Vader Conversion

[amadeus768]

Finished this today. It's a Hasbro Signature Series FX Vader from Ep IV. I used a Lux 3w Deep Red to avoid the possibility of having a pink blade. Everything went well except the soldering, which made me ruin the stock clash sensor, but fortunately Tim sells them. I was proud of myself for tearing it down without damaging the insides, and for cutting off the old blade holder without screwing that up, either.

Putting it back together was fine, except the blade retention screw didn't quite fit in the hole because it didn't quite line up with the hilt. Everything else lined up perfectly. I re-tapped the blade screw hole because I think I stripped it, but of course I used 10-32, not 8-32, so I have to deal with that now, but temporarily using Teflon tape to make the screw big enough to stay put. Don't assume things are the same size! Also -the 1/2 in screw is not quite long enough. Maybe it's the way this saber fits together, but the screw didn't go out beyond the screw hole, so I think 5/8 in will work better.

I repainted the little connector details in the holes on the hilt so it looks authentic. I am using a TCSS 1in show blade, which is a really tight fit, so not worried about the retention screw. I'm not planning on any duels. It looks good and works better than when I bought it used from eBay with a short in the detachable blade.