Personal Obi-Wan "Tribute" Saber (Image Intensive!)

[gundamaniac]

A while ago for C4 (phew, over a year now?), I planned to make three sabers (a jedi hilt, a pocket hilt, and a sith hilt). I never finished the sith hilt, and that was the hilt I had planned to be my own personal saber (the other two would be for friends to play with, or for me to mess with if I felt like it). Well...as time passed the jedi hilt really grew on me, and now that's my personal saber. But it's getting oooold and dinged up...and the construction quality was never quite to my liking. I've never been really satisfied with the way it turned out. Here it is-
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Celebration%20IV/06_ObiTributeSide.jpg
The hilt ended up being very heavily influenced by Obi-Wan, with a domed pommel, a ring around it, a "gear" looking thing, a "clamp" looking thing, a black grip section kind of like the "grenade", and an "s" shroud over the grip sorta reminiscent of his padawan saber. The emitter was smooth and meant to be a mix of his PT and OT emitters. I added a little "s" shroud at the bottom, near the pommel, as a bit of my own flair.

Then I saw Jay-Gonn's awesome personal machined custom; I loved the TPM-styled cutout and the angled shroud jutting into the wind-vane neck. So his saber ended up influencing me a bit when I decided to get around to re-making my original "Tribute" Jedi saber a year later (ie, now)...

The original I made used TCSS parts, which I then covered with Apoxie Sculpt (all the black bits) and sinktube cutouts to try and disguise the fact it was TCSS (because I felt, at the time, that there were not enough TCSS options and most TCSS sabers ended up looking very very similar, and I wanted to set mine apart). But I always felt like I was cheating at "building my own lightsaber" because...the parts were essentially already made for me! So this time around, I decided to use a 1.25" sinktube base and a slew of aluminum tubes that I got from a local Metal Supermarkets:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1377Small.jpg

Here I am, getting ready to get down to business. My goggle straps had just broken and I misplaced my spare elastic...so I...improvised...with tape...needless to say taking off the goggles afterwards hurt...:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1382Small.jpg

Metal Supermarkets didn't have tubes in all the right diameters for me, so I planned to "cheat" to achieve a layered look...my plan didn't work...so I went back to the drawing board. My new plan to "cheat" to achieve a layered look involved some leftover craft sheet aluminum that I had:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1383Small.jpg
I cut that out roughly to get this:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1384Small.jpg
Then I sanded it down to get this:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1385Small.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1387Small.jpg

That's the general idea of how I "cheated" to get my layered look. It's taken me the better part of a week to get this far, what with shooting a CF wiring video with Novastar (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=6B2E3130FA1EA411) and doing whatever college kids do on summer break. Anyhow...here is what I have so far! The hilt on the left is the original jedi hilt that I had made for C4 (it looks different from what's pictured above because it's gone through some mods...better thumbscrew, a lip to cover the switch [done before Tim got his switch bezels in], and holes for a speaker), and the hilt on the right is what I have done so far of the new version:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1401Small.jpg
(crappy pic because I just took it tonight...no good lighting, so the flash went off...I'll take better pics later)

As you can see...the redesign is influenced by Jaygonn, and therefore features more Obi-Wan TPM influence that my original saber (ie, the grip section being a shortened version of the TPM grip). I had always intended for the saber to be a sort of a cross between the OT and PT, with some of the OT's functionality and some of the PT's elegance. I think I've got the balance this time. The saber is turning out the way I intend it, which is sort of a cross between Obi's TPM saber and his classic saber (sort of an in-between saber? like a what-if that bridges the gap between his TPM design and his classic ANH design), with a bit of my own flair thrown in.

Construction-wise, this time I'm minimizing the use of Apoxie. The hemi-sphere pommel will have to be molded Apoxie though, and it will be black instead of silver in the new version (it's not in the photo because...I haven't molded it yet!). To disguise that this is, in fact, a sinktube saber, I'm going to apoxie over the endcap of the sinktube, and disguise it as the ring around the pommel of my original saber. The overall effect of the saber, when I'm done, will be that of a machined hilt rather than a home-made sinktube or TCSS hilt (I hope). This is my new baby...and I've spent the past semester dreaming about building it. All that's left is a couple more small cutouts, painting some parts black (to mimic the original's color scheme), drilling switch and screw holes, then assembly with the electronics from the wiring video! It should be done by next week, in time for the Clone Wars premier =D

Soo....uh....lemme know what you think so far!

And sorry for the looooooooooooooooong post guys. Thanks for bearing with me haha.

[swear000]

looks good. Is Apoxie how you glue the pieces together? Do you just glue or weld the peices on?

[gundamaniac]

Apoxie is short for Apoxie Sculpt. It's like a non-toxic epoxy clay that comes in different colors. You have about 3 hours to work with it while it's pliable, then you have to wait another 21 hours (total of 24) for it to set. When I Apoxied my old saber, it was mainly for decoration (as an alternative for paint in the grip section, and for molding near the pommel), but it could concievably be used as a way to bond things, similar to normal epoxy.

[gundamaniac]

Alrighty...I've finally made a bit more progress! I've finished Apoxie Sculpting the pommel of my saber. I cut some notches to try and simulate a Graflex clamp a bit (minus the boxy part) and all the parts that require painting are currently sitting in my garage drying. Tomorrow I should be able to drill the last screw holes and begin the finally assembly =).

Here's pictures! I didn't want to try and mold a hemisphere without a base (ugh...) so I kept looking around trying to find a base to mold off of...And I found one. Of all things, it was the cap from a tube of candy called Fruitips (found in asian markets, it's like a fruity gummy distributed by Nestle):
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1415Small.jpg

It didn't quite fit in the sinktube's endcap, so I Dremeled the opening a bit to make it a little wider. And voila! the base for my pommel! I also cut a bit of aluminum to try and imitate the pommel from my old lightsaber (probably don't have to say it...but...old saber [TCSS parts] on the left, new saber [whatever parts I can get my hands on!] on the right):
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1405Small.jpg

Here's all the parts slid over each other to see what it looks like before painting. I covered part of the endcap pictured above with Apoxie Sculpt to bulk up the hemisphere, and I made a ring around the sinktube endcap to try and disguise the fact that I'm using a sinktube. Old saber on top, new saber on bottom:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1413Small.jpg

I can't wait to get this baby finished :D

[Jay-gon Jinn]

Wow, I inspired another saber, huh? Cool! It looks good, I like the way you got the layered parts look done with all the other aluminum pieces. Just a little info about that though, is that look was achieved on my custom saber with a single piece of aluminum tubing that was machined on a lathe, and then on a cnc mill. It's all one piece, and you can see that in this pic:
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o141/Jay-gon_Jinn/my_workbench.jpg
The Overtube or sleeve is on the left.

[gundamaniac]

Alright, my saber is now more or less complete. The hilt work is done, all that's left is ironing out a few kinks (I'm having problems with sensing motion along one axis with my CF, I had to kick my vibrating motor because there wasn't enough room to mount it/I didn't know how to mount it, and I need a better way to mount my micro momentary switch, which is currently hidden in a recessed hole that is SO recessed I can't actually touch the switch....). But anyway, pics!

Once again, compared to my old saber (new on left, old on right):
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1420Small.jpghttp://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1428Small.jpghttp://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1429Small.jpg

As you can see, the new saber has a more prequel and more, IMO, elegant feel to it. It also looks more detailed and interesting, I believe, thanks to the staggering of layers in my hilt, which were achieved by curving sheet metal around my base tube and hiding the breaks under tubes of a larger diameter (ie, my obi-wan-ish grip cutout).

Here's some more pics to showcase what I think are the obvious similarities between the two sabers and the "evolution" of the design.
I'm particularly proud of the way I managed to achieve the prequel TPM Obi-Wan-style grip here; I think it looks better than the old grip:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1433Small.jpg
Between the upper grip and the lower "gear" is my version of the Graflex clamp...minus the huge chunky box. I like the way the cutouts turned out. I used my recharge port as the second "screw" on the "clamp", which I think helps it look more like the original Obi-Wan ANH clamp (with those neat nuts and washers pasted on the clamp):
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1434Small.jpg
You can tell that my new saber is a sinktube saber when I screw off the pommel...TCSS on top, sinktube on bottom. Not a bad job disguising the sinktube cap, I think:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1435Small.jpghttp://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1436Small.jpg

And now some beauty shots, with and without my old hilt:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1423Small.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1427Small.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1430Small.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1431Small.jpg

Hopefully it doesn't look too sloppy. I wanted to make a sinktube saber that looked custom machined...and I think got pretty close to my envisioning of the hilt. Maybe, maybe if I have the money one day, I'll have this saber actually custom machined, but for now my dremeled sinktube hilt is definitely good enough for me. I hope you guys enjoy it! I know I sure do =)

[MaverickJsmith]

That's looks fantastic Maniac! (I feel like I'm in Wing Commander saying that)

Very creative indeed. Really look forward to seeing it running :D

Maverick 8)

[strengthofrage]

Very sharp, it does look machined... I like this one, I am a fan of layers :)

[gundamaniac]

So am I. When I was making this hilt, I was adamant about getting multiple layers in to help make the saber look a bit more detailed and complex without a crapton of boxes, switches, and screws. It also feels interesting in your hand (the different layers really feel alot different from a tube of a consistent diameter all the way hrough).

I'll get some pictures of it lit up. Some Obi-Wan fans may be disappointed though; this doesn't use a blue LED but rather a green K2, mainly because my old hilt was a green and when I made it I didn't want people to think I was dressing as either Obi-Wan (because of the blue-bladed hilt) or Anakin (because my robes are a dark color scheme and I'd have a blue blade...). Not to mention, green is a color with some personal significance (because of St. Patrick's Day, a story for another time haha). And, considering it is a hilt I consider to be my personal hilt, it seems only fitting for it to light up in a color that's important to me =).

I'm considering using a green Seoul P4 sometime down the line, after seeing the way it lit up Novastar's Flange III. I have a white P4 from TCSS, and I'm currently toying with the idea of making my saber silver-bladed, because it would be a pretty neat neutral "color"...but I'm pretty attached to green at the moment.

[Darthig88]

Wow great work, How did you do the gips on the new saber to look like Obi's from TPM did you use a template???? What were the grips made from on the first saber???

[CorellianBada**]

that's a helluva job Gundam!

[gundamaniac]

Glad you guys are finding some enjoyment out of it.

Yeah, I drew up a template on graph paper and wrapped it around a 1.25" sinktube. Then I used a mix of a circular saw attachment, a cylindrical cutting wheel, and a grinding cylinder on my Dremel to cut those grooves. Then I cut the 1.25" sinktube lengthwise down the back (like a metal hot dog!) and fit it around my 1.25" sinktube base.

The grips on my original saber are actually Tim's grooved extension. That saber is actually nearly entirely TCSS (except for the gear section. I used two of his sinktube adapters and shoved a short 1.25" sinktube inside the adapters, then used Apoxie to make a "gear") with some Apoxie and sinktube overlays. I Apoxied over them to color them black but it's a bit rough because there's a limit to how thin of a layer you can make with a clay-like material. I used a 1.5" sinktube shroud to try and disguise the fact that it was a TCSS saber and to try and set my saber apart from the other TCSS hilts that were floating around at the time.

[Jouster]

I must comment on this one. Most impressive job!
The "very layered" look on this gives me ideas for some future projects. The use of craft aluminum in particular caught my attention.

Thanks :)

[gundamaniac]

Novastar and I visited Grayven today, got an awesome picture of our combined saber collections (and a pimped-out blaster):

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1461Small.jpg

O_O. That is my first time seeing THAT many sabers in one place at one time (in person). Most of them were Grayven's and Novastar's. I have three sabers in the picture...Grayven's and Novastar's collections were rather intimidating. It was soooo insanely cool.

I took advantage of the opportunity to finally get some pictures of my new hilt fired up.

New on top, old on bottom:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1455Small.jpg
Both of those are Ultra blades, but the blade in my old hilt has been very very used and worn, so it's lost its sheen.

A picture in the dark to show off my little "indicator" LEDs which are hidden in my "graflex-clamp"-style cutouts:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1451Small.jpg

With flash:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1457Small.jpg

Full shot (new on right, old on left) without flash:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1445Small.jpg

With flash:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1458Small.jpg

The little things at the bottom of the last picture (in the corners) are my knees...haha. I'm pretty proud of this saber...As those of you who've seen the naming thread in misc. topics may already know, I think this hilt is worthy of a name, so I'm mulling over a few possibilities. If you're wondering what they're running, the old hilt is running a green Lux III off a MR board, and the new hilt is running a green K2 off a CF.

All I have left to do to finish the lightsaber is, essentially, adjust the parameters on my CF to dial in the sensitivity to where I want it =). So for all picture-related purposes, the lightsaber's done! Hurray!

I hope you guys enjoy this hilt! There's no way you can enjoy it as much as I do of course (if only because it's miiiiiiine [muahahahaa]), but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

[Kronk]

Very cool Gundam. If I hadn't read this I probably never would have know it was sinktube-based. Your skills are impressive. :)

[gundamaniac]

Thanks, Kronk. Though to be fair, it's a sinktube/aluminum tubing saber =) haha.

There's still a couple things I have to do to it now. I think I'm going to have to sand off all this paint and reapply it (ugh!!!!!!! maybe I can just sand off "loose" paint and then apply a new coat?). I used an Appliance Epoxy spray paint and followed the instructions on the can. And uh...that's not what I was supposed to do, I think, because the paint chips and flakes unexpectedly easily at my emitter. I'm not sure whether that's because that's the edge of the tube and so a great place for paint to start chipping off or whether it's me not applying the paint right.

I hear (and read) that you're supposed to (as opposed to the can's instructions, which are just like any other spray paint can's instructions) let the painted pieces sit a full week and afterwards cure it for about half an hour in an oven at...125* F was it? Is that just for certain brands, or does this apply for all appliance epoxy paints? If anyone in the know reads this...HALP! haha. I'll be scouring the forums anyway, but it'd be nice to get some feedback here too.

[Novastar]

All I have to say is... this saber impressed the hell out of me, since:

* I prefer complex creativity with simple parts
* I love the inner diameter sink tubes offer
* Gundamaniac has REALLY disguised the "sink-tube-ness"--moreso than most would be able to (without major machining)
* It was a 1.25" ALL THE WAY through, and even I had trouble doing an all 1.25" solution for the Flange IIIs due to the width of the 18650 Li-Ion cells and the fact that I prefer 36mm or > speakers...

But besides just saying all of that:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2z7xZh6BDAk

You can see it in more detail there. :) Enjoy, all!!! And great work, Brian.

[eastern57]

It always looks like fun whenever you get together with other people from the forums.

Gundam, I've tried a lot of techniques with epoxy, like appliance epoxy, I use rustolium specialty-ultra hard.

What seems to work the best so far, is to apply one coat - and wait at least 12 hours, apply however many coats waiting 12 hrs inbetween, but the last coat let it sit for 45-60 mins and then bake it... somewhere between 250-350 degrees for a few hours. This makes for a pretty nice, even look, that's really hard.

and try not to burn yourself..

killer saber btw :)

[gundamaniac]

Thanks guys! And thank you very much, Eastern, for the tip! I'll have to try it out sometime. And by sometime...I mean soon. Cuz I kinda screwed up my saber today, making it a good a time as any to consider redoing the paint job.

It looks like it's time to completely disassemble the hilt and strip down the paint to redo it. I just dropped the saber today (not a big drop, from maybe 2 feet up?) onto my garage floor....oops. The one shortcut I took in making the hilt came back to bite me in the bum. The concerns that other people had about that plastic cap I used for my pommel?...totally valid. The hilt landed right on its pommel (remember...I used a plastic candy cap and Apoxie Sculpt over it to bulk it up and strengthen it...). The shock deformed the plastic a bit, causing the Apoxie Sculpt to shatter right off it (like breaking a chocolate shell) and cracking the plastic. So it's time to rethink that round pommel and come up with a better solution. I had scoured Home Depot for a round part I thought I could fit into my sinktube cap and I didn't find anything I liked, hence my makeshift plastic cap solution. It seems it's time to revisit Home Depot for a closer inspection of possible metal parts I could mold over (and drill through for sound holes).

Oddly enough, I never had problems with Apoxie Sculpt shattering off my forms before (the stuff is all over my old lightsaber, and only now a year later are some of the reeally reeeeeeally thin layers of Apoxie starting to peel because I accidentally trapped layers of air between the Apoxie and metal!). I think the reason the Apoxie shattered today was just because I built it over plastic and when the plastic base broke...so did the Apoxie! So the lesson here is...make sure your base is strong and solid, and as long as you build up solid layers of Apoxie over it, you should have no problem =)

So since i've gotta remake the pommel anyway and paint that once it's done...it seems prime time for me to disassemble the pieces and apply the Epoxy paint to the entire hilt properly. This time, I'll take pictures of the hilt fully disassembled to demonstrate how I achieved that layered look...it's a ton of cheating really. Haha. It seems a shame that the pommel broke...but at least I got pictures of the "V2.0" of my saber! After the pommel's fixed up I think I can call the saber "V2.1" and finally declare it fully completed. Except we all know that lightsabers are never truly complete...they're all just in varying states of WIP =)

EDIT: BTW, I posted up my rendering of my original design for Obeisance when I was dreaming it up last semester. Check it out! (http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showpost.php?p=99667&postcount=106)

[gundamaniac]

I thought I'd share something I find really amusing. I just got a belated birthday from a close friend of mine...and I haven't been able to stop smiling since I got it. It amuses me so much...it's a pillow based on my lightsaber! Here's a pic I just took quickly because I really really had to share this...

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/ObeisancePillowSmall.jpg

I hate using this word...but I actually think the pillow's really cute, like a short fat squishy version of my lightsaber. Can you tell that I really really like it? =P

[Jedi-Loreen]

Ha ha, that's cool. :)

[Kal El Rah]

Your Saber and Pillow are great and Congrats, Bro!:cool::-D:)

[DJMoonbass]

Love it. It's awsome$!! I really can't wait to get started on mine

[cannibal869]

dude, that pillow rocks! haha lol :p

[chase]

If you were to post a picture of that pillow without the lightsaber beside it, I would wonder what it was...but next to the saber...

Awesome. That's all I can say.

[Sairon]

Thats sweet, now you can sleep with a lightsaber without hurting youself.

[gundamaniac]

Actually, I did sleep with the lightsaber pillow last night. It's big and squishy, giving +10 to its comfort stats. I couldn't stop grinning every time I looked at the pillow...the idea of my lightsaber being made into a pillow just amused me so much =3

Anyway, here's summore (and better) pics!

http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1942.jpg http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1944.jpg http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/IMG_1946.jpg

Darn thing's got me giggling like a schoolgirl...:rolleyes:

[Kal El Rah]

Giggle away my Friend,,giggle, giggle, giggle :p:p:p:p:p:p:p:p:p8)



post 300

[Revan]

oh i do love this saber! it's so awesome!

[jaiden_teed]

dude, that is an awesome saber, an i mean awesome, when i read that it was a sinktube base my jaw dropped that is pure skill...nice one!

[EvilDean]

I'd love it if people would stop taking photos of their lightsaber on the bed etc xD

anyways... your lightsaber rules!
how much? ;D;D

keep on rockin' dude ^^

over and out on this thread


EDIT: That "pillow"version rulez too :D

[gundamaniac]

The bed is, sadly, the nicest place I have for taking pics of my sabers. I don't have cool looking workbenches or a nice open wooden floor space or one of those nifty mirrored tabletops.

Besides, this saber (the pillow version anyway) does belong on my bed! (and, when I'm sleeping, under my head!)

=D

[gundamaniac]

Recently, I decided to begin the process of stripping the paint off of Obeisance to give it a fresh new coat (the old coat of paint was not applied properly and had a couple of minor nicks). While doing so, I decided to try weathering the paint job just to see how Obeisance would look weathered. I rather like the result and am debating whether to leave it looking worn or whether to finish sanding off the paint and reapply a fresh coat.

The following pictures were taken at night, so please excuse the low lighting and grainy photos. Also, I had a chance to meet Yoda of FX-Sabers, among other sabersmiths, and I got a chance to see one of Yoda's Negotiators (Obi-TPM!!!!!!) in person. I definitely could not pass up the chance to take side-by-side shots of my personal hilt with a beautiful representation of the movie hilt of my dreams:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/NegotiatorVsObeisancePS2.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w57/DarthVaedr/Obi%20Wan%20Tribute/NegotiatorVsObeisancePS.jpg

[strengthofrage]

Your saber was really impressive before, now with that slight bit of weathering/sanding... I would have a hard time deciding what to do myself. It looks really good like that. Spend some time with it weathered, see how you like it. It has a "real" look to it now that is hard to describe. Looks great :)

[MaverickJsmith]

Very nice!

The weathering is a nice touch.

Maverick 8)

[Sairon]

I think the weathering looks great, you should keep it that way.

[Obi-Ben]

I think you should sand the rest of the paint off, but be a little sloppy about it, and have THAT as your weathering. Best recipe for good weathering is to keep it mild and subtle.

[jaiden_teed]

i think what you have done gives it a nice touch, i love this saber, and with that bit of weathering it looks even better imo.

i do like a saber with a bit of "scuff", just to give it that used look, if its all shiney and new it gives the impression that the jedi has never done anything with it where as with a bit of weathering it can give the saber a "history" if you like.

[gundamaniac]

I'm still on the fence but I'm leaning towards keeping it weathered right now. When I built the saber, I intended it to be reminiscent of Obi's TPM and ANH style hilts, so sort of a mix between the elegant PT styling and the rugged OT styling. Going by the PT, the saber should be clean and unblemished; going by the OT, the saber should show signs of wear.

Assuming I do end up keeping the hilt weathered, I want to do something with the bare aluminum; it's just too clean and shiny compared to the nicked paint job. I don't really want to use the olive oil technique because I'm not really going for a severely aged discolored rusted/burned look. I also don't want to scuff up the hilt or gouge the metal to artificially create battle scars just in case I end up changing my mind about the weathered look some time down the road and want to "restore" the hilt (in other words, i'm not partial to the idea of intentionally throwing the hilt onto concrete to create more realistic battle damage and weathering). Advice? Thoughts? I think I just want to darken the aluminum a bit (read: tarnish it a little, but not dull the finish by scratching it up) so it doesn't look so jarringly out of place compared to the worn paint job, but again, I'm new to this weathering business.

[strengthofrage]

You could try a little dry brush action on the aluminum pieces... especially since you have a lot of layers. You would need to use very little paint thinned out with water on a dry brush (don't water the brush or put too much paint on it at once). The paint would catch most on the edges of the layers and dry there. It would leave the aluminum still relatively clean with slight build up on the edges. Depending on how smooth the aluminum is, it might even stick in the metal a bit.

I used to make/repaint custom action figures, dry brushing works very well when the paint has somewhere recessed to sit.