Darth Maul CF 5.6 with slow opening crystal chamber

[cannibal869]

Howdy Saberites!!!

Well, this build has been in the works for quite some time for me...almost 10 months in fact. I've been wanting to try my hand at a spring loaded crystal chamber "a la Slothfurnace" and this is what I managed to come up with.

This Darth Maul started out as a gutted MR Maul hilt that I got off of ebay. Combined with the TCSS Maul conversion kit, I started planning out my design. I knew that I wanted to make something worthy of Ray Park's signature, but that could still stand light to moderate dueling. I also knew that I wanted to design a crystal chamber a touch different than what has been done before.

I had a rough idea of how things would sit in the hilt, but it wasn't until my wife ordered some kitchen cabinets from Ikea that things started to take real shape. You see, with the cabinets, some of the pull out drawers came with these drawer dampers:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/rationell-drawer-damper__59749_PE165644_S4.jpg

Essentially, I think these are akin to R/C car shocks - oil filled spring loaded pistons (the oil helps slow down the spring opening)

Serendipitously, after the cabinets were all assembled, I was left with an extra set of these dampers. They would become the basis and mechanism for my slow-opening crystal chamber. I also wanted to try to do something a little different with regards to the crystal chamber radiator fins. I found some interesting heat sink fins that are reminiscent of the "wings" on Darth Maul's Sith Interceptor and also of Darth Vader's Advanced TIE fighter:

http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/05425005.jpg

SPECS:

Quad Rebel DR DR DR W
14600 Li-Ion 7.4V pack
CF 5.6
Real smoky quartz
SMD Bargraph (inspired by Vader's chest box) and fiberoptic accent LEDs in the crystal chamber
1.3mm Recharge port in the crystal chamber with custom kill key


So... without further ado, I present to you my interpretation of the Darth Maul Lightsaber.

GLAMS:

http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/64AB6E1A-8242-4197-9117-3A15D5DD6118-4377-0000046D538A039A.jpg
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/28BA9597-5CDA-477C-902B-DB832B7F2D7A-4377-0000046D59D004EE.jpg
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/A0B549CB-EB44-4070-9995-8F4E95D36C39-4377-0000046D5F5ACED6.jpg
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/E7ED333A-E984-483C-A2DE-D8E43CB60576-4377-0000046D654D4E02.jpg
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/2554836F-2845-4945-9134-0EE37C1F5B28-4377-0000046D6C3FF48F.jpg
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/2C6F2C83-66D8-4475-ACA8-6DD9744EECB3-4377-0000046D7247966E.jpg

Comparison to stock MR Maul (bottom):
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/6201B274-2E3D-4020-8EC0-7CD944426112-4453-000004778FDA0BE0.jpg


And VIDEO:

http://youtu.be/fuz98VBIb9o

in-build vid of chamber: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06PLwQYs1Go

Edit: darn it - I still gotta figure out how to embed the video pic link.…
Enjoy!
-C

[Jabbas_reluctant_slave]

Wow that is awesome, first of all that's a really amazing looking chamber and such a great idea on using the drawer dampers. I remember the first time I saw drawers that used those. I thought they were the coolest thing, but it never would have occurred to me to use them in a saber build. Very nice work.

[amwolf]

Whoa! So freaking awesome... love it. And on an unrelated note, I also used Ikea for my kitchen back in '05, and I wish they had those soft close drawers. So jealous on two fronts.

[MandoJoe]

Aaaaand now I'm drooling. This is simply fantastic.

[cannibal869]

Whoa! So freaking awesome... love it. And on an unrelated note, I also used Ikea for my kitchen back in '05, and I wish they had those soft close drawers. So jealous on two fronts.

Just FYI, from what I can tell, those dampers are a modular add on, so you might be able to actually just pick up a set (they're like $8 for two) and just see if they'll fit in your kitchen.

Thanks for the replies guys! It was a fun build! And yes, the chamber frame and switches are all based off of TCSS parts!

-C

[ARKM]

Pretty cool man.

[Darth Ryo]

Really great, that's something I'd clearly like to have on mines :D
(I suppose that's not for staff mode tho)

[madmaxx]

thats a very clever idea!. well done

[shmoetech]

fantastic! way to use the old noggin.....awsome!

[Silver Serpent]

I'm really liking that pommel insert. It's got a nice techy feel to it.

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Great Job C.! It came out great.

[jedimastergarcia87]

MR's would be so jealous. :P This is such an awesome saber. One of the best Darth Maul conversions ever.