Anakin Starkiller uni body v2 preparation group thread

To be absolutely clear, what I'm looking for is one of those knob, if anyone bought a set of 3 and has 2 spares: http://www.transcriptorslimited.com/...or-plate-nuts/

Onething

Dan's original run included a 1/4 20 tap because he made cone knobs with a threaded post. the original parts are nuts, which means they also have threaded holes and it's a different threading. If dan's drawings were the same you'll have to find a grub screw with two thread counts.
 
So I received my unibody last week and have had a go at reducing the shine and darkening the metal. I gave it a spin in the dish washer but like some more there here it only really had the effect of dulling the metal. This morning I let it sit in a mixture of caustic drain cleaner and hot water but, again, no real difference.

Instead I thought I'd try and make use what I had lying around so I used some artist's oils I had and rubbed the black into the pommel and emitter to see how it turned out. After lot of rubbing I'm pretty happy with the result but concerned that without being properly sealed this is only a topical treatment and might rub off. I'll let it dry a couple of days and see how it is.

Here are the results of the oil rub on the pommel and emitter. Hopefully you can see the difference but it looks better under natural light.

View attachment 708338

I like what you did there. Have you thought about a simple clear coat over your finish. That would solve the issue and still have the ability to remove it if you decide to later on.
 
Onething

Dan's original run included a 1/4 20 tap because he made cone knobs with a threaded post. the original parts are nuts, which means they also have threaded holes and it's a different threading. If dan's drawings were the same you'll have to find a grub screw with two thread counts.

All the threads on my saber are metric, because the prop was UK made
 
Managed to prep Trent's stencils and get painting at the weekend. I must say that they really are a work of art - particularly the intricacies on the booster and clamp band sections.

I sprayed matte black first and let it dry before removing the stencils and then doing some scraping here and there. Initially I tried to use some of the Celebration pictures as reference for the undersides of the emitter but eventually gave up and just started scraping and sanding randomly.

For the neck and wind vane I mixed copper, black and brown acrylics and then brushed it on. You can just about tell in the photos that it's not black, which I'm ok with since many thought it was black for so long. Again, it looks better in natural light. I might dry brush a couple of lighter flecks on top just to bring it out a little more. I painted the neck the same colour as I figured it would have been that way as the Obi-Wan stunt. I don't have any gaffer tape yet to cover it but can add that in due course.

After that I'll have to get a clamp from Roman, card from Slothfurnace and a lever from Roy. I'm not sure where I could source a mystery chunk though? Then a few more cosmetics - potentially adding the set screw in the side of the emitter and the notch in the bung. But that's for another weekend! 20170226_235513.jpg20170226_235452.jpg20170226_235329.jpg
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the info Dan :)

Managed to prep Trent's stencils and get painting at the weekend. I must say that they really are a work of art - particularly the intricacies on the booster and clamp band sections.

I sprayed matte black first and let it dry before removing the stencils and then doing some scraping here and there. Initially I tried to use some of the Celebration pictures as reference for the undersides of the emitter but eventually gave up and just started scraping and sanding randomly.

For the neck and wind vane I mixed copper, black and brown acrylics and then brushed it on. You can just about tell in the photos that it's not black, which I'm ok with since many thought it was black for so long. Again, it looks better in natural light. I might dry brush a couple of lighter flecks on top just to bring it out a little more. I painted the neck the same colour as I figured it would have been that way as the Obi-Wan stunt. I don't have any gaffer tape yet to cover it but can add that in due course.

After that I'll have to get a clamp from Roman, card from Slothfurnace and a lever from Roy. I'm not sure where I could source a mystery chunk though? Then a few more cosmetics - potentially adding the set screw in the side of the emitter and the notch in the bung. But that's for another weekend!View attachment 710514View attachment 710515View attachment 710513
Impressive work. :) Speaking of the emitter set screw, what's the right size for that one?
 
I assume he meant the one beneath the emitter plate.
Exactly. :) The nipple screws are included with the kit, so I'm not worried about those. :p

EDIT: I've been working on my V2 for a few days now (mainly weathering the hell out of that blank) and I tackled the paint job last night. Had a few minor problems with the stencils, which were mostly my fault. Long story short, I ended up "customizing" them a lot by diluting the freshly applied paint with a Q-tip dipped in thinner; this created a lot of more intricate chips, which made the paint job more realistic, IMO (at least when I compare it to the most recent reference pictures) I also had to improvise some smaller chips because the paint fused with the stencils in some places, taking the paint with them when I removed them. Regardless I'm pretty satisfied with the end results. Let me know what you think.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0408.JPG
    IMG_0408.JPG
    939.7 KB · Views: 117
  • IMG_0407.JPG
    IMG_0407.JPG
    934.8 KB · Views: 126
  • IMG_0406.JPG
    IMG_0406.JPG
    941.9 KB · Views: 118
  • IMG_0405.JPG
    IMG_0405.JPG
    907.7 KB · Views: 129
Last edited:
I like it! Funny how we take such pride in beating the heck out of our v2's :rolleyes

I really enjoyed working on mine and I love seeing the progress everyone is making, keep em coming.
 
Exactly. :) The nipple screws are included with the kit, so I'm not worried about those. :p

EDIT: I've been working on my V2 for a few days now (mainly weathering the hell out of that blank) and I tackled the paint job last night. Had a few minor problems with the stencils, which were mostly my fault. Long story short, I ended up "customizing" them a lot by diluting the freshly applied paint with a Q-tip dipped in thinner; this created a lot of more intricate chips, which made the paint job more realistic, IMO (at least when I compare it to the most recent reference pictures) I also had to improvise some smaller chips because the paint fused with the stencils in some places, taking the paint with them when I removed them. Regardless I'm pretty satisfied with the end results. Let me know what you think.

Looks great! What did you do to darken the aluminum?
 
Thanks. :)

I started by deburring it in my case tumbler, dulling the surface and softening the edges. Then I dipped it in diluted Easy Off, which darkened it somewhat and dulled the metal even more. Afterwards I applied some Aluminum Black all over with a rag, taking care of not leaving any spots and repeating as necessary (especially on the booster) Then I threw it back in my tumbler to make the whole finish uniform and get rid of any unwanted stains. BTW I tried the dishwasher trick but it really didn't do anything for me, aside from cleaning the blank really really well (it was a good thing, because the tumbler fills holes and grooves with compacted dust) That's pretty much it!

Last night I applied some diluted acrylic copper paint on the windvane, wiping any excess off and redoing it until I was satisfied with the result. It's a little less subtle in person, but I think it replicates the look of the screen-used prop pretty well. Here's some pics.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0409.JPG
    IMG_0409.JPG
    964.2 KB · Views: 128
  • IMG_0410.JPG
    IMG_0410.JPG
    975.2 KB · Views: 132
  • IMG_0413.JPG
    IMG_0413.JPG
    1.1 MB · Views: 132
  • IMG_0414.JPG
    IMG_0414.JPG
    1.1 MB · Views: 130
  • IMG_0431.JPG
    IMG_0431.JPG
    1.2 MB · Views: 108
  • IMG_0432.JPG
    IMG_0432.JPG
    1.1 MB · Views: 112
Last edited:
This thread is more than 6 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top