newmagrathea
Sr Member
I'm going to use this thread to show my props, share various lessons I've learned, and ask for opinions/help occasionally. I'm up to three lightsabers now and I have various parts that have been ordered for more lightsabers and blasters.
I never thought that I would get into the hand-held props because I was so interested in Star Wars ships when I first joined the forum. Anyone thinking about building props a word of warning it is a very steep, slippery and expensive path to start. I love it, it fits right in with all my other crazy expensive hobbies. For me it started with buying a completed Luke ANH lightsaber, when I arrived it was magical, I could not take my eyes off it. I still pick it up and look at it daily. #hooked
Since then I jumped on Boba Debt's ESB blaster run for two blasters, bought a Obi Wan kit from Roman, found a Heiland in an antique shop for next to nothing and converted it to a Vader ESB lightsaber. I have parts for more blasters and lightsabers including a near mint Graflex that I'm just sitting on for now.
Here is my Luke ANH fresh out of the box, I instantly fell in love.
But after a while I realized that the grips were not accurate, and I had a want to replace the fake bubble strip with a real one. So I took the bottom off the saber and threw it in the freezer, metal shrinks at a different rate than the epoxy and plastic so most of the grips popped right off after a couple hours.
I cleaned off the remaining epoxy by carefully scraping with an Exacto blade, and I used very fine steel wool rubbing only in the direction of the brushed metal lightly. It cleaned up well.
I ordered new grips from Roy, cut them to length, cut the correct angles, sanded and polished them smooth, and finally epoxied them on. It seems like a subtle thing, but it really makes a difference, in the look and how it feels in hand. My old t-track was narrower at the base and taller, and the angles were not correct.
And here is the finished product. (I know it's hard to tell in these pics).
I'm still to chicken to cut up my Exactra 20 for the bubble strip, I'll do it some day.
I never thought that I would get into the hand-held props because I was so interested in Star Wars ships when I first joined the forum. Anyone thinking about building props a word of warning it is a very steep, slippery and expensive path to start. I love it, it fits right in with all my other crazy expensive hobbies. For me it started with buying a completed Luke ANH lightsaber, when I arrived it was magical, I could not take my eyes off it. I still pick it up and look at it daily. #hooked
Since then I jumped on Boba Debt's ESB blaster run for two blasters, bought a Obi Wan kit from Roman, found a Heiland in an antique shop for next to nothing and converted it to a Vader ESB lightsaber. I have parts for more blasters and lightsabers including a near mint Graflex that I'm just sitting on for now.
Here is my Luke ANH fresh out of the box, I instantly fell in love.
But after a while I realized that the grips were not accurate, and I had a want to replace the fake bubble strip with a real one. So I took the bottom off the saber and threw it in the freezer, metal shrinks at a different rate than the epoxy and plastic so most of the grips popped right off after a couple hours.
I cleaned off the remaining epoxy by carefully scraping with an Exacto blade, and I used very fine steel wool rubbing only in the direction of the brushed metal lightly. It cleaned up well.
I ordered new grips from Roy, cut them to length, cut the correct angles, sanded and polished them smooth, and finally epoxied them on. It seems like a subtle thing, but it really makes a difference, in the look and how it feels in hand. My old t-track was narrower at the base and taller, and the angles were not correct.
And here is the finished product. (I know it's hard to tell in these pics).
I'm still to chicken to cut up my Exactra 20 for the bubble strip, I'll do it some day.
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