" Calla " - PVC Saber - Finished Build with Sound

I didn't want to make a whole new thread but I wasn't able to change the title of the original post so any Admin or Mods feel free to delete the first thread .

So here is "Calla" the modular PVC saber with Hasbro sound in her finished state ( ... are they ever finished ? )

http://i.imgur.com/pN8GC28.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/e9vZORv.jpg

As my first real PVC saber I wanted her to be somewhat special in the aspect that she is totally modular and uses the "best", from what I have gathered in the forums, sound card Hasbro had to offer .
This sound card, again, from what I have read , is desirable because it comes from the "force effect" series of retractable blade Hasbro sabers which have the built in clash sensor and are capable of holding 6v if you wish to push them that far .
I did notice however that you will loose 1v to the LED circuit, so if you put in 3v, the LED output will give you 2v and so forth .
I choose to make a custom battery pack that brings the voltage to 4.5v and 3.5 to the LED respectively .

This is the Hasbro sound card , with my custom battery pack and a custom LED momentary switch .
At the time of this picture I was still using the Hasbro speaker which has since been replaced with a smaller but better sounding 1" 8ohm full range speaker .

http://i.imgur.com/ysx2gIE.jpg

This is the back half of Calla which holds everything except the lamp and battery pack .

http://i.imgur.com/9iZfwol.jpg

Calla's chassis is a simple piece of 1.25" PVC and it contains all of the wiring for the system and has been "potted" with hot glue for vibration dampening and resistance .

http://i.imgur.com/pLHGV1K.jpg

Here is Calla broken down into all of her individual pieces .

http://i.imgur.com/FeAUH1K.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/eSlXA6F.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/hqMCP9r.jpg

The Speaker for Calla has its own dedicated "box" ... more like a bazooka tube, but whatever, and it does very well at helping the small speaker create a very decent low end response .

My other concern when building Calla was not only she be modular, but she had to be slim, sleek, easy to grasp and spin .
I didn't want Calla to exceed 1.5" in total diameter , which meant the lamp had to be small .
I chose to modify a mini Maglite lens housing to accept a 250 ( supposedly ) lumen LED .
I moved the LED back and forth in the housing until the beam was as tightly focused as possible and then glued it there .
The whole housing with LED installed was then "potted" with hot glue for more vibration resistance .
Here's the LED in the housing .

http://i.imgur.com/de84czV.jpg

Here is Callas guts all tucked in and ready for assembly .

http://i.imgur.com/7OgNl4P.jpg

Here is Calla finished .

http://i.imgur.com/wgzIHbT.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/YgW6kjh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/hdg8N9I.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ujoacGu.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/PmS0qtH.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Uh7eVBq.jpg

As you can see in this last pic, Calla isn't very big , she fits well in my hand and is very easy to grip and control .
If I did away with the fancy shrouding and tailfins I could probably shave another 3" off her length .

http://i.imgur.com/N7tByoz.jpg

I hope you guys and gals enjoyed this thread and the build .
I really had a good time building Calla and I look forward to building a few more sabers in the near future which I will post here at TCSS .
Thanks again everyone !!

EDIT:

Calla uses a 1" thick walled trans red battle blade ( day blade ) which was purchased here at TCSS as well as the bullet tips with reflective bits .
I also purchased blue and a green trans blades as well for future projects .
I use Tamiya Translucent paint for all of my blade tips and it works very well !!!

Looks cool. Definitely gave me the first impression that it was going to be a dual blade.

Nice. I say keep the length. Total Sithyness :P I kinda like the deeper red color too for some reason. Is it bright enough for you in person though?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Miraluka

Looks cool. Definitely gave me the first impression that it was going to be a dual blade.

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I have been wrapping my mind around a dual blade with sound for a bit now .
The problem is keeping it slim enough to use as a staff the way Im used to using a staff .
1" diameter is the limit in thickness for almost 18" across the handle for my staff as far as Im concerned and that requires a bit of thought before execution .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jedimastergarcia87

Nice. I say keep the length. Total Sithyness :P I kinda like the deeper red color too for some reason. Is it bright enough for you in person though?

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I wanted a saber that when you looked at it, you couldn't imagine that it would have a blade any other color then red, a saber that screamed Sith .
I thought I achieved that look with Calla, your response seems to confirm I achieved my goal .
As far as being bright, believe it or not, in the dusk and especially at night, it is bright .
Inside the house during the day, it is bright as well but it dies out in the sun , but that is why I chose the trans red blade ( day blade ) .
What is cool, to me at least, and as you have touched on, is the color of the blade .
The red color is deep and very evil .
When you look at the blade in the dusk or at night it is very beautiful, almost looks like a liquid, like a blade made of blood .
Ill take some shots of Calla outside at dusk and at night and post them in the next couple days .
Hopefully you can see how well it glows in the pics .... maybe Ill do a vid .

Thanks again guys for the positive feedback, Im glad you like Calla :D

I apologize to anyone waiting to see outside evening pics or vids of this saber , it has been 15 ~ 19 degrees and snowing and sleeting for the last couple days :/

Can you share how you made your battery pack please?

Well done!

Oh wow, I must have missed this one before! I love the lines on that saber! Very sleek and clean looking!