Bonificata, a CFv6 custom by LDM

[Lord Dottore Matto]

Bonificata (The Reclaimed)

This is a project that I accepted because I felt bad for Fat Ewok...well, that and he said I'm sending you a box-o-parts and you can do whatever you want with it. You can listen to the video for the back story, but suffice to say the box of parts were in pretty rough shape. He was told something to the effect that the CFv6 and dual 14500 battery pack wouldn't fit in the hilt (which is over 12" long) by a purported "sabersmith". So this becomes a cautionary tale in "you get what you pay for" land. Now, I won't throw this person under the bus so don't ask me. It is indeed my hope that he/she/it will take the time to learn the basics of the craft (like soldering and no-putting-Li-ions-in-a-2AA-holder-ing...and spatial recognition and planning ahead...and...well, you get it) before taking further commissions. Luckily, the CFv6 was still indeed functional and the MHS parts are, well...aluminum...and I haz machinez. Although it may not seem like it at first glance, this saber does indeed meet with my current design aesthetic (devil is in the details). I wanted to go with some understated blinkiness since FE wanted a "lot of blinkies", so I built an HO 3mm diffused LED bargraph under the translucent copper-film touch plate. I wanted a "regal" design and thought of a ton of novel color combinations, but eventually settled on detail parts in copper over a textured black and polished hilt. I wanted the choke detail to resemble copper finials, which they do. I also wanted to warm myself back up for a Diatium Power Core build so I incorporated the very DPC-esque detail of copper tile rings on the grip. This detail made the whole design 'pop' for me. I covered the fubar'd nasty switch hole with a new clamp and used color to make the ribs of the ribbed-grooved piece appear to be structural. The pommel was also quite borked in what appeared to be battery acid. Reclaiming that sucker for a non-weathered saber was a hoot, but I got it. Finally, I had to bore the BH so it was even and would accept an extended ROTJ-style 1" ID shim...because the BH was >1" ID and the blade was a sloppy mess inside it. I'm glad I did that because it adds nicely to the overall customized design.

All in all, I am exceptionally proud of this saber and have been carrying it around for two days. I will also say that it is the sole project that I worked on over my Labor day (5 day) weekend. It took a scoche (like 3-4 times as long) longer than I had originally planned, especially when I decided on the whole PVC Chassis and multi-color powder coating scheme. I would keep this one for sure. It is very "me". Enjoy.



Partculars
Box-o-parts challenge
CFv6 (stock fonts)
TruPurple (RBW) Tri-rebel LED w/White FoC
14500 (7.4V) Li-ion
PVC Chassis
LDM 26mm HO speaker in Machined resonance
3mm LED (PCB) bargraph
TouchPlate Activation
Custom copper-film card
Copper and black texture Powder coating
8 tons of machining (no un-retouched parts)
Modified to accept new style heatsink module

The BMT:



The Glams:

[amwolf]

Beautiful saber, Sir. Inspiring - I find myself leaning in towards my screen to try and discern layers and levels of detail I think are there in person that a camera just can't capture. Wow. It's just got be be luscious in real life. Congrats, Fat Ewok!

[Sunrider]

Nice saber. The grip is cool and the colors work well.

[Starwinder]

i know i already commented on this on another forum, but i gotta say again how much i like that modified grip section ... and that touchplate <whistles>

[Fat Ewok]

I'm over on the FX side, but hey, I will say it again, this saber looks absolutely fantastic! Thanks LDM for creating this masterpiece for me!

[Yoshi-Taka]

I love the gold accents. This one looks really comfortable to hold.

[Batosai]

a really nice saber, I specially like that the switches are not visible and I love the grip, it looks amazing!

[Lord Dottore Matto]

Thanks everyone. It does indeed have many layers to it. I am trying to get to know my new camera and hopefully my photo-fu will improve. Digital SLR is not a language in which I am currently fluent

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Digital SLR is not a language in which I am currently fluent

There's probably a chip for that. As soon as I find it, I'll install it in ya'

[Fat Ewok]

Thanks everyone. It does indeed have many layers to it. I am trying to get to know my new camera and hopefully my photo-fu will improve. Digital SLR is not a language in which I am currently fluent

Heh, if anything, the pictures make it more exciting, as they more often than not play tricks and only when you open the package up, you realize that there's a lot more than meets the eye. The photos are fine by my standard.