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

[mugatu]

I am not sure I could say for a fact those are replicas. All the signs mentioned before are 100% true but I think it is a possibility they are just a little bit different as first run parts that were included/used since a war was going on. They are different in the ways mentioned but I did see some other oddities. Could this be chrome?

Plus the (small coneless) flash hider looks real as well.

They could be early?

 

[NickCline]

I am not sure I could say for a fact those are replicas. All the signs teecrooz mentions are 100% true but I think it is a possibility they are different as first run parts included since a war was going on.

Back in early 2018, I was missing only a real booster to complete my build. I emailed Spitfire and asked if they would be willing to sell me just a booster from a complete .303 Browning they had listed for sale on their website. A guy named Graham replied within a few days and told me that under no circumstance would he sell me any part separate from the complete gun.

Anxious and desperate to complete my build, I replied and told him that I would be willing to pay him half of the total guns cost just for the booster. Of course he reconsidered his stance and agreed to sell it to me. Once received, I asked that if he stumbled across another to contact me so I could purchase and that I would pay him the same price as before.

Fast forward to the summer of 2018, he emails me this:

My theory is Graham had no clue as to why I wanted the booster when I originally contacted him in early 2018. I made sure not to disclose what I intended to use it for. For all he knew, I was a military collector of sorts.

He and whoever helped him manufacture this hideous replica at the time probably thought there was a niche market for repos and functionality mattered over its aesthetics. He obviously didn’t know that much nicer looking replicas existed for way cheaper.

I know that multiple people in our community have reached out to Graham since I purchased my original booster, and I have no doubt he caught onto why so many people wanted such an obscure part and were willing to pay crazy high prices.

Again, this is just a theory, but my guess is that once he found out what people were using these boosters for, he and his manufacturer went back to the drawing board and produced a much more accurate replica and attempted to pass them along as genuine.

 

[mugatu]

These do seem very robust.
Like the winter version of a booster.

 

[teecrooz]

Very possible Nick. It would explain why his replicas have the chamfered fin ends, as do these new ones.

If they are a before unseen variant they are unfortunately not 100% accurate to the Obi-wan lightsaber. It would still be a good stand in piece such as when people have used a No.3 MKII grenade in place of a MKI.

 

[coolhanluked]

Very possible Nick. It would explain why his replicas have the chamfered fin ends, as do these new ones.

If they are a before unseen variant they are unfortunately not 100% accurate to the Obi-wan lightsaber. It would still be a good stand in piece such as when people have used a No.3 MKII grenade

 

[scottjua]

For all the reasons tecrooz posted on how to spot they are fake, plus the machining tool marks. ALL of the real boosters I've had pass through my hands have been similar is how the tools that made them have left tells. These show none of that.

My real booster doesn't have a giant weld on it, and like Chris said many of the fins are slightly different from booster to booster, but nearly all I have seen have had the hallmark tooling tells.

 

[corliss1]

Was there ever an official decision on the transistor washers? These aren't a part that goes with transistors in the real world, and the more cupped ones from Romans seem sort of idealized. Just wondering what others are using for their "authentic' builds.

 

[thd9791]

Was there ever an official decision on the transistor washers? These aren't a part that goes with transistors in the real world, and the more cupped ones from Romans seem sort of idealized. Just wondering what others are using for their "authentic' builds.

We've yet to find a real-world variant. Mugatu got close with Reel-to-Reel case screws but they were too small.They do go AROUND the component, as one fell off and the transistor stayed in place (probably pinched into the clamp using its leads and/or glue)

 

[Serenity]

They do go AROUND the component, as one fell off and the transistor stayed in place (probably pinched into the clamp using its leads and/or glue)

Thank you so much for saying this. It drives me crazy when I see sabers with it stacked on top of the washer so it's freakishly tall but it feels like no one agrees with me.

 

[corliss1]

So if it's a washer that goes around the transistor, are we thinking they just glued it on to the clamp together? I know most people either hollow out or glue on a threaded piece so they can be taken apart in the future.

 

[Halliwax]

So if it's a washer that goes around the transistor, are we thinking they just glued it on to the clamp together? I know most people either hollow out or glue on a threaded piece so they can be taken apart in the future.

So freak’n hard drilling out those resistors with out denting the caps... what a nightmare

 

[Ridire Firean]

So if it's a washer that goes around the transistor, are we thinking they just glued it on to the clamp together?

Hey corliss1 ! I've always liked the idea that they just pushed the solder arms through the washer, and then through the GRAFLEX CLAMP.

It also gives credence to the front one being lost, since it isn't as permanent as a screw or a bolt with a nut.

 

[corliss1]

For sure - I wouldn't expect the little baby transistor legs to hold any type of weight or load at all.

What's the best images for the real parts area of that we have?

 

[Ridire Firean]

What's the best images for the real parts area of that we have?

Hey corliss1 ! There's the enlarged, grainy Tunisia photos, and these two Chronicles photos of the Obi-Wan Kenobi ANH Lightsaber...

 

[corliss1]

Cool - those are the ones I was aware of but just wanted to double-check.

 

[corliss1]

Here's some teaser shots - only thing replica is the balance pipe. Still waiting to figure out a better washer plan before I play with the transistors. I do have an extra Romans washer sitting here, but then it isn't all "vintage" and whatnot.

Another thought on the washers is that since they do go around they would likely need to be glued to the transistor. Most transistors have a lip of varying size on the bottom so it would likely slip over the top of the transistor, then just a drop of super glue would hold it in place. That would also help explain why one washer is famously missing, as there wouldn't be much holding it on.

First pic, while not a Motorola part, shows the lip on the TO-39 package:

I aaaaaaalmost feel like you can see the lip in the pinkish background photo above due to the angle.

 

[Halliwax]

Anyone have any tricks on how to bore out vintage resistors?

 

[newmagrathea]

Anyone have any tricks on how to bore out vintage resistors?

I've been thinking about how to do this myself.

 

[corliss1]

Anyone have any tricks on how to bore out vintage resistors?

*transistors

 

[Serenity]

*transistors

*operational amplifiers



Sorry, they've been called a lot of things. Lately it's been operational amplifiers because they've been found to be a bit shorter than the traditional TO cans.