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

[v312]

For what's worth, the way the same picture is printed in the Chronicles makes the bubbles look somewhat more transparent

 

[Sym-Cha]

So I took my copy of the Mechanismo book to check for a credits list ... yet no mention of Courtesy Lucasfilm Ltd. ... just a thanks to Brian Lewis for his art-work. So whoever took those photographs of the lightsaber prop still remains a mystery ... alas. Since Chronicles was published much later and with more pictures of the lightsaber prop from different angles, I assume the original prints are in the Lucasfilm Archives ... thanks again v312 for posting that picture as a reminder

Chaïm

 

[Diego86]

Unfortunately, just found out that the illustrator (Brian Lewis) is also dead! In the same year of publication of "Mechanismo" (1978)!
Actually that Obi drawing may have been one of his latest works.. Coincidences..?? -_-

 

[Diego86]

Thinking about it again, if even just the pic of "Mecanismo" had been made by different one from the owner then on "SW Chronicles" there should be a mention about it. This is another point in favor of Archives as the owner of (all) the pics..

 

[Obi1Kenobi]

For what's worth, the way the same picture is printed in the Chronicles makes the bubbles look somewhat more transparent

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I agree that it looks somewhat more transparent in Chronicles than in Mechanismo.

Also, now that I look at the photo below of the beautiful saber from schrodinger555 in post #2411, I think I finally understand what a truly frosted bubble strip looks like on an actual clamp.

In my defense, I was under the possibly-mistaken impression that only round-bubble versions could be frosted, so I was basing my earlier theory on the fact that the Chronicles bubbles looked round.. therefore, that bubble strip should be frosted. If round-bubble versions can also be more transparent, then just forget what I said. (And maybe there are intermediate variations in transparency too.)

 

[schrodinger555]

Stunning, schrodinger555! Well done!

Thanks Chris!

That’s cool you’ve had the clamp that long. Also I’m guessing that’s the grenade with the cool pedigree?
The Obi looks absolutely beautiful!

Thanks Seth! Yes it is! I'm the third owner of this one, the first was an Aussie who was in WW1 and the second was the collector who bought it from him in the 70's, and now me!

Happy for you Emiliano, it's magnificent!

thank you Diego! I'm grateful for your help in this, and can't wait to see yours also!

Wicked amazing!

Thanks Danny!

Congrats on your beautiful new real parts Obi schrodinger555 ! It’s stunning!

Thanks Russell! I appreciate it

I agree that it looks somewhat more transparent in Chronicles than in Mechanismo.

Also, now that I look at the photo below of the beautiful saber from schrodinger555 in post #2411, I think I finally understand what a truly frosted bubble strip looks like on an actual clamp.

In my defense, I was under the possibly-mistaken impression that only round-bubble versions could be frosted, so I was basing my earlier theory on the fact that the Chronicles bubbles looked round.. therefore, that bubble strip should be frosted. If round-bubble versions can also be more transparent, then just forget what I said. (And maybe there are intermediate variations in transparency too.)

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So this is a tough one! The bubble strip is less opaque from the calculator than it is in my saber. I actually sanded the back lightly to remove two small half circles in the casting which looked out of place when the saber was assembled. I can still see pretty clearly through the sides though, and you can definitely see the side bar. I'll post a better photo in a sec.

I have another exactra 20 that has a frosted strip but with clipped bubbles, I haven't checked whether they are also higher than normal bubbles are. From what I've seen only exactra 20's have the frosted strips, and only the ones with the black plastic in front of the display on the calculator have the all round bubbles, the ones with the frosted strip and clipped bubbles I've seen had the reddish plastic screen.

 

[schrodinger555]

A shot more or less straight on with the Exactra 20 bubbles. You can still see the sidebars behind the bubbles pretty clearly, just like in the Chronicles photos, though I'm not sure what we're seeing in Tunisia

 

[v312]

I like how it looks with the frosted, makes it less obvious that there's no magic going on behind it

 

[Shinobi]

I’m going to announce this because I’ve had nearly a dozen messages or more between here and Facebook. That way anyone reading this will know, I paid $7500 for my female balance pipe. That’s about the going rate right now. The offer on the 5th engine was $8k a piece per female balance pipe, definitely high, but because of recent activity in recent past months it’s not outrageous. The first one offered had some light damage and I was able to get him to sell it for $7,300. As far as I’m aware the rest of the female balance pipes went for $7500. I highly doubt the price of these will go down. Graflex 3 cell flashes are a dime a dozen comparatively speaking. You can find 3 on EBay at any given day yet they sell between $500- $700. Real balance pipes are not common and the price won’t go down from here on out. The price may go up depending on supply and demand. Besides if they did go down I’d be buying them up. Lol
Too many of us have invested a high dollar amount, mixed with the rarity it’s not going to go down in value. Now those who read this know the price of a female balance pipe.

Thanks for posting this Seth. I find that there is often a lack of transparency around how much these parts cost, so I (for one) appreciate your honesty and putting this information out there for everyone's awareness. It's important for buyers to understand how much they should be budgeting and also for sellers to know the market rate so that they are not underselling or devaluing these rare parts.

Congratulations again! Couldn't be happier for you

Dan

 

[Jediseth]

Thanks for posting this Seth. I find that there is often a lack of transparency around how much these parts cost, so I (for one) appreciate your honesty and putting this information out there for everyone's awareness. It's important for buyers to understand how much they should be budgeting and also for sellers to know the market rate so that they are not underselling or devaluing these rare parts.

Congratulations again! Couldn't be happier for you

Dan

Thanks buddy, I totally agree.

 

[NathanM]

Thanks for posting this Seth. I find that there is often a lack of transparency around how much these parts cost, so I (for one) appreciate your honesty and putting this information out there for everyone's awareness. It's important for buyers to understand how much they should be budgeting and also for sellers to know the market rate so that they are not underselling or devaluing these rare parts.

Congratulations again! Couldn't be happier for you

Dan

Totally agree. Keeping us on the hunt informed is helpful and much appreciated.

 

[The 48th Ronin]

Well, I finally got around to updating/upgrading mine. What pushed me over the top was the discovery of the Marconi ICs, so thanks to v312 for that info (and the resulting motivation). I went with the DAT 11s, which are good enough for me. Thanks also to schrodinger555 for the modified washers and the balance pipe adapter. While I was at it I went ahead and upgraded my grenade frag body as well, thanks to The Ninja

And even though he's no longer around on the board, of course a big thanks to Killdozer for the initial acquisition. Boggles my mind that I got it for a mere 1/5 of what it's now probably worth. Back then I thought that was a lot of money, but I'm glad that I was able to scrape the cash together - it's definitely the crown jewel of my collection. And it's nice to finally be officially done with it.

 

[The Ninja]

Well, I finally got around to updating/upgrading mine. What pushed me over the top was the discovery of the Marconi ICs, so thanks to v312 for that info (and the resulting motivation). I went with the DAT 11s, which are good enough for me. Thanks also to schrodinger555 for the modified washers and the balance pipe adapter. While I was at it I went ahead and upgraded my grenade frag body as well, thanks to The Ninja

And even though he's no longer around on the board, of course a big thanks to Killdozer for the initial acquisition. Boggles my mind that I got it for a mere 1/5 of what it's now probably worth. Back then I thought that was a lot of money, but I'm glad that I was able to scrape the cash together - it's definitely the crown jewel of my collection. And it's nice to finally be officially done with it.

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Awesome vintage Obi buddy the upgrades look sweet, congrats

 

[The 48th Ronin]

Thanks! And congrats to you on the acquisition of the final piece for yours.

 

[The Ninja]

Thanks! And congrats to you on the acquisition of the final piece for yours.

Thanks buddy its an awesome time for many with the 5th engine being found.

 

[JoeG]

She's a beaut, The 48th Ronin and now its settled. I needs to get some of those marconi transistors!

 

[schrodinger555]

Phenomenal work! It looks totally amazing all put together!

 

[schrodinger555]

On a kind of related note, I've redesigned my Obi assembly system and simplified it as much as possible. I had done a number of different ways of assembling these, including Romans cage, a 3/8 rod and a 5/16 carriage bolt adapted to 3/8-16 in order to fit Romans spacers and others out there. I liked the cage but disliked that I couldn't align pieces exactly how I wanted and that I couldn't use the booster bearing with it.

But a little bit of looking showed me that you can get 10 inch carriage bolts, and the entire length of my threaded rod assembly for the saber was exactly 10 inches. I decided that simple was better, and turned my adapter down on the lathe to fit inside the grenade neck. The 3/8 rod fits snug inside the neck, but the 5/16 is slightly thinner, so there is some wiggle room. This means the BP can sit slightly off center. So I machined the new version with a small shank that extends into the grenade stem in order to keep things centered nicely.

So for the sake of simplicity, now I have a single 10 inch 5/16-18 carriage bolt, and a single piece aluminum adapter holding the entire thing together. The last step was to put a few turns of painters tape around the adapter in order to make a snug fit without damaging either part.

I'm considering doing a run of these new adapters to simplify Obi assembly for people if there is any interest, but either way hope you guys like my new solution!

 

[Jediseth]

On a kind of related note, I've redesigned my Obi assembly system and simplified it as much as possible. I had done a number of different ways of assembling these, including Romans cage, a 3/8 rod and a 5/16 carriage bolt adapted to 3/8-16 in order to fit Romans spacers and others out there. I liked the cage but disliked that I couldn't align pieces exactly how I wanted and that I couldn't use the booster bearing with it.

But a little bit of looking showed me that you can get 10 inch carriage bolts, and the entire length of my threaded rod assembly for the saber was exactly 10 inches. I decided that simple was better, and turned my adapter down on the lathe to fit inside the grenade neck. The 3/8 rod fits snug inside the neck, but the 5/16 is slightly thinner, so there is some wiggle room. This means the BP can sit slightly off center. So I machined the new version with a small shank that extends into the grenade stem in order to keep things centered nicely.

So for the sake of simplicity, now I have a single 10 inch 5/16-18 carriage bolt, and a single piece aluminum adapter holding the entire thing together. The last step was to put a few turns of painters tape around the adapter in order to make a snug fit without damaging either part.

I'm considering doing a run of these new adapters to simplify Obi assembly for people if there is any interest, but either way hope you guys like my new solution!

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I machined my own adapter too and got the tolerances as tight as I could without having to use a mallet to smack it on. It’s still slides now. So I tucked a very tiny bit of fabric tape in there. Dustin has a adapter with an o-ring on it. I thought I might try making that. No mater what you need something to act as friction to hold the BP in place. I built a saber once where I just smacked part on with a mallet and it never came off, but I’d never do that with a balance pipe.
I like the single carriage bolt, I did the two bolts with the a adapter using the bearing in the middle. Someone mentioned that maybe they didn’t cut the flash cone off the bearing in the real used on screen prop because the parts had to be returned, but there are two types, one with the flash cone with bearing as a single part and one with just the bearing and no cone. It’s too perfect of a fit under the clamp for them not to have used a bearing so I’m convinced they did. I like the bearing used best too. I even bought an extra bearing and cone flash just because I found one and I couldn’t resist that I found a part in the wild. Looks great brother!

 

[cdyoung]

Great work, gentleman! My emitter adapter from Roman also uses an O-ring on the assembly. I went to the hardware store and tried a few sizes on the adapter until the tolerance was correct with the balance pipe.