Weathered MHS saber with brass shrouds

[Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie]

I've been working on this saber for a little while now. I've been trying to create a weathering technique that gives a subtle appearance of age, without going over the top. After a lot of trial and error, I think I got the look I was going for.

First of all, here are the specs:
-two 14670 Li-Ion batteries
-2.1mm charge port
-US 2.5
-blue LuxV LED
-blue ring AV switch
-reverse sound with TCSS speaker

Internals:
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/th_5507a.jpg (http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/5507a.jpg)
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/th_5509a.jpg (http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/5509a.jpg)

Finished pics:
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/Weathered%20Saber/th_100_5627.jpg (http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/Weathered%20Saber/100_5627.jpg)http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/Weathered%20Saber/th_100_5628.jpg (http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/Weathered%20Saber/100_5628.jpg)http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/Weathered%20Saber/th_100_5634.jpg (http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/Weathered%20Saber/100_5634.jpg)
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/Weathered%20Saber/th_100_5636.jpg (http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/Weathered%20Saber/100_5636.jpg)http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/Weathered%20Saber/th_100_5637.jpg (http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/Weathered%20Saber/100_5637.jpg)http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/Weathered%20Saber/th_100_5644.jpg (http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/Weathered%20Saber/100_5644.jpg)
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/Weathered%20Saber/th_100_5647.jpg (http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/Weathered%20Saber/100_5647.jpg)

With the reverse sound, the whole v-grove section is a resonance chamber. As you can see, I drilled sound holes in the v-groove section. They go all around the part. Some of the sound comes out the sound holes, and some comes out the pommel. The result is a very loud, deep sounding saber.

I put a blue accent LED in the sound chamber, but the US doesn't put out a lot of power to the accent LEDs, so it's not as bright as I would like it.

I was hoping to shoot a video today, but I wasn't able to. I hope to do it tomorrow.

[Crystal Chambers]

Awesome! I agree about the US accent LEDs. They seem like more for the outer hilt. The weathering looks great. Especially in contrast with the v-grip.
A full length bottom pic would be nice for this one. I really like the v-grip window.

[Rafalema]

That's one beaty of a saber!
It's a shame that it has an US 2.5, it should have a CF, or at least a Petit Crouton.
How did you do the weathering? It looks great...

Anxiously waiting for the video.. :D

[Darth Midian]

That saber looks great. The weahtering is perfect. I looks, aged to perfection. I would like to see a pic with a blade in it lit up.

[B5813]

I've found the best weathering technique for brass is just to handle it. What was your method in this build?

[Treadingwolf]

Nice work !
I really like the fluted section, the overlay work around it gives it nice depth and the weathering beautifies this saber even more.
Reminds me of a generations old saber that never lost its elegance. =)

[Knighthammer]

Awesome!

[Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie]

Thanks folks! I appreciate the feedback.

To weather the aluminum, I spun it on my drill, and sanded it aggressively with 80 grit. Then I painted it and baked it. Then I sanded across the grain with 600 grit to remove most of the paint, then I spin sanded it a bit with 1000 grit to finish it.

To weather the brass, I did the same thing, then I "aged" it with gun bluing. (If you're using this stuff, use precautions. It's very corrosive, so gloves and goggles are recommended, and you should have good ventilation.)

If you put the gun bluing on the brass at full strength, it's too strong, and will turn the brass black in seconds. I diluted it with water to the point where the effect was very subtle, and took several applications with a small paint brush to get the effect I wanted.

It actually looks better in person. I had a hard time photographing the patina accurately with my camera. I want to take some better pictures to show what it really looks like.

[Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie]

Double post, I know, but I wanted to bump it.

I finally got the video done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t5UwxYjKvo

[bk_renesis]

Great job on the weathering looks almost like a relic!

[Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie]

I was having trouble capturing the finish on this saber accurately, so I took it outside and photographed it in the shade with no flash. Much better. This is much more accurate to how it looks in person.

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/Weathered%20Saber/5820-1.jpg
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/Weathered%20Saber/5821-1.jpg
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/Weathered%20Saber/5825-1.jpg
http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff102/dar4jc/Weathered%20Saber/5829-1.jpg

[Jay-gon Jinn]

That finished turned out great, Obi-dar! I like the look of the flush mounted AV switch, too.

[Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie]

Thanks! I tried to mount it as flush as I could. Now that Tim offers that as a service in the store, I'll be making good use of it in the future.