Kyrathalia's Deathcry-custom lightsaber build

[Therion Jinn]

All right, next up on the bench is a custom lightsaber hilt.
I'm naming it "Kyrathalia's Deathcry" after my Sith Sorceror in Star Wars: The Old Republic

It's going to be built using metal parts from The Custom Saber Shop's Modular Hilt System, electronics from Ultrasabers, and the pommel is a shower faucet handle from the Home Depot.
Blade will be a bright orange when I'm done

To get started, I mapped out the basics of the hilt design using TCSS MHS Builder


Once the parts arrived, I roughed out how the layout of the hilt would look in real life


A quick look at all of the components going into this build


Because of the way some of the parts were engineered, and with the LED module being already wired for a quick disconnect, I needed to modify the TCSS heat sink by opening up two of the side holes


Made an adapter from a nylon fitting that allowed me to connect the handle piece to the blank pommel section. This was all connected rather solidly with some JB Weld


Got the holes drilled and tapped for the covertec wheel in the grip, and blade retention screws in the emitter.
Also got the hole opened up for the switch housing.

The grip was partly masked off, as well as the thread section of the choke. These were then primered with flat black Krylon primer.
A coat of Testors Graphite Dust was added, and then they were hit with a coat of Kyrlon Crystal clear



Next up is a whole lot of electrical work

Youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBiDhLULNv0

[Jenny]

The crystalline pommel is an interesting touch.

[rlobrecht]

It looks really long. How long is it?

[Whosle]

I think the pommel needs an LED ! Other than that good job!

[Therion Jinn]

It looks really long. How long is it?

Thanks for the comments, all.
I have it disassembled for wiring right now, but I'm thinking it's around a foot (12") from emitter to end of pommel.

And, Whosie?
I'll likely paint it up like a lit gem but not actually light it. Needs to be removable to get at the battery pack and sound chip

[Therion Jinn]

Update on the buildup of "Kyrathalia's Deathcry"

Prior to installing the switch, I used my Dremel to make an inscription just above it.
The inscription, in Aurabesh font, reads "Peace is a lie," the first line of the Sith Code.
I printed it out on some blank decal paper and laid it on to act as a guide for the work.
That done, I scrubbed off the rest of the decal paper, and then highlighted the inscription with a black wash.


For the pommel, I opted to paint it up like a gem held in a metal mounting.
I painted the clear areas with a transparent orange, and then painted the 'claw' with Vallejo dark grey primer followed by Tamiya's Chrome Silver


Began wiring up the guts, including a trio of red LEDs for lighting up the pommel.


LIGHT test!
Initially, I had the wiring for my illuminated switch reversed. I fixed that and got ALMOST everything working.
Sadly, despite installing a resistor, my wiring job resulted in blowing the LEDs for the pommel


I sanded down the raised areas on the grip prior to assembly, along with adding some other sanding on the choke to add some weathering.
Got her all assembled, and then fired her up again.
We now have a finished lightsaber with a blazing orange blade

Finished build pics






Youtube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgzb2EiyD_k

On a side note, it turns out that the full length of the hilt is about 14 1/2"

[Warlock]

That looks great! The pommel came out really nice, love the classic touch of using the faucet handle

[Jenny]

Pretty smooth there, Hoss.

[Therion Jinn]

Thanks for the comments, folks.
Glad to hear what other people think of the work

[Jenny]

My only criticism about what you did with the pommel is that your paint borders are kind of jaggy. If you were doing this for a theatrical or cinematic production, that wouldn't be an issue, 'cause the item would only be viewed at a distance, and only at a resolution such that the jaggedness of the borders wouldn't be perceptible. However, we hobbyists often have our sabers seen at close range by friends, random folks at conventions, et alia. If I were to do what you have done, I imagine I would use masking tape first to ensure smooth edges on the painted bits, which were uniformly where I wanted them.