My FX Obi Wan Luxeon ANH mod

[Sethski]

Helloo!

I've just taken my first step into a larger (or maybe just nerdier) world (to paraphrase some old bloke...

Actually, what I meant is I've just done my first luxeon conversion of an MR. I know that's small potatoes in the scheme of things, but it's a significant one for me coz I've not soldered or done anything electrical or wotnot before. That being the case, I used the foolproof kit from Ultrasabers.

I also weathered and slightly modded the hilt awhile ago to have the look of Obi Wan's lightsaber from ANH. Just wish I could lose the jumbo neck section...

Anyway, here's a couple of pics:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j249/Sethski/Camera1-11-07030.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j249/Sethski/Camera1-11-07033.jpg

[vortextwist]

nice job man. very cool. :D

[Darth Zecks]

Well done. I love the weathered look.

[Sethski]

Cheers guys, I'm enjoying it :D

[Hasid Lafre]

When folks make v2s of the origional using a graflex clamp where do you put the switch.

[Sethski]

I'm not sure about that.

On mine it's just dremmelled and with a clamp lever added and bubble strip replacing the gold "circuit board" to give the look of a graflex clamp (ish), so it's still using the original switch/control box.

I'd suspect that it'd be too big for a normal graflex clamp and that it'd need to do some tweaking or else the oversized one from a Luke ESB FX, which could end up costing a small fortune.

P.S. like the veggy zombies lol

[Er Dan Gill]

What did you use for the weathering? It looks really nice!

[Sethski]

Thanks :)

It was a mixture of bashing it around, a bit of sanding and steel wool, some matt black spray paint from a distance, a little bit of hand painting and some antiquing/metal-darkening chemicals on the grenade and part of the neck.

[Hasid Lafre]

Thanks. So thats the origonal control box/clamp? sweetness.

[Darth Lars]

Nice weathering! The finish looks almost like my steel 'nade.

I like your mods, also!
Maybe adding a wider "wind vane" could make the neck seem thinner. What do you think?

[Sethski]

Hi Darth Lars - yep I was happy with the weathering, is the "steel 'nade" a hilt with the repro grenade part or something? Wasn't sure what you meant. It'd be great to see if you have a link :D I was a bit disappointed there wasn't more steel in this, I think the weathered look would certainly have benefited from the rustiness of being buried in the damp ground for a few days when it was an empty hilt.

A wind vane would be great, but I think adding any more to the neck as it is would just be too much, although I'd really like to replace the whole neck section with something thinner, possibly go 3/4" with the blade. Maybe somewhere down the line I can splurge on paying to have a thin neck with wind vane made, as I'm not so bothered by the inaccuracy of the proportions in the rest of the hilt, just that big old neck would benefit from the saber equivalent of liposuction. :wink:

[Vazan Maceu]

Congratulations Sethski, the weathering job in that saber is fantastic! :) Looks like it has been through a couple wars at least :wink:

[Luar Selbor]

I never would of thought of doing a covertion like that.


Nice jod.

[pipster79]

wow very nice job indeed, that looks alot like the graflex clamp, did u go right thru the hilt with the holes? or just dremmeled in a bit and paint them with black or something?

[Luar Selbor]

I would like to know also.

[Sethski]

Cheers guys - the clamp wasn't all the way through, it's totally as you suggested, Pipster, just dremmelled in a bit and then some black paint - in fact I was surprised at just how thick the metal is on that bit of the hilt.
I was originally thinking it would be a fairly thin outer sleeve that I could go right through and then I'd hit an inner tube, but when I hit a certain depth I started worrying about the electronics and that it was just one piece (as it was still in it's stock FX form and I didn't want to mess with taking it apart at the time).
Perhaps if I'm taking it apart again sometime in future I might go right through the hilt, smooth off the edges and put something thin behind them so as to tidy them up a bit. As it is they don't look bad just coz of the whole battered weathered thing (which hides a multitude of clumsy sins lol).

[pipster79]

hmmm very interesting, and once again ill say nice job. When I first seen it I thought it was actualy a gralex clamp, then i realized that it couldnt be.
what dd you use for the ornaments on the side of the clamp?

btw. Great work on the weathering as well :)

[Sethski]

They were a washer and 2 cut up capacitors from a broken DVD player's guts. The only metal things I could find that were roughly the right shape (after chopping them up).

[Phiily Manyaan]

How far into the hilt does the blade go? Would it be strong enough for battle?

[Lord Maul]

Hell yes you can duel. The TCSS blade holder is deep on this saber. Try checking the FAQ and Thread Index before asking basic questions please :wink:

[Sethski]

Indeedy - it sits a good 2 and a half inches in the holder, so fine for duelling.

[Phiily Manyaan]

Awesome, thanks guys!

[Darth Morbius]

Cheers guys - the clamp wasn't all the way through, it's totally as you suggested, Pipster, just dremmelled in a bit and then some black paint - in fact I was surprised at just how thick the metal is on that bit of the hilt.
I was originally thinking it would be a fairly thin outer sleeve that I could go right through and then I'd hit an inner tube, but when I hit a certain depth I started worrying about the electronics and that it was just one piece (as it was still in it's stock FX form and I didn't want to mess with taking it apart at the time).
Perhaps if I'm taking it apart again sometime in future I might go right through the hilt, smooth off the edges and put something thin behind them so as to tidy them up a bit. As it is they don't look bad just coz of the whole battered weathered thing (which hides a multitude of clumsy sins lol).


Sethski is NOT joking when he says this hilt is THICK in the "clamp" Area. :shock:

After removing the Greeblies on the side of my Obi-Wan Fx to make room for the recharge port and the aux switch, I pretty much had to break out the needle files and go to town on that puppy to get the port and switch to go through the hilt enough to allow the collar nut to be installed! :roll:

I plan on doing a weathering job on mine as well, but a little less. More along the lines of BETWEEN Ep. III and IV