Darth Vader ESB Lightsaber MPP Build

Well, it's taken years but I'm calling them done. Each has some shortcomings but I have to let them rest somewhere.

Live the dream

Andy

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Andy...on the graflex....aren't they supposed to be rivets not Phillips head screws on the Ttracks?
Not an expert on the Non TFA version....
 
Andy...on the graflex....aren't they supposed to be rivets not Phillips head screws on the Ttracks?
Not an expert on the Non TFA version....

Good question. I'm about to get really boring:

As I understand it there were four different lightsaber props used by Luke in ESB including the duelling stunt models. Only one seems to have survived into the LF archives and that is generally referred to as the 'ranch' saber. There's a good chance the ranch saber is the one seen prominently hanging from Luke's belt in the Dagobah scenes. The ranch saber has the t track held on with screws like the ones I've used here albeit they show signs of aging and rusting. The ranch saber is not the saber seen prominently from the bottom in the Hoth Cave scene because the stamping on the graflex base is different and because the Kobold clip is mounted the other way around on the ranch saber as well as being fixed with screws (apparently the Kobold originals or ones very similar) rather than the rivets seen in the Hoth Cave scene. However the images of the bottom of the saber in the Hoth cave are only good enough to see that by that time the notches had been cut but not whether or not that particular saber had rivets or screws in the notches. Using screws is a best guess based on the material I have available to me from the images of the ranch saber. The tracks seemed to have ended up with this extra method of attachment because the cold made the grips not stick with the glue. Presumably the metal saber shrunk? There's a picture of Hamill standing about on the shoot with a saber hanging from his belt with no notches or screws holding the grips on.
 
Ahhhhh ha! I gotcha. Like I said Ive only researched the TFA version and spent a bit of time building it still want to upgrade the pommel cap.
 
To be brutally honest I had to make a number of compromises with my Luke Saber and I ended up making what I felt was the best representation of what I perceive to be how the Hoth Saber was fairly near the beginning but not right at the beginning because there are probably some shots where there were no screws in the grips at all.

The stamp on the base of my graflex is wrong for the Hoth Cave saber but is correct for the Ranch saber but then not in the correct orientation. I did consider trying to get the correct stamped base but, as was pointed out to me, there were no guarantees that I'd end up with a correct Hoth stamped base in the correct orientation. Whether I went for the ranch saber base or the Hoth base the bottom stamping wouldn't look completely like either version. As I prefer the Kobold mounting of the Hoth base I went for that version. There are other issues like this with the Luke saber. There are also issues with the Vader saber to be honest. I think the double wire sets look a bit too thick although that should be easy to play around with. The finish on the shroud doesn't seem to match the existing ESB/ROTJ saber. Even accounting for the hard life it's had the finish seems more akin to the finish on the stepped shrouds I've seen but finding a non stepped shroud is hard enough without those kind of considerations.
 
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There's been some MPP talk recently both on the forums and in my PMs on various platforms. I made a small but important upgrade on the blue wire side; my previous wires were just that little bit too thick so a little change was needed. The grey brown side has been left as was. I didn't have an issue with the guage that side.

Live the dream

Andy
 
Here we go guys, the latest piece of MPP madness. This time we are looking at the no step shroud, i.e. the correct one, and the large B port hole, which is is also correct. The screw cap on this unit is missing the little three rings and, crucially, the clamp is missing, so the proud new owner will need to source those parts. The bulb housing is also not the right version, which is another issue to overcome. Makes me wonder if I should consider parting with my spare bulb housing and clamp!

It looks like the tube has picked up a ding or two because there are imperfections in the reflection. There's a little pitting and apparent corrosion but nothing beyond the pale. I have to say that the definition on the port hole letters is superior to mine.

It's the no step shroud is what has made the difference here.

How much would such a piece set you back you ask?

A snip at a mere £4400 which, for our american cousins, is just under $5500.

Wowsers!

 
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