A long time ago ... in a comics bookstore in Amsterdam ... it was a replica of Vader's ROTJ stuntsaber made from a sink pipe and custom resin parts, that I laid my own eyes on a lightsaber prop from STAR WARS for the very first time. Ever since it has held a special place in my heart, so when I was able to get my hands on a Graflex Reborn lightsaber replica representing Vader's ROTJ stunt I was over the moon, eventhough it was not entirely screen-accurate to the T ... I loved it and still do :
When I learned about the replica prop forum and after having lurked for some time ... noticing that you could also get access to some incredible lightsaber props made available by members via the Junkyard ... it was a no-brainer I had to join. In the meantime I had already started collecting T-tracks, Exactra's and G R A F L E X flashguns from ebay ... even scored me a vintage MPP, which by that time I had learned to be the real world part that Vader's lightsaber was really created from. It was this MPP that years later became the reason for a pleasant visit from the honorable Roy Gilsing who wanted to get some measurements for the shrouds he wanted to replicate :
Also on the table was the Graflex Reborn and some parts from a DV ROTJ MoM G R A F L E X kit I had scored online but never put together ... yet :
I was never happy with the oval holes drilled into the vintage G R A F L E X top and the shapes of some of the other parts ... so I decided to get another 2 Cell as a good replacement. As always I do put in a lot of time researching, checking work in progress builds from others and gathering whatever pictures I can get my hands on before I even start work on a prop.
So that's when it hit me that the template we have been using for eons was in need of a real upgrade ... mostly because I noticed that the 3 hex screws near the clamp on the real prop were further apart then what was being done by most :
Ever since Roy succesfully recreated the plastic T-tracks based on the ones we see on the DV ROTJ Stuntsaber :
... and his later work on the MPP shrouds ... our trip together to STAR WARS Identities in Utrecht in 2017, seeing the DV ROTJ prop for real now hanging on Vader's belt :
... as mentioned, I had to challenge him to do his magic and give us a better template to work from. Knowing Roy I knew he would not fail me ... and as we all can see from this thread, he went even further and recreated these incredible screen-accurate replica parts for us to enjoy :
Lacking proper tools to drill my 2 Cell top ... it will probably take me to plan a return visit to Roy's place to get my DV ROTJ MoM lightsaber replica prop completed with some proper and more accurate parts ... hence coming full circle with this wonderful Darth Vader ROTJ stunt lightsaber prop ever since those times I visited that Com-X bookstore in Amsterdam
Chaïm