Kylo Ren Force FX re-do with solid aluminum tube chassis.

[Tom Tilmon]

I have done 2 Kylo Ren conversions of Hasbro sabers. The initial conversions I did used the MHS Version VI 18650 Battery Holder/Chassis. The battery was removeable/replaceable. Shuttling the chassis in and out with the wire cram fu put a lot of pressure on the solder joints and wires, and I was constantly having issues.

So, I am setting about to re-do both sabers eventually IF this re-do works. For disassembly of the Kylo Saber, I point you to Shameem's thread above.

I found some 1" inside diameter aluminum pipe. I am going to have the front end milled down to match the TCSS conversion kit, so that it fits completely into the Saber head. The pipe will act as a blade holder, and chassis system. It will be all one piece from stem to stern. The Saber Outer will slide up over the pipe chassis, and will then use hidden set screws to secure into the top saber head and chassis. The bottom can be removed for battery swaps and changing files on the micro sd card. Because this will be a solid chassis, there will be no wire cram fu, nor when you take the saber apart to change the batteries, the wires all remain in the place I put them in the first place.

First off: This hilt can be simply modded with TCSS conversion kit, and better in-hilt LED's, V6 Chassis, and a recharge port, and be a pretty solid saber for cosplay. I do have my other saber that is working for me right now for my Kylo Ren duties in the 501st, and I want to make this one more durable. That is why I'm doing this. Certainly, I'd probably be better off just buying one of the new Korbanth Kylo Sabers from TCSS, because its a ready to install hilt designed for durability, like all other Korbanth kits. But, its not out yet.

It will probably take me quite awhile to finish this project, and I won't really begin to get serious until after I finish my MPP. But I have been brainstorming how to pull this chassis off.

First off, how do I mount my main blade LED in the 1" ID tube? I will be using 1" TCSS Heatsink Modules. How do I get the wires from the side emitters into the tube? Holes. Same for switches and switch wires. I have 2 illuminated 12mm switches in this saber. They are both mounted in the upper head of the saber, near the faux toggle.

How are you going to change batteries? Remove the lower portion of the saber, and the 26650 will swap out. I will also have a recharge port connected to the battery sled connections, so that in-hilt recharging is the normal method of charging. Where do I mount my speaker? Machining out the inside of the aluminum tube so that the speaker fits in there, and the old faux hilt electronic piece aft of the speaker will go right on the tube, its the same outside diameter.

This method does require some machining, cutting, and drilling of the aluminum tube so that I have ways to secure my blade, secure my LED Module on main blade, and to secure the tube into the saber head. Blade retention will begin that melding of the tube chassis and the upper head assembly. I will have to do a cutout for my soundboard as well, and I don't think there is any room left for a crystal chamber, because the 26650 I'm using precludes placing the board and battery in the same location. The Board will be aft of the battery, with SD card facing aft.

Here is a rough mock-up, brainstorm of a portion of the tube chassis. I was just seeing if the battery would fit into the tube, and still give me enough clearance for the holder, and the wires to go past it.

Speaker does fit in the tube chassis!


Battery does fit in the tube chassis, although it will need to be further modified to fit the holder:


Faux electronics exposed in pommel aft of speaker is the same diameter as chassis tube! I just have to cut in a channel for my accent LED wires that I have in that part of the pommel:


So, from what I gather today from this "brainstorming"...more like pea brain storming. I think this is possible. When I finish my MPP I aim to complete this mission! Why the 26650 battery? Kylo eats batteries for breakfast, its a 3 blade saber, and I'm making it worse. I'm using an X4 Quad Cree in main blade: dR,dR, R, W. Tri Crees: dR, dR, W in quillions. I will only wire one dR LED in side emitters, but white in both side emitters and main blade will be parallel to FOC pad. So, I'll have the ability through the board I'm using to adjust the side blade brightness, and how much red mixes into the deep red on the main blade. I can either run plain red single blade, DR,DR,R with full side emitters and FOC, or a mix of some of that all to save energy. But if I choose to have them running at power, I think I have more sufficient mAh to cope with the draw.

If this does work, I may dismantle my other Hasbro Kylo and upgrade to neopixel strip blades with the same battery setup. So this saber is currently the crash test dummy for future project on my other Hasbro. My issue is that I must always have one Kylo Saber working at all times, because I'm a 501 Kylo, and need a working saber for troops. My goal is to make them better, brighter, and more durable. My sabers were already pretty darn good, I want to make them better. With that being said; these sabers are not really designed to do what I'm doing to them, and the better future answer will probably be the new Korbanth run. I'm off!

Tom