The OT stunt lightsaber blades research thread

[Halliwax]

I copied the blade pattern from the "is there gaff tape on the booster" shot

Looks great tom, what tape did you use?

 

[thd9791]

My android tracfone does better with the flash on but, understandably, i couldnt use the flash to display this

I have uncoated silver textured 3M and coated off-white 3M and I used the latter
The uncoated strips were not long enough and I was already figuring out how to taper it... you can see I didnt quite taper it enough near the tip and didnt get as much black as I wanted.

By the way, you cant run an xacto blade along this to trim it, it comes off in flakes and chips. The glue is THAT good.

I recommend little scissors. I actually ripped some of it away up top and patched it with strips of scrap for cleaner lines near the tip.

 

[vadermania]

I believe it's 6V - Vadermania made the hilt and he said the motor needs 6V to run. I can see the end of the motor with red and black wires hot glued in place at the end. They run right to a battery pack (4 AAAs)

I actually am planning on interrupting the red wire and putting a toggle switch in the booster. AND I'll be switching the 4 AAAs for 2 3V coin cell batteries. The battery pack is much smaller (and it has it's own tiny switch too I guess) so I'll be doing a little soldering at the black wire, 2 at the switch and then splicing that to the battery packs red. I think?

There is a bearing at the emitter plate and the drive shaft runs right up the neck. I don't remember if there is anything else in there.

His drawing
ANH Obi Wan special effects lightsaber replica project

You can easily remove the motor including the bushing and drive shaft by unscrewing the little grub screw in the section of the hilt which is covered by the Graflex clamp. I actually used 3 bearings in the hilt, two are sitting in the emitter, one inside the grenade section.

 

[thd9791]

Certainly looks & sounds correct. Really nice saber.

Coin cells are not going to work for you, I've just checked the spec's. Max rate continuous amp draw for CR 2032 is 3.0 mAmps (0.03 amp). The spec sheet for JGA 370 motor it draws 20 mAmp (0.2 amp) no load ; 50 mAmp (0.5 amp) under normal load & may even peak near 100 mAmp (1 amp) as used here. Amphr (should I be wrong) is a 3rd that of AAA so would not last long at all. You could look at 2x LiPo AAA. These are normally rated 3.7V so would run a little fast without a buck voltage regulator keep it down. Would last longer than alkalies & be rechargeable.

PS. Doesn't matter which wire you put the switch on, it's just convention it would be red one.

Thank you! This is stuff I'm still learning, man they don't have much of a current, I guess watches don't need it hahaha

Seriously just saved my butt Looking into lipo AAAs

 

[thd9791]

You can easily remove the motor including the bushing and drive shaft by unscrewing the little grub screw in the section of the hilt which is covered by the Graflex clamp. I actually used 3 bearings in the hilt, two are sitting in the emitter, one inside the grenade section.

Thanks so much - Toggle switches are a bit big and I've been trying to find correct power thats a tad smaller.

This saber is downright beautiful

 

[StevenBills]

Just for fun, I took your video and used the bright blade as a matte for rotoscoping the blade in After Effects. Just used levels to get a matte, blurred it out a few times, and added color. Didn't do any cleanup (see: blue glow on the hilt, the back wall, etc...). It's cool that it preserved the flicker, and how it disappears when pointed towards the camera. Kinda reminds me of ANH.

SB

 

[thd9791]

Just for fun, I took your video and used the bright blade as a matte for rotoscoping the blade in After Effects. Just used levels to get a matte, blurred it out a few times, and added color. Didn't do any cleanup (see: blue glow on the hilt, the back wall, etc...). It's cool that it preserved the flicker, and how it disappears when pointed towards the camera. Kinda reminds me of ANH.

SB

Steven

This is SO COOL!!! It really does remind me of the original fx. Super neat

 

[thd9791]

I gave into keeping the aaa batteries and dug up a generic SCI switch that seems small enough to fit

and this time soldering went well - it was almost instant - and heat shrink made it look nice haha

 

[thd9791]

I know this is off track a bit but I got a switch installed. Its higher than the original props of course, batteries and all, but it feels really cool. (Never knew those motor adapters were springs)

 

[Halliwax]

Keep it up!

 

[thd9791]

It occurred to me today that the V3 has no switch hole, but a hole for wires... leading me to think it was a primitive version with just an external battery pack and possibly a switch outside with it if at all. Just pop the batteries in and let it go honestly

here’s the pommel screwed in, the battery pack fits with the wires and snap connector kinda jammed in there. The GF modeled for me!

remember they kept these special effects blades for sparring in the warehouse

 

[Halliwax]

It occurred to me today that the V3 has no switch hole, but a hole for wires... leading me to think it was a primitive version with just an external battery pack and possibly a switch outside with it if at all. Just pop the batteries in and let it go honestly

here’s the pommel screwed in, the battery pack fits with the wires and snap connector kinda jammed in there. The GF modeled for me!
View attachment 1362324View attachment 1362326

remember they kept these special effects blades for sparring in the warehouse

We know the pommels were made by scratch, maybe from another team member

So while machining the schematic most likely had the hole for the wires

I still don’t believe the v3 ever spun

 

[Mouse Vader]

Really nice.

V3 has no switch hole, but a hole for wires...

Are there any pictures of this wire hole? Are you talking about the depression under the silver tape? If so how do you know it's a hole & not the depression for a grub screw? TBH I'm in agreement with Halliwax ( ) that it was never motorised.

From my own research on this I think the battery packs would have been very similar to this one for Vader's costume, which is prob 5x large NiCad cells at 1.2V ea. for 6V supply. I know that even the 2x AA Lipos I use don't last that long, 5-10min continuous use, so something with more reserve would be desirable for stuff like the duel scene.

 

[Halliwax]

Really nice.

Are there any pictures of this wire hole? Are you talking about the depression under the silver tape? If so how do you know it's a hole & not the depression for a grub screw? TBH I'm in agreement with Halliwax ( ) that it was never motorised.

From my own research on this I think the battery packs would have been very similar to this one for Vader's costume, which is prob 5x large NiCad cells at 1.2V ea. for 6V supply. I know that even the 2x AA Lipos I use don't last that long, 5-10min continuous use, so something with more reserve would be desirable for stuff like the duel scene.

Mouse and I agreed on something?!??

 

[Mouse Vader]

I know ! I'm going for a lie down in darkened room...

 

[thd9791]

I was thinking about this last night - is the theory youre talking about, basically that the V3 was never finished?

I do think they lathed the V2 heavily to get it more true, and maybe the "set up" made it too fragile for the chorepgraphy for ESB (when choosing a beater/rehearsal stunt)

I absolutely was talking about the hole beneath the foil tape - it is admittedly true it could be a dimple or a half drilled hole under thay tape or something. It is where the mystery chunk is on the V2

Good thinking on that battery pack, putting the switch in mine made me realize how necessary it would be to have the actors switch them on themselves with everyone else out of frame.

Has anyone noticed this fx tape/black pattern on the V3 or Graflex Stunt in the BTS videos from empire other than the warehouse? Im wondering if they broke them or the ANH blades stuck around and survived

Edit: also thank you for the compliments!

 

[Halliwax]

I was thinking about this last night - is the theory youre talking about, basically that the V3 was never finished?

I do think they lathed the V2 heavily to get it more true, and maybe the "set up" made it too fragile for the chorepgraphy for ESB (when choosing a beater/rehearsal stunt)

I absolutely was talking about the hole beneath the foil tape - it is admittedly true it could be a dimple or a half drilled hole under thay tape or something. It is where the mystery chunk is on the V2

Good thinking on that battery pack, putting the switch in mine made me realize how necessary it would be to have the actors switch them on themselves with everyone else out of frame.

Has anyone noticed this fx tape/black pattern on the V3 or Graflex Stunt in the BTS videos from empire other than the warehouse? Im wondering if they broke them or the ANH blades stuck around and survived

Dunno what came first the v2 or v3.. but it makes more sense to me the v3 was the first attempt, and it didn’t work.

That’s why the v2 has a emitter made from scratch.

Considering how the tape gets damaged and then effects the “flicker” I imagine the v3 was used in ANH as a practice stunt before film rolled.. just an idea no proof besides that one photo we have of it


V2 was also used behind the scenes In esb, I think it held up fine for dueling, whether or not having the motor inside still at this time..

I’m 100% confident it’s a hole..

Give me a second to switch computers to attach pics

maybe even possibly plugged with a screw? dunno

i think if it was just a divot they wouldn't have covered it in tape? i think the tape is there to hide the hole.. i dunno...

I just think production wise... shop gets the contract to make these things "yeah Joey, he's a schematic start making these pommels. follow the instructions, i need 6 of them" "yeah Thomas, take these blanks, cut the heads off and clean up the casting make them smooth" "and you Kevin, you machine some heads from scratch so we can center them better on the cleaned up blanks" "and you Halliwax! go get us some coffee and French crawlers! now! hurry hurry!"

what im trying to say is, its not like these were built 1 at a time with all matching parts. these parts were machined and thrown in a box for the next guy down the line to assemble

i do how ever now believe to this day only the v2 was cleaned up, all the other casts were most likely fitted for pommels and blades and thats it. who knows really though, its just what i think

heck, all the cast stunts could have been done already. pommels on, drilled down the center for a blade, blade attached. then production got the idea of putting a motor inside to make it spin, they took one of the finish stunts, its so out of whack they couldn't centered anything, threw it back in the lathe and cleaned it up, hollowed it out to fit the motor and machined a new emitter to make it work.. god only knows what order it was done..

wish we had more information..

 

[Mouse Vader]

is the theory youre talking about, basically that the V3 was never finished?

I was & do subscribe to the theory the V3 was an unfinished motor stunt. So that may or may not be a hole for wires. Certainly is a hole of some sort, threaded or not. I'm also convince the V2 was used for off screen choreographing/stunt work & is robust enough for that.
Given the effort put into testing & development of the motor stunts, even down to setting the rpm to interfere with the camera frame rate to give the flicker, I think it likely the motor stunts were all made as such from the get go (& the V3 is a 'reject' attempt).
As always IMO & awaiting new info/ref's.

 

[vadermania]

I really would love to see a comparison of the grenade section of the V2 and V3. Could it be possible that the V2 is an entirely machined piece as opposed to the V3, which is a casting?

 

[Mouse Vader]

Could it be possible that the V2 is an entirely machined piece as opposed to the V3, which is a casting?

How long have you been a member here ?!