Phase 1 : My Star Wars Blaster Builds
- Thread starter userd1402
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Re: UserD's Blaster Builds
I've been doing some 'kitchen table' assembly on my real parts Obi-Wan ANH saber, and testing a theory;
Personally I believe that the original Tunisia saber was assembled with parts of Browning booster bearings inside, as well as a simple piece of pipe for the clamp spacer and the grenade striker-end cap still in place to keep everything aligned and intact, and this is the theory I'm testing here.
I started by taking a dome-head nut and fitting it tightly to the end of an M8 (8mm) threaded rod, which I then rounded off with my bench grinder to produce this rather fetching dome-ended rod (It would have been a simple flat nut painted black in there originally of course).
Anyway, this fits inside the cone section of a Browning ANM2 booster-bearing (a replica in this case) which I already hack-sawed in half to get rid of the mounting-flange. My genuine Rolls Royce Derwent balance pipe (rpf engine #4) seats over the booster bearing snugly and gives the nice 'deep' effect seen in publicity pictures.
The Hales grenade then slides down over the M8 rod with it's brass striker-end cap still in place. This is the easiest way to keep everything centred and I think the end cap was still inside the hero prop for this reason (and so it didn't get lost and could be returned to Bapty in one piece).
Since all the elements I mentioned have narrow centre holes it just seems like a no-brainer to me that they would all be left like this, to keep everything centred, and since that seems to work all you need for a spacer under the Graflex clamp is a simple piece of metal pipe. Easy! The metal pipe I used is standard 38.1mm aluminium pipe (exactly one and a half inches!). I cut the pipe shorter than the length of the clamp to provide a simple 'step' at each end into which the other components sit. Again, simple and obvious! The vintage graflex clamp slides snugly over this pipe.
The Browning booster is then screwed onto it's bearing and this sits in the 'step' on the other end of the pipe spacer. You can see the bearing holes between the vanes on the booster and this adds a nice detail to the build.
This group of parts simply drops down onto the rod and is centred-up by the addition of the Armitage Shanks Starlite handwheel, which has a hole in the centre of just 8mm - perfect for the M8 rod to centre everything!
I cut the threaded rod pretty short but there is still enough thread here to attach the nut. The recess in the end of the handwheel allows enough room for a nut to be attached and still add the end-cap.
Some people say the end cap was not used in Tunisia but I say 'use it if you got it!'
And all that's required to finish it off is a few twists of the spanner to make everything solid and a couple of small holes in the pipe spacer to mount the transistor 'buttons'. Since the spacer made with pipe is hollow you can add some thin threaded rod to the transistors and attach them with internal nuts or you can splay-out the wires inside the pipe and add tape to hold them.
I know that it will never be proved but I'm convinced the brass-work, bearings and pipe were all in there, just because it's the easiest way to do it and it keeps everything lined up properly.
I've been doing some 'kitchen table' assembly on my real parts Obi-Wan ANH saber, and testing a theory;
Personally I believe that the original Tunisia saber was assembled with parts of Browning booster bearings inside, as well as a simple piece of pipe for the clamp spacer and the grenade striker-end cap still in place to keep everything aligned and intact, and this is the theory I'm testing here.
I started by taking a dome-head nut and fitting it tightly to the end of an M8 (8mm) threaded rod, which I then rounded off with my bench grinder to produce this rather fetching dome-ended rod (It would have been a simple flat nut painted black in there originally of course).
Anyway, this fits inside the cone section of a Browning ANM2 booster-bearing (a replica in this case) which I already hack-sawed in half to get rid of the mounting-flange. My genuine Rolls Royce Derwent balance pipe (rpf engine #4) seats over the booster bearing snugly and gives the nice 'deep' effect seen in publicity pictures.
The Hales grenade then slides down over the M8 rod with it's brass striker-end cap still in place. This is the easiest way to keep everything centred and I think the end cap was still inside the hero prop for this reason (and so it didn't get lost and could be returned to Bapty in one piece).
Since all the elements I mentioned have narrow centre holes it just seems like a no-brainer to me that they would all be left like this, to keep everything centred, and since that seems to work all you need for a spacer under the Graflex clamp is a simple piece of metal pipe. Easy! The metal pipe I used is standard 38.1mm aluminium pipe (exactly one and a half inches!). I cut the pipe shorter than the length of the clamp to provide a simple 'step' at each end into which the other components sit. Again, simple and obvious! The vintage graflex clamp slides snugly over this pipe.
The Browning booster is then screwed onto it's bearing and this sits in the 'step' on the other end of the pipe spacer. You can see the bearing holes between the vanes on the booster and this adds a nice detail to the build.
This group of parts simply drops down onto the rod and is centred-up by the addition of the Armitage Shanks Starlite handwheel, which has a hole in the centre of just 8mm - perfect for the M8 rod to centre everything!
I cut the threaded rod pretty short but there is still enough thread here to attach the nut. The recess in the end of the handwheel allows enough room for a nut to be attached and still add the end-cap.
Some people say the end cap was not used in Tunisia but I say 'use it if you got it!'
And all that's required to finish it off is a few twists of the spanner to make everything solid and a couple of small holes in the pipe spacer to mount the transistor 'buttons'. Since the spacer made with pipe is hollow you can add some thin threaded rod to the transistors and attach them with internal nuts or you can splay-out the wires inside the pipe and add tape to hold them.
I know that it will never be proved but I'm convinced the brass-work, bearings and pipe were all in there, just because it's the easiest way to do it and it keeps everything lined up properly.
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Re: UserD's Blaster Builds
I don't disagree... here's my build:
http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=231549&p=3914877&viewfull=1#post3914877
Though I'm still not convinced about the bearing being used as the emitter... It's too much effort to make it fit imo...
I don't disagree... here's my build:
http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=231549&p=3914877&viewfull=1#post3914877
Though I'm still not convinced about the bearing being used as the emitter... It's too much effort to make it fit imo...
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russellsch
Master Member
Re: UserD's Blaster Builds
You have 2 real parts?! :eek
You have 2 real parts?! :eek
Re: UserD's Blaster Builds
No, just this one. My other Obi-wan saber is a Roman's Empire replica.
No, just this one. My other Obi-wan saber is a Roman's Empire replica.
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Re: UserD's Blaster Builds
Finished off the saber with some small detail parts;
* I forgot to mention earlier that the bubble-strip from the Exactra calculator was trimmed to length with a craft knife (these real ones are really long!) and the long edges were sanded to reduce the thickness a little, so it would slip neatly inside the top 'crimp' of the Graflex clamp.
* I took the two small Motorola transistors off the old SMS circuit board - Motorola model 084 (U7803K) - and placed them on my lapidary grinder, bottom-down, to polish away a little of the metal because I'm not a fan of the very tall transistors I see on some versions of this saber and as I held it there and the transistor base wore away and the whole bottom suddenly came off taking the guts of the transistor with it. This just left an empty 'cup' which is a fantastic result as far as I'm concerned as it means I don't have to drill the innards out of these tiny components. All I had to do was use a little of my favourite metal-epoxy putty to glue some sheet metal screws into the newly formed caps and they were ready to screw into the soft alloy tube-spacer.
* The washers under the transistors are another area where I have firm views about the final look of the piece. I don't like the look of thin 'sheet-metal' washers used by some builders but I do like the look of the thick 'dished' washers used by Roman's Empire on their replica sabers so to give me the look I wanted I added a pair of Roman's finest. These are the only non-vintage part visible on the whole saber and may, one day, be replaced with something period if I can find something I like the look of.
* I also finally remembered to drill a hole in the AS handwheel with the Dremel and added a D-ring.
and I think that's about it.
Finished off the saber with some small detail parts;
* I forgot to mention earlier that the bubble-strip from the Exactra calculator was trimmed to length with a craft knife (these real ones are really long!) and the long edges were sanded to reduce the thickness a little, so it would slip neatly inside the top 'crimp' of the Graflex clamp.
* I took the two small Motorola transistors off the old SMS circuit board - Motorola model 084 (U7803K) - and placed them on my lapidary grinder, bottom-down, to polish away a little of the metal because I'm not a fan of the very tall transistors I see on some versions of this saber and as I held it there and the transistor base wore away and the whole bottom suddenly came off taking the guts of the transistor with it. This just left an empty 'cup' which is a fantastic result as far as I'm concerned as it means I don't have to drill the innards out of these tiny components. All I had to do was use a little of my favourite metal-epoxy putty to glue some sheet metal screws into the newly formed caps and they were ready to screw into the soft alloy tube-spacer.
* The washers under the transistors are another area where I have firm views about the final look of the piece. I don't like the look of thin 'sheet-metal' washers used by some builders but I do like the look of the thick 'dished' washers used by Roman's Empire on their replica sabers so to give me the look I wanted I added a pair of Roman's finest. These are the only non-vintage part visible on the whole saber and may, one day, be replaced with something period if I can find something I like the look of.
* I also finally remembered to drill a hole in the AS handwheel with the Dremel and added a D-ring.
and I think that's about it.
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Re: UserD's Blaster Builds
I found another Hales no.3 mk.1 grenade here in the UK. It's very expensive but condition-wise it's just about perfect.
Because it's expensive, and because I was really saving for a Browning booster, I can't decide what to do;
I could buy it and sell my existing grenade to recoup half the cost, or I could buy it and offer it in exchange for a Browning booster, or I could pass on it and keep looking for the elusive booster instead...
I found another Hales no.3 mk.1 grenade here in the UK. It's very expensive but condition-wise it's just about perfect.
Because it's expensive, and because I was really saving for a Browning booster, I can't decide what to do;
I could buy it and sell my existing grenade to recoup half the cost, or I could buy it and offer it in exchange for a Browning booster, or I could pass on it and keep looking for the elusive booster instead...
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Re: UserD's Blaster Builds
I've been thinking a lot about this. I don't want an 'ordnance' collector to take this and bury it away in a dusty grenade collection that nobody ever sees, so I got up early and did the deal. Fingers crossed it all turns out as good as it looks because the pictures have a 2013 time-stamp on them...
EDIT:
Just had an email notification from the courier company that it will be delivered tomorrow afternoon
I've been thinking a lot about this. I don't want an 'ordnance' collector to take this and bury it away in a dusty grenade collection that nobody ever sees, so I got up early and did the deal. Fingers crossed it all turns out as good as it looks because the pictures have a 2013 time-stamp on them...
EDIT:
Just had an email notification from the courier company that it will be delivered tomorrow afternoon
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Ridire Firean
Sr Member
Re: UserD's Blaster Builds
Nice find! Glad you got it!
Nice find! Glad you got it!
Re: UserD's Blaster Builds
Had the new grenade delivered to work so here's a couple of quick shots at my desk;
EDIT: I swapped the outer fragmentation cubes on the new grenade for the older one on my saber and this is how she looks now;
The old frag body was built into the remaining parts and sold so in case anyone wonders if I still have it, I don't!
Had the new grenade delivered to work so here's a couple of quick shots at my desk;
EDIT: I swapped the outer fragmentation cubes on the new grenade for the older one on my saber and this is how she looks now;
The old frag body was built into the remaining parts and sold so in case anyone wonders if I still have it, I don't!
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DrkSideTndncies
Well-Known Member
Re: UserD's Blaster Builds
That's pretty. I want it
That's pretty. I want it
Re: UserD's Blaster Builds
Finally got the no.2 Webley. Well it's been nearly 16 months since I first asked what everyone thought. It's all matching numbers with a low serial number of 21833 (the serial numbers of the Webleys appear to run consecutively through the marks). I don't really need to do much other than clean and oil it, the patina on it is amazing. Nice crisp dry-fire action too, with a really strong main spring. This thing is big, and heavy! Just weighed it at 1.7kg, that's an ounce under four pounds.
Finally got the no.2 Webley. Well it's been nearly 16 months since I first asked what everyone thought. It's all matching numbers with a low serial number of 21833 (the serial numbers of the Webleys appear to run consecutively through the marks). I don't really need to do much other than clean and oil it, the patina on it is amazing. Nice crisp dry-fire action too, with a really strong main spring. This thing is big, and heavy! Just weighed it at 1.7kg, that's an ounce under four pounds.
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Re: UserD's Blaster Builds
Well, that's all my Star Wars props gone. Starting my own business has been expensive and 'toys' are the first things to go.
The genuine parts Obi-Wan saber took 18 months hard work to build and was my most expensive replica to date but I do tend to 'turn over' my prop builds fairly regular so when I was made an offer I couldn't refuse, money-wise, it went without hesitation and is now living in California. The genuine Webley went too, with one of Bookie Dave's barrels.
I have three main folders on my computer for prop work marked 'Building', 'Planning' and 'Sold'. The Sold folder now has 34 replica movie guns in it. Most of them I will never be able to recreate because of rarity or new regulations but it was a great ride getting here.
Adios Star Wars!
Well, that's all my Star Wars props gone. Starting my own business has been expensive and 'toys' are the first things to go.
The genuine parts Obi-Wan saber took 18 months hard work to build and was my most expensive replica to date but I do tend to 'turn over' my prop builds fairly regular so when I was made an offer I couldn't refuse, money-wise, it went without hesitation and is now living in California. The genuine Webley went too, with one of Bookie Dave's barrels.
I have three main folders on my computer for prop work marked 'Building', 'Planning' and 'Sold'. The Sold folder now has 34 replica movie guns in it. Most of them I will never be able to recreate because of rarity or new regulations but it was a great ride getting here.
Adios Star Wars!
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ANHSABERS
Member
Feminised?
What will you have to do?
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