ROTJ Darth Vader Graflex Stunt (MoM)(a.k.a. DV6) – by WannaWanga

Today I received the DV6 kit. What a quality, you can see the love that has been put into it. Thanks roygilsing for giving us the opportunity to finally make an accurate ROTJ DV6.
Now get to work! :)
 

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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 :

GraflexReborn01.jpg


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 :

MPP-Heiland-02.jpg


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 :

11407201_10206589278187732_939944368145262151_n.jpg


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 :

LFA_DVROTJ_emitter_back2**.jpg


Ever since Roy succesfully recreated the plastic T-tracks based on the ones we see on the DV ROTJ Stuntsaber :

PB100095b.jpeg


... 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 :

IMG_20161211_142958-e1481632526344.jpg


... 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 :

Graflex-DV-ROTJ-MoM.jpg


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
 
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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 :

View attachment 1597867


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

You are more than welcome to finally come and visit me my friend! That picture was in the early days of WannaWanga in 2015! It feels like ages ago.Thanks for sharing this story Chaïm :)

Roy
 
Interesting, Sym-Cha that your first foray into lightsabers was a DV6. My own first lightsaber was a Hasbro POTF toy lightsaber modeled on the DV6. Right around the release of the special editions in 1997, a visiting uncle bought it for me from Toys-R-Us. I spent hours imagining what each greeble did, the knurled nut could double the length of the blade, the ball detent would have electricity arcing between it, the kobold clamp was clearly some kind of radio. I would eventually remove the blade sections from the hilt so I could hang it on my belt. It definitely started me down the path.
1657917481233.png
 
For those of you working on this magnificent saber .... do not forget there is 1 additional tiny hole without a screw ... it's right behind the ball catch and before the center hex screw near the clamp :

LFA_DVROTJ_emitter_back2.jpg


DV ROTJ small hole ball catch.png


And folks ... please ... do post your work in progress pics in this thread too ... not just on facebook, okay?

Chaïm
 
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For those of you working on this magnificent saber .... do not forget there is 1 additional tiny hole without a screw ... it's right behind the ball catch and before the center hex screw near the clamp :

View attachment 1600093

View attachment 1600092

And folks ... please ... do post your work in progress pics in this thread too ... not just on facebook, okay?

Chaïm
good point! are you sure it's a hole though? it looks like just chrome missing or a partial depth hole as we can see brass color
Rare-LFL-Lucasfilm-Archives-Movie-Prop-Lost-Photos-Star-Wars-Indiana-Jones-Historic-Visit-Orig...jpg

I think it's a cool detail to put, but I wouldn't drill completely through :)
 
good point! are you sure it's a hole though? it looks like just chrome missing or a partial depth hole as we can see brass color
View attachment 1600121
I think it's a cool detail to put, but I wouldn't drill completely through :)
If it was enough to show up on that old grainy video screenshot that Sym-Cha posted, it's most definitely a hole. immediately behind the flash's wall is solid aluminum, which is probably what we're seeing here, where you'd expect a dark hole. The ball catch is also threaded/tapped into the core, on top of each black bolt
 
What if initially the ball catch was supposed to go onto the saber like so :

BE66B6DC-1AE6-44FC-A596-1EF041367DB2-Fx*.jpg


And they made a hole for the first screw to go, yet changed their mind since the ball catch did not resemble the MPP bulb release enough :

Schermafbeelding 2022-07-21 om 23.49.21.jpg


Thus ending up with a partly cut ball catch and an extra hole ... as seen clearly in the original DV6 picture :

BE66B6DC-1AE6-44FC-A596-1EF041367DB2-Fx.jpg


Here's another rare picture which to me clearly shows a hole :

rarely-seen-side.jpg


Hole or divot ... I leave that up to your personal preference ... as long as you add something there to resemble what's on the prop lightsaber :)

Chaïm

P.S. As to why the prop-guys choose a ball catch to substitute for the bulb release is another discussion ;)
 

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