Yuma/Hero build thread

DaveP

Master Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
Hi everyone.

As I'm about to embark on the builds from my latest Yuma/Hero run, I thought I'd get a thread going to demonstrate how I go about doing it.

For anyone unfamiliar with the run, you can read up on it HERE. There's also an active interest thread HERE for anyone that's interested in getting in on the 2nd run.

Here's a shot of the parts that were supplied with the first run:

1ST RUN.jpg


Although the Yuma and Hero are quite different visually, I'll be working on them in tandem, as the painting process will be quite similar.

Some thoughts on the Yuma:

The Yuma is known to be a solid aluminium hilt that was modelled on the V2. It was a short bladed stunt, initially created for the sail barge scenes. The V2 was present on set along with other resin stunts, but the Yuma was specifically intended for non-duelling fight scenes, where the short blade could appear to slice through Jaba's henchmen and be extended in post production.

It's my belief that when the V2 was repurposed as Luke's replacement saber for ROTJ, the prop department simply continued their long standing tradition of giving the props of the Star Wars universe an aged/used look. One of the things that makes Star Wars so great!

It wasn't until after principal photography that Luke's saber was given a back story of its own and a little more thought was given to it's appearance. When the Yuma was created, it was clearly painted to match the look of the V2.

For that reason, I'm going to be filling in whatever gaps there might be in our knowledge of how the Yuma was painted, by referencing the V2.

YUMA.jpg
YUMA2.png


For the Yuma, I'm going to be using a combination of masking tape and masking fluid. I won't be masking the rings of the grenade section, as I'll be sanding these back once the paint has cured. This method has always served me well in the past. I'll be masking the transition between the paint and the metal (on the first ring) with fluid.

I'll post more details of how I go about masking the Yuma, once I get started.

Here are the Parts that I'll be using:

BODY.jpg
YUMA.jpg


Some thoughts on the Hero:

Luke's ROTJ Hero is generally regarded as being the Yuma in it's current form, although it is never actually seen on screen in this configuration. I've already tackled the ISYHCANL in a previous project, so I'll be going about masking and painting the body in the same way. I'll be masking off everything but the grenade section to start with and spraying the whole grenade black. I'll then sand back the rings to reveal the metal. I'll then do the same for the neck.

The neck colour has been a problem in the past due to me being in the UK. The ACE brand isn't available here and finding a suitable colour match seems to prove difficult for most people.

The neck can look quite different under different lighting conditions, and does appear to have been repainted during it's post filming travels too.

I've colour corrected this image by removing/knocking back the environment colour, in the hopes of arriving at the correct albedo colour for the neck paint:

EMITTER.jpg


I've stumbled upon a promising option for UK hero builders, which I'll be trying out this time around:

SB_BRONZE_1_-2_grande.jpg
70167674_2461173317307157_3928679810548629504_n.jpg


It's about as close to Ace's Antique Gold as anything I've seen so far, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

Anyway, I'll keep this thread up to date with my progress. It's time I made a start while the whether's on my side!

Cheers,

Dave
 
Dave change v2 to v3 ;)
Is that confirmed? I figured that the similar paint job, with the patternation on the booster and emitter, suggested that the Yuma was based on the V2? before the V3 was painted up to look more like what would be the Hero? I'm going to have to go off and do my homework! lol. These timelines can get a bit confusing. :D
 
Yeah it’s confirmed because of the clamp moved up on the v3 revealing a gap, which they incorporated into the yuma, give me a second
That makes sense. Thanks for clarifying. (y) I wasn't actually aware that the V3 went through that particular look! So I assumed that the Yuma's paint scheme was based on the V2. I love how these are all interconnected.

And wasn't the V3's original paint job similar to the V2 and Wired saber, meaning that at some point in time all of Luke's ROTJ sabers had a similar appearance?
I guess it would have made sense to decide on a look and get everything painted up the same prior to filming. I guess the V3 and the Yuma were probably given their final look around the same time too, maybe after the ISYHCANL line had been thought up/planned? With the emphasis on "new lightsaber"?

It all kind of fits together nicely now. All three of them evolving together during filming. Thanks.
 
And wasn't the V3's original paint job similar to the V2 and Wired saber, meaning that at some point in time all of Luke's ROTJ sabers had a similar appearance?

V2 and V3 have the same paint scheme, expect the one of them had to be done by another person on the table, or they ran out of the paint because the windvane colors are different

And I truly believe the v3 had a heavier weathering paint job on the emitter then the v2 did

But they basically had the same paint scheme, all black, and weathered windvane with browns, v3 has more orangey then brown
 
V2 and V3 have the same paint scheme, expect the one of them had to be done by another person on the table, or they ran out of the paint because the windvane colors are different

And I truly believe the v3 had a heavier weathering paint job on the emitter then the v2 did

But they basically had the same paint scheme, all black, and weathered windvane with browns, v3 has more orangey then brown
Thanks for the Info! I honestly had no idea the V3 was ever painted up that way. Makes sense though! I've only ever seen it in it's current state, with the clean booster/emitter (apart from it's time on ANH obviously). Like I said, I'm going to have to brush up on my homework! :D
 
I can't wait to see this project - halliwax is right. I think they messed up the yuma a bit more to look more like the V2/v3

I also don't think the V2 was on set. Those inset shots were done in california, as far as I know they had the Yuma and the resin V3s (AND the hollow pipe-V3 casts for R2's air cannon) on set in Arizona.

I did a Yuma a while back and only aluminum blacked the emitter and booster. I plan on re-doing the saber and with halliwax and you, it's going to be great!
 
I can't wait to see this project - halliwax is right. I think they messed up the yuma a bit more to look more like the V2/v3

I also don't think the V2 was on set. Those inset shots were done in california, as far as I know they had the Yuma and the resin V3s (AND the hollow pipe-V3 casts for R2's air cannon) on set in Arizona.

I did a Yuma a while back and only aluminum blacked the emitter and booster. I plan on re-doing the saber and with halliwax and you, it's going to be great!
Thanks Tom. I'm really looking forward to getting the Yuma finished too. I'm really digging the Yuma right now. Partly due to Halliwax's awesome job on Starkiller's. I'll look forward to seeing your build too! :)

Just from memory, so I might be wrong, but isn't it the V2 that luke catches on the skiff? That's the only reason I presumed it was on set in California. It's so hard to keep track! lol
 
Thanks Tom. I'm really looking forward to getting the Yuma finished too. I'm really digging the Yuma right now. Partly due to Halliwax's awesome job on Starkiller's. I'll look forward to seeing your build too! :)

Just from memory, so I might be wrong, but isn't it the V2 that luke catches on the skiff? That's the only reason I presumed it was on set in California. It's so hard to keep track! lol

Yup he catches the v2

R2 shoots resin v3, Luke catches and ignites v2, Luke starts swinging with Yuma stunt.

The v3 “shared stunt” from ANH isn’t anywhere on screen.

I have heard of a photo with a box in the background with some lightsabers in it and the v3 “shared stunt” from ANH wasn’t in there either...

The yuma is only seen during the sailbarge seen and never seen again in that configuration again :(
 
Yup he catches the v2

R2 shoots resin v3, Luke catches and ignites v2, Luke starts swinging with Yuma stunt.

The v3 “shared stunt” from ANH isn’t anywhere on screen.

I have heard of a photo with a box in the background with some lightsabers in it and the v3 “shared stunt” from ANH wasn’t in there either...

The yuma is only seen during the sailbarge seen and never seen again in that configuration again :(
Oh man, I always thought that this was the V3 in the shot where Obi Wan dies!
Obi-Wan-Kenobi-948170 (1).jpg

Is this the V2?? Today is definitely a school day. Had no idea it didn't make it on to screen. :oops:
 
Made a little progress today, but it was cut short unfortunately. The can of Rustoleum Black that I thought was nearly full turned out to be nearly empty! :rolleyes:

Anyway, I've made a start...

Degreased using Rustoleum Pre-Paint Cleaner...

IMG_20200714_110317~2.jpg

IMG_20200714_110433~2.jpg


Then masked up and painted the grenade sections:

IMG_20200714_131412~2.jpg


Unfortunately, I ran out of paint, so I made a start at masking the booster section.

IMG_20200714_142951.jpg


It turns out that masking fluid does NOT work particularly well on metal! It was worth a try, but it just wasn't working the way I'd planned. So, I went down the stencil route:

YUMA~2.jpg
IMG_20200714_122721~2.jpg

IMG_20200714_142927.jpg


New can of matt black arriving tomorrow, so I'll get the booster section painted while I give the grenades a second coat.

The paint for the necks arrived today too! Can't wait to try it out! Need to give the grenades another coat of black first before I can re-mask.
 
Made a little progress today, but it was cut short unfortunately. The can of Rustoleum Black that I thought was nearly full turned out to be nearly empty! :rolleyes:

Anyway, I've made a start...

Degreased using Rustoleum Pre-Paint Cleaner...

View attachment 1325228
View attachment 1325229

Then masked up and painted the grenade sections:

View attachment 1325230

Unfortunately, I ran out of paint, so I made a start at masking the booster section.

View attachment 1325231

It turns out that masking fluid does NOT work particularly well on metal! It was worth a try, but it just wasn't working the way I'd planned. So, I went down the stencil route:

View attachment 1325236View attachment 1325237
View attachment 1325232

New can of matt black arriving tomorrow, so I'll get the booster section painted while I give the grenades a second coat.

The paint for the necks arrived today too! Can't wait to try it out! Need to give the grenades another coat of black first before I can re-mask.

That is wicked!!
 
There’s a good explanation of the V2/V3 in the SethS Lightsaber Guide starting at pg 50....


There’s also a great graphic in that section that shows all of the lineage...

View attachment 1325509
Hey thanks. Don't worry, I've studied Seth's Lightsaber guide religiously! :D It's awesome!

I just got mixed up with which shared stunt was used as the basis for the Yuma. I figured it must be the V2 due to the similar paint job. I've still not managed to find a picture of the V3 with the speckled paint work (which is driving me crazy).
 
I've been having a few thoughts on Luke's hero and thought I'd share them here. Not sure if anyone else has suggested this before, but I thought it was an interesting idea... Could the design of the box for the cave scene Hero be symbolic of the underlying story of ROTJ and Luke's struggle to stay on the right path? The two arrows I mean? Could it have been implying that Luke's new saber had the capability of igniting a red blade?? Just as Luke had the potential of being turned towards the end of the film? Maybe I'm overthinking it! :D
 

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