The 2012 TCSS Saberbuilding Contest

[Invisas1979]

In the MHS I went against the grain it seems, plus I voted without having first looked at the polls. And I would have done the same again as I'm not over keen on the poll leader. Strange.

As for the custom; well, I think most of us are of the same mind.

Good job all.

[TuxedoCartman]

When trying to decide on which saber to vote for in either category, there was one simple test I was reflexively playing out in my head: imagining the early scene of Episode 1, when the cruiser is destroyed, and Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon leap up from their seats, sabers ablaze. I found myself replaying that scene in my head, but with each of the sabers substituted into the scene. The saber that looked like it fit the best in that scene, without seeming weird or out of place, was the one that got my vote.

Technical difficulty, chassis design and orderliness, etc... all matter, of course. But the single most important element of a lightsaber design to me is, "How much does it seem a natural part of the Star Wars films and/or universe?" There were two in the MHS category that fit that criteria for me, and the one was sufficiently better constructed that it made my vote easy. However, the Custom category made this very, very hard to decide on; as there was one saber that was clearly the most elegantly constructed, yet another that fit the movie look better (do I really need to tip-toe around which ones I'm talking about here? LOL...)

Regardless, congratulations to all the entrants on beautiful work under such time constraints! There's not a one I would discard, were they in my collection.

[Ty_Bomber]

When trying to decide on which saber to vote for in either category, there was one simple test I was reflexively playing out in my head: imagining the early scene of Episode 1, when the cruiser is destroyed, and Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon leap up from their seats, sabers ablaze. I found myself replaying that scene in my head, but with each of the sabers substituted into the scene. The saber that looked like it fit the best in that scene, without seeming weird or out of place, was the one that got my vote.

Technical difficulty, chassis design and orderliness, etc... all matter, of course. But the single most important element of a lightsaber design to me is, "How much does it seem a natural part of the Star Wars films and/or universe?" There were two in the MHS category that fit that criteria for me, and the one was sufficiently better constructed that it made my vote easy. However, the Custom category made this very, very hard to decide on; as there was one saber that was clearly the most elegantly constructed, yet another that fit the movie look better (do I really need to tip-toe around which ones I'm talking about here? LOL...)

Regardless, congratulations to all the entrants on beautiful work under such time constraints! There's not a one I would discard, were they in my collection.

I like that criteria.

[Darth Nater]

I looked at the results first, and it was interesting to see, but it didn't change how I was going to vote. In the MHS, I really liked the hose to the emitter concept, though the multiple O-ring look for one reason or another swayed me to a different one. The 3 customs were all awesome, though I ended up voting for the current leader because it just seemed like it was the one that deserved to win. Kind of like the contest with that Blood Wyrm saber. I mean, if someone were to build that and NOT WIN, it would be an insult.

[Crystal Chambers]

In response to episode 1 first saber scene...

While I can appreciate imagining a hilt in a movie scene...I couldn't narrow it down to one scene. There's some variety in the series and personally my appreciation goes well beyond one era. Neither Obi Won's ROTJ or Vader's hilts for example would fit as well in that scene for instance. Plus I grew up on episodes 4-6, which is the foundation of the SW aesthetic IMO.

[TuxedoCartman]

In response to episode 1 first saber scene...

While I can appreciate imagining a hilt in a movie scene...I couldn't narrow it down to one scene. There's some variety in the series and personally my appreciation goes well beyond one era. Neither Obi Won's ROTJ or Vader's hilts for example would fit as well in that scene for instance. Plus I grew up on episodes 4-6, which is the foundation of the SW aesthetic IMO.

I'm like you: I grew up with the original trilogy (remember seeing Empire in the theater, first run), so I have no idea why I go to the scene that I do when evaluating Star Wars-ishness of sabers. I guess because the prequel trilogy canonized what sabers looked like for most Jedi during a time when they were still being built, and not scavenged off dead or dying fathers to sit in a footlocker for 17 years. Also, that particular scene set the tone for the whole series as to what a Jedi was; what they were capable of, what their lightsabers looked like, etc... I certainly still appreciate the original trilogy sabers, that's for sure!

...except for Darth Vader's ROTJ saber. Sorry guys, I hated that thing!

[Crystal Chambers]

Makes sense. I wish I knew more about other time periods. There's just so many design possibilities. The OT hilts stand out to me in how the props where designed from appropriated items apposed to designed and machined. I can appreciate the whole spectrum really as long as the look is cohesive and makes a believable weapon.

[Naigon]

Is there a way to see previous years entries and results? Searching for contest seemed to only give me 2011 entry details and 2010 contest voting, but not the owner of each hilt. It would be nice to see every years results with owners to see how the contest has progressed from year to year.

[Onli-Won Kanomi]

I'm like you: I grew up with the original trilogy (remember seeing Empire in the theater, first run), so I have no idea why I go to the scene that I do when evaluating Star Wars-ishness of sabers. I guess because the prequel trilogy canonized what sabers looked like for most Jedi during a time when they were still being built, and not scavenged off dead or dying fathers to sit in a footlocker for 17 years. Also, that particular scene set the tone for the whole series as to what a Jedi was; what they were capable of, what their lightsabers looked like, etc...

An interesting take on the "Star Wars-ishness of sabers" but really more about the JEDI-ishness of sabers isn't it? The PT shows the Jedi at their 'height' [before a great fall] when they are mostly uncontested in the Galaxy because of the Rule of Two making the Sith only an incognito 'phantom' menace for the 1000 years after the 7th Battle Of Ruusan. This even leads to most of them learning the 'diplomats saber form' Form VI Niman [which gets too many killed at Geonosis] and some masters even using red lightsabers [Adi Gallia in TPM] because they don't believe they will ever face serious opposition much less have to lightsaber duel Sith ever again. Its kinda like modern soldiers practicing bayonet charges - a 'tradition' from a long past history no one expects to ever have any real reason to use in a modern war ever again. So most Jedi arent really duelists, don't study it seriously [so Dooku studying Form II Makashi was probably seen as a curiosity and laughed at] and don't design sabers around it since at the outset of TPM they consider the odds of them ever facing another lightsaber for real is remote as we would consider odds of a modern soldier facing a bayonet charge.

This also explains a lot of the un-ergonomic-ness of TPM clan sabers; they don't need to be optimized for saber vs saber duelling so can have knobs in odd places because they aren't likely to ever encounter obstacles they can't cut through like another [Sith] saber where those protruding greeblies would hurt the users own hands encountering heavy resistance blocking attacking Sith saber strikes.

Sith saber designs on the other hand would tend to be different - Jedi in TPM may not expect to ever need to saber duel Sith again but the Rule of Two Sith know that they may need to face Jedi sabers and train and design their sabers accordingly; Maul with aggressive Form VII Juyo and saberstaff since most Jedi won't know how to deal with a staff, Tyranus with Form II Makashi and curved saber optimized for saber vs saber dueling, Sidious with Lus-Ma, Trakata etc and a hidden sleeve-saber for unexpected quick-kill lunges...all very different strategies and very different sabers from what any PT Jedi would ordinarily use.

What we DON'T ever see in the particular time period of the movies are saber designs from a period when there are both large numbers of Jedi and large numbers of Sith who expect they will have to fight saber users on the other side as a regular occurence, and most saber users both train and design their sabers for that saber vs saber purpose.

And yet the 1000 years of post-Ruusan where the Sith [and their sabers] are largely absent from Jedi concerns is only a tiny fraction of the "thousand generations" Obi-Wan speaks of in ANH...the saber design paradigm in the PT thus represents a historical abberation rather than the rule for lightsaber design. The OT when there are very very few sabers or saber users either Jedi or Sith is an even greater historical aberration.

So I don't think it would be quite fair to consider the movie era as indicative of what a lightsaber 'should' look like.

Some of the sabers in this contest [esp Sith ones] might not fit well with a PT movie scene Jedi saber design criterion but that doesnt mean they are necessarily lacking in Star Wars-ishness imo.

I'm trying to look at each design and its execution on its own merits - and on that criteria there are many meritorious sabers this year and their makers are worthy of congratulations regardless of whomever wins imo.

[Crystal Chambers]

Well put! I really need to learn more beyond the movies.