Snowtrooper Ab/ Han's Hoth communicator DIsk **Mint Thermostat Found 04/06/21**

[Ridire Firean]

Hey Gang! Google says they have a phone number if anyone speaks Italian...

V.E.B.E. Elettromeccanica SpA
Via dei Milanesi, 8, 26851 Borgo San Giovanni LO, Italy
Phone: +39 0371 97055

... no website, and a Facebook page that was not set up by them.

Hey @tubachris85x ! Great finds! I think the polished one is too shiny now though, maybe run it through the dishwasher a couple of times to bring its StarWarsy character back a bit. The one on the left that had the rubber seal looks AWESOME!

I know it wouldn't be screen acurate, but these would make for some neat holster greeblies/belt buckle add-ons!

 

[tubachris85x]

Hey Gang! Google says they have a phone number if anyone speaks Italian...

V.E.B.E. Elettromeccanica SpA
Via dei Milanesi, 8, 26851 Borgo San Giovanni LO, Italy
Phone: +39 0371 97055

... no website, and a Facebook page that was not set up by them.

Hey @tubachris85x ! Great finds! I think the polished one is too shiny now though, maybe run it through the dishwasher a couple of times to bring its StarWarsy character back a bit. The one on the left that had the rubber seal looks AWESOME!

I know it wouldn't be screen acurate, but these would make for some neat holster greeblies/belt buckle add-ons!

I actually like the shiny look to it, but I wanted to see how it'd look

As for the company info, I am unsure about it. The address appears to point to a residence, but could be wrong.

 

[tubachris85x]

Well, while I am in the middle of building 2 Snowtrooper costumes for celebration, one being a rebuild of my own, I decided to take one of the thermostats and add it to my ab plate. I feel obligated to. Not perfect by any means but I am happy to see it there

 

[tubachris85x]

It's a bit late but I have purchased some silicone for this. I'll be able to mold 2 together. I'll update it as soon as I get it done. I'll likely make quite a few casts and offer them on the junkyard or as a continuous run. They will all be cold-cast and I'll have a final price by then as well.

 

[tubachris85x]

Well I finally made the mold last night and came out well after taking it all apart this morning. I'll start tonight with some test pulls and figure things out. I would like to produce a number of ready to ship casts before I leave for my honeymoon next month. If anyone's still interested, keep an eye out. I will ONLY produce these in cold cast

 

[tubachris85x]

First 2 pulls came out alright. The outer rim is still soft but going to see how they are in the morning. Some small air bubbles on one of them, but overall they picked up the detail very nicely, to include the lettering/numbers on the rim. Assuming no issues tomorrow morning, I'll buff one of them up and get it looking shiny

 

[tubachris85x]

Did a "light" polish this morning but it's not nearly to the level I want it to be at, and may need to use a polishing wheel on my dremel merely due to the size. Additionally, I'll have to brush the resin in on subsequent pulls to ensure I don't get anymore of these small air bubbles. Still, these are just test pulls. Once I get it up to shine, I'll update.

Left is the one I worked on, the right is untouched from the mold.

 

[tubachris85x]

Ok, I spent more time tonight polishing it up more. I am sure there are folks here who are much better at this than I am, and honestly believe these can get much shinier, however I feel I was able to get it to a very similar "dull-shine" like the original parts. Cold cast in my experience is generally always darker in tone than true aluminum/steel. This pull is not something I'd consider a good pull due to the air bubbles, and I didn't bother cleaning it up any further as I just wanted to get a good shine on there

I think I'll go ahead and figure out costs so I can start offering these up. I think I will only sell these in sets of 2, with an option to add more if wanted but I'll produce casts first and go from there.

https://imgur.com/a/LovN8Vj

 

[Cameron]

Great job on these! Looking forward to grabbing a few.

 

[tubachris85x]

Just posted an interest thread here: Interest - Thermostat Cold Cast - Hoth Scanner/Snowtrooper Ab Disc- Cast from Original

 

[Pedro]

I want one of these!! Nice choice on cold casting, and of course zillions of kudos for the find! With some practice I think you can get rid of the majority of the bubbles.

 

[geordietrooper]

as far as i know this is not known yet ?
one of three things that are on my eye numbing search radar
anyway down to business washing machines is the answer old ones 70s 80s
the part in question

thermostat
3 step. normally open contacts

other info in spoilers to avoid the wrath of washy machine collectors ( its a thing really ) nerds just like us here

Spoiler: the answer to the riddle

hotpoint 95622/Hotpoint 18680 or Hoover A3110

no Bothans died for this info but one did suffer the pain of extreme wedgie

if anyone finds some in the uk keep me in mind if you get a spare

 

[tubachris85x]

All,

I decided to sell the mold I made off of 2 of the original thermostats I sourced. I was looking at doing a run but frankly I have lost motivation to do so and would rather someone with the skills and willpower to take them on. I am negotiatiable with the price.

Done

Sale pulled

www.therpf.com

 

[tubachris85x]

Having a change of heart on this. I'm going to look into developing a new mold for better quality, possibly even look at embedded hardware as well. Still would be all cold cast.

 

[tubachris85x]

Wrong thread

 

[tubachris85x]

Oddly, I have not been as proactive in looking for more original thermostats but decided to look again last night. It's been a few years since I last found any. To my surprise, I am about 100% positive I found another. This one being branded as a Hoover part for a washing machine. While we now know one Hotpoint Washing machine model used this exact thermostat style, I am unsure what else have.

Unfortunately this was then only picture of it on the listing, though, make no mistake, I've never seen a different model thermostat with this same backing/plug style. Will know for sure when it arrives

 

[thd9791]

congrats!

 

[tubachris85x]

So, I'm not trying to be mean when I say this, but folks messaging me asking to sell them any of the original thermostats I have will be ignored.

I've had quite a few messages since finding the first ones but recently it's shot up...a lot, not just on the RPF either, even just before the ones I just found last week. If I were to ever sell any, openly, I'd post about it.

Everything I've found has been sourced openly online, ebay mostly. I don't have some secret "source" for them. Others have found them on their own since, so can anyone else who wishes to put the time and work into it. I've provided all the information I've learned about them in this thread. Thank you.

 

[tubachris85x]

Today I received the first original thermostat I've found in some time. These are a different make from both the Italian VEBE and Eaton brand. This appears to have the brand name of "Kema Keur" on it. I am not 100% sure but I think was made in 1980, though I could be wrong about it. These were for a Hoover branded washing machine, I believe the make or model was known as "Candy."

One thing is for certain, this is the first mint condition one I've found. I won't be taking it out of the packaging.

 

[Johann]

AWESOME! Thanks for sharing mate, I would love to get one for my Dengar belt. Greetings