It’s a lovely, well-made piece, but, like I said, I wouldn’t give it high points for accuracy. I’m not sure it’s worth the effort to have more accurate emitter/button parts made. As noted, I don’t need the clan sabers to be super-duper accurate, and so this will be sufficient unless something better (perhaps from Dewy/Starkiller) comes along.

 

[Anakin Starkiller]

If I can get my hands on the high res reference images of the hero versions of the clan sabers, I’ll get to work on the 3D models.

I'm sure we will do this within the next year or so. I'm thinking the resin sections would be machined from abs and then painted by the shop that did the paint work on my Maul sabers so that everything matches

 

[Foe Hammer]

Thank you!!!!!

 

[Gregatron]

Yeah, that sounds about right. Guess I’ll be holding out for these versions, then.

 

[Gregatron]

On a tangential note, I really do find myself more and more convinced that the TPM heroes were specifically made for Ewan and Liam. After all, why would they make two metal heroes, and then also the four resin-with-metal-accents clan-style heroes?



The Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon heroes both stand out from the rest, both in style and materials. I think the whole "Ewan picks his saber" moment might have been staged for the camera.

 

[4str0m3ch]

On a tangential note, I really do find myself more and more convinced that the TPM heroes were specifically made for Ewan and Liam. After all, why would they make two metal heroes, and then also the four resin-with-metal-accents clan-style heroes?



The Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon heroes both stand out from the rest, both in style and materials. I think the whole "Ewan picks his saber" moment might have been staged for the camera.

I thought that as soon as I saw the BTS video from TPM.

 

[Halliwax]

I want the box!!!

View attachment 1721162

Got a screen cap of the front of it, how it latches?

 

[Dewy]

Got a screen cap of the front of it, how it latches?

I see two hinges on the back, and there is a metal tab coming down from the lid of the box on the front, but I don’t see any mating hardware on the bottom front.

 

[4str0m3ch]

I see two hinges on the back, and there is a metal tab coming down from the lid of the box on the front, but I don’t see any mating hardware on the bottom front.

View attachment 1727982
View attachment 1727981
View attachment 1727980

Looks purpose built and could have just had a screw holding the tab down?

 

[Gregatron]

Hey, I've been studying the Anakin AOTC saber, lately. What's the deal with the emitter? It's hard to tell from the reference, but it almost looks like there's a small hole inside of the main hole.

The MR version just has the main emitter hole, with the bottom of the hole painted black. But it almost looks like the actual prop just had raw aluminum. At the bottom of the emitter, albeit in shadow.

 

[Dewy]

Hey, I've been studying the Anakin AOTC saber, lately. What's the deal with the emitter? It's hard to tell from the reference, but it almost looks like there's a small hole inside of the main hole.

The MR version just has the main emitter hole, with the bottom of the hole painted black. But it almost looks like the actual prop just had raw aluminum. At the bottom of the emitter, albeit in shadow.

It definitely looks like there might be a step change in diameter within the emitter hole. Maybe even threads? Could just be sloppy machining though. Hard to say.

 

[Gregatron]

It definitely looks like there might be a step change in diameter within the emitter hole. Maybe even threads? Could just be sloppy machining though. Hard to say.

View attachment 1728189
View attachment 1728190
View attachment 1728191

Makes me wonder if this particular hero, at least, was designed to hold a blade.

 

[thd9791]

I will say that the core now does look like raw aluminum stock to me too. I see lathing marks in the emitter.
Looks like the LEDs were embedded in it and it was just slid in the shiny outer shell, making the trench on the side.

Weirdly... it looks like someone poured black resin in there... if it held a blade there would be a grub screw somewhere on that saber, maybe under the collar?