I just can't quit this thread...
Here are three sabers I've recently finished tinkering with.
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The first on the left is the one I mention some time earlier in the thread having rebuilt. It's a revision of the "prequel-y" lightsaber from my first post here on
page 20, or something. I was never happy with the original construction because it really lacked a clear direction. This iteration is closer to what I really want, give or take some exceptions. Scrapping all the bits I didn't like and just working on figuring out what can be done with just the bare bones was the way to go for this. It's built on a simple sink tube (wanted to make it out of mostly store-bought parts) with lots of plastic, washers, and left-over bits and bobs from my camera parts box.
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The one in the middle was built with some inspiration drawn from the many assorted and varied lightsabers our @
SethS has built. In particular, one he built with a Universal Speedgun flash. I was really drawn by the oblong "shroud" piece and many thanks to Seth for keeping an eye out on the 'Bay for me if one of these ever popped up.
The idea I was hooked by was to use that shroud piece as a starting point to build a katana inspired hilt; curved hilt with some kind of wrapping to make a diamond pattern. But then I ran across an image from one of the new cartoon series, while waiting for the flashgun to arrive and looking for inspiration, and realized just how lame an idea that was. I still wanted something reminiscent of the katana, but anything so on-the-nose like what I saw is not the way to go.
When I got the flashgun in hand, I just went from there and tinkered with it as I went. As it progressed, it became more of a challenge for me to do something I hadn't done before, or something I hadn't done yet. Some designs popped up here with leather wrapping, and as much as I don't like leather on my lightsabers, it was something I hadn't done. The same goes for a brass "activation plate." This build was turning into an ensemble of things I typically don't like.
Leather irks me for two reasons: 1) It is so closely tied with the evolution of humans that's it's hard for it not to read "Earth Human" to me, 2) There's no hiding how it it was put together. The brass plates on the Luke Hero and V3 bug me because it just looks so... cheap. But, as it was, I did my best despite my grimaces to achieve my katana-inspired-but-still-OT vision.
...And it still bothers me. I think what I did perfectly illustrates what I don't like about it, trying to incorporate the two ways I see leather applied to customs, and my awful stitching and gluing (leather and CA glue work beautifully, by the way) really don't help. I tried to hide the stitching where I could and break up the seams so there isn't a big "notice me" parting line on the wrapped bottom half.
Its got its share of problems, but not enough for me to bother fixing them. The emitter area, however, I am quite pleased with.
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Not much to say on the final piece to the right. It was just something I threw together with literal scraps. Mostly pieces from sink tubes, a really small flash unit I had lying around, and some copper tubing for my BMF model.
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