Sith Acolyte Saber

[darren1970]

Hi guys.

I'm currently in the process of putting together aSith Acolyte costume from the TOR trailers.

I'm trying to get a maker in the US to ship me a very accurate hilt, but in incase he won't I'm researching making one from MHS parts. I have a few rough 'mock-ups' done, but thought I'd ask you guys ( with more experience ) what modular parts you would suggest to build a saber that looks as close to the one below as possible.

http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt323/daz70/AcolyteSaber.jpg (http://i624.photobucket.com)

Regards

Darren

[Vlad Doon]

Hi,

IMO these parts can do the trick :

Blade holder style 1
Choke style 1 short
4 inches deep grooved double female ext plus a 2" double female ext or a 7" fluted main body
Pommel style 6 or 7, with D-ring insert 12
Overlay sleeve to cut the part over the emitter
and the red switch...

...or if you some more accurate hilt, you can go for blank parts and ask Tim to machine them to look like the acolyte hilt.

Good luck

[darren1970]

Never even considered the D ring connector ( good call Vlad ).

The only problem's I can see is that the grooved grip needs to be narrower than the piece before the choke and the saber needs to be about 13" long.

[Ty_Bomber]

This is where that sleeve material comes in handy again. A little bit in the right places gives it the right topography. For the rear grip, I recommend a blank extension with some custom lines traced into it, and some custom work by Tim to achieve the smoothness of the pommel in your pic.

With un-modified MHS parts, I think this is what you're looking for:

6969

And minor work could be done to achieve the desired shapes. This is 12.64 inches.

[Boj-Vaati Mau]

Here's my hat in the ring:
http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/ww349/Jecull/Lightsabers/SithAcolyte.png

You can have Tim turn down the Style 3 Blanks and machine the grooves. Choke 2 gives you that flat shoulder and I used the AV Switch as that would be the less intrusive switch to use IMO. You could easily change the Red Acetal Screw to a Set Screw then modify a red switch from Radio Shack for cosmetic Activation Switch.

[Ty_Bomber]

Way to upstage me Boj! ;P

[darren1970]

That's pretty much exactly what I'm looking for.

Cheers guys.

[darren1970]

Okay guys, with your suggestions I have ordered the parts I need, plus I have gotten hold of a Novasound 3.0 controller.

I'll post progress once the lovely goodies all arrive in the post.

Darren

[darren1970]

Well the goodies arrived in the post today and I am VERY impressed with the parts. They're superb.

Quickly put it together as it arrived. I've got loads of modifications to make to it to get it looking like the acolyte hilt ( it's gonna be a shame to cut into such a gorgeous bit of kit ).

7191

The Novasound 3.0 Dark has arrived at the post office too.
I'll post some more pics once I start the mods.

Darren

[darren1970]

Made a start on modifying the saber hilt this afternoon.

Taped up the long section of the hilt and marked out evenly spaced lines along it.

http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt323/daz70/Sith%20Acolyte/saber2.jpg (http://i624.photobucket.com)

These were then ( carefully ) cut in with a dremmel rotary tool ( pleased I've got a steady hand ). I then added black paint into the 'grooves' ( this is wet sanded off once dry ).

http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt323/daz70/Sith%20Acolyte/saber3.jpg (http://i624.photobucket.com)

Repeated the same process for the lines 'around' the thicker part of the hilt. Also gave the whole hilt a rub down with 1500 grit wet+dry paper to give it a more accurate less shiney apearance. Finally I cut and added the emmitter sheath.

http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt323/daz70/Sith%20Acolyte/saber4.jpg (http://i624.photobucket.com)

Still more to come ( where to locate the switch so that it's the least obvious and the red fake button near the emmiter ).

Darren

[Boj-Vaati Mau]

Lookin' good so far, darren! How are you securing the Emitter Shroud?

[darren1970]

Not sure yet. A screw would be best I know, but want to keep it as 'clean' looking as I can, so probably some kind of adhesive.

[mrknify]

extend the shround to under the red screw, then use that + some cement or jb-weld. (lols.) or a better one if able.

[hebert466]

looks great so far...

[darren1970]

I've tried an epoxy resin to attach the emmitter shroud ( fingers crossed ).

[darren1970]

Last few bit's on the Acolyte saber are done.

http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt323/daz70/Sith%20Acolyte/saber5.jpg (http://i624.photobucket.com)

I think the emmitter shroud, 'fake' red button work quite well. I've tried to rub it down and add the used look to it.

http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt323/daz70/Sith%20Acolyte/saber6.jpg (http://i624.photobucket.com)

Oh and er............its now fully rigged out with a Rebel Star Deep Red luxeon LED, 2Watt bass speaker and a Novasound 3.0 ( Dark ) soundboard

http://i624.photobucket.com/albums/tt323/daz70/Sith%20Acolyte/saber7.jpg (http://i624.photobucket.com)

It looks a little pink-ish on the pic, but its a lovely lusious deep red colour in the flesh.

Allready thinkin of what I can do to improve on the saber. Some simple things like I didn't order a bezel for the AV switch and I haven't fitted the kill plug yet.
Darren

[Boj-Vaati Mau]

Well done, mate! I'd suggest that you inset the switch to lower the profile (the bezels make them pronounced) and you might want to buff the choke and pommel too...

[darren1970]

Yeah your right with the button, recessed would be better. I take it that if I countersunk the outer edge of the hole the button flange would sit lower?

Aah, I forgot to dull down the choke and pommel ( doh.! ):roll:

[Ty_Bomber]

Very nice! I think a touch of weathering would go great on this saber.

[Boj-Vaati Mau]

Correct. You can then file the edges on the hole to blend it in.
:D NBD on the choke & pommel, they just pop on the images. It's probably less noticeable in person.

[Nichos Seastrider]

Oh wow, that looks great. Well done!

[darren1970]

Okay guys......so weathering. I totally agree that this would look 'killer' with a more weathered look ( plus I reckon the Sith Acolytes would have battered sabers ).

I don't really want to weather with paints ( as I do on armour ) because I reckon it'll just wear off, so I thought I'd ask you guys how you think I should weather it.

Thanks in advance

Darren

[mihunai]

Basically go around subjecting it to whatever damage it would suffer
in 'real life'. Bash it around, drop it (gently), rub it against every surface you see,
then clean lightly. Repeat.

This should simulate repeated use, with some care.

Though if the dirt doesnt hold, put some spray-paint on there, and start rubbing it off
before it's dry all the way. You should have some 'dirt' in the new pit-holes ;)

mTm

[Ty_Bomber]

Pardon me for asking, but I you put paint on it and it wears off when you're dueling, isn't that he most natural way of getting exactly what you wanted? Sounds like genuine natural weathering to me....

[Silver Serpent]

That is the most natural method of weathering, but it takes a lot more time. Sometimes you want to achieve the weathered look quickly. We rarely have the time to use our sabers for decades in order to achieve the necessary weathering patterns. :)

[DarkarNights]

Although, if you really think about it, if a society has achieved a level of technology where they are building weapons with magnetically shielded beams of arcing plasma...wouldn't they have cracked the problem of rusting metal decades prior to that? :confused:

[darren1970]

I'm gonna go with the 'knocking and scuffing' approach, then rubbing a little watered down acyrlic paint into the 'damage' to similate grime.

Thanks for the imput folks.