Nicksdad ROTJ "Hero" lightsaber show-off thread

The 48th Ronin · Mar 3, 2017

Kylash said:
Did you have to take the tri-ring off to do the rust solution? If so, did none break off when you had to bend it again to get it back on?

Yeah, I removed the ring. Nothing came off since it's such a super-thin layer of oxidation. I did wrap a couple layers of masking tape around the jaws of the pliers that I used because I was worried that I would mar the surface. When I was blasting it with the torch I also went ahead and annealed a good portion of the end point, to make it a bit easier to bend back when I re-installed it (it was still a bit of a challenge though).

thd9791 · Mar 3, 2017

D48thRonin said:
I agree on both counts. I also believe that this is all the same (dirty) color... and I don't believe that it was ever repainted:

View attachment 711283

I think it's the same effect as seen in the cave scene - the color looks different depending upon how much light is hitting it. These pics were all taken under different lighting conditions which is why the color looks so different.

So who here has actually seen it in person? I've never had the opportunity, and I would need to see it with my own eyes to make the color determination for myself.

The 48th Ronin · Mar 4, 2017

thd9791 said:
View attachment 711583 View attachment 711584

And your point is...?

thd9791 · Mar 4, 2017

D48thRonin said:
And your point is...?

In Photo #1 you can see the Tri-ring is on the saber during the duel, and it's dark
possibly rusted already.

The second photo shows some original paint on the neck, and it looks quite dark as well.

The 48th Ronin · Mar 4, 2017

Yeah, but that's not the hero... not *yet,* anyway (if we're to believe the speculation that *that* particular saber was converted into the hero).

The tri-ring looks bright and rust-free here:

I wasn't saying that I don't believe it was re-painted *during production* - that would have happened when they created the hero. The saber that you posted pics of has paint missing on the neck piece - the hero doesn't.

I'm saying that I don't believe the hero has been re-painted between here:

and the time that it started showing up in public exhibits (1993 - 1997):

And I don't believe that it has been repainted between that time and the present. But as I said, I haven't seen it in person, so I can't say for certain - it's just what I personally believe.

PoopaPapaPalps · Mar 4, 2017

thd9791 said:
In Photo #1 you can see the Tri-ring is on the saber during the duel, and it's dark
possibly rusted already...

I don't know if that screencap is the end all-be all of the discussion just based on...well, how it looks (beyond it's also in the shadow of Hamill's arm). There's also the other Yuma stunts to consider as well; the one that Hamill resting his chin on and the one in the blasted hand. All of which may or may not have been the same or different and unknown whether which one was grabbed to be turned into the "Hero".

Halliwax · Mar 5, 2017

i know i have said this before but i keep forgetting. do we know 100% that one of the yuma's was defiantly turned into the ISYCANL saber?

The 48th Ronin · Mar 5, 2017

No.

But I would say that it's certainly plausible.

thd9791 · Mar 5, 2017

PoopaPapaPalps said:
I don't know if that screencap is the end all-be all of the discussion just based on...well, how it looks (beyond it's also in the shadow of Hamill's arm). There's also the other Yuma stunts to consider as well; the one that Hamill resting his chin on and the one in the blasted hand. All of which may or may not have been the same or different and unknown whether which one was grabbed to be turned into the "Hero".

yea
I didn't mean that as an end-all, just another leaflet to throw into this folder.

Martin Sabers · Mar 13, 2017

Were the triangles led blinking in the real prop or it was added post production?

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Kevin Gossett · Mar 13, 2017

Since these aren't hollow there's no way to an electronic install as currently constructed. Anyone have any plans to modify to accommodate electronics?

The 48th Ronin · Mar 13, 2017

Martin Sabers said:
Were the triangles led blinking in the real prop or it was added post production?

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The LEDs were actually blinking when they shot the scene.

Martin Sabers · Mar 13, 2017

Emmanuel from plecterlabs said it is very easy to make such PCB with the right blinking sequence. Unfortunately the run shall be big enough to be interesting for him to produce them.
Bottom line: there is a way and on day there will be a 1:1 prop Replicas with the right blinking LEDs and the right looking PCB. Question is when ;-)

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majortom98 · Mar 13, 2017

Re: Nicksdad ROTJ "Hero" lightsaber show-off thread

Kevin Gossett said:
Since these aren't hollow there's no way to an electronic install as currently constructed. Anyone have any plans to modify to accommodate electronics?

Someone at Facebook had picked up a Nicksdad Luke Hero was planning to convert it. Will be an interesting project.

- - - Updated - - -

Martin Sabers said:
Emmanuel from plecterlabs said it is very easy to make such PCB with the right blinking sequence. Unfortunately the run shall be big enough to be interesting for him to produce them.
Bottom line: there is a way and on day there will be a 1:1 prop Replicas with the right blinking LEDs and the right looking PCB. Question is when ;-)

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Just need to convince Anakin Starkiller to do another Luke Hero run. I think that he wants to a super accurate true to the prop in every detail run. That may be difficult without taking measurements of the original movie prop.

The 48th Ronin · Mar 13, 2017

Martin Sabers said:
Bottom line: there is a way and on day there will be a 1:1 prop Replicas with the right blinking LEDs and the right looking PCB. Question is when ;-)

Sure, the blinking sequence should definitely be possible.

As for the "right looking PCB," I'm not so sure about that, since these are the only known shots of the inside of the box...

From the October 1990 issue of Smithsonian magazine:

From reference photos taken in the Lucasfilm Archives in the mid-to-late 1990s:

Now an electronics guy might know more about what he's looking at, but I sure can't make heads or tails of anything substantial from these pics. Plus, I wouldn't be surprised if the prop makers dressed in some extraneous crap.

Pedro · Mar 15, 2017

Since there's all this circuit board discussion, here's the circuit I came up with. Part of a video card, primarily chosen for the microchip. The lower right on the original appears to have a pretty prominent angled piece with a nice looking hole in it, so I cut another section of board and added a hole with grommet to try to match it. The shiny bits on the microchip and a few nearby are bits of watch mechanisms, TOS Enterprise photo-etch railings, and even a little 1/350 Nomad for grins (next to the curve of red wire). The blue capacitor is actually a hunk of plastic sanded to shape and painted, I couldn't find a real capacitor I liked.

I was amused that D48thRonin ended up with the same type of silver component in the upper right as mine (was on the board I started with!) on his amazing saber. Incidentally, man, those circuit boards are tough! I thought they would cut much more easily...

Halliwax · Mar 15, 2017

Pedro said:
Since there's all this circuit board discussion, here's the circuit I came up with. Part of a video card, primarily chosen for the microchip. The lower right on the original appears to have a pretty prominent angled piece with a nice looking hole in it, so I cut another section of board and added a hole with grommet to try to match it. The shiny bits on the microchip and a few nearby are bits of watch mechanisms, TOS Enterprise photo-etch railings, and even a little 1/350 Nomad for grins (next to the curve of red wire). The blue capacitor is actually a hunk of plastic sanded to shape and painted, I couldn't find a real capacitor I liked.

I was amused that D48thRonin ended up with the same type of silver component in the upper right as mine (was on the board I started with!) on his amazing saber. Incidentally, man, those circuit boards are tough! I thought they would cut much more easily...
View attachment 714579

That came on freak'n awesome!!!

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The 48th Ronin · Mar 15, 2017

Very nice, Pedro! :thumbsup

Yeah, those boards are rather tough. The biggest problem I faced was finding a section with enough interesting stuff in a small enough area - as I know you are aware, there's *not* a lot of space inside that box. That's why I had to stack a piece and dress in extra bits.

Pedro · Mar 16, 2017

Same deal here, I actually cut out an opening in a piece of cardboard the shape of the control box so I could hold it over various circuits and find the best bit. My wife thought I was crazy pouring over computer guts for 3 days!

How the heck did you cut those nice pieces with radius from your boards?? Mine was done super sloppy with a hacksaw and fit to shape after.

The 48th Ronin · Mar 16, 2017

I did the exact same thing! Only my template was cut out of a sheet of styrene.

As for cutting the boards, I used a jewelers saw:

I rough cut the shapes (boy was *that* a workout!) and then sanded down to the Sharpie lines I had drawn on the boards.

Nicksdad ROTJ "Hero" lightsaber show-off thread

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