First DIY Project, Mace Windu's lightsaber

Orionfield

Orionfield

New Member
Hi everyone, I am new here, obviously, and I am looking for a little help a where to get started with a project. I have been a model builder for over 15 years, and want to get into making props. My girlfriend and I are both very nerdy, and we wanted to try and build a Mace Windu lightsaber together to decorate our newly completed office. I was wondering if anyone who has experience building lightsabers has made one and can get us started in the right direction.
 
I can probably help you with the wiring aspect of things, but making a saber hilt of that design is going to be a decent amount of work.

A good place to start is on the custom saber shop.

www.thecustomsabershop.com

They have a program where you can build sabers using various combinations of their parts to see if it looks the way you want it to.

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Check out the "show your custom lightsabers thread" there's quite a lot info there and you could always PM a member for info on it and techniques good luck!

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I suppose it would depend on how much accuracy matters to you. If you want an ultra-accurate saber, machining is the way to go. It's possible to draw up plans and have a machine shop make it for you. The poorman's approach would be 3d printing, but that would require much more cleanup afterwards to make it truly resemble Mace Windu's saber. A 3rd route would be piecing something together from hardware store parts. Depending on how creative/handy you are, it's possible to make a fairly accurate saber in this fashion. I hope that helps!
 
My advice is if it is your first time start with a simpler saber! Mace's is one of the more complex ones there is. Unless you mean his TPM version...
 
I bought one a while back that was pretty damaged and needs work to fix it up. But, if you're interested in putting the work in, drop me a line

Dan
 
Does it have to be metal? Or do you want to approach it like a model builder and go with styrene etc? Because if you want a display piece, you should be able to shape and paint the plastic just like any other scratchbuild. If you want a metal hilt that feels like the real deal...that's a bit tougher :)
 
I'm trying to figure that out. I think metal would be nice, but I have plenty of experience making plastic look like metal. I was thinking of experimenting with Shapeways' 3D printed metal. I am just trying to find some measurements so I can make the parts i need in CAD.
 
In order to take measurements, you will need a copy of Master Replicas Mace Windu Limited Edition lightsaber. One can find one on e-bay for several hundred dollars. MR MW LE is supposed to be a hero copy of MW lightsaber. Quite close to the one Samuel Jackson wore on his belt in AOTC and ROTS. For battle scenes he used a version that is easier to grip and rotate. Those black bar grips aren't friendly for rotating and moving them.

There were some RPT runs of MW in the past but it's been a while. MR MW LE is your best bet for accurate measurements.
 
master jinn said:
In order to take measurements, you will need a copy of Master Replicas Mace Windu Limited Edition lightsaber. One can find one on e-bay for several hundred dollars. MR MW LE is supposed to be a hero copy of MW lightsaber. Quite close to the one Samuel Jackson wore on his belt in AOTC and ROTS. For battle scenes he used a version that is easier to grip and rotate. Those black bar grips aren't friendly for rotating and moving them.

There were some RPT runs of MW in the past but it's been a while. MR MW LE is your best bet for accurate measurements.
Click to expand...

I would think extrapolating from photos based on the known size of the covertec knob would be a WEEEEEEEEEEE bit more practical than dropping hundreds of dollars on a replica of the thing you're trying to build a replica of...
 
The easiest thing is what @cayman shen posted. I don't know how you'd do it, but I would get the size of the covertec wheel, blow a reference photo to 1:1 scale and then start cobbling the parts together. I don't think many of the saber hilts in the PT were metal. They were either resin or rubber (for stunts) for the most part. So unless you've got access to a machine shop or have the tools yourself, a resin copy would readily suffice.
 
If some accuracy is wanted, measurement of a replica prop is the best. I agree that studying photos and getting measurement from there will be a viable option. Mace windu saber has a lot of details and not an easy saber to replicate accurately though. Not like Luke V2 or even the recent Luke TFA version that was done collectively. It helps to have a 3D modeling software or even an accurate replica.

Googling will help. If you keep looking, you may find some useful info or find ways which can make the project easier and doable. There are lots of photo which show good details of MW saber.
 
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