MHS Ben Kenobi ANH "Tunisia Version" w. C.F. 4.31 - By Caine
"Wow...just wow."
That was one of my quotes back in May 2009 regarding LDM and Judge’s epic MHS Obi. Also, Madcow’s custom C.F Obi was the first C.F. saber I had ever seen, and I loved everything about it. At the time, I was dreaming of owning such a saber, and originally when I commissioned my first C.F. build with LDM, it was to be an Obi…but the Luke V2 took precedence for many reasons (mainly the proper ribbed/choke combo availability) and I became the Luke V2 guy we all know and hopefully like.
But this saber was always in the back of my mind…and with the recent release of the TCSS grenade/choke combo, I felt that the timing was right…and after some research and lots of questions asked to many a saber master builder, here it is….
MHS Ben Kenobi ANH “Tunisia Version”
This saber came out far better than I ever expected. From the weathering (my black belt in weather-fu was earned I feel) and the overall internal wiring (my first C.F. install) this is truly my first unicorn brought to life.
HILT SPECS
Basically, my goal was to achieve the look of what a prop master put together for Uncle George’s “little space movie” in 1976. He just found some random parts from a camera flash, a grenade, a machine gun, a part from an engine and a faucet handle that all happened to fit together and look good enough for the “crazy old wizard’s laser sword” The infamous “Tunisia Version” (thanks beggarsoutpost for informing me about that particular version) was the one that Alec Guinness wore on his belt during all exterior scenes in Tunisia, which was different from the saber used in all interior scenes/saber fights. However, that saber had more of a blackened emitter, grenade and booster section…and that’s what I didn’t want…that was kinda boring to me. Instead, I went for a look that the saber would have had if it were neglected for the 20 years of Obi-Wan’s self imposed exile. If this saber was exposed to sunlight, some oxidation and other desert elements, this is how I feel it would look. I even asked other people unfamiliar with the saber at all what it looked like the hilt had been thru…and all said “weathered…exposed to sun…exposed to oxidation
(the rust)…just the answers I wanted.
Weathering achieved via the following methods:
*Pieces charred with a lighter, baked in the oven at 450 degrees for an hour, and then the char rinsed off…this process was repeated until I got
the results I wanted (Blade Holder and Graflex Clamp)
*Soaked in Aluminum Black metal stain, achieving an “old” look (Gear section)
*Rubbed with Aluminum black, followed by 2 coats of iron paint, followed by a rusting solution, producing real rust, scrubbed down with nail polish
remover, then coated with 2 layers of clear coat and finally one coat of epoxy clear coat (V-grooved/choke combo)
Motorolla transistors on the clamp (what was used on the real prop)
WHAT’S UNDER THE HOOD
Crystal Focus 4.31
Seoul P4 Blue over driven at 1.5 a
(2) 14500 (7.4 V) Li-ion battery solution
Recessed switch under bubble strip/bubble strip pressured aux button. (perfect for easy saberplay access)
Blue blinking LED in pommel
Blue blinking LED indicator in the bubble strip
Special thanks to all my friends that helped me in this/influenced me: erv', Novastar, LDM, Allerea Secura, Madcow, JudgeSabersmith.
I hope this ranks among the top MHS Obi’s out there, although that wasn’t my intention, rather than to have my other dream saber. Thanks for reading/watching, and saber play hard y’all!
YouTube Vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lQ1cqPDrLY
Reply With Quote
Perfection
...YUP!
Originally Posted by cannibal869
Bookmarks