Hello everyone,
After a very long road, I'm finally ready to pull the trigger on producing a limited run of cast metal Luke ROTJ shared stunt sabers. There are replicas of the original prop made for ANH and reused in ROTJ, famously shown in the"Best of the Lucasfilm Archives". If anyone needs backround on the history of this prop, you can check out POSW's synopsis here. http://www.partsofsw.com/ob_luksab.htm
This saber was originally made as a fx prop for ANH. A master was turned on a lathe out of wood.
It was then cast in metal and finished off by the prop crew to become a stunt lightsaber.
The final version of the prop has been in the Lucasfilm archives and made a number of tours in recent years, even going up into space on a NASA trip.
In order to replicate this prop, I decided to forgo conventional cnc machining and try to recreate the original process as much as possible to recreate the idiosyncrasies of this particular saber.
To start with, I got in contact with an original prop collector who actually owns one of the production made metal castings from ANH. He was generous enough to provide me with over 30 measurements of his original prop to work from in order to recreate this prop. I have never had such good reference material to start with.
Then I used these numbers as well as detailed photos of the original casting master to create a 3d model of the prop. Each grip ridge on this model is different from the other, each pommel cube is different from the other. I've worked on this for years to capture every detail that I could see. To this base, I added all the holes, and I split the model down the center and reassembled it in order to recreate the askew seam
line that you can see in the hand grip.
Here are some shots of my 3d model compared to original
Now I'm going to have this master cast in pewter and offer replicas. I have chosen pewter for a number of reasons. First off, all the work I've done leads me to the conclusion that the original was cast in pewter, and not aluminum. As a low temp metal, it makes sense to me that the original fx crew would cast their wooden master in something that was easy to pour and did not require a full foundry. If they were going to cast in aluminum, they would have just turned the prop on a lathe itself. Also, the color of the original saber seems to show a stark contrast between the saber handle material and the aluminum tape that was applied to it. Pewter has a more rich color to it compared to the pale aluminum. Lastly, the damage on the original prop indicates to me that the original material was a relatively soft metal. Here are some photos that my shop has sent me showing examples of their pewter castings.
But, anyways, this isn't a discussion thread, it's a signup thread
So, this replica will be spin cast out of pewter, it will include the asymmetrical grip ridges and pommel cubes and the seam line running down the grip. All the holes on the original prop will be in place. You will have to supply a graflex clamp, aluminum tap, and paint.
I'm shooting for a cost of around $200.00 plus shipping. (I'll follow up with specifics on shipping for domestic and international once I have the sample in hand and can weigh it)
In order to get your name on this list. Please post your commitment here, and indicate the number of saber kits you would like. Because I'd like to keep this thread clean and orderly, please direct any questions you have to me via PM.
I'll leave this interest thread up for a week and then will place the order with the shop.
Looking forward to finally completing my collection with this one
After a very long road, I'm finally ready to pull the trigger on producing a limited run of cast metal Luke ROTJ shared stunt sabers. There are replicas of the original prop made for ANH and reused in ROTJ, famously shown in the"Best of the Lucasfilm Archives". If anyone needs backround on the history of this prop, you can check out POSW's synopsis here. http://www.partsofsw.com/ob_luksab.htm
This saber was originally made as a fx prop for ANH. A master was turned on a lathe out of wood.
It was then cast in metal and finished off by the prop crew to become a stunt lightsaber.
The final version of the prop has been in the Lucasfilm archives and made a number of tours in recent years, even going up into space on a NASA trip.
In order to replicate this prop, I decided to forgo conventional cnc machining and try to recreate the original process as much as possible to recreate the idiosyncrasies of this particular saber.
To start with, I got in contact with an original prop collector who actually owns one of the production made metal castings from ANH. He was generous enough to provide me with over 30 measurements of his original prop to work from in order to recreate this prop. I have never had such good reference material to start with.
Then I used these numbers as well as detailed photos of the original casting master to create a 3d model of the prop. Each grip ridge on this model is different from the other, each pommel cube is different from the other. I've worked on this for years to capture every detail that I could see. To this base, I added all the holes, and I split the model down the center and reassembled it in order to recreate the askew seam
line that you can see in the hand grip.
Here are some shots of my 3d model compared to original
Now I'm going to have this master cast in pewter and offer replicas. I have chosen pewter for a number of reasons. First off, all the work I've done leads me to the conclusion that the original was cast in pewter, and not aluminum. As a low temp metal, it makes sense to me that the original fx crew would cast their wooden master in something that was easy to pour and did not require a full foundry. If they were going to cast in aluminum, they would have just turned the prop on a lathe itself. Also, the color of the original saber seems to show a stark contrast between the saber handle material and the aluminum tape that was applied to it. Pewter has a more rich color to it compared to the pale aluminum. Lastly, the damage on the original prop indicates to me that the original material was a relatively soft metal. Here are some photos that my shop has sent me showing examples of their pewter castings.
But, anyways, this isn't a discussion thread, it's a signup thread
So, this replica will be spin cast out of pewter, it will include the asymmetrical grip ridges and pommel cubes and the seam line running down the grip. All the holes on the original prop will be in place. You will have to supply a graflex clamp, aluminum tap, and paint.
I'm shooting for a cost of around $200.00 plus shipping. (I'll follow up with specifics on shipping for domestic and international once I have the sample in hand and can weigh it)
In order to get your name on this list. Please post your commitment here, and indicate the number of saber kits you would like. Because I'd like to keep this thread clean and orderly, please direct any questions you have to me via PM.
I'll leave this interest thread up for a week and then will place the order with the shop.
Looking forward to finally completing my collection with this one
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