Tom's Kobold Saber and Mystery Saber

[thd9791]

Hey y'all,

starting this thread because I'm antsy and excited. Usually custom sabers are machined or cobbled together from plumbing and hardware. I've always wanted to make props the way Elstree and Lucas' prop guys did, with camera flashes and similar greeblies. It looks like now I can!

i picked up these flashes for...well less than 80$ each, which is still pricy for me but I wanted them. A) there are very few flashes that have a large clamp like graflexs and MPPs. Finding another, even without knowing who made it, sold me. Also, the strange lever reminded me of the hunt fr the v2 lever. This isn't it, but it's interesting! B) the other is a Kobold; same "emitter" as the droid caller, but a 3 cell body!

i plan on making these by fitting parts on in the same fashion as the OT. That means T track from Roy and 1.5 inch emitter shrouds! (There's already a red button on the mystery flash!)
Now...the Kobold is coming by AU sea mail, and the other from Germany, so I'll be patiently waiting for those packages in the meantime.

5/28 See page 3 for the Kobold Saber.

 

[Sym-Cha]

Wow . . . that clamp + lever does look a lot like the same one on my V2 :



which also came from an unknown flashgun purhased from Australia :



... and which I too did receive via seamail . . . after more than 6 weeks :wacko Looking forward to seeing some of those found vintage parts you received

Chaim

 

[thd9791]

that is incredibly similar! The thick triangular lever and thicker clamp thing seems to be a theme. Your clamp there is very graflex-like - it looks like the one I picked up is a little more MPP. I think there are angled side-bars if I'm not mistaken

Nice V2 by the way, what type of lighting and backdrop materials do you have in your little photographing station? I always love your shots

 

[Sym-Cha]

Thanks for the compliments about my photography . . . it's rather simple . . . I put a blue piece of cardboard on knee level just enough to be nicely lit by daylight through the kitchen/balcony outdoor windows ... with a Canon 5D professional camera and some additional photoshop colour correction or fx if need be ... Oh and the sidebars on my V2 clamp are straight cut

Chaim

 

[thd9791]

They are, I noticed that...I ALSO noticed those little circles are exactly where your lever hits the sidebar. A little extra metal to protect against wear?

 

[Sym-Cha]

I think it's part of the fabrication process since the lever does not actually touch the sides on that spot ... and the circles are on both ends, and even on the sidebar that is on the opposite side without the lever ... so no idea why thy were added? Also the lever and sidebars are chromed since you can see a small nick on the lever without chrome

Chaim

 

[thd9791]

I recived the mystery flash from Germany yesterday. It's light, aluminum most likely, with four odd sockets up top and ...it splits like a graflex. The clamp has separate sidebars and tabs for a locking mechanism. It's all a little loose/not tight but I can work on that. Pics when I get home from work!

 

[thd9791]

Here's the first one. If anyone recognizes anything let me know...I think it was found with a Graflex kit.

 

[thd9791]

Some more pics! I definitely will want to weigh this down. I am a huge fan an of the red button, the many sockets, the weird clamp and the protruding areas

it also came with a little flat reflector, with a wire loop at the bottom, affixed Heiland esque to the side of the top, opposite the button. The back of this dish has a black MPP style coating, but that's the only color I see.

 

[Sym-Cha]

Can't wait to see some additional greeblies add and weathering

Chaim

 

[NeoRutty]

I like it! OT style.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

I really like that one! Let us know if you figure out the make/model.

 

[Halliwax]

tom that is one cool red button!!

 

[Luke the Belter]

The button looks cool.

But I really like the clamp and this lever. That's something new.
Can't wait to see what you will make of it.

 

[mugatu]

Tom, this is going very well. I really like this piece. It has a bizarre but "right" vibe to it. I'm eager to see your progress.

 

[thd9791]

Thanks everyone! Bizarre is the exact word I would choose.

I think I'm headed to Roy for some ESB type track on this one, still pondering emitters/shrouds.

 

[matty matt]

I really like the look of that flash, very OT. I say slap some grips on it, put something in the clamp, add a D ring and be done with it. Less is more with this stuff.

 

[thd9791]

You've got a good point there Matt, all the OT saber builds are pretty short.

threw a piece of card in the clamp. This was an online grab that I thought was ESB accurate from blurry photos. It looks really edgy (pun intended) in this clamp!

also, I got that red button off and the underneath is just as cool as everything else. More tiny brass screws!

 

[thd9791]

For good measure, here's the bulb sockets and reflector it came with

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

Whatever the thing is in that second pic, looks like you could use it to make guts for a reveal lightsaber. Stick a crystal in the top of it.