Hasbro ROTJ conversion

[Havok69]

Hi everyone. I'm looking to do a fairly cheap upgrade to a brand new Hasbro ROTJ saber I just got. Basically the goal is to convert it so I can make the blade removable for costuming purposes. This will be the "trooping" blade that I don't care about if it gets broken, so I'm not looking for the best saber, just something that looks about the same as when it was "stock" but with the option to remove the blade easily for costuming with or without the blade.

I saw the excellent tutorial for the MR replicas version, and based on that here's what I was looking at:

Item (SKU)
========================================
MR FX Luke ROTJ conversion kit (Lukeconv)
Collimator Lens 5 deg viewing angle (Coll5)
Seoul P4 Lens Holder (Holder)
8-32 x 3/8" Stainless Steel thumb screw (83238TS)
Star thermal tape pad (STTAPE)
Seoul P4 Green (P4G)

Here's a couple of questions that I have:

• Since this is a Hasbro model, I think I read that I can't use Luxeon with the existing electronics, since it won't have enough power. Is that correct?
• Can I still use the existing blade?
• Should I use Single or Double wrap film? Do I even need it at all?
• If I use the stock Hasbro blade size, which is it - 3/4" or 1" and thin walled or thick?
• Should I go with the 5 degree or 10 degree lens?

I think that's about it. Thanks for any suggestions.

[Darth Scorn]

you can use luxeon leds in your conversion the rebel stars work great and you dont need a resistor I would recommend you use the 8.7 deg lens its the best for rebels from what ive used also you can use the blade you have but your gonna wanna put some tape at the bottom to secure it the 1 inch blades tim sells fit perfectly, if you wanna spice it up a bit get yourself one of the cards for the switch boxes sold in the shop they fit the box on your luke saber like a glove and look better than the sticker in my opinion. goood luck if all goes well for you you will be very pleased this was my favorite conversion

[Havok69]

ok, thanks for the advice. As long as the stock Hasbro circuit board can drive the Rebel LED, I will definitely go for that as the lumens output is almost double. I figure brighter is better! One other question, will I need a heat sink for the LED also? Here's my updated list, please let me know if I'm missing anything:

MR FX Luke ROTJ conversion kit (Lukeconv)
Collimator Lens 8.7 deg viewing angle (Coll87)
Luxeon Rebel Lens Holder (RebHolder)
Luxeon Rebel Star (Green)
8-32 x 3/8" Stainless Steel thumb screw (83238TS)
Star thermal tape pad (STTAPE)
Black Card (BCard)
Premium Speaker (Pspeaker)

I'll probably pick up a battle blade later, but in keeping with the cheaper theme for now, I'll see what the stock blade looks like first, as I won't be dueling with this.

[Darth Scorn]

na the heat sink comes with the conversion kit, do you need the speaker for? if you dont mind me asking

[Havok69]

ok, cool. As far as the speaker goes, I figured it would be superior to the Hasbro one. Would anyone be able to vouch that it's worth the bother? Perhaps someone who did the same upgrade so they can compare first hand what just the speaker replacement does for the sound?

[Darth Scorn]

honestly i dont know that it would be worth it, the speaker you have is inside the battery pack so you would have to pop that apart to swap them and thats if the premium speaker will fit I dont know but the set up in there know is pretty good, save yourself some money, also mind the way you attach you led to the heat sink there is a sertain way the lens holder fits it you will understand

[the Director]

The Luke ROTJ was my first converted saber. Although mine was a MR. It was pretty loud with the stock speaker. Not sure if the Hasbro is as loud as the older MR. It was one of my favorite sabers. It was also one of the first ROTJs to be done as a V2.

[Havok69]

Nice. So I'll just go with the stock speaker. One thing I was just thinking of is the power requirements. Three AAA batteries will probably get depleted quick. Is there a good rechargeable battery pack option I can substitute?