Star Wars Jedi Challenges. Has anyone torn down the hilt?

[Cbstudios]

Hey guys.

So, wandering through a local electronics store yesterday, I noticed that the Star Wars Jedi Challenges VR thingy from Lenovo has just kept dropping in price. They're now WAY below RRP or even the christmas pricing, down to as low as $75 AUS brand spanking new. Now, $75 for a chrome graflex hilt replica seems pretty dang good, so it begs the question.... Has anyone ripped the electronics out of one yet? Can it be done? How does it look?

Pic for attention, cos I'm damn keen on giving this a shot if its doable.

 

[DiggsBarklightr]

Some larger images. This vs an extendable, yeah I can see it, but for a few dollars more you could get a better looking Black Series I think.

 

[Cbstudios]

I've got the Rey Black series, which is super nice. Basically I'm just looking at a cheap belt hanger option. The Black Series here in Australia is $249, The Lenovo hilt can be found as cheap as $75 Australia. I couldn't even do a Black Series conversion that cheap honestly.

 

[DiggsBarklightr]

Then that’s a no brainer lol. Tear it down and if you’re handy, make your own blade plug out of a screw and a electric shaver blade or something. You might even be able to cannibalize the electronics for the LED and batteries.

 

[vader45]

For something that's not sold as a prop replica and just a game remote it's damn good. Is it metal or plastic?

 

[DiggsBarklightr]

Judging by the rounded edges and wavy ness of it looks like chromed plastic most likely. They’d probably want to keep the weight down if you’re going to be swinging that thing around.

 

[Cbstudios]

So I scored one for $50 AUS brand new. It’s Plastic, but pretty dang nice in hand. The “blade” nub is hollow silicone, and with a little strength just pulled off. No need to tear down IMO.

Very happy for a lightweight, decent looking belt hanger!

 

[DiggsBarklightr]

Plus you can still hook it back up and play the game. Double the score. Nice find for the price.

 

[thd9791]

I've been wondering about this one, thank you! The clamp box looks so skinny lol rather accurate in many ways tho - hey ep3 involved chroming breakable rubber props. This sounds more durable

 

[CT1138]

I got the Lenovos game and saber about two years back for Christmas, back when it first came out. It is indeed plastic, but the details are nice and crisp. Despite the small bunny ears, it's actually a fairly good replica. I'm rather fond of mine. I'm definitely making it my belt hanger at Celebration.

 

[Kovnyn]

I keep watching the prices on this. Eventually I'll get it, I don't have a good metal Graflex replica. Hell, I might even keep it as is for awhile and play the VR game

 

[Tan Djarka]

Maybe if I found it at a thrift shop for $25 or so... But the shoulder under the glass eye really bugs me.

 

[Ridire Firean]

Hey Gang! My question is... has anyone gutted one of these and dropped the insides into a GRAFLEX?

I wonder if the sensors would transmit through a metal body?

I have thought this would be a neat toy if the price wasn't so high as it was when it first came out. Now that they're affordable the only hang up seems to be limited phone compatibility for the VR headset.

 

[buzby]

Hey Gang! My question is... has anyone gutted one of these and dropped the insides into a GRAFLEX?
I wonder if the sensors would transmit through a metal body?
.

It uses Bluetooth to communicate with the phone, so it's not likely to work if the antenna is inside a metal tube. Saying that, even the chrome on the plastic case of the controller would attenuate the Bluetooth radio signal, so the antenna may be external to the case, or behind one of the unplated parts that would act as a window for the radio signal (such as under the fake PCB in the clamp box)

 

[E Williams]

So there's a Kylo Ren version too... how accurate and proportional do you all think it is?

 

[Tan Djarka]

What's the actual length? Seeing it on display at Best Buy, it struck me as being a little too long on the grip end.

 

[E Williams]

What's the actual length? Seeing it on display at Best Buy, it struck me as being a little too long on the grip end.

It's a hair too long, yeah, but it's surprisingly close in other ways. Tube diameter is 1.5 inch diameter exactly versus the 1.497" of an original Graflex. The flash portion is 11" long excluding the faux Kobold, versus the 10 5/8" of an original Graflex. Here's a comparison:

Picked one of these up and I'd say it's definitely worth it, if you can find a broken or incomplete Jedi Challenges set for $20-$30. It's a fun little piece and as others have commented it brings to mind the Ep III saber. Maybe something we would have seen in the sequels if the art direction had taken a looser approach like III did.

If you want to remove the rubber blade nub, pop out the squishy part of the red button - there is a tiny screw underneath that will let the whole bulb socket assembly slide out. The tabs holding the bulb clamp onto the socket are very thin so it seems safer to avoid the brute force approach.

 

[gunnerk19]

I just bought the saber alone on ebay for $25 shipped. I just want it for a shelf piece, the fact that it lights up is a bonus

 

[Tan Djarka]

Yeah, that's what I thought. Between the length, the glass eye, and the size of the activation box, it's not on my short list (if you know what I mean). If I find one at a thrift shop priced like a regular toy saber, I'll grab it. I'm not a purist by any stretch of the imagination, but it's inaccuracies would just bug me too much.

On an interesting side note, years ago I built a hardware version with a PL-259 RF connector standing in for the red button assembly, and used a button off a Rubies Darth Maul saber for the actual button, that looks remarkably like that from "overhead".

 

[d_jedi1]

I just found one on ebay for $25.. I'm gonna buy one for my kid. That way I don't have to share MY toys and the kid can still have something fun and shiny to play with from time to time.