The Ultimate Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi Real Vintage Parts Lightsaber Group

[coolhanluked]

I hate to second OdiWan72, but those boosters are replicas. I had the chance to purchase those exact three in early June but passed after examining the pictures Spitfire provided and after getting a second opinion from teecrooz. He confirmed they were indeed replicas, and pointed out some of the lesser obvious tells that I didn’t notice.

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I did end up purchasing the one to the far left (#1) because the fins, wear, and chrome plating on the inside indicated it was absolutely genuine.

We made a PSA about this in the propsofstarwars.com group, hoping no one in our hobby would fall prey to this. I’m really bummed that it ended up making its way to our community.

I would definitely reach out to Graham at Spitfire to see if he’d be willing to refund you. If not, I would file a claim with PayPal.

Wow! Im crushed! Sounds like you know for sure. Sorry guys. I guess its back to the drawing board. I had no idea. And i sold my very first booster this past weekend cuz it wasnt in good condition and i got a great offer. Now i dont have a complete build any more. Excuse me im feeling a little faint...

 

[coolhanluked]

Wow! Im crushed! Sounds like you know for sure. Sorry guys. I guess its back to the drawing board. I had no idea. And i sold my very first booster this past weekend cuz it wasnt in good condition and i got a great offer. Now i dont have a complete build any more. Excuse me im feeling a little faint...

How do i take down those pics. I don't deserve to be on this thread.

 

[coolhanluked]

yeah the fact that the boosters lack the nikel plating inside seems like a big tell they would be replicas. That is crazy if the guy from spitfire sold them for real ones and for a hefty price I'm guessing...

the first one looked legit. The bearing nutt is legit and was very hard to het off

 

[corliss1]

Awww don't be that hard on yourself! How many people do you think have got to examine several of these in person, ever? This pictures are a great reference, even if it's not for the right reason.

 

[eethan]

the bearing nut is indeed a very weird detail for a replica, especially if it was hard to remove. I don't know man, it would be Nice if Teecroz could explain the other tells. when I see them, i think replica, but they are very realistic, It would be nice to have a more complete opinion on the matter.

As Corliss said, don't be too hard on yourself, you have an amazing collection of parts and you totaly deserve to be on this thread. Also, I'm very sorry for the situation...

 

[teecrooz]

Sure, I can elaborate. It was already mentioned that they are missing the chrome on the inside. Another is that the fin cuts end in sharp angles like a “V” instead of being rounded at the bottom. A third is that the ends of the fins are also not rounded. They almost have a chamfer instead. A fourth is that there isn’t a weld on any of the fins near the pin hole. There should also be two holes between fins that are opposite of each other. I can’t see them in the pictures, but they may be there.

I hope that helps.

coolhanluked, I wouldn’t feel bad or take down the pictures. I had four different people ask me about these before I posted the PSA on the prop Facebook group. If they came from a vintage gun, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen this variant.

 

[coolhanluked]

Sure, I can elaborate. It was already mentioned that they are missing the chrome on the inside. Another is that the fin cuts end in sharp angles like a “V” instead of being rounded at the bottom. A third is that the ends of the fins are also not rounded. They almost have a chamfer instead. A fourth is that there isn’t a weld on any of the fins near the pin hole. There should also be two holes between fins that are opposite of each other. I can’t see them in the pictures, but they may be there.

I hope that helps.

I will take better pics of all three so everyone can see the details. And hopefully helps people see the difference so this doesn't happen to anyone again. This blows! I sold my real booster this weekend cuz it was in pretty bad shape. Now i no longer have a complete build.

 

[eethan]

I have to agree with you on all of that Teecrooz, thank you for your exprt opinion. I would also had that I usually spot the replicas at a first look by the fact that the fins are really wide. I saw recently a suposedly original one that had wide fins though but that was the only time.
This doesn't appear to be a Roman replica however because of the V shape of the fins. Did you guys already see a replica that matches those?

 

[coolhanluked]

I have to agree with you on all of that Teecrooz, thank you for your exprt opinion. I would also had that I usually spot the replicas at a first look by the fact that the fins are really wide. I saw recently a suposedly original one that had wide fins though but that was the only time.
This doesn't appear to be a Roman replica however because of the V shape of the fins. Did you guys already see a replica that matches those?

The fin width verys

 

[eethan]

All the real ones I've seen are always really thin, exept one probably in this thread lately that I didn't save on my computer, But I remember thinking, those are pretty wide for a real booster.

 

[thd9791]

We're a supportive community, and mistakes happen. What happened to you will help numerous people when they start looking, and will help the rest of us hone our ability to observe and judge for ourselves. I've been duped by a few things myself! You should see the Graflex sales lately, it can be very hard to tell real from fake now, and the only sure-fire way I know of is to sniff them

Edit: Also, my booster is (chrome? nickel?) plated on the inside

 

[teecrooz]

Fin tips can vary slightly but are usually a sharper fin tip. You can have a real one with a flattened fin, but it’s usually from the wrench/vice used to tighten them onto the barrel or try to remove them.

 

[Peacefrog35]

This is the same guy that emailed me 2 weeks ago. I declined as I could tell they were replicas made to look vintage. This was deceptive.... I felt like the guy knows he was trying to sell me a replica.

 

[Panaflex]

So sorry to see this man. Don’t feel you have to remove pics or leave the group.

If it’s determined that it was intentional, I’d definitely file a claim and post this on the relevant FB groups.
Deplorable.

 

[coolhanluked]

We're a supportive community, and mistakes happen. What happened to you will help numerous people when they start looking, and will help the rest of us hone our ability to observe and judge for ourselves. I've been duped by a few things myself! You should see the Graflex sales lately, it can be very hard to tell real from fake now, and the only sure-fire way I know of is to sniff them

Edit: Also, my booster is (chrome? nickel?) plated on the inside

\o/ How many arms & legs do you have left?

Ha! None along with my first booster and my pride. Oh yeah snd a $%&# ton of money. Sad.

 

[coolhanluked]

yeah the fact that the boosters lack the nikel plating inside seems like a big tell they would be replicas. That is crazy if the guy from spitfire sold them for real ones and for a hefty price I'm guessing...

Hes sold them right next to his replicas that dont look like them. I looked into his business and didnt find any bad words on him. I thought it was good to go.

 

[Mouse Vader]

Ha! None along with my first booster and my pride. Oh yeah snd a $%&# ton of money. Sad.

OUCH ! I'm hoping there'll be a silver lining for you down the line with this.

 

[BlandoCalrssian]

Wow what a kick in the balls if true. Is it absolutely certain they arent a little-seen variant? And if they are a repro, why cant anyone recognize the maker? Cant be that many past and present makers of replica boosters.

 

[PrinceZip]

Another good tell is the letter stamping, real boosters usually have distinctive stamps on top and bottom sides.

 

[coolhanluked]

Well i sent Graham of spitfire an email. We will see how this goes. Im bummed that i sold my first one but i needed the money after that purchase. I thought i had upgraded. Ugh... well i found one before i can probably hunt down another. I mean they made like 500,000 of them. Look at the bp. The concave female. Maybe only 1000 of them were possibly made. Most likely less. Only 350 mk8s were poduced at the end of the derwent run of 9700 i believe from mk1 to mk8. And i belive the mk9s were just 8s with the upgrade. No idea hiw many were upgraded. Someone correct me if im wrong. Point is thats a helluva lot less than 500gs and i somehow managed to get an nos bp. So its possible.