Girot's TFA Graflex

[girot]

"The Force Awakens" Graflex 2.0 Build Thread

I know there are a lot of these threads going up but there are a lot of perspective padawans out there who like browsing through thread after thread. I also wanted somewhere I could keep a record of activity so I don't lose track. My intention is to build a film accurate "shelf queen" to keep my Sakabato company. At this time I do not intend to do a crystal chamber, but that may change if I end up custom machining a chassis for this build.

HILT
Graflex 2.0 by Korbanth
7/8" Trans White Blade by Vader's Vault
7/8" Graflex Blade Plug by KR Sabers

CHASSIS
Decided not to overdo it and picked up the popular GOTH Knight Chassis from Shapeways.

ELECTRONICS
Nano Biscotte v3
Modified 7/8" Tri-Cree Star: Blue/RoyalBlue/White
28mm Premium Speaker
3.7v 3400mAh 18650 PCB Rechargeable Li-Ion Cell (building my own)
Recharge Port
Momentary Switch (came with the Korbanth kit)

[girot]

SPEAKER
So after playing with the math I figured out that 7/8" converts to 0.875" which converts to 22.225mm. This means that the 20mm (0.79") speaker will fit perfectly into the Graflex 2.0

[RoninBJJ]

SPEAKER
So after playing with the math I figured out that 7/8" converts to 0.875" which converts to 22.225mm. This means that the 20mm (0.79") speaker will fit perfectly into the Graflex 2.0

Lower part of the hilt is about 1.25" in diameter, only the blade holder is 7/8" in diameter. So you can use a 28mm speaker no problem in this build. I personally used the 2w 28mm premium in my Graflex 2.0.

[girot]

that's a handsome saber you got there! :D

[girot]

Lower part of the hilt is about 1.25" in diameter, only the blade holder is 7/8" in diameter. So you can use a 28mm speaker no problem in this build. I personally used the 2w 28mm premium in my Graflex 2.0.

Aaaaahhh, I see. There is an annoying lack of metrics for the G2.0 kit floating around out there. I am going to measure the crap out of mine and post all the dirty details here.

[girot]

So I couldn't wait until this weekend to open my new kit. Took about half an hour to get it assembled in TFA configuration. Here are my first, 100% honest and unbiased, impressions:

PROS:
1) Very, very close to a vintage graflex. I compared mine side by side and was very pleased with how close they are.
2) It feels and looks fantastic in hand. I can’t wait to get my saber stand in so I can put both sabers on display together.
3) Extremely easy to assemble. I took my time but if I weren’t also watching TV while I was working I could have fully assembled any version of the hilt in less than 10 minutes.

CONS:
1) The blade retention screw and socket hole threads do not match. While I cannot rethread the screw I can retap the hole in the blade socket. Easy fix.
2) The clamp ring is kokeyed and because it is also significantly thinner than the real thing it’s almost too fragile to bend it into place. I’m sure it wouldn’t be a big deal when wearing the saber as part of a costume but when its purpose is to look pretty on a shelf these are the sorts of little things that really damage its presentation.
3) The Kobalt D-ring looks almost like its chrome plated. Not sure if this is canon or what but I’m not a fan of chrome.
4) All of the small bits seem REALLY thin and fragile. Again, this is definitely going to be a show only piece.
5) The blade socket/upper chassis is a straight shot all the way through. There is no hard stop for the blade, blade plug, and nothing whatsoever to mount electronics to. As much as it hurts me to admit it I am going to have to get a printed chassis for this thing.

CONCLUSION:
I really like this kit. Aesthetically it is a beautiful kit. The detailing is film accurate enough to impress anybody but the scruffiest of nurf herders. That being said I wouldn’t dar attempt to spar with mine. In the end this build is going to cost about $400 and I have no desire to invest in repair work once it’s complete. I admit I was surprised at what its actual skill level was once I got it open and started working on it. For someone looking for a non-functional prop or those seeking a display piece this is an excellent novice-level kit. For those looking to “finish” the saber by installing electronics this is an advanced-level kit.

[girot]

I bit the bullet and ordered a GOTH Knight Chassis (including NB cage). Looking at it and pouring over the instructions I've yet to figure out where the heck I'm supposed to mount my LED module... Does anybody have any guidance on this?

[Heyjude7]

So I couldn't wait until this weekend to open my new kit. Took about half an hour to get it assembled in TFA configuration. Here are my first, 100% honest and unbiased, impressions:

PROS:
1) Very, very close to a vintage graflex. I compared mine side by side and was very pleased with how close they are.
2) It feels and looks fantastic in hand. I can’t wait to get my saber stand in so I can put both sabers on display together.
3) Extremely easy to assemble. I took my time but if I weren’t also watching TV while I was working I could have fully assembled any version of the hilt in less than 10 minutes.

CONS:
1) The blade retention screw and socket hole threads do not match. While I cannot rethread the screw I can retap the hole in the blade socket. Easy fix.
2) The clamp ring is kokeyed and because it is also significantly thinner than the real thing it’s almost too fragile to bend it into place. I’m sure it wouldn’t be a big deal when wearing the saber as part of a costume but when its purpose is to look pretty on a shelf these are the sorts of little things that really damage its presentation.
3) The Kobalt D-ring looks almost like its chrome plated. Not sure if this is canon or what but I’m not a fan of chrome.
4) All of the small bits seem REALLY thin and fragile. Again, this is definitely going to be a show only piece.
5) The blade socket/upper chassis is a straight shot all the way through. There is no hard stop for the blade, blade plug, and nothing whatsoever to mount electronics to. As much as it hurts me to admit it I am going to have to get a printed chassis for this thing.

CONCLUSION:
I really like this kit. Aesthetically it is a beautiful kit. The detailing is film accurate enough to impress anybody but the scruffiest of nurf herders. That being said I wouldn’t dar attempt to spar with mine. In the end this build is going to cost about $400 and I have no desire to invest in repair work once it’s complete. I admit I was surprised at what its actual skill level was once I got it open and started working on it. For someone looking for a non-functional prop or those seeking a display piece this is an excellent novice-level kit. For those looking to “finish” the saber by installing electronics this is an advanced-level kit.

That's funny cuz I thought from other people's reviews that it was sturdier then a real graflex. Gotta wait for mine and see what's up

Do you think that the different batches are made differently ?

[girot]

The hilt body is MUCH sturdier. It's the little pieces that are thinner. Based on what I'm seeing it looked like those bits are cast from molds instead of machined so that could explain it.

[Heyjude7]

The hilt body is MUCH sturdier. It's the little pieces that are thinner. Based on what I'm seeing it looked like those bits are cast from molds instead of machined so that could explain it.

Ahh I see! maybe machining new parts is an option.. love to see pics of your build

[girot]

If motivation strikes I'll do a belated unboxing video. I'll include a side by side comparison with a vintage.

UPDATE: 7/8" blade fits beautifully and looks great installed. I have no desire, whatsoever, to convert to a 1" core.
UPDATE #2: Motivation did not strike, lol. Lots of other people beat me to it anyway so it's all good.

[Mrtoad883]

have you seen the 1" bore from VV? looks like it would be great plus its predrilled.

[girot]

I've already invested too much in the 7/8" direction to switch it up now. Not unless I wanted to simply preinstall electronics into the printed chassis and sell just that. I'm sure someone would be interested in a pre-built core.

[erlomd]

I bit the bullet and ordered a GOTH Knight Chassis (including NB cage). Looking at it and pouring over the instructions I've yet to figure out where the heck I'm supposed to mount my LED module... Does anybody have any guidance on this?

if you got the knight version, then the LED Heatsink should be able to fit directly on top of the battery cage in your chassis...and right below the glass eye retention screw...you would need to drill and tap into the grenade section around that area so you can place a set screw for the heatsink...there should be an explanation to this on his website

[girot]

Yup! I've been reading while waiting for parts. I've got a solid plan in mind now. As of this afternoon my chassis and blade plug have come in. By the end of the week I should have everything but the battery in-hand. I can get the lion's share of the work knocked out while I'm waiting on 18650's to restock.

[Mrtoad883]

You gonna post a video of your build?

[girot]

Sure! :D

[Mrtoad883]

Awesome. Every build video helps and its always interesting to see!

[girot]

Prep work is done for this build. I will be filming the entire process from here on out (as requested) and breaking it up into palatable segments. I'll do a quick run down in each segment on what I'm about to do then play music while the video speeds up to about 2.5x speed.

FEATURES I AM COVERING:
- Graflex 2.0 Overview
- GOTH Knight Chassis w/ NB Insert
- Nano Biscotte v3
- LED Module
- Switch
- Speaker
- Battery & Recharge Port

FEATURES I AM NOT COVERING:
- Brass Tubing Installation (GOTH Chassis)
- Crystal Chamber (GOTH Chassis)

The filming will slow me down a bit so I doubt I'll finish the saber in a single sitting. I also need to edit, encode, and upload all of the videos as well so the soonest you'll see the next update is middle of next week.

[Mrtoad883]

Cool can't wait!

[girot]

first two attempts have not gone well. lots of "technical difficulties". attempting round 3 tomorrow.

[girot]

http://orig09.deviantart.net/7a31/f/2016/069/c/4/tfa_leds_by_girot-d9un9vn.jpg

http://orig05.deviantart.net/cd78/f/2016/069/5/c/tfa_benchtest_by_girot-d9un9vx.jpg

[Greenie]

Yay! Glad to see you got it working. :)

[Generic Jedi]

That's a pretty cool idea with the resistors.

[darth_chasm]

Pretty clever. Careful with the right angle headers. That may end being a stress point when trying to route things.

[girot]

Yup! They'll be getting a nice goobery coating of liquid tape to deal with the stress.

[girot]

Ugh. Same problem again:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgUw91IWd_Q&feature=youtu.be

Voltage is good all the way up to the board... then ZERO voltage goes to the speaker and only HALF voltage goes out to the LEDs. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

http://orig12.deviantart.net/a75a/f/2016/070/5/3/untitled_by_girot-d9uqezr.jpg

http://pre03.deviantart.net/6f36/th/pre/i/2016/070/8/d/untitled_by_girot-d9uqf0m.jpg

you can kinda see where the trace from the Negative Pad is coming away from the NB. When there isn't anything soldered to it that pad sorta floats. in spite of this, the board still tested positive last night (as shown in an above post).
http://orig14.deviantart.net/3c38/f/2016/070/b/2/untitled_by_girot-d9uqf01.jpg

here you can see the entire Negative Pad is gone. The little cuff on the inside is still there and functions just fine.
http://orig06.deviantart.net/80dd/f/2016/070/2/a/untitled_by_girot-d9uqf0q.jpg

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Definitely not a fan of the through hole soldering. You're probably going to need Zook to look at the board. You might have done something to it somewhere along the line.

Have you tried bypassing your recharge port?

[girot]

i'd tried that during previous tests. didn't make a difference. this time i metered every connection all the way up to the board and voltage is good. the voltage drop happens across the NB.

[girot]

In the interests of preserving my sanity I am going to reorder my NBv3 while there is still stock available. That way I can finish up the TFA and be done with it. While I'm waiting for the MPP 2.0 release I can tinker with the current board and see if I can get her working again.

[Mrtoad883]

Sux man. I wonder what happened, hope you figure it out

[girot]

I'm pretty sure I messed up the pos/neg pads removing bad headers multiple times. For now I'm just gonna finish the TFA and relegate it to the shelf while I get back to repairing my Sakabato. After I've finished these two I am going to take a break for a little while, probably until the MPP 2.0 gets released.

[girot]

New board is in! Thursday I am going to give this another shot. LOTS of lessons learned with this seemingly simple build so this should go very quickly once the bench test is complete.

[girot]

Started off a little rough this morning but I finished this build. Honestly, I didn't end up doing anything that hasn't already been done so I'll finish this thread up with some "lessons learned" so others don't make the same mistakes I made, and leave the success stories to those who've gone before me.

[Mrtoad883]

sounds good Girot, anything helps!

[girot]

TFA Graflex "Lessons Learned"

#1
http://weknowmemes.com/generator/uploads/generated/g139628082635666404.jpg

After the resounding success of the commission saber (using a NBv2) I assumed I could knock an NBv3 build out of the park. Not only that I got ambitious and tried to do something new without properly testing it first (using machine pin headers instead of wires). Ultimately I wound up ruining the soundboard. By removing and reinstalling components so many times I utterly destroyed the positive and negative power pads on the NB and now must have it repaired.

#2
https://i.imgflip.com/xj72w.jpg

New and fancy does not mean a thing will function as advertised, or worse, how you?d expect. While I get the appeal of a 3D printed chassis and the potential convenience they offer? the Force was telling me to walk away. I should have listened.

First off, this is not a slam on the product in question. Everybody has had a different experience working with this chassis and my only aim here is to share my own.

In the absence of an equally simple chassis solution for the Graflex 2.0 (and the fact I?d already bought a 7/8th inch blade before the 1? Core was released) I opted to go with the GOTH Knight Chassis from Shapeways (w/ NB Insert). The ?Knight? portion of the chassis has actually been of great help so far. It made for an effective solution for storing the battery securely. The NB Insert on the other hand was a nightmare to work with. The only instructions for installation are the original development forum, which reads like Barons Chat being moderated by Egon Spangler, and was absolutely no help at all.

Quality-wise the print was actually pretty good. However, I paid for black plastic? and got white plastic that was spray painted black.


#3
http://cdn.meme.am/instances/57212848.jpg

I got so excited when my Graflex 2.0 showed up that I immediately started buying up parts for it like an excited child in a candy store. This is how I got caught in the tsunami of submarket fads (and ended up using that awful chassis) when I should have headed for the high ground and watched patiently until things settled. If I'd done that I'd have gone with the gorgeous 1" Core alternative at VV and been able to use a proper MHS chassis. Epic amounts of heart ache, and $70 worth of electronics, could have been spared.

In Conclusion...
http://acooksview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Yoda-meme.jpg

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/attachments/transformers-3rd-party-discussion/27569662d1455596983-x-transbots-mm-viii-arkose-beachcomber-image.png

[darth_chasm]

That stinks you had so much trouble. But it looks like you've learned a lot from it. The black prints you got are actually dyed not painted. All the strong/flexible prints start out white and then are dyed the color you choose. That's why the colored prints take a few more days to produce than just a straight white print.

[girot]

That stinks you had so much trouble. But it looks like you've learned a lot from it. The black prints you got are actually dyed not painted. All the strong/flexible prints start out white and then are dyed the color you choose. That's why the colored prints take a few more days to produce than just a straight white print.

If I'd known that I wouldn't have bothered with the black. No worries though. The damn thing is working and that's what matters.

Oh, I found an alternative to Heirloom that works great. "Graflex V HD" is pretty amazing, if not a little quiet.

[Silver Serpent]

Every new saber is an opportunity to learn.

Once the dust settles, you should have plenty of new skills added to your saberbuilding toolbox. :)

[girot]

HEHEHE. Wait till you see the next Sakabato update. I'm taking bets on the volume of eye rolls I get for what I've done.

[RevanReborn]

wow, going over this build will be invaluable for me as I look to do my own. I've got a 2.0 set up in the TFA config atm, and I'm planning on doing chamber as well. I have to agree with your honest appraisal of the kit. I was also very pleased with it overall- it was higher quality and more accurate looking than I expected, but I also noticed the difference in quality between the main machined sections and the little add on parts. And I was also surprised when I realized what would be involved with installs- had heard all about the '10 min' assembly and such and just kind of assumed would be a beginner level project... IMO not the case when comes to doing installs, especially chambers etc.

O also, not sure if anyone else found this to be case?, but I found that the threads on the glass eye were ok for the first little bit of the existing tapped hole for it- once it's sunk down in a little was when the problems started- so I was able to trim the threads on the glass eye down to somewhere between 1/8" and 1/4" give or take, which allowed it to be fastned all the way down.

Thanks for posting all the lessons learned! Very helpful.

[girot]

O also, not sure if anyone else found this to be case?, but I found that the threads on the glass eye were ok for the first little bit of the existing tapped hole for it- once it's sunk down in a little was when the problems started- so I was able to trim the threads on the glass eye down to somewhere between 1/8" and 1/4" give or take, which allowed it to be fastned all the way down.

Thanks for posting all the lessons learned! Very helpful.

I had the exact same problem with mine. First thing I tried was retapping the hole, which did nothing. Eventually I used a TINY drop of gun oil in the threads and now it moves freely.

I'm glad this was helpful! Makes the weeks of rework after rework worth it in the end. :D