alessandra
Member
So, to preface this, my current static saber collection consists of a complete steel (except for the booster :unsure) RussRep ANH Obi-Wan with vintage Graflex clamp and Exactra 20 bubble strip, and a Rylo ROTJ Luke (I sold my ANH and ESB Luke Graflexes). So I pretty much consider those two to be (in my opinion) the "best" static versions of those sabers that I can possibly get.
Aesthetically and story-wise, I also consider the ANH Obi-Wan and the ROTJ Luke to be a pair of sorts, as they represent a student/master relationship, and in both the movie prop world and in the Star Wars universe have similar reasons for being similar in terms of design elements. In the movie prop world, it takes cues from the shared stunt and v2, which were based off of Obi-Wan's saber, and in the Star Wars universe because Luke had to use schematics and spare parts from Obi-Wan's hut on Tatooine. Though perhaps Luke still would've built his lightsaber to look like Obi-Wan's as a tribute to his first Master.
Anyhow, I've decided that I want to start another student/master pair, this time in the form of the TPM Obi-Wan and TPM Qui-Gon Jinn. And of course in this pair, they're aesthetically similar because when Obi-Wan built his lightsaber, he took design cues from Qui-Gon's lightsaber as a sign of respect.
So I asked myself what is the "best" version of the TPM Obi-Wan I think I could possibly find? And after a bit of research, I came up with the Zenkai/Acerocket TPM Obi-Wan or the Anakin Starkiller/Acerocket TPM Obi-Wan. From my understanding, the Z/A TPM had all aluminium parts and the black sections were then painted in a semi-gloss black paint. That run had LEDs installed but no sound. The later run by Anakin Starkiller/Acerocket used delrin for the black sections to simulate the use of resin pieces in the original prop and were static "Hero" versions. According to Acerocket, the shade of black is slightly off in the delrin version, so the Z/A TPM is probably slightly more screen-accurate in appearances, though the AS/A TPM is more true in terms of the nature of the material.
Here are some photos of the Zenkai version:
Here are some photos of the Anakin Starkiller version:
Anyhow, I believe the thread for the Z/A TPM is located here:
http://www.therpf.com/f9/perfect-obi-wan-tpm-lightsaber-42567/
And there's a nice comparison of several versions of TPM Obi-Wan sabers here:
http://www.therpf.com/f9/ultimate-obi-wan-kenobi-e1-saber-57337/
My first question for all of you, because I couldn't find an answer, is this - how many Zenkai/Acerocket TPMs were made, and how many were made that were static "Hero" props?
EDIT: Acerocket chimed in on another forum and gave me this information:
"The Zenkai run was ten sabers total. All ten had the LED setup but no sound. I don't even have a copy of one of those. The Starkiller run was 25 sabers I believe. I used to have one extra saber that was about 95% complete but I sold it earlier this year to someone who had one bought one of the run sabers but it had gotten damaged."
I guess the second question would be if you just happen to know of anyone selling one - either the Zenkai or Anakin Starkiller version. :lol
But seriously, I'll be looking around over the next few months to see. If I really can't find one, I'm going to probably try to get a non-EL ready Larbel or Larbel "Super-Accurate" TPM Obi-Wan and replace the knob, valve, and bezel, and get a custom emitter plug for it. I contacted Acerocket and he may have a few leftover pieces from his most recent run of super-accurate Obi-Wan TPMs with LED and sound, though they aren't made to fit with any other versions of the saber, even the Z/A or AS/A runs. He did say that for the Z/A and AS/A runs he used Roman's Empire parts, so I'm also on the lookout for those as well.
There's also the "Hez" version, but I don't know as much about that particular run, except that it was after Larbel and before Zenkai's run - and I don't know how many were produced.
But the Z/A (or AS/A) TPM is my "unicorn" saber at the moment. Before this I suppose it was the RussRep ANH Obi-Wan, which I now own.
Aesthetically and story-wise, I also consider the ANH Obi-Wan and the ROTJ Luke to be a pair of sorts, as they represent a student/master relationship, and in both the movie prop world and in the Star Wars universe have similar reasons for being similar in terms of design elements. In the movie prop world, it takes cues from the shared stunt and v2, which were based off of Obi-Wan's saber, and in the Star Wars universe because Luke had to use schematics and spare parts from Obi-Wan's hut on Tatooine. Though perhaps Luke still would've built his lightsaber to look like Obi-Wan's as a tribute to his first Master.
Anyhow, I've decided that I want to start another student/master pair, this time in the form of the TPM Obi-Wan and TPM Qui-Gon Jinn. And of course in this pair, they're aesthetically similar because when Obi-Wan built his lightsaber, he took design cues from Qui-Gon's lightsaber as a sign of respect.
So I asked myself what is the "best" version of the TPM Obi-Wan I think I could possibly find? And after a bit of research, I came up with the Zenkai/Acerocket TPM Obi-Wan or the Anakin Starkiller/Acerocket TPM Obi-Wan. From my understanding, the Z/A TPM had all aluminium parts and the black sections were then painted in a semi-gloss black paint. That run had LEDs installed but no sound. The later run by Anakin Starkiller/Acerocket used delrin for the black sections to simulate the use of resin pieces in the original prop and were static "Hero" versions. According to Acerocket, the shade of black is slightly off in the delrin version, so the Z/A TPM is probably slightly more screen-accurate in appearances, though the AS/A TPM is more true in terms of the nature of the material.
Here are some photos of the Zenkai version:
Here are some photos of the Anakin Starkiller version:
Anyhow, I believe the thread for the Z/A TPM is located here:
http://www.therpf.com/f9/perfect-obi-wan-tpm-lightsaber-42567/
And there's a nice comparison of several versions of TPM Obi-Wan sabers here:
http://www.therpf.com/f9/ultimate-obi-wan-kenobi-e1-saber-57337/
My first question for all of you, because I couldn't find an answer, is this - how many Zenkai/Acerocket TPMs were made, and how many were made that were static "Hero" props?
EDIT: Acerocket chimed in on another forum and gave me this information:
"The Zenkai run was ten sabers total. All ten had the LED setup but no sound. I don't even have a copy of one of those. The Starkiller run was 25 sabers I believe. I used to have one extra saber that was about 95% complete but I sold it earlier this year to someone who had one bought one of the run sabers but it had gotten damaged."
I guess the second question would be if you just happen to know of anyone selling one - either the Zenkai or Anakin Starkiller version. :lol
But seriously, I'll be looking around over the next few months to see. If I really can't find one, I'm going to probably try to get a non-EL ready Larbel or Larbel "Super-Accurate" TPM Obi-Wan and replace the knob, valve, and bezel, and get a custom emitter plug for it. I contacted Acerocket and he may have a few leftover pieces from his most recent run of super-accurate Obi-Wan TPMs with LED and sound, though they aren't made to fit with any other versions of the saber, even the Z/A or AS/A runs. He did say that for the Z/A and AS/A runs he used Roman's Empire parts, so I'm also on the lookout for those as well.
There's also the "Hez" version, but I don't know as much about that particular run, except that it was after Larbel and before Zenkai's run - and I don't know how many were produced.
But the Z/A (or AS/A) TPM is my "unicorn" saber at the moment. Before this I suppose it was the RussRep ANH Obi-Wan, which I now own.
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