I am in NO WAY an OT saber expert. But I have gleamed a lot over the yeas by reading these forums. In my mind, this is how the OT sabers came to be/ existed through the movies. I know there are some glaring errors here, so I would appreciate any correction and updates that you could give. I've just never seen everything summarized in one place before. So, here's my stab at it ......
ANH Ob1 - Hero was made by/at Bapty(?) from cobbled together parts, including a flash clamp, machine gun nozzle/fin, sink knob, British hand grenade, and jet engine part for the emitter. There were probably 2 hero sabers, including a third dueling (stunt). The stunt survived to ROTJ as Luke's stunt. The Hero sabers' whereabouts remains unknown, but it is commonly assumed that they were disassembled and possibly returned to Bapty (or ended up at ILM).
ANH Vader - 2 Hero sabers, and a stunt (dueling?) saber. From MPP flash handles, with T-track as grips and Exactra calculator bubbles as the activator switch. A D-ring was attached to the base as a belt hook.
ESB VADER - One, if not both, of the Hero sabers survived to ESB but was/were modified with longer T-track for the grips. Some have speculated the a King Sol flashgun was also used (especially in the carbon freezing chamber scene) based on publicity stills, but this has never been definitely confirmed. The calculator bubbles remained as the activation switch.
ROTJ Vader - the stunt saber, from which the ROTS saber design was based, was probably a shared stunt that was used by Luke in ESB. This has large allen head bolts in its sides, including an extension rod still in the emitter. This is a Graflex Luke saber that has been converted to look like an MPP saber, if not very convincingly. This saber is commonly making the round on museum tours.
Only recently has it been discovered that a/the Vader ESB saber survived to ROTJ, and was used as the Hero in most of the ROTJ scenes. This saber now resides mounted to a ROTJ poster in a small museum, ??? I am NOT sure who actually OWNS this saber. Anyone???
ANH Luke - a Graflex 3 cell flashgun, with cabinet T-track for grips (7 on one, if not both) and calculator bubble strip in the clamp as the activator switch. A D-ring was attached to the base as a belt hook. There may have been 2 hero sabers.
ESB Luke - a/the ANH Luke had its T-track screwed/nailed into place on the flashgun. An HP(?) circuit board gold plated connector piece was inserted into the clamp as the activator switch. One of the Luke sabers was modified and ended up as a dueling saber, used by Luke in ESB and Vader in ROTJ. See above. This saber ended up in a display case at Skywalker ranch.
ROTJ Luke - 2 hero sabers were made, based off of the look of the original ANH OB1 and the surviving OB1 stunt/dueling saber. These were machined aluminum. There aslo were resin sabers(?) used throughout.
Barbicon saber - this Frankenstein hybrid may have been a publicity or promo saber, at around the time of ROTJ. ?? if it was ever actually seen on film.
SW Holiday Special Luke saber - a completely different flashgun was used and cut down to give the shape of a Graflex. As this was before ESB was released, and the show producers obviously had access to original ANH props and costumes, why an original ANH Luke Graflex was not used still is a mystery.
Energizer Battery Vader saber - made from an actual flashlight/MagLite.
ANH Ob1 - Hero was made by/at Bapty(?) from cobbled together parts, including a flash clamp, machine gun nozzle/fin, sink knob, British hand grenade, and jet engine part for the emitter. There were probably 2 hero sabers, including a third dueling (stunt). The stunt survived to ROTJ as Luke's stunt. The Hero sabers' whereabouts remains unknown, but it is commonly assumed that they were disassembled and possibly returned to Bapty (or ended up at ILM).
ANH Vader - 2 Hero sabers, and a stunt (dueling?) saber. From MPP flash handles, with T-track as grips and Exactra calculator bubbles as the activator switch. A D-ring was attached to the base as a belt hook.
ESB VADER - One, if not both, of the Hero sabers survived to ESB but was/were modified with longer T-track for the grips. Some have speculated the a King Sol flashgun was also used (especially in the carbon freezing chamber scene) based on publicity stills, but this has never been definitely confirmed. The calculator bubbles remained as the activation switch.
ROTJ Vader - the stunt saber, from which the ROTS saber design was based, was probably a shared stunt that was used by Luke in ESB. This has large allen head bolts in its sides, including an extension rod still in the emitter. This is a Graflex Luke saber that has been converted to look like an MPP saber, if not very convincingly. This saber is commonly making the round on museum tours.
Only recently has it been discovered that a/the Vader ESB saber survived to ROTJ, and was used as the Hero in most of the ROTJ scenes. This saber now resides mounted to a ROTJ poster in a small museum, ??? I am NOT sure who actually OWNS this saber. Anyone???
ANH Luke - a Graflex 3 cell flashgun, with cabinet T-track for grips (7 on one, if not both) and calculator bubble strip in the clamp as the activator switch. A D-ring was attached to the base as a belt hook. There may have been 2 hero sabers.
ESB Luke - a/the ANH Luke had its T-track screwed/nailed into place on the flashgun. An HP(?) circuit board gold plated connector piece was inserted into the clamp as the activator switch. One of the Luke sabers was modified and ended up as a dueling saber, used by Luke in ESB and Vader in ROTJ. See above. This saber ended up in a display case at Skywalker ranch.
ROTJ Luke - 2 hero sabers were made, based off of the look of the original ANH OB1 and the surviving OB1 stunt/dueling saber. These were machined aluminum. There aslo were resin sabers(?) used throughout.
Barbicon saber - this Frankenstein hybrid may have been a publicity or promo saber, at around the time of ROTJ. ?? if it was ever actually seen on film.
SW Holiday Special Luke saber - a completely different flashgun was used and cut down to give the shape of a Graflex. As this was before ESB was released, and the show producers obviously had access to original ANH props and costumes, why an original ANH Luke Graflex was not used still is a mystery.
Energizer Battery Vader saber - made from an actual flashlight/MagLite.
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