I spent some time recently to do some further research regarding the original ESB stunt lightsaber blades. Motivated by my work on the ANH Obi Wan special effects lightsaber replica, I threw in every piece of information I gathered in the past (40) years about those blades. There are quite a few theories out there what real world item was used for the blades. Some even said those blades were manufactured for the movie.
A statement from Steven Sansweet stuck in my mind: the ESB stunt lightsaber blades were made of “German World War II tank antennas”. Have you ever tried to research German World War II tank antennas? To cut a long story short, I was not even able to locate a decent photograph of an original German WWII tank antenna in the web. BUT I found some images of miniature model tank antennas, which was quite promising. At least they featured the correct taper – a constant, long taper from bottom to top, which you do not easily find on modern carbon or fiberglass tubes.
A few weeks ago, I found something on a Chinese website which caught my attention: tapered fiberglass flagpoles for small motor boats. On a family trip to the nearby Wannsee here in Berlin, we passed a small boat harbor and I found myself taking a closer look at the boats. And there it was: a boat antenna which matched the image of the ESB stunt lightsaber blade I carried in my head for such a long time. Some more telephone calls and research, and I had it in my hand finally.
I am now 100% confident that the HMP CX-4 antenna has been used for the dueling blades in ESB.
Image of the complete antenna:
View attachment 1317261
Blade tip:
View attachment 1317264
The CX-4 antenna is on the market for more than 40 years now. I found an older model on ebay Kleinanzeigen Germany and bought it immediately.
The antenna base:
View attachment 1317266
hmp-Logo on antenna base:
View attachment 1317267
Some specs:
- length of the fiberglass antenna part (without the metal base): 116 cm
- diameter at base: 18mm
- diameter in the middle: 15mm
- diameter at tip: 10mm
Material: fiberglass composite (center: thin antenna cable inside a thin white fiberglass tube, surrounded by some dark, softer “filler” material, with an outer dark fiberglass shell (an “early” type of fiberglass from the late 70’s/early 80’s). Painted white (UV protective layer).
I think what they did for preparation of these stunt blades was removing some of the inner material of the rod on the thicker end, leaving just the outer fiberglass shell. Then they inserted a metal sleeve and added a metal ring with grub screws on the outside to secure the blade on the stunt lightsaber handle. I will do that with my antenna in the next couple of days.
A big “thank you” goes to PrinceZip/Kevin for his help and support throughout this final part of the research. Without you, it would not have been possible to locate the correct real world item!
