Who made the Best Obi-Wan ANH Saber Parts

Boba Debt

Master Member
I'm selling my original parts but would like to put a nice replica together so I was wondering who made the most accurate parts

I'm not concerned if they no longer offer them, I just want to be able to post a proper WTB thread in the junkyard

If you post please list the price that you paid and a picture of the part.

I know there will some disagreement about what makes certain parts more accurate then others and I encourage this, that way I will have more info to base my decisions on.

Thanks
 
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I don't think Roman labeled his Obi's like he did his Maul's(i.e. DM3, DM4, etc.). Just point out that you want the parts from his last run. Especially his emitter. ;)
 
Romans-- last grenade, emitter(nortmal or chromed emitter)
Serafino-- booster
stormpath-- transistors(offered normal or chromed)

as for the grenade, I had romans and was really happy with it, but there is a chen grenade for sale in the JY now..not sure how they compare.

graflex clamp and bubbles are easy enough to get off ebay as well as a plastic AS handwheel. I saw one for 99 cents plus S/H form england.


hope that helps
 
I guess it depends on what you consider accurate. Romans parts from his last run were great, but they were all aluminum, which isn't 100% accurate. However all the measurements were taken from the real world parts, so they were accurate in that sense.

I think the most accurate parts are yet to come - Serafino's emitter and Stormpath's grenade. You probably also want to find a booster from Serafino's run. I think ssdesigner was doing a run of sink knobs based off the real AS knob he got from kurtyboy, which I now own.

Here's a pic of parts from Roman's latest run. Not the best pic, but I hope it helps.

REObiANHparts.jpg
 
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I guess it depends on what you consider accurate. Romans parts from his last run were great, but they were all aluminum, which isn't 100% accurate. However all the measurements were taken from the real world parts, so they were accurate in that sense.

I think the most accurate parts are yet to come - Serafino's emitter and Stormpath's grenade. You probably also want to find a booster from Serafino's run. I think ssdesigner was doing a run of sink knobs based off the real AS knob he got from kurtyboy, which I now own.

Booster=Serafino Steel
Pommel=Chen Steel
Grenade=Chen, Symmetrical (Stormpath's should be the best but no details yet)
Emmiter=?
Transistors=Chen or Stormpath


Not a fan of Romans parts. More for the masses and not the seriously accurate crowd.

FB
 
Most Graflex clamps and bubbles you see on eBay are Parks, and they are not the very best. I do not know of any other current maker of parts, except for Blast-Tech - which only does the calculator bubbles.
Roman's Empire made many good parts, but has closed shop.
Right before Roman's Empire closed, he sold Obi-Wan sabers as kits for a reduced price, and quite a few people bought them. Because of this, I think that there is a pretty good chance of getting a complete Roman's saber with all his latest parts.

Best Graflex Clamp: Roman's Empire. There have even been limited runs of chromed clamps and clamps without the "GRAFLEX" letters. Did cost $30.

Best Emitter: Roman's Empire. His last version. Aluminum or chromed. No other emitter (yet for sale) has been based on the real part. I believe it cost around $45.
Second best was the Serafino/Obee1 which was made right before the discovery of the real part - this one was steel, and hade the correct outer dimensions but the walls were thin. The price of a new one was initially fairly high, but they dropped in price.

Best calculator bubbles: Blast-Tech. Still exists.
There has been a maker called "JediShack", and a few more may have done it too in small runs. All were cast in clear plastic, but not the same type of plastic as the original.

Pommel/Handwheel: Roman's last one should be quite common. Around $45 I think, made from chromed aluminum. Also offered unchromed.
A builder has made a couple of accurate handwheels in stainless steel and sold on the board.
Next best was Roman's last pre-discovery handwheel, which was solid and does not fit together with a real booster.

Booster: Serafino's. The ones he sold in his run cost $81 + s/h if I am not mistaken, but a bit more if you wanted one afterwards. Black-oxidized steel.
Next best is Roman's, also based on a real one, but not exactly like the booster used on the prop. This one was aluminum, offered untreated, black-anodized or weathered. Price around $55 I think.
Next is Roman's last pre-discovery "gear" ... in a special edition accurized by Serafino.

Grenade: All-round, I would say Chen's. There is one in the Junkyard right now. ;)
Price around $260 new. Frag body made from steel. Two versions, one with symmetrical lengthwise grooves, one with asymmetrical grooves.
Next best: Roman's Empire. Aluminum frag body - which was available anodized in black or brown, weathered with blackening agent or raw metal.
A bronze/brass-cast 'nade has been made, which has a more accurate brass stem than any other, but I think the frag body has somewhat rounded edges.
Parks frag body is the only other one made from steel and has correct internal threads, but the stem and wind vane is less accurate, as are some edges on the outside.

Transistors: Stormpath is the most recent maker. His were threaded to fit either Roman's or Parks clamp spacer (you had your pick). There was someone a few years ago who had also made plated transistors, but with a slightly different washer, but I can't remember who it was. I don't think there has been concensus on the exact shape of the washers, as the real transistors and washers are still undiscovered.
There has also been a run of decals for the transistor faces.
 
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Pommel/Handwheel: Roman's last one should be quite common. Around $45 I think, made from chromed aluminum. Also offered unchromed.

I almost liked Romans Pommel but all the ones I've seen had stepped grind marks on all the cubes. I got one on eBay and apparently they were polished up and all the sharp edges got smoothed over. I had to return it but had to pay extra to get the one that wasn't polished. Wasn't to happy about that.

I just couldn't get past the stepped cubes so I had to sell it.

FB
 
Darth Lars, excellent summary, at a glance I'd say you gave a great overview overall. :)

I would only quibble that Roman's emitter wasn't based on a real one, it was based on scaling and dimensions he picked up, I don't recall if he said where but there were some posted in the initial discovery thread FWIW.
 
I almost liked Romans Pommel but all the ones I've seen had stepped grind marks on all the cubes. I got one on eBay and apparently they were polished up and all the sharp edges got smoothed over. I had to return it but had to pay extra to get the one that wasn't polished. Wasn't to happy about that.

I just couldn't get past the stepped cubes so I had to sell it.

FB

FYI - The originals are chromed plastic and the edges are even softer than Roman's after polishing.
I have a Roman's polished chrome and a real one. Roman's is awesome.
 
Yes Lonepigeon is correct (as usual). The real handwheel has very rounded edges on the cubes. Don't know how it became the 'standard' expectation for the cubes to have sharp, crisp edges.

I have almost every version of available pommels out there and my favorite is Chen's.
 
FYI - The originals are chromed plastic and the edges are even softer than Roman's after polishing.
I have a Roman's polished chrome and a real one. Roman's is awesome.

Glad you got a good one! The one I got was way to round. I have an original and the original was a lot sharper.

I'll see if I have any pics I took. Did you polish yours yourself? How did you get all the steps polished off?

FB
 
I hope to make a run of these clamps if there is enough intrest.

Here's a pic of the various stages of making one













Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated
 
You may want to start a new thread just looking for feedback, since not just the Obi uses the clamp. Looks like your sheet may be a bit thin, getting some distortion around the holes--or something's not going right in the punching process?
 
Whoa - from someone who has tried making one and failed miserably - those look great! A agree - the only flaw may be the thickness... or whatever is causing the "rounding in" around the stamped parts. But dont get me wrong - those are great!
 
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