Padawan Renaissance - a consular inspired PRIZM saber

[cannibal869]

Howdy all... well, I've been trying my hand at etching this time... sort of with mixed results.

First off, a huge shout out to DaveH and ArcAngel for their help and advice with the etching stuff...
thank you guys for your input - really valuable stuff!

So I wanted to make a Satele Shan inspired saber for my next padawan saber -
http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121119194220/starwars/images/b/b8/SateleShanLightsaber-Hope.png

this one is going to the six year old brother of the "bubblegum princess" saber that I just made.
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/2FD328FF-EA81-49C1-B370-9CF67FDA1C09_zpstltugc7g.jpg

But I didn't want to make a complete copy since this will only be a single blade. So I searched around the net for some nice patterns to try and etch... and I found this:
https://cdn.tutsplus.com/psd/uploads/legacy/psdtutsarticles/article_grunge_patterns/77_paidpattern.jpg

Had to do some photoshopping and editing, but eventually, I got something reasonable...
I originally contacted a custom vinyl sticker vendor, but they said that the lines were too thin to do.
So for my first attempt, I printed the pattern out myself, stuck it onto an MHSv2 tube, and hand cut out the pattern. Lemme tell you... that kinda sucked.
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/C8B096F0-4C44-473F-B732-C755009FDC17_zps774vnu6q.jpg
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/E75D091A-C7F1-49E9-B402-3679D9396A8E_zpsyw8swr5p.jpg

After cutting out everything, I tried spray painting (yellow) and filling any gaps in with nail polish (white)
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/D4719FCB-04CB-4419-9F99-449184EFF5D2_zpsza5aqqqf.jpg
I probably should have tried a few test pieces to get a better feel for the etching, but oh well... my first attempt using full strength ferric chloride yielded some pretty nice results...
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/7A46E43E-E0FC-476B-A3B1-B9FB18EFE207_zpsg0oo5crv.jpg
and some not-so-nice areas...
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/0B4B6A0D-55EE-4142-8D8F-B1FD78838387_zpsrsqzcjda.jpg

Oh well... chalk it up to inexperience and experimentation I suppose....
Well, I wasn't about to go through that whole pain of hand cutting out the design again (took me like a week of evening work). So this time I decided to try to laser toner transfer method...

printed the pattern out on the special paper:
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/2FCE8A94-0D3A-4D4C-BDF0-C0D4EC63CB13_zpshely8j2r.jpg
ironed it onto the MHSv2 5" piece... and this time I used a diluted concentration of acid for the etching.
Here's a vid of the results:
http://vid882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/03BB84AB-B90C-4B1B-A788-94A2BEBEFD04_zpsdwfyepsz.mp4

Workable. Had to lathe a little of it down and there was still a slightly bare area where the etching wasn't as deep. I submerged the entire piece this time, so I'm not entirely sure why some areas got a deeper etch than others, although maybe the forming hydrogen bubbles created a barrier of sorts?

Anyway, for those shallow areas where you lose the design a little bit, I decided to go over it with sharpie
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/D1244E72-A823-4F19-8A28-E16FE8686E90_zpslg1erulg.jpg and use aluminum black on top of it. I've heard that you can use sharpie for an acid resist, so this sort of made sense to me.
Results were a bit better and now it's something that I think I can work with.
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/9D19031B-8FB6-4994-B894-49BC38F7EBC4_zpsg4u4lxtt.jpg
I did a quick pattern etch to the top and bottom MHSv1-v2 adapters...
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/95B92F52-56AA-4F7F-B21D-03F9843638CF_zpsjuhe9481.jpg

I had already done the internals - made a basic chassis out of spare blade material:
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/29E3C8F1-F425-4EF8-8ADD-DAC85DC10135_zpsjpj0nltg.jpg
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/A7B9320C-EC97-4D50-9CC4-C3E3514B1F09_zps7w0vfrxk.jpg
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/C1CC1FA7-8835-4FBF-97A1-5D29A1FAD121_zpsyohvcqvo.jpg
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/22AAC760-333D-4945-8FD4-240F49566B7B_zpsdhoojuxq.jpg
I put a quasi chamber onto the back of the PRIZM card and used reverse sound to allow easy access to the microSD card...
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/DA884811-3675-462D-9DFF-A6CEE57B0C6A_zpsi6tgt01s.jpg

My friend's wife works for HBO, so somebody got them a Game of Thrones inspired T-Shirt (I think you can customize these with your last name and whatever sigil you want)... so I etched the pommel cap with the one that matches their T-Shirt...

http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/CF2600F5-108E-4647-BB7B-690A65C2CBCB_zpszpnydjyx.jpg

Pommel modifications to allow sound venting - these were drilled at approximately 40-45 degrees angled in, every 30 degrees around the diameter of the pommel.
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/3200D08C-BF0C-4CD8-8B82-17E715CB05A3_zpsrfuvpcus.jpg

TINY MadCow-esque momentary buttons... They are actually a bit smaller I think than the normal momentaries we have available in the store..
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/89FE94ED-035A-4990-AC5F-DCD03F18A640_zpsxoxqkugu.jpg

overview glam shot
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/0E4F4C82-BBC2-45C9-8596-7C2C4A2E200D_zpsxcok6qkn.jpg


video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR0WmQtbMTU

and final lit pics:
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/27AFA928-36E5-4E3D-8B9F-C3D56A075E12_zpstnctqqnh.jpg
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/5A764BD1-3423-4F5C-9472-F70C3FD4240A_zpsukmisbix.jpg
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/C02264FC-1791-48A6-8297-169220EA1549_zpsp7onzllq.jpg
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/761EE88C-F83C-4BF5-8FB8-972AB1603DD2_zpshgucp6wh.jpg
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/10CB8086-3A9B-4DF6-A2A1-F95FF3ECF5E3_zpsfiw7uswz.jpg
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/ac29/cannibal869/Lightsabers/600E4F38-13BD-4A63-9097-AE9C5D2190E3_zpse316rezt.jpg

Cheers!
-C

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Great work as always!! :D

[setelf3of5]

Wow amazing! Both look great.

[San Tala]

This is almost exactly the saber I'm planning on building! Great work.

[Er Dan Gill]

Very nice Cannibal! I just did a shroud with etching too. And I feel your pain when it comes to cutting the pattern out by hand.

[Starwinder]

Dang, i love how this came out! It looks very much like an antique, like something old once used ceremonially. Really cool switch plate idea too!

[noslenpar]

Wow, I'm jealous of a six year old. But you can't blame me, that's an awesome saber. I'm inspired to try some etching.

[Renaissance Jedi]

This saber is a piece of art.

[Robust Stardust]

Wow! Absolutely beautiful! This is what I love in a saber, the etching and weathering give it that used and authentic feeling true to the original trilogy and KoTOR. :D

[chicago.jedi]

Outstanding. The final etching has the look of metal that has had a lot of handling. It looks old but cared for. Nice job.

[solaren]

Great saber. I love the buttons on the shield.

[Ronin Chapter]

I liked the soundboard holding unit. Very nicely done. I really don't know if I have the skillz for the rest though. /bravo!

[TheSilverDark]

Very beautiful saber :D hope fully my etching will turn out as good :)

[Quixotic Jedi]

Awesome etching. Love the chassis work and the switch plate. Cool looking hilt all the way around.