matty matt
Sr Member
Loneken is probably sorry he asked.
Best Graflex Replica
- Thread starter Loneken
- Start date
If you want a screen accurate static, get a vintage.
If you want a mostly screen accurate static, get a Roman's.
If you want you want a mostly screen accurate electronic or bladed saber get a TGS.
if you want a reasonably screen accurate static or electronic that you can mod for accuracy, and has an internal set up that will help you get started on electronics, get a 2.0.
TCSS sells the 2.0 and their flashgun replica is Roman's.
If you like crying over millimeters give us all a break and just get a vintage.
If you are selling a replica and you can't make a marketing point without bashing another replica maker, you're a tool.
If you are swearing up and down about the accuracy of a product that hasn't come out, you are either butthurt over millimeters or are a shill.
If you want a mostly screen accurate static, get a Roman's.
If you want you want a mostly screen accurate electronic or bladed saber get a TGS.
if you want a reasonably screen accurate static or electronic that you can mod for accuracy, and has an internal set up that will help you get started on electronics, get a 2.0.
TCSS sells the 2.0 and their flashgun replica is Roman's.
If you like crying over millimeters give us all a break and just get a vintage.
If you are selling a replica and you can't make a marketing point without bashing another replica maker, you're a tool.
If you are swearing up and down about the accuracy of a product that hasn't come out, you are either butthurt over millimeters or are a shill.
Haha no that's actually exactly why I asked, but didn't realize it was still such a heated debate years and years later!
Thanks everyone for all your answers that's very helpful.
Sent from my MHA-L29 using Tapatalk
trooper
Sr Member
man I cant agree more with this .
I would add, if you think $200 is to expensive, your still living on your mamas money and need to get a job !!!
$200 is cheep for a WORKING HIGHLY ACCURATE flash !!!!!!!
I think back in the day I paid $250 for a parks, by todays economy romans is quite affordable !! a crappy made master replicas is more then that
While I absolutely agree that Roman's replica is the top of the heap it does have some areas that people may find problematic -- all of which can be more or less corrected fairly easily if you wish.
First, as others have pointed out the ears on Roman's Graflex are slightly longer than authentic ears. And because of the way they are shaped the Roman's also "rest" differently in the socket -- i think they sit slightly farther back. I have two authentic Graflexes and a loose set of authentic ears to compare with and the difference is visible without calipers. The issue is that, while the overall dimensions of the ears are similar (with the Roman's averaging around 1mm longer at 59.44 vs an average 58.5) the break points and shaping is slightly different and the "tombstone" portion of the ear is the primary difference. This portion on my Romans replica is longer by 2.3mm and subtly shorter over the authentic ears. Ultimately I replaced the ears with a set left over from my Parks replica I am turning into the RotJ shared stunt. And, yes, the rivet isn't accurate but that can be replaced too.
Second -- I find it somewhat odd, though ultimately a good choice, to base the red button on a rare variation to give people the option to use that if they are so inclined (though there is ZERO proof this variation was ever associated with a screen used prop -- that ANH photo is too fuzzy). If you want to make an ESB or TFA saber the button will need to be replaced with the more conventional style with the deeper machining above the knurling (IMO this is also true for the ANH model as well but your opinion may differ which is perfectly OK and is why it's great to have this alternate button as an option).
Third -- I love that he chose to base the replica on the Folmer model but also find it curious that, in so doing, he chose not to use smooth-sided brass pins. The general assumption being that if it is a Folmer flash it should have smooth sided pins rather than the later Graflex style. I will allow that, apart from the Ranch saber, this is somewhat open to interpretation and works fine for TFA anyway so depending on which version of the saber you are building you may wish to replace the pins.
Finally, the plating on parts of the saber is too bright and needs to be dampened with a Scotch-Bright pad (either a red or green one). This particularly needs to be done to the end cap and performed with great care so as not to blow through the plating to the copper under-coat which can be easy to do -- and I did in one or two spots but fortunately it's not too noticeable. Also, there were issues with bad plating on the clamps and it was kind of a lottery as to which you received. I got what I considered a dud and Roman immediately sent me a replacement from his stock of stand-alone clamps free of charge. Ironically the plating on the stand-alone clamp was perfect but the side bars were too bright so I tried to swap them out with the other set but the parts were not interchangeable as the break points on the clamps were slightly different (thanks China!). So I had to do the Scotch-Brite trick with the side bars aaaaaand blew through the plating on one of them, dangit.
So that is my take on the Roman's replica. It is awesome and, depending on your level of crazy, you may want to tweak some things but the man and his customer service are outstanding and he has done us a great service making this replica available now that authentic Graflexes are out of what most would consider a sensible price range.
Dave
First, as others have pointed out the ears on Roman's Graflex are slightly longer than authentic ears. And because of the way they are shaped the Roman's also "rest" differently in the socket -- i think they sit slightly farther back. I have two authentic Graflexes and a loose set of authentic ears to compare with and the difference is visible without calipers. The issue is that, while the overall dimensions of the ears are similar (with the Roman's averaging around 1mm longer at 59.44 vs an average 58.5) the break points and shaping is slightly different and the "tombstone" portion of the ear is the primary difference. This portion on my Romans replica is longer by 2.3mm and subtly shorter over the authentic ears. Ultimately I replaced the ears with a set left over from my Parks replica I am turning into the RotJ shared stunt. And, yes, the rivet isn't accurate but that can be replaced too.
Second -- I find it somewhat odd, though ultimately a good choice, to base the red button on a rare variation to give people the option to use that if they are so inclined (though there is ZERO proof this variation was ever associated with a screen used prop -- that ANH photo is too fuzzy). If you want to make an ESB or TFA saber the button will need to be replaced with the more conventional style with the deeper machining above the knurling (IMO this is also true for the ANH model as well but your opinion may differ which is perfectly OK and is why it's great to have this alternate button as an option).
Third -- I love that he chose to base the replica on the Folmer model but also find it curious that, in so doing, he chose not to use smooth-sided brass pins. The general assumption being that if it is a Folmer flash it should have smooth sided pins rather than the later Graflex style. I will allow that, apart from the Ranch saber, this is somewhat open to interpretation and works fine for TFA anyway so depending on which version of the saber you are building you may wish to replace the pins.
Finally, the plating on parts of the saber is too bright and needs to be dampened with a Scotch-Bright pad (either a red or green one). This particularly needs to be done to the end cap and performed with great care so as not to blow through the plating to the copper under-coat which can be easy to do -- and I did in one or two spots but fortunately it's not too noticeable. Also, there were issues with bad plating on the clamps and it was kind of a lottery as to which you received. I got what I considered a dud and Roman immediately sent me a replacement from his stock of stand-alone clamps free of charge. Ironically the plating on the stand-alone clamp was perfect but the side bars were too bright so I tried to swap them out with the other set but the parts were not interchangeable as the break points on the clamps were slightly different (thanks China!). So I had to do the Scotch-Brite trick with the side bars aaaaaand blew through the plating on one of them, dangit.
So that is my take on the Roman's replica. It is awesome and, depending on your level of crazy, you may want to tweak some things but the man and his customer service are outstanding and he has done us a great service making this replica available now that authentic Graflexes are out of what most would consider a sensible price range.
Dave
thanks for taking the time and photo shopping that comparison! i didnt know there was a different deeper red button for ESB. I'm going to have to research that now
aaah! i got ya now!
trooper
Sr Member
wow! the red button sets high on your graflex button, none of mine do
Interesting, I wonder if it's the angle of the photo? I checked against all of mine and they are very similar.
Here's my work-in-progress Roman's ESB with Parks ears in place. The buttons are from TGS and I plan to replace the brass pins with smooth sided pins from TGS as well. The Kobold ring, grips (still to be attached), and circuit board, are from WW. I still have to remove the remains of the beer tab rivet and I was able to extend the "L" slots with a Dremel tool so that I can match the correct orientation for the Hoth endcap.
Ridire Firean
Sr Member
I'm still hoping JQSabers get their production run of Stainless Steel Graflexes up and running soon!
They do (correction = did) have a few fully loaded TFA-ish Replicas up for grabs if you've been on the Wait List and you have £1100.00 GBP....
http://www.jqsabers.com/product/new-graflex-3-cell-replica-flashgun-tfa-saber/
The only critiques I still have concerning its construction (without having one in hand), is that the folded tabs for the bulb holder are still roundly bent as opposed to the original GRAFLEX which has these bends as very crisp sharp edges, and that the clamp card bends are rounded instead of being squarish.
My only real concern now with this replica comes from the recently uploaded pics on page 13 of the link above by lset where the bottom cap looks incredibly thin. There does appear to be two caps/plates included in the kit as seen in JQSabers post on page 13 as well, so maybe lset didn't have both installed when the photos were taken.?. I'm not sure how all that fits together and what prevents the caps from coming out of the end of the lower tube section, but I sure would feel nervous about the cap bending under the saber's weight when carried on a belt clip if the cap is as thin as it looks.
I still wish JQSabers would say what type of Stainless Steel they're using for their replica. I hope it's 316. A couple years ago we replaced the old Stainless Steel kitchen sink with a Lovello brand "Stainless Steel" sink from Lowes during a full kitchen remodel and it has been rusting since day two. The old kitchen sink had one little dent and not a speck of rust on it after 30+ years. This POS Lovello sink must be made out of 410, 301, or 304 or some other lower level "Stainless Steel". If it didn't require tearing the countertop off of the cabinets to replace the sink, I would have made Lowes replace it on day three. Anywho, that's why I hope JQSabers is using 316 for their Stainless Steel Replica; so that I don't have to worry about my sweaty fan-boy hands rusting out my pretty lightsaber!
Just as an FYI, to everyone comparing 1mm to 4mm, it doesn't matter one iota....SINCE GRAFLEXES WERE MADE IN THE USA AND EVERYTHING WAS MADE IN INCHES!!!!!!
:lol
They do (correction = did) have a few fully loaded TFA-ish Replicas up for grabs if you've been on the Wait List and you have £1100.00 GBP....
http://www.jqsabers.com/product/new-graflex-3-cell-replica-flashgun-tfa-saber/
The only critiques I still have concerning its construction (without having one in hand), is that the folded tabs for the bulb holder are still roundly bent as opposed to the original GRAFLEX which has these bends as very crisp sharp edges, and that the clamp card bends are rounded instead of being squarish.
My only real concern now with this replica comes from the recently uploaded pics on page 13 of the link above by lset where the bottom cap looks incredibly thin. There does appear to be two caps/plates included in the kit as seen in JQSabers post on page 13 as well, so maybe lset didn't have both installed when the photos were taken.?. I'm not sure how all that fits together and what prevents the caps from coming out of the end of the lower tube section, but I sure would feel nervous about the cap bending under the saber's weight when carried on a belt clip if the cap is as thin as it looks.
I still wish JQSabers would say what type of Stainless Steel they're using for their replica. I hope it's 316. A couple years ago we replaced the old Stainless Steel kitchen sink with a Lovello brand "Stainless Steel" sink from Lowes during a full kitchen remodel and it has been rusting since day two. The old kitchen sink had one little dent and not a speck of rust on it after 30+ years. This POS Lovello sink must be made out of 410, 301, or 304 or some other lower level "Stainless Steel". If it didn't require tearing the countertop off of the cabinets to replace the sink, I would have made Lowes replace it on day three. Anywho, that's why I hope JQSabers is using 316 for their Stainless Steel Replica; so that I don't have to worry about my sweaty fan-boy hands rusting out my pretty lightsaber!
Just as an FYI, to everyone comparing 1mm to 4mm, it doesn't matter one iota....SINCE GRAFLEXES WERE MADE IN THE USA AND EVERYTHING WAS MADE IN INCHES!!!!!!
:lol
Bigturc
Sr Member
Hey guys-
Unfortunately for me .. I decided I needed to have a DV MOM replica .. so I have started reading threads upon threads, Seth's infamous awesome PDF and some web sites here and there and this thread came up.
Now that I've read it all .. I'm wondering .. why in the debate nobody bringing up the Korbanth's accuracy? Is it completely out of the game? I was thinking to order a DV6 and knowing how accuracy always ends up growing on me .. I thought I'd ask first how much of a good idea that was.
So bear with me here, I'm just starting (which I didn't want to) to learn about Graflex replicas. Sigh.
Unfortunately for me .. I decided I needed to have a DV MOM replica .. so I have started reading threads upon threads, Seth's infamous awesome PDF and some web sites here and there and this thread came up.
Now that I've read it all .. I'm wondering .. why in the debate nobody bringing up the Korbanth's accuracy? Is it completely out of the game? I was thinking to order a DV6 and knowing how accuracy always ends up growing on me .. I thought I'd ask first how much of a good idea that was.
So bear with me here, I'm just starting (which I didn't want to) to learn about Graflex replicas. Sigh.
This. There doesn't really need to be anything else said in this thread.
I have a vintage Graflex and I have one of Romans'. It is a fantastic, high quality piece, and it's pretty hard to tell the two apart just by looking at them.
- - - Updated - - -
Korbanth's aren't the most accurate, but they are the most electronics install ready/friendly option. Depends on what your end goal is. If you want an electronics saber, they're a good starting point. If you want a static hilt, I'd go with something else.
Bigturc
Sr Member
Thanks for the answer!
I really want static .. for now! I have no time to play with my toy .. barely to look at them!
Like was said before, the pierced pommel really doesn't cut it for me as a static piece.
So .. from there. Let's say I get a roman graflex to do my DV MoM .. then I have to source everything else independently? I already know that Roman doesn't do DV rotj kits .. that's where I get lost! So many luke love but no DV love and I don't see myself adding holes in my graflex body!
Edit: I can take this private with anybody who'd like to share more info if that's more appropriate!
I really want static .. for now! I have no time to play with my toy .. barely to look at them!
Like was said before, the pierced pommel really doesn't cut it for me as a static piece.
So .. from there. Let's say I get a roman graflex to do my DV MoM .. then I have to source everything else independently? I already know that Roman doesn't do DV rotj kits .. that's where I get lost! So many luke love but no DV love and I don't see myself adding holes in my graflex body!
Edit: I can take this private with anybody who'd like to share more info if that's more appropriate!
