Fett263
08-14-2018, 06:10 AM
Hi All,
I am new to the custom saber scene but a 20+ year veteran of SW costuming (501st) and props. I wanted to post about my first build to pay forward all of the great advice I read and received. Having never built a custom saber, and especially not a neopixel, I took my time and read up and asked questions of one of my Garrison members, and big contributors here, Megtooth Sith (Thanks Tom!). I went back and forth on in-hilt or neopixel and then ultimately just jumped in with both feet after reading up on the successes and difficulties others had here and elsewhere. Overall, it was not as difficult as I thought it would be but It was also full of trial and error, setbacks and problem solving.
While reading and deciding on my design I took my time and planned out what I wanted, and kept note of pitfalls and troubles others ran into to try to avoid any catastrophic mistakes.
Here’s the major parts I used:
• Korbanth Crossguard 2.0 hilt
• Prizm 5.1 sound board
• Goth 3Designs Padawan Chassis Variant 1 Style 2
• 18650 high drain battery
• 28mm bass speaker
• For connectors I went with GX-16 connectors for a few reasons (more below) with ShotkCustomWorx holders for the connectors
• I picked up the skinny neopixels from China via a major online retailer ;-)
• For my quillion blades I picked up 3D printed unstable blades from TheProplicator (I requested them to have a larger inner diameter to fit the neopixels and blade film and they came out great) I also picked up the unstable sleeve for the main blade to finish off the look
• The rest is all the basics you’d expect
I’m using three different GX-16 connectors for my build; 5-pin, 4-pin and 3-pin.
16858
Main blade is a 5-pin connector
1. Positive (battery)
2. L1, L2 from board
3. Data Line (from Quillion 1 for Trident support)
4. Negative (battery)
5. Negative (board)
This allows me to go without a kill key, instead the main blade connects the battery and board, when the blade is inserted pin 4 and pin 5 connect the battery negative to the board. It also allows me to recharge using the main blade connector with a charger connected to pins 1 & 4 since there wasn’t a good location for a recharge port on the hilt.
16859
Quillion 1 is a 4-pin connector
1. Positive (battery)
2. L1, L2 from board
3. Data Line
4. Data Line End (return from last quillion pixel to enable Trident support - this connects to the Data Line for the main blade)
Quillion 2 is a 3-pin connector
1. Positive (battery)
2. L1, L2 from board
3. Data Line
I opened up the side ports to 7/8 inches to accommodate the GX-16 connector and holder. I just used a dremel and sanding drum to open them up by 1/8 inch.
I came up with a different solution for the AUX switch as well. My AUX is located in the middle of the emitter cutaway to make it look like part of the inner parts of the blade. I was also a more natural location for me when holding the saber. I used a standard momentary switch (which helps with feeling it with a glove on in costume) and I tapped the hole and threaded the switch from the inside. Now this took tweezers and a LOT of patience but I was happy with the end result. It puts the AUX switch opposite the main switch for simple pressing.
16860
16861
16862
For my main blade I used the standard foam, diffuser, clear blade build but for my quillions I got 3D printed unstable blades because I preferred the look both lit and unlit to the straight quillions. I had the blades opened up a little on the inner diameter (after discussing with the designer) to be able to get the strips as deep as possible. I’m using varying thicknesses of blade film to diffuse, the base of the blade is thicker and does a good job with diffusion but the ends are thinner so I had to use additional wraps to prevent “corn-cobbing”. The end result came out great (IMHO) and looks even better in person than the pics show.
16863
16864
16865
16866
Here's a quick vid of it in action:
https://vimeo.com/284838040
I’m still fine-tuning the weathering and final details on the saber, I wanted to make sure everything was working perfectly electronically before gluing on the final parts, etc. More pics once I get the rest of the parts installed...
I am new to the custom saber scene but a 20+ year veteran of SW costuming (501st) and props. I wanted to post about my first build to pay forward all of the great advice I read and received. Having never built a custom saber, and especially not a neopixel, I took my time and read up and asked questions of one of my Garrison members, and big contributors here, Megtooth Sith (Thanks Tom!). I went back and forth on in-hilt or neopixel and then ultimately just jumped in with both feet after reading up on the successes and difficulties others had here and elsewhere. Overall, it was not as difficult as I thought it would be but It was also full of trial and error, setbacks and problem solving.
While reading and deciding on my design I took my time and planned out what I wanted, and kept note of pitfalls and troubles others ran into to try to avoid any catastrophic mistakes.
Here’s the major parts I used:
• Korbanth Crossguard 2.0 hilt
• Prizm 5.1 sound board
• Goth 3Designs Padawan Chassis Variant 1 Style 2
• 18650 high drain battery
• 28mm bass speaker
• For connectors I went with GX-16 connectors for a few reasons (more below) with ShotkCustomWorx holders for the connectors
• I picked up the skinny neopixels from China via a major online retailer ;-)
• For my quillion blades I picked up 3D printed unstable blades from TheProplicator (I requested them to have a larger inner diameter to fit the neopixels and blade film and they came out great) I also picked up the unstable sleeve for the main blade to finish off the look
• The rest is all the basics you’d expect
I’m using three different GX-16 connectors for my build; 5-pin, 4-pin and 3-pin.
16858
Main blade is a 5-pin connector
1. Positive (battery)
2. L1, L2 from board
3. Data Line (from Quillion 1 for Trident support)
4. Negative (battery)
5. Negative (board)
This allows me to go without a kill key, instead the main blade connects the battery and board, when the blade is inserted pin 4 and pin 5 connect the battery negative to the board. It also allows me to recharge using the main blade connector with a charger connected to pins 1 & 4 since there wasn’t a good location for a recharge port on the hilt.
16859
Quillion 1 is a 4-pin connector
1. Positive (battery)
2. L1, L2 from board
3. Data Line
4. Data Line End (return from last quillion pixel to enable Trident support - this connects to the Data Line for the main blade)
Quillion 2 is a 3-pin connector
1. Positive (battery)
2. L1, L2 from board
3. Data Line
I opened up the side ports to 7/8 inches to accommodate the GX-16 connector and holder. I just used a dremel and sanding drum to open them up by 1/8 inch.
I came up with a different solution for the AUX switch as well. My AUX is located in the middle of the emitter cutaway to make it look like part of the inner parts of the blade. I was also a more natural location for me when holding the saber. I used a standard momentary switch (which helps with feeling it with a glove on in costume) and I tapped the hole and threaded the switch from the inside. Now this took tweezers and a LOT of patience but I was happy with the end result. It puts the AUX switch opposite the main switch for simple pressing.
16860
16861
16862
For my main blade I used the standard foam, diffuser, clear blade build but for my quillions I got 3D printed unstable blades because I preferred the look both lit and unlit to the straight quillions. I had the blades opened up a little on the inner diameter (after discussing with the designer) to be able to get the strips as deep as possible. I’m using varying thicknesses of blade film to diffuse, the base of the blade is thicker and does a good job with diffusion but the ends are thinner so I had to use additional wraps to prevent “corn-cobbing”. The end result came out great (IMHO) and looks even better in person than the pics show.
16863
16864
16865
16866
Here's a quick vid of it in action:
https://vimeo.com/284838040
I’m still fine-tuning the weathering and final details on the saber, I wanted to make sure everything was working perfectly electronically before gluing on the final parts, etc. More pics once I get the rest of the parts installed...