Which Graflex is in Which Movie?

So Graflex Inc.'s for sure then, for the Sequel Trilogy?

I would assume mixed and matched parts throughout the sequel trilogy. The prop dept would have picked and chosen from all the units they acquired.
I think a particular manufacturing era purity of parts is a crazy assumption! Just look at the individual parts and match those :)
 
I think I knew about the lever/clamp pin a few years ago, and its easier to spot for me than some of the others (like the two different thin knurled buttons)

Honestly, think about us searching for Exactra's with specific boards inside. Production on a large scale like that.... its about functionality usually and not the look of the product, so this may be much harder for all of us
 
Manufacturers and prop departments really should have more consideration for us enthusiasts/addicts...


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ANH: Could be early or patent folmer... there's no way to know unless images pop up showing the bottom can. Even still it could have been a mash up. The simple saber spinning bladed stunt had an early folmer thin knurl button on it... which COULD have been swapped from the hero prop... SOOOO... we don't know if the Hero was a folmer patent, with a long knurl button, or an early one that had the short knurl swapped out.

As for many being made, I don't subscribe to Roger's memory on that for ANH. There's no evidence to support that at all. His recollections are easily debunked in some cases based on photographic evidence, call sheets for props, and the actual materials we now KNOW were used vs. his statements. I'm not calling him a liar, but I am saying his memory of something he was doing quick and dirty 40 years ago is muddied by history, AND fans feeding him theories and information over that time as well.

For ANH, I can only confirm the one single hero prop. It's easily traceable throughout filming and post via photos. The pins are straight, but I can't see well enough to tell if they're early round top pins, or folmer patent half sharp top pins. There IS a difference that came into being some point in the transition.

ESB: This gets much more complicated.

There were at LEAST two hero belt hangers, and those have changed or been altered since filming. Couple that with the stunts, the dagobah, and the one that became the vader bladed stunt in ROTJ, you've got a lot going on.

We know there's at least ONE bottom that was early folmer used in the wampa scene close up.

The RANCH saber WAS one of the belt hanger heroes.... or at least the bottom can WAS. it's easily screen and photo matched. The rest of the ranch saber doesn't seem to match the rest of the secondary belt hanger hero from the clamp up. The ranch bottom can IS a folmer patent 100%. Soooo... the top and clamp being swapped out at some point, and then the new one being redressed with that horrible textured tape means, we have no clue where the original clamp and top went.

on graflexes in general, the earlier flashes tended to have a more shiny surface finish, with the later ones having a pretty consistent brushed finish. The clamp stamping seems to have changed a little over time, and not exactly sure WHEN the letters started getting painted.

TFA/TLJ: I don't give enough of a crap about those movies to delve into the props in detail.
 
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ANH: Could be early or patent folmer... there's no way to know unless images pop up showing the bottom can. Even still it could have been a mash up. The simple saber spinning bladed stunt had an early folmer thin knurl button on it... which COULD have been swapped from the hero prop... SOOOO... we don't know if the Hero was a folmer patent, with a long knurl button, or an early one that had the short knurl swapped out.

As for many being made, I don't subscribe to Roger's memory on that for ANH. There's no evidence to support that at all. His recollections are easily debunked in some cases based on photographic evidence, call sheets for props, and the actual materials we now KNOW were used vs. his statements. I'm not calling him a liar, but I am saying his memory of something he was doing quick and dirty 40 years ago is muddied by history, AND fans feeding him theories and information over that time as well.

For ANH, I can only confirm the one single hero prop. It's easily traceable throughout filming and post via photos. The pins are straight, but I can't see well enough to tell if they're early round top pins, or folmer patent half sharp top pins. There IS a difference that came into being some point in the transition.

ESB: This gets much more complicated.

There were at LEAST two hero belt hangers, and those have changed or been altered since filming. Couple that with the stunts, the dagobah, and the one that became the vader bladed stunt in ROTJ, you've got a lot going on.

We know there's at least ONE bottom that was early folmer used in the wampa scene close up.

The RANCH saber WAS one of the belt hanger heroes.... or at least the bottom can WAS. it's easily screen and photo matched. The rest of the ranch saber doesn't seem to match the rest of the secondary belt hanger hero from the clamp up. The ranch bottom can IS a folmer patent 100%. Soooo... the top and clamp being swapped out at some point, and then the new one being redressed with that horrible textured tape means, we have no clue where the original clamp and top went.

on graflexes in general, the earlier flashes tended to have a more shiny surface finish, with the later ones having a pretty consistent brushed finish. The clamp stamping seems to have changed a little over time, and not exactly sure WHEN the letters started getting painted.

TFA/TLJ: I don't give enough of a crap about those movies to delve into the props in detail.

This is excellent information! I never knew about the 1 hero in ANH! Wicked!



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I've heard several times now that the roll on the end of the early Folmer bottom is thicker than the patent Folmer and that the roll on the ANH Toe pic more closely matches that of the patent Folmer. Can anyone with both Folmers confirm this? I only have a patent Folmer so can't do an accurate assessment.


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To be honest the tell of the lever pins has been around a bit longer ... now that said here are 4 of the flashguns sold to production for TFA (note the missing clamp-screw on all 4) :





Since I only received 1 picture of 1 of the bottom 3 Cells, I assumed
all 4 were the same Manufactued by G R A F L E X Inc.



However to copy and quote scottjua : 'TFA/TLJ: I don't give enough of a crap about those movies to delve into the props in detail.' :wacko

Chaïm
 
To be honest the tell of the lever pins has been around a bit longer ... now that said here are 4 of the flashguns sold to production for TFA (note the missing clamp-screw on all 4) :

[url]http://i833.photobucket.com/albums/zz258/Sym-Cha/star%20wars%203_zpsk29grpwi.jpg~original[/URL]

[url]http://i833.photobucket.com/albums/zz258/Sym-Cha/star%20wars%202_zpsvexedgzt.jpg~original[/URL]

Since I only received 1 picture of 1 of the bottom 3 Cells, I assumed
all 4 were the same Manufactued by G R A F L E X Inc.

[url]http://i833.photobucket.com/albums/zz258/Sym-Cha/star%20wars%204_zpsxlck065a.jpg~original[/URL]

However to copy and quote scottjua : 'TFA/TLJ: I don't give enough of a crap about those movies to delve into the props in detail.' :wacko

Chaïm
So based on the toe pic, can we see which Graflex variation was used by looking at the brass pins or the red button?
 
As Roger Christian explained he bought a box full of flashguns ... I bet it contained both models we know, so which were used on screen in my opinion is still hard to tell ... photographers of that era also may have swapped parts to repair their flashguns ... so that makes it harder to conclude once and for all which version the Toe-Pic is. Personally I don't really care ... a vintage G R A F L E X is just that ... a vintage flashgun ready to be converted into Luke's lightsaber with the proper vintage greeblies :)

And no I was not involved in the actual production ... I was just kindly notified very early on when it became apparent that G R A F L E X flashguns were purchased by the production team.

Chaïm
 
Yes very well said Chaim. I think why so many people are convinced that they used a Folmer Graflex for Luke ANH lightsaber is because of the other promo picture of Luke in black with Leia holding the prop out where you can see the glass eye pretty clearly. I'm not sure myself though. Any thoughts on that promo pic? 98c9cbbf7888b5db5f0442b213c1ca19.jpg[ATTACH=
 
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I agree with Sym-Cha; I also don’t spend any time worrying about this topic. Parts on these flashes are so interchangeable from tops, to clamps, to bottoms, to red buttons, to glass eyes—even the socket pins can be swapped out if you are so inclined.

I can say with 100% certainty that Roger Christian did not walk back into the camera shop, after finding the box of GRAFLEX flashes (and probably MPP flashes too) and say, “This is all well and good, but can we go through this box and pull out only those flashes that are 100% pure FOLMER flashes? Yes, yes, I know that all they all look the same to the camera, but I’m weird like that so please just bear with me. I also have a plan to use a screw on the d-rings that looks deceptively like rivets. Or maybe I will use a rivet? I just think it will drive what will be called ‘prop enthusiasts’ in the future crazy. Also, let’s be sure to set one of these flashes aside for me to keep locked away for 40 years or so to ‘rediscover’ and sell for a crazy amount of money. Again, I’m weird like that...”
 
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