veektohr
Sr Member
Hi everybody. Believe it or not, I have been lurking here since 2006... so I'd say I'm a little overdue for an introduction. Back then all I had was a Park's GRAFLEX replica kitted with Blastech. It was fun, but as I find myself in a better place to really get into props again I decided to kick things off with some saber builds.
Anyway... on to the good stuff.
My old college roommate lives in NYC, so I had him go rummage around Rochester for old flashes that might be kicking around.
Success! This saber has been my all-time favorite since I was a kid. It's a Perfect Object. I wanted to do it justice this time, so I grabbed a real Exactra-20, ordered a kit from Roy, a card from Slothfurnace, and got to work. I trimmed the T-track, and did some trigonometry for the first time in 15 years (which was way more difficult than I'd like to admit) to make sure I was filing them to the correct angle.
Then I set about weathering them. This thing has been through a war, after all. The first gouge with my file was pretty scary, but then it got fun. I'm really happy with how they turned out.
After that I epoxied them to the flash, and worked on the bubble-strip while they dried. I really wanted to keep the circuit under it, because it just looks amazing with it, but couldn't find a way to fit in there without bending the clamp. Instead, I took it off, masked under the bubbles, and sanded it down to size like so many others before me. This guy will just have to wait for a Vader build...
Grips had dried, so I weathered up my D-ring with my file and sandpaper, and riveted in place. Saber done.
I can't even compare it to the one I made in college. This thing puts it to shame. One of the first things I ever built as a kid was a lightsaber. I should actually try to find it. It was a little tube of red glass, with a bulb at the bottom attached to a nine-volt. I wish I could hand this to my younger self. His head would explode... almost like mine did when I saw this on the bottom of my other flash:
No patent means ESB. I was inspired by this bit of luck and decided to track down a real circuit for the activation strip. I rummaged through a LOT of boards, and finally found one that would work. It's not HP, but the gold contacts are the right size, and I love the way it shimmers.
I grabbed a beater 2-cell on the cheap since the clamp was rusted to hell. If anybody is doing a post Death-Star Obi-Wan, I have the clamp you're looking for.
But I got my button! And then this showed up today.
I'll update later with more. Thanks for reading everyone (anyone?). The work I see on this board is so inspiring. Getting back into this stuff has really given me a much-needed boost lately, so keep doing what you're doing so that guys like me can race to keep up
Anyway... on to the good stuff.
My old college roommate lives in NYC, so I had him go rummage around Rochester for old flashes that might be kicking around.
Success! This saber has been my all-time favorite since I was a kid. It's a Perfect Object. I wanted to do it justice this time, so I grabbed a real Exactra-20, ordered a kit from Roy, a card from Slothfurnace, and got to work. I trimmed the T-track, and did some trigonometry for the first time in 15 years (which was way more difficult than I'd like to admit) to make sure I was filing them to the correct angle.
Then I set about weathering them. This thing has been through a war, after all. The first gouge with my file was pretty scary, but then it got fun. I'm really happy with how they turned out.
After that I epoxied them to the flash, and worked on the bubble-strip while they dried. I really wanted to keep the circuit under it, because it just looks amazing with it, but couldn't find a way to fit in there without bending the clamp. Instead, I took it off, masked under the bubbles, and sanded it down to size like so many others before me. This guy will just have to wait for a Vader build...
Grips had dried, so I weathered up my D-ring with my file and sandpaper, and riveted in place. Saber done.
I can't even compare it to the one I made in college. This thing puts it to shame. One of the first things I ever built as a kid was a lightsaber. I should actually try to find it. It was a little tube of red glass, with a bulb at the bottom attached to a nine-volt. I wish I could hand this to my younger self. His head would explode... almost like mine did when I saw this on the bottom of my other flash:
No patent means ESB. I was inspired by this bit of luck and decided to track down a real circuit for the activation strip. I rummaged through a LOT of boards, and finally found one that would work. It's not HP, but the gold contacts are the right size, and I love the way it shimmers.
I grabbed a beater 2-cell on the cheap since the clamp was rusted to hell. If anybody is doing a post Death-Star Obi-Wan, I have the clamp you're looking for.
But I got my button! And then this showed up today.
I'll update later with more. Thanks for reading everyone (anyone?). The work I see on this board is so inspiring. Getting back into this stuff has really given me a much-needed boost lately, so keep doing what you're doing so that guys like me can race to keep up
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